Kati Dawes and her daughter, Zoe, have been living off the grid in Hawaii for the past two years. Kati is hiding from a dangerous past but has felt safe. That is until her fiancé disappears along a popular hiking trail. And as the search begins for him, her daughter also goes missing.

This was such an enjoyable thriller, and I loved the atmospheric Hawaii setting! It was a quick read with a good mystery, lots of twists, and an MC with a secretive past! There were some suspenseful moments as well as some shocking revelations. I wasn't completely sold on the ending, but this was still a great read. It's my first book by this author, and I'll definitely be reading more!

The setting in Hawaii, with its beautiful descriptions, made a solid foundation for this mystery. Full of secrets, lies, and a missing persons case, this was well-paced and addicting. The twists were unpredictable, but the ending became a bit too tangled. There was more than necessary to unpack. Overall, this was good and still well worth the read for me. Three stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer, for this ARC.

Buckle up, because Douglas Corleone's Falls to Pieces is a rollercoaster of suspense that will leave you breathless.

This isn't just a thriller; it's a labyrinth of secrets, where every twist reveals a darker truth.

Corleone masterfully crafts a world where trust is a luxury and danger lurks around every corner. You'll be drawn into a vortex of intrigue, questioning everything and everyone. Just when you think you've pieced it all together, the ground shifts beneath your feet. Falls to Pieces is a high-octane, edge-of-your-seat experience that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Prepare to be thrilled, chilled, and utterly captivated.

Check out this teaser :

A mother and daughter in hiding are threatened by more than secrets and lies in a twisting novel of paranoia, revenge, and psychological suspense by bestselling author Douglas Corleone.

For two years, Kati Dawes and her teenage daughter, Zoe, have lived off the grid in Hawaii, hiding from a past Kati must forget as if her life depends on it. New names. Anonymous online presence. So far, safe. Until Kati’s fiancé, attorney Eddie Akana, disappears along a popular hiking trail in a Maui national park. Now all eyes are on Kati. Exposure can make a woman with so many secrets very paranoid.

Eddie’s law partner, Noah Walker, is doing everything he can to protect his new client from the press that’s hovering like a vulture and the authorities whose suspicions about Kati—and the disappearance—are rising. Then suddenly, Zoe goes missing as well. Kati will risk anything to find her. But the worst is still to come. Because Kati’s not the only one with secrets. And buried among them is a twist she never saw coming.

The best part of Falls To Pieces is Corleone’s impressive descriptions of the Hawaiian setting-it was rich and highly atmospheric. However where I would rate the setting a 5 out of 5, the plot and characters were less impressive. I found the story to be too over wrought and rambling. I did enjoy the missing person aspect, the off grid living and the dual POVs but I feel that I was the wrong audience for this. If you enjoy slow burn psychological thrillers with themes of revenge, escaping your past and paranoia then you may enjoy this book.

My rating 3 out 5 

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this eARC which will be published April 1 2025.

Falls to Pieces 🌺

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Pub Date: April 1, 2025

Kati and her daughter Zoe have lived “off the grid” for two years on the island of Maui after fleeing from their past. When Kati’s fiancé goes missing, immediate suspicion is on her, and the last thing she needs is anyone looking her way or digging into her past.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I loved the setting, all the descriptions of beautiful Hawaii…please, take me back. I did also enjoy the set up, missing fiance and a past Kati ran from - both sounded like a promising set up. I think the best way to sum up my disappointment was that it was too convoluted. For me, the path Eddie’s (the fiancé) story went down wasn’t needed and just added more confusion in trying to keep people and things straight.

I did really enjoy the ending. I personally did not see the big reveal coming and was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it seemed a little far fetched, but several other factors also were throughout this book as well. Including, how the heck did Kati finance what I’m sure was a very expensive escape and subsequent life in Hawaii? This was a quick read and I would be interested in seeing what else this author has to offer.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Not a bad mystery. Atmospheric and easy to read, I give it three stars.

The search is on to find Kati's fiance Eddie, who goes missing while hiking. The last thing Kati needs is for her and daughter Zoe to be in the spotlight considering they are trying to stay out of sight but then Zoe herself goes missing too. This was an exciting story with twists I didn't see coming. The author's writing style was addictive and I hope to read more of his work in the future.

The writing is taut and full of suspense, while the characters are enigmatic, relentless, and resolute. The narrative swiftly unfolds into an enthralling story rife with surprises.
The pacing of the book is perfectly balanced—enough tension to keep you turning the pages.

Falls To Pieces is an intense thriller that culminates in an action packed twisty ending.

I absolutely loved the Hawaii setting, and the MC Kati was so well developed. There were many other characters who laid the groundwork for secrets and lies. Early in the book, we meet Mac and he was definitely a favorite. I absolutely love when secondary characters stand out and he definitely did!

This was my first by the author and I will be first in line for more!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for the book #FallsToPieces by #DouglasCorleone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about survival, determination and starting over. Katie and her daughter, Zoe, have been hiding from their past for two years. They have been safe until Katie’s fiancé, Eddie goes missing and she is all over the news. As she desperately tries to find Eddie, her daughter turns up missing too. She will do whatever necessary at this point. Can she find them before someone finds her?

Just when I thought I had everything figured out...BAM...plot twist!

Kati and Zoe are in hiding, but we aren't sure exactly why, at least not at first. The author doles out the answers in small doses throughout the whole book. Kati is embroiled in a fight to stay ahead of the police after her boyfriend is found murdered. Did Kati do it? If not, who did? 

I felt like Kati was not a reliable narrator or character. She was emotionally and verbally abused as a child and even in her marriage, which had an impact on her thought process. It is revealed at different times that Kati tended to get drunk and take pills. Was she avoiding life or trying to forget her past?

The story is fast-paced and action-packed. There is a lot to unpack to uncover the truth, but it makes for an engaging read.

We give this book 4 paws up.

Tense from the very start, this book will take you into a dark world, with unforgettable characters, and a deep, thrilling mystery. Little hints get dropped along the way, but as Kati doesn’t know exactly what happens, neither does the reader. She’s a bit of an unreliable narrator in some ways, but I love the little breadcrumbs dropped about her and Zoe’s past the deeper you get. Honestly, I was just as curious as to what happened then as what happened to Eddie and Zoe in the present. Corleone does a masterful job with the descriptions, it’s like watching a crime drama unfold before your eyes. There’s so much I want to say, but I’d rather not risk spoilers. If you like thrilling reads with plenty of twists, tension, and mystery, then this needs to be your next read!

A slow-burn thriller/mystery with a promising premise that kept me on my toes but fell flat once it was all said and done. Initially, we get sucked into a missing-person mystery and I felt like we have read this story before. It became a convoluted mess between the past and present and while it came together in the end and I was satisfied with the twist, it just seemed like a little of a chore to actually get there. Others might love it!

A bit of a mixed bag. I liked the Hawaiian setting but would point out it's not easy to go off the grid on Maui, especially with a teen daughter, if you aren't a local or haven't spent a lot of time there. No matter, Kati's fled her rotten ex with Zoe but now Kati's fiancee has disappeared on a hiking trip and Zoe is gone as well. This alternates between Kati and Zoe as the mystery twists in on itself. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others,

Not for me. I didn’t really enjoy the writing style or narrative of the protagonist. I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I think ultimately I am just not the right audience for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Simmering, sinister, and edgy!

Falls to Pieces is an ominous, twisty tale that sweeps you away to Hawaii and into the life of Kate Dawes, the mother of a teen daughter who, after fleeing an abusive husband and changing her name, finds her world turned upside down again when her new boyfriend, a local beloved lawyer goes missing, and the publicity surrounding his disappearance brings all his secrets to light as well as her own.

The prose is crisp and tight. The characters are secretive, persuasive, and vulnerable. And the plot is a complex, menacing tale of family, friendship, deception, lies, drama, manipulation, secrets, revelations, suspicious personalities, violence, and murder.

Overall, Falls to Pieces is a suspenseful, compelling, intense tale by Corleone that isn’t incredibly fast-paced but which, ultimately, does a remarkable job of highlighting that people aren’t always who they seem.

This one started out really strong for me, and just kind of devolved into something else.

Katie and her teenage daughter are living under new identities in Hawaii. They are on the run from her abusive husband and the murder investigation of her mother-in-law. Kati's new fiancé turns up missing, she is once again the center of a murder investigation, her daughter then goes missing, and that is where everything goes wild.

I really liked the book when it was more about dark family secrets and had more of a domestic suspense to it. The book quickly turned to corporate and political corruption and that is where it lost me. The end of the story was really just so convoluted with no one who they seemed to be. I could no longer keep track of all the characters.

This one will work better for people who enjoy thrillers of corruption and have an easier time following them.

Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone is a slow-burning but addictive novel that gains speed to a wild ending. Set against a Hawaiian backdrop, the story follows a mother and daughter in hiding, caught in a web of paranoia, lies, and revenge.

What I enjoyed most:
✨The Hawaiian setting added an atmospheric touch. I didn't realize how much forest Maui has!! 
✨Lock-room and survivalist/off-grid mystery kept the tension high.
✨Kati and Zoe's character development was deep and engaging.
✨Multiple, multiple twists and an ending I absolutely didn’t see coming!

Fall to Pieces is an Amazon First Reads for March. If you enjoy stories that blend suspense, hidden identities, and complex family dynamics with a ton of unpredictable twists, grab this one off Amazon First Reads now or pick it up on April 1st!

A book set in Hawaii and references to Fairfield County, Ct.- where I live- sign me up! Kudos to the author who is writing in a woman’s voice! In between the suspenseful scenes, I related to the main character’s inner thoughts and emotions about motherhood and raising a child.
This book is action packed with plot twists, well developed characters that had me guessing until the last page! I loved the style of writing as well as the short chapters.

Ok I loved loved loved this book! This was two mysteries in one and it doesn’t get any better than that!!
Running from her past we meet Kati Dawes and her daughter, Zoe, and their living off the grid in Hawaii. They've changed their names and do what they can to maintain an anonymous online presence to stay safe. This includes all social media which frustrates Zoe who is completing her senior year of high school. Soon their lives take a huge turn when Kati's fiancé, Eddie Akana, disappears while hiking with Kati! Suddenly Kati is in the spotlight cameras flashing and reporters at her door. Kati sees suspicions about her grow, and Eddie's law partner, Noah Walker, is working to shield Kati from the media and even the authorities. Things escalate when Zoe goes missing too, which prompts Kati to do whatever it takes to find her, even face her past which may put her in danger! The author does an incredible job writing about a very difficult topic, please be aware or trigger warnings, physical and emotional abuse which include sexual abuse to child.