Things don’t break on their own follows the disappearance of 13 year old Laika, and how her sister Willa copes up to 25 years later.

Through POV’s of Willa and her previous love interest/roommate Robyn, pieces are put together unraveling the mysterious disappearance and what has become of Willa since. The characters are compelling to read about and all tied together in a delightful way. I found the backstory of Willa and Laika's childhood both heartbreaking and intriguing. It was no wonder Laika would want to disappear from her life.

This was a wonderful debut novel, such a fascinating and quick read. It was digestible and a great book all around!

Amazing mystery about the different types of families. Fast paced and engaging. I would love to read more books from this author.

Great and satisfying ending. For some reason, I found it difficult to keep track of the characters at the beginning and the very end. The actual unraveling of the missing person case at the center of the story was a little unbelievable but I came around to it by the end. The father character was so detestable as to make me understand why Laika did what she did despite its unbelievably.

This was the perfect blend of literary and thriller. With tight prose, complex relationships and some shocking and thought provoking plot turns I loved it.

3.5 stars
This wasn’t what I was expecting but was very entertaining, and I’m glad I read it. It was compelling, fast-paced and filled with action but more of a literary fiction than a thriller. I think it’s mislabeled as such which might be why some are disappointed.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Willa's sister disappeared when she was 13 years old. There was no body, no culprit, no word. She just vanished. Over twenty years later and Willa still sees Laika's face in strangers on the street. At a dinner party with friends all these years later, a conversation about memory causes all kinds of chaos.

That's the simple premise of the book. That description sets us, the readers, up for a big thriller with twists and turns. And this book is not that. While it is a mystery for about 85% the book exactly WHAT happened to Laika, this is definitely more a story about HOW her family got to her disappearance, and how Willa dealt with this disappearance as a teen and into her adult life.

The story is very heavy on imagery of an abusive family, so if that's triggering for anyone this would be a good novel to skip. While the beginning was a bit slow, I actually was able to find myself hooked enough that once I got into it, I was finished in about a day.

All in all, I wouldn't discourage anyone from giving this book a try, but I would probably warn them that they aren't going to be getting the thriller they're expecting.

This bool was not the thriller I expected it to be but was a good read. Family dysfunction and abuse. Heavy topics.

"Things Don't Break on Their Own" by Sarah Easter Collins is an emotionally gripping and well-crafted mystery that delves deep into family dynamics and unresolved grief. The story centers on Willa, whose sister Laika disappeared 25 years ago, an event that has haunted Willa ever since. As Willa navigates her complex relationships and personal struggles, she remains convinced that her sister is still alive, driven by an unbreakable sisterly bond.

Collins expertly weaves together past and present, using multiple perspectives to slowly reveal the layers of this haunting tale. The dinner party that brings together Willa, her former lover Robyn, and other significant characters serves as a catalyst for uncovering long-buried secrets. The character development is particularly strong, with each person vividly portrayed, making their interactions compelling and believable.

The narrative explores themes of loss, identity, and the impact of childhood trauma, all while maintaining a suspenseful pace that keeps readers engaged. The shifting timelines and fragmented memories create a tapestry of intrigue that culminates in a satisfying resolution, answering the lingering questions about Laika’s fate.

Overall, "Things Don't Break on Their Own" is a powerful debut that balances emotional depth with a captivating mystery. Sarah Easter Collins' lyrical prose and keen insight into human relationships make this novel a standout in the genre. Highly recommended for those who appreciate character-driven stories with a touch of psychological suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC.

Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins is a slow burn suspense that starts in present day at a dinner party. Robyn and her wife Cat host a dinner party for their siblings and Robyn's best friend from school Willa. From there we are told the backstory of Robyn and her boarding school roommate Willa and both of their families. When they were girls, Willa's younger sister Laika went missing on her walk to school and was never seen again. This has of course profoundly affected Willa and her entire family. Touching on lots of issues of family dynamics, grief, loss, abuse, and more, Sarah Easter Collins has written a beautiful and heart breaking debut novel with well developed characters.

This book is not a thriller. It’s a story of grief, abuse and also a lesbian relationship. For me I went into this thinking it was a thriller and it moved to slowly for me. A lot of people are loving it and I’m the odd one out.


Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this arc.

I didn’t find this book to fit into the mystery/thriller genre. The book was well written but I did find myself losing track of the characters. This book dealt with a missing daughter/sister and how dysfunctional her family was.

Willa and her mother are constantly searching for missing Laika. 20 years later Laika has reinvented herself as Claudette and is at a dinner party with her friend Nate and her sister is there too. She finally reveals herself and the family minus the father have reunited.

I finished the book but it was a struggle.


Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this book. It was absolutely not at all the book I was expecting from when I read the premise.

To summarize it was presented as Willa, whose young sister went to school 25 years ago and never was seen again. Where did she go ? What truly happened all those years ago? I thought I was in for a wild thriller with a lot of secrets and twists and turns. That is not at all what you get in this book. In fact this wasn’t “thriller-y” at all to me. What I will preface this with is trigger warnings for domestic and child abuse. This book takes you through multiple POV’s, their memories and recollections of events, and extremely complex family dynamics. The memories are extremely raw, gritty, and unnerving. (And difficult for some to read)

Obviously you do find out the big reveal (what happened to Willa’s sister all those years ago, but in a very different story and unraveling of events than I expected. This to me was more of a literary work than thriller. I did find it hard to get through it. It was definitely a good debut novel and I look forward to see more from this Author, but in different styles.

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley, and Crown Publishing for the ARC!

This book did not interest me and I did not finish it at 20% read, and skimmed ahead to the end to find out some of the resolution to the main mystery which I had already developed a good idea for. The description made me think it would be mostly mystery/thriller, and there were the elements of that but it is more literary than mystery and the story moved very slowly. I also found the change between narrators was distracting and broke what little flow I had going. I struggled to get excited to read this one and felt myself forcing myself to keep going so I decided to call it quits.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

This felt a little derivative to me, and wasn't really up my alley.

Based on the description, this book wasn't really what I was expecting it to be. Although presented as a mystery or thriller, I didn't think it really fit either genre as this was more a tragic tale of a very dysfunctional with a lot of abuse throughout the story. I liked how the whole story was told around a dinner table with different points of view from each character. The writing was very well done and flowed wonderfully but it was difficult to really get into this book because it just wasn't what I was led to expect.
Thank you, NetGalley. for the chance to read this ARC.

I truly don't like giving a book a negative review, but I REALLY did try to get into this!! The description of the book is fantastic, however, when I started reading, it wasn't doing it for me. Sorry...but thanks for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley, and Crown Publishing for the copy of Things Don’t Break On Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins. I was completely mesmerized by the story right away and the writing was so enthralling I didn’t want to stop reading. This book was not what I expected at all and I don’t want to give anything away because I loved the surprise of getting more than I bargained for. While this isn’t a traditional mystery or thriller, it's a book with three-dimensional characters and a deeply emotional story that will be on my list of favorite books of 2024. Five enthusiastic stars.

Robyn and Willa met at school. They are at a dinner party with their current partners. Robyn's wife Cat pokes fun at her because she knows that Willa was Robyn's first love, they bonded after (Cat, James) Willa's sister Leika went missing. Cat has also invited her brother Nate and his partner Claudette. I suggest you write down these names so that as time jumps and perspectives shift you remember who is who. May be harder to follow if you listen to audiobook.

This is probably the most tragic, saddest mystery I have read this year. There are themes of abuse and neglect. I didn't follow all of the character's motivation, but I did appreciate the queer love story that is interwoven through the main plot. This being set in the UK, it does not seem to follow the pattern of more US based mysteries. No reveals throughout the story, no twists/turns. This is a more straightforward unfolding.

I read this because the author of my favorite mystery this year wrote a blurb for this one, "End of Story." I am glad I did, it was an engaging, if slow starting, mystery. Will pick up the author's other works.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC.

It felt more traumatic than a true thriller for me. There is definitely some suspense, but this wasn't for me.

Willa and Laika are as close as two sisters can be. One day, Laika disappears and those left behind must pick up the pieces. Can Will discover what happened to Laika? Fans of psychological suspense will devour this.