Oh Alice, bless your heart, you are in for a ride. Alice is hosting a small play date at her home when an intruder breaks in. When he heads toward where the children are playing, Alice fatally wounds him. But this is just the beginning. Multiple viewpoints and very twisty, we follow the breadcrumbs as Alice tries to figure out exactly why the intruder was at her house in the first place. This was a solid thriller - suspenseful with reveals spread evenly through out the book. It’s a little long, but it’s still a quick read. And the cover is fantastic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

I have absolutely LOVED Katherine Faulkner’s last two books and I was so excited to receive an ARC of The Break-In! This book was messy the best way and my head is still spinning from all the secrets and lies. The dual POV was perfection and I loved the subtle (and not so subtle) ties to all the characters. While there were a lot of characters to keep track of, I had no issue picking up who was who. Katherine Faulkner is on a ROLL and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!!

The Break-In is hitting shelves August 26th making this the perfect read jumping into fall!

A run-of-the-mill break in, a concerned and devoted husband, what could possibly go wrong?
Sometimes a thriller can have so many twists that it gets a bit clunky and convoluted. That was certainly not the case with this one. While I felt like I was getting whiplash with all of the twists that were happening, it flowed so perfectly and none of it felt too over the top. There was only one twist that I actually saw coming and everything else was so shocking that I didn't even care about that one part happening the way I thought it would.
The FMC, Alice, makes such outrageous decisions at times that I honestly debated whether it was poor writing but then I realized, I have never been in her situation and don’t know how I would react so it was actually brilliantly having me question my own sanity!
There were a few chapters in the middle that did drag a bit so that's the reason for the 4 stars and not 5 but the second half was so quickly paced and I didn’t want to put it down.
Would recommend for fans of:
Domestic thrillers
Juicy, twisty plots
Questionable FMC decisions
Revenge

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery books and Katherine Faulkner for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical shelf trophy!

Wow! The first half feels like a completely different book than the second half - and not entirely in a bad way. The first part is about a woman’s reaction to a very traumatic break-in, and the second half, well… there are lots of twists & turns!

I enjoyed - and couldn’t quite put down - the latter half, since a lot of details
come together and resolve in a fairly satisfying way. However, I couldn’t help but think that it would’ve been a bit better to pace it so the first half didn’t drag so much.

Regardless, I’d recommend to any thriller fan. You are definitely in for a ride! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book hooked me from page one to the point where any obligation or responsibility that took me away from the story was annoying! Everyone in the book is suspicious, I could not trust a single person in this story. While the main character made some questionable choices, there was a perfect amount of suspense and tension to keep me wondering how this was all going to play out. Definitely my favorite from this author so far, a juicy and intricate mystery that kept me guessing the whole time.

3.5 Rounded up to 4 Stars

I looked forward to reading The Break-In since I'd enjoyed Katherine Faulkner's previous release The Other Mothers. The Break-In is well-written, has good twists and turns, and enough red herrings to pepper the mystery with surprises.

This reviewer would have rated the novel a solid four stars if the protagonist, Alice, hadn't made poor judgement calls throughout most of the story. At the opening of the book, she has the absolute right to fend off a home intruder. But her decision- making afterward is so flawed I almost stopped reading. However, in order to provide a fair review, I finished the book. I'm pleased to say that despite my misgivings the author ties up all the loose ends and gives readers a satisfying conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an advance copy of the book to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews.com at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

ARC Book Review: The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Releases August 26,2025

Imagine hosting a playdate and by the end of the day, you’ve killed an intruder. That’s how this twisty thriller kicks off—and it does not slow down from there.

I was hooked from the first chapter. The tension, the secrets, the “can I even trust my own husband?” vibes, it gave me everything I love in a thriller. This book had me guessing the whole time.

Thank you @netgalley for this opportunity!

The Break-in by Katherine Faulkner is a captivating thriller that starts off with the main character, Alice, trying to come to terms with murdering a young man who broke into her house. And it all unravels from there. There are plenty of secrets to discover and twists to keep the reader interested. It did get a bit farfetched at times and Alice's choices seemed completely illogical, but overall this was a great, quick read.

Rounded up to 3.5 stars

A quick domestic thriller with good pacing.. I have to remind myself that when stories take place in Europe, there are different laws than in the U.S., so some parts were frustrating to me. I questioned some of Alice’s decisions (without mentioning a spoiler, I would just stay away). While I found some of the characters quite unlikable, I was entertained from beginning to end. There are quite a few things going on with all the characters, but everything connects and ties in by the ending.

3.5 stars. An enjoyable mystery/thriller for the most part. There were several key moments where the protagonist made really bizarre choices (like violating the terms of her bail and lying to the decedent’s family), but I also have never been in a position like hers so who am I to say? I also felt the very last twist pushed the story from neatly done thriller to unbelievable rollercoaster.

I was hooked from the beginning. the story line was different and strung you along with the perfect amount of suspense to keep you guessing so you didn't get bored. I really though the story flowed and the characters were well put together.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book consumed me from start to finish. The plot is so juicy and good and everything is fast paced. I was questioning everything and refusing to trust some characters in this book. What I thought would be a book about coming to terms with the choice Alice made to protect her family, quickly turned into a thriller that put me on the edge of my seat. I loved Alice’s character and could relate to her a lot. This book is one you can enjoy in a weekend or even a day.

The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner turned out to be one of the most enjoyable domestic thrillers I've ever read, even though Alice made some brazenly, outrageously stupid decisions that had me wanting to shake her. Also, I hate the term "domestic thriller," it feels dismissive somehow? But I am not sure what else to call this genre? Anyway. When Alice kills an intruder in self-defense during a playdate at her London home, she can't let go of the incident despite everyone telling her to move on, especially after strange phone calls and online comments suggest there's more to the story than a random break-in. This hooked me from the first page and I found myself very resentful and grumpy every time I had to put it down! The plot twists did get a little convoluted as Alice digs deeper into who the intruder really was and why he targeted her house, but nothing that didn't make sense, which I really appreciated. Sometimes I'll finish a mystery with a dazed sense of "what just happened here?" but I never got that from The Break-In. Faulkner manages to keep all the threads coherent even as the revelations pile up, and while Alice's choices often made me cringe, I was too wrapped up in the mystery to get derailed by her mind-boggling behavior.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Rounded up from 3/12 🌟 Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have enjoyed Faulkner’s thrillers in the past. All her books are social commentaries where she has a lot to say about modern motherhood and economic inequality. These themes pop up in The Break In, but here, I think Faulkner bit off a bit more than she could chew.

Alice and her husband and young daughter live in a gentrified area of London. One day she is having a playdate with some other local moms (while they drink champagne and her nanny watches the children 😒). A teenager suddenly breaks into her house, swearing and brandishing a knife. Alice kills him in self-defense, and, in doing so, secrets begin to unravel. Which leads her to wonder: actually happened the night of the break in?

As a mom, many of the passages in this story hit me right where it’s uncomfortable. Faulkner has a knack for stating the ugly things that mothers are never supposed to voice out loud. I like how her novels are timely and use different formats like news articles and social media posts. However, I found the pacing to be quite slow. I guessed a few of the twists, some of them very early on. The plot also got bogged down by lots of characters and multiple POVS. By the end of the book I felt like the meme from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia of Charlie smoking a cigarette strung out in front of a cork board with red strings. Yes, all the strings did align eventually…but in a complicated and at times hard-to-follow manner.

While it dragged a bit for me, I did enjoy this thriller. Fans of Lisa Jewell should take note!

Alice defends her family against an intruder and accidentally kills him. She gets strange phone calls that make her believe this wasn’t a random break in and that they were being targeted. Alice then starts looking into the boys family and unravels a web full of lies involving strangers and those closet to her. This was an incredible read. There were so many twists and jaw dropping moments. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. I thought the story was well written and loved the different characters points of views.

The Break-In had me hooked from page one!

The book was full of so much escalating suspense and tension, I couldn't put it down. I read the entire book (which apparently is 400 pages - definitely did not feel that long) in one sitting. The pacing was excellent and I didn't find myself bored at any point when reading it. The twists kept coming and each time I thought I figured it out, I didn't. The one flaw to me was the ending, it was so over-explained that it seemed repetitive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Omg omg the twist and turns in this book are amazing. You think you know who is doing what but you have no clue. The writting and characters were amazing. You will get to the end and not want it to finish

Katherine Faulkner does it again in “The Break-In”. The premise is straightforward- Alice was at home happily entertaining when someone breaks in and she’s forced to take drastic action to keep the children safe. However, that’s the only straightforward part of this story. Secrets, lies, and mysteries abound as Alice, attempting to put her life back together, seeks out why a stranger would invade her home. People think she’s crazy and should just let it go, but how can she? Told in past and present part, the twists of this tale slowly unravel- and even the parts you could have guessed play out differently than you would expect.
This story is a perfect slow burn and summer read. Other than Alice’s child being a little annoying in the beginning and a little stereotypical hysterical woman spiel from her friends, this book is a great read and will surprise you along the way. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was my first Katherine Faulkner book and I was impressed! Alice suffers from guilt after killing a home intruder and, eventually after some odd circumstance, she launches her own investigation into who this man was and why he was there.

I took one star off because some parts of the book were a little slow and could use some editing, but otherwise this was a top-notch suspense read.

Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

Faulkner specializes in domestic suspense plots that could happen to anyone, and The Break-In continues this streak. Her story is completely grounded in setting and character. While the plot goes off the rails a bit at the end, the book is still a great read.