I love when a setting is a big part of thrillers and this one gave me that. Not only the setting, but the happenings of Kati’s past and the way it was narrated make it hard for me to know what to believe. I wouldn’t say that it was fast paced until further in the book but it still kept me interested with all the secrets. I loved the psychological aspect and the ending was great.

Thank you @amazonpublishing @otrpr @dougcorleone for the gifted copy.

3.5/5

Thank you @otrpr @amazonpublishing #partner for the gifted copy of this book!

Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone is a gripping psychological thriller set in the picturesque yet dangerous backdrop of Hawaii. At the start, Corleone delivers a slow-paced, but ultimately captivating, narrative that sucked me into a world of mystery, betrayal, and morally complex characters. My favorite part was the unreliable narrator, which kept me on the edge of my seat and a little bit stressed out throughout the entire book. As the story unfolded, I quickly discovered not many characters could be trusted which made me even more intrigued and invested! The characters themselves are another highlight. None of them are purely good or bad, and this ambiguity adds layers to the story. I found myself both sympathizing with and distrusting them, which only intensified my stress level as I read. 😝 Yay for that! The pacing really picked up toward the end, making Falls to Pieces a juicy, twisty thriller you won’t want to miss!

I appreciated the setting of this book so much! I visited Maui for a month right at the end of Covid, and so many places sounded and felt so familiar. The beauty of the land, the appreciation and at the same time the danger of the wildness that this island is, was really felt on these pages. The story got me invested in the beginning. But somewhere down the line, the twists and the turns just became too much. It felt almost disjointed, and if I really looked closer, there were holes in the plot. The reasoning for what was happening for the big twist felt like it was there for the shock value and not necessarily made sense as far as character goes. I felt so lost, just as the main character did when the big reveal happened. There were no clues for that. No backstory to the personality, etc. I felt cheated.

It was fast paced story, with a lot of interesting and necessary themes, dark themes (family abuse, sexual abuse, murder, drug use), but it had so much in one story, that nothing really stuck. The fact that the narrator is unreliable, and there's a heavy use of drugs and alcohol - not my favorite trope in all honesty.

All in all, I would recommend this if you're not nit picky with your thrillers. There's a lot going on, and the plot just keeps moving. But if in the end one will be satisfied with that ending? I was not.

The Pulse did it again! If y’all are not following the releases over at ThrillerBookLoversThePulse then you are absolutely missing out on some of the best thrillers to hit shelves in 2025.

Kati & her daughter Zoe have lived off the grid in a small town in Hawaii for the past two years - having fled an abusive husband. Kati has settled into her new life nicely, and is even engaged to a nice attorney named Eddie. One day while they’re hiking, Eddie goes missing. As more nefarious looking details emerge, the security net that Kati has built hiding her identity is at risk of coming undone.

As Eddie’s partner at the firm takes Kati and the case on for himself, Kati struggles with her hidden past and how much she needs to tell Eddie in order to clear her name while being able to remain safe. But when Zoe also goes missing, everything changes. Zoe has secrets too, and teenagers are not good at keeping secrets, usually.

Woah what a book! First of all, love the setting. We don’t get enough books set in Hawaii, do we? There’s so much potential for amazing tropical thrillers. In the Author’s Note, Douglas essentially writes a love letter to Hawaii, so I’ll be checking out his backlist and looking forward to more books in this beautiful but deadly location.

There were a lot of moving pieces here - hidden identity, on the run, small town, new relationship, strained parent/child relationship, police investigation…there was A LOT of room for error, but Douglas executed this pretty damn perfectly. There were twists that I absolutely never saw coming. Incredible. There are top tier manipulations and secrets going on throughout the entirety of this book, and I can’t recommend it enough!

I don’t typically love an attorney / detective angle in my thrillers, I almost always avoid them in favor of amateur detectives trying to clumsily solve their own loved ones' disappearances and murders, so I honestly did not expect to love this one as much as I did.

First book by Douglas, not my last!

This book has the ultimate unreliable narrator that will mess with your head and make you doubt everything! It’s a wildly confusing ride – up until the moment everything falls into pieces and makes sense.
With morally grey characters like the ones here, that’s an added layer of questioning things as you read it – I’d say this is the perfect read for those who want something more, more depth, and more substance, in their psych thriller and mystery reads.
And, yes, a twist that just sneaks up on you when you least expected one – that’s here also.

Started off as a bit of a slow burn but keeps the reader engaged and wanting to read more and get to the bottom of some burning questions. All in all good read and it did pick up the pace toward the last third of the book. Also did not see the twist coming!

Thank you @dougcorleone @netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kati Dawes and her daughter, Zoe, live off the grid in Hawaii. They've changed their names and maintain an anonymous online presence to stay safe. However, their lives take a turn when Kati's fiancé, Eddie Akana, disappears while hiking, putting Kati in the spotlight. As suspicions about her grow, Eddie's law partner, Noah Walker, works to shield Kati from the media and the authorities. Just when things escalate, Zoe goes missing too, prompting Kati to do whatever it takes to find her.

MY THOUGHTS: This was my first book by this author, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I began reading. The plot was intricately woven, almost resembling two or three interconnected storylines within a single narrative. I particularly enjoyed the Hawaiian setting, as I've traveled the Road to Hana and could fully appreciate the inherent dangers depicted. The story unfolds through the dual perspectives of mother and daughter, Kati and Zoe. I would categorize this narrative as a slow burn, with the action intensifying toward the end. Without revealing too much, I will say that readers can anticipate surprising twists, hidden motives, and a few unreliable characters throughout the journey.

What drew me to this book was the idea of a woman and her daughter living off grid in Hawaii, desperate to hide from their past. That secrecy is an important element of the plot, but the "off the grid" part really isn't. They could have just as easily been living in a regular neighboorhood. I loved the parts of the book that focused on the islands and the unique dangers they present, but that's only a small part of the book. There's a lot of unrelated drama and conflict that comes together to create a roller coaster of a plot.
What drew me to this book was the idea of a woman and her daughter living off grid in Hawaii, desperate to hide from their past. That secrecy is an important element of the plot, but the "off the grid" part really isn't. They could have just as easily been living in a regular neighboorhood. I loved the parts of the book that focused on the islands and the unique dangers they present, but that's only a small part of the book. There's a lot of unrelated drama and conflict that comes together to create a roller coaster of a plot.

Thank you @NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. The opinions are my own and freely given

Kati and her daughter Zoe move to Hawaii, fleeing an abusive husband. Kati has rebuilt her life and when her fiance goes missing, the authorities start looking into her.Kati turns to her fiance's law partner, Noah and then Zoe goes missing.

This was an action packed story. I kept wondering what else was Kati hiding from, but it comes out with a little shocking twist.

My friends at The Pulse can't stop talking about his book, and you will love it too!

Thank you to Douglas Corleone and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

“Falls to Pieces” has been getting a lot of great chatter with us at The Pulse - and I can see why! Although a bit of a slow-burn to start, once the pacing picked up, I was completely invested in this book! Our FMC, Kati, had a lot of her own secrets as she was running from her past. It was easy for me to empathize with her and become caught up in her story. The beautiful setting of Hawaii served as a lovely backdrop for this mystery. This was my first read by this author and I will definitely be checking out more!

“Falls to Pieces” releases February 18, 2025. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

I loved the twists upon twists in this book! I also really liked the way Hawaii was a kind of beloved character, in the way the author describes the land and the ways the human characters interact with the natural settings. Falls to Pieces is a fantastic suspense story. You’ll never guess what happens next!

Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone is a recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Two years ago Kati Dawes and her teenage daughter, Zoe, fled the east coast and started living under new names and off the grid in Hawaii. When Kati's fiancé, attorney Eddie Akana, disappears while they are hiking, she is a suspect. Kati is desperate to find Eddie because she can't have any media attention or photos of her publicized. Noah Walker, Eddie’s law partner, agrees to help her while Kati is the main suspect, but then Zoe disappears and Kati is frantic.

The novel, which is divided into three parts, starts out at an even pace as Kati is worried about finding Eddie and also concerned about hiding her real identity. There are switches in the narrative between Kati, Zoe's private thoughts, and flashbacks to the past they are running from. The pace takes off and explodes during the last part of the novel when the number of secrets and twisted ties between characters and the action increases.

It does feel like the story was being told rather than naturally developing during several sections of the narrative. Part of the novel also ties in a wide variety of different subjects and current buzz words while following several different trails. There are numerous twists at the end, some of which readers might have suspected and some were surprises.

I actually enjoyed the novel more at the beginning and my enjoyment lessened as I kept reading. It could be over the massive amount of disbelief that kept creeping into my thoughts while reading. 3.5
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

The Hawaiian setting was immersive and enjoyable as was the riveting, suspenseful plot. The story begins with Kati's fiancee going missing which grabbed my attention, especially with hints of Kati and her daughter Zoe having something to hide. I liked the pacing as the mystery of their past unravelled and other secrets and twists emerged in a complex web. Fans of crime thrillers will enjoy this book.

This one started off sucking me in but eventually it platarued right when it should have gotten better. Unfortunately this became a DNF for me with the lack of hustle in the main story and so much work in the back story.

Hi! Giving this a 3.5/5, rounded up. This one sucked me in from the very beginning. It was fast paced & twisty. I almost didn’t know who I was rooting for at times. I thought it was going one way & went completely off the rails.
I loved the Maui setting. I loved Kati & Zoe’s relationship, the dual timelines. The ending wasn’t my fave. The last 15% killed it for me. Just got kinda wild. Love MAC 🤍

I loved that the the story took place in Hawaii. I could clearly picture the beautiful setting. This book has a lot going on…As Kati tries to learn the truth about Eddie and Zoe’s disappearances, she finds out way more than she ever imagined! This book is filled with secrets, lies, deception, revenge, and a bunch of untrustworthy characters! There many twists and a few that I never saw coming. It is definitely a slow burn at the beginning but picks up in the middle and ends with some shocking revelations! This is the first book that I have read by this author, but look forward to reading more in the future!

A multi-faceted thriller set in Hawaii which touches on abuse, environmental issues, family dysfunction, and murder. The story had many twists and turns, some of which I found hard to keep track of. I found the plot a bit too involved and ended up skimming over parts. This one unfortunately didn’t work for me.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow…just wow!!! I absolutely devoured this book! I could not get my kindle to turn the page fast enough! What a thought out and well executed novel. The twists, in depth plot and character development is unlike any other. Plus the added bonus of being set in Hawaii. This was my first book by Douglas and I guarantee it won’t be the last!

This story doesn't hold back even from the very beginning. The reader is dropped right into the action and soon sees that some deeply held secrets complicate what might otherwise be a straightforward investigation. Past event have made it impossible for Kati to be completely honest, and her story holding up under their scrutiny all depends on her teen daughter's willingness to continue going along with it and back it up, so of course this all occurs right as daughter Zoe is showing a considerable amount of reluctance to keep living under an assumed name and history.
What is already a tension-filled plot only escalates from there, and the dynamics of the many complicated relationships, past and present, are made known page by page. But there are no red herrings here - each of these bits of information, as small as it may seem at the time, is critical to understanding the full story and how the various characters have found themselves in these predicaments. It all culminates in a metaphorical thunderstorm of an ending, with twist after twist coming before you've fully wrapped your head around the previous one that's just come to light. But besides the gorgeously depicted setting, and the flawed yet compelling characters, that is something that makes this book so memorable; when you have to stop for a moment and mentally pedal through what you've read so far, only to see there were hints that this was coming all along, you're first taken in by the striking (and satisfying!) conclusion to these tension-filled events and interactions, then later, upon further reflection once the book is complete, by the author's brilliance at having the skills to put it all together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy. This did not impact my review.

Everyone at @thrillerbookloversthepulse is raving about this upcoming thriller! Thank you for the gifted digital arc!

Kati Dawes and her daughter Zoe are living off the grid in Maui. When Kati’s fiancée disappears during a quick hiking trip, her past will come back to haunt her.

I loved the setting of this thriller with the gorgeous yet dangerous Hawaiian landscape depicted so vividly. The characters were all morally questionable and it was hard to know who to trust, but I never saw the shocking twists coming! The ending was so dark and thrilling, and definitely worth the slower build in the beginning.

Rating 4⭐️