Alice accidentally kills a young man that breaks into her home while she and some friends are having a playdate for their kids, but this story goes beyond just a break in.

The way the characters lives intertwine from this one incident proves to be an unfortunate tangle of lies and deceit. There’s plot twist after plot twist and frankly I was never prepared for any.

Even though it’s a bit of a slow start, once the plot settles it’s very hard to put down. I honestly cannot believe how the author was able to tie up any loose ends in this story so neatly, making for a compelling and satisfying story.

It also sheds light on important issues of the power imbalance in work place relationships and how men sometimes use this to take advantage of vulnerable women.

My only qualm is that the protagonist is painfully annoying, but I guess she serves as a cautionary tale for women. Excited to read more from Katherine Faulkner!

This is the second book of this author that I have read and enjoyed! It captured my attention from the beginning. I could certainly relate to the main character who did not simply want to put the incident behind her, as her husband and friends encouraged her to do. Very well done. .

Goodness gracious, what a twisted twisty thriller! Alice, her husband Jamie and their young daughter Martha lived in an upscale neighbourhood and by all appearances had a happy life. They even had a beloved nanny. However, we don't always know what goes on behind closed doors and can't control what happens on social media. The reverie was broken one evening when a male intruder brandished a knife with children in the house. Alice's maternal instinct leapt into action and she killed him in self defense. But that's just the beginning. Alice's guilt and fear prodded her every second but she knew something more sinister was at play. Why was her family the target? She began making inquiries and poor choices and inveigles her way into the male's family circle. What she finds took her breath away. Mine, too. The layers of deceit and drama were like an endless knotted ball of yarn. One skein led to another. And another. Even her dream job as an art restorer unraveled. A once-nice neighbourhood turned into suspicious cesspit.

The art restoration details are fascinating. I really liked the nonstop twists and the pacing which started out slowly but picked up and ended in a crescendo. The multiple perspectives are written well and the story itself is gripping. Most characters are despicable but a few had redeeming qualities. Sort of. Parts of the story are implausible and over the top but contribute to one really creepy crawly story which is sometimes exactly what we need!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Well, I, for one, feel emotionally manipulated after finishing Katherine Faulkner's latest novel. I couldn't sleep after closing my book last night. I tossed and turned and couldn't believe how wound up I was about a bunch of fictional characters.

This novel does have perspectives from various characters, but Alice is our main narrator. As the story opens, Alice is being viciously attacked on social media because of a recent break-in to her home, which resulted in the death of a teenage boy. While her husband, friends, and lawyer feel strongly that the investigation will find that Alice did the right thing. The mother of one feels so much guilt and wonders why their house was selected. Alice just cannot let it go, and she makes decisions that raise eyebrows, yet keep a reader flipping the pages.

The story is distracted by different threads that eventually will all come together, but they did manage to keep me wondering where the author was going with it all. Some characters raise red flags- the nanny, the new mom friend, the mother and sister of the deceased, but Alice herself doesn't always pick up on it. Even little daughter Martha is giving side eye and wincing at how clueless her mama is. Still, I stuck around with Alice and saw this thing to the end.


AWWWWWWW( me screaming into my pillow). How dare you, Katherine Faulkner? Leave me all twisted and in turmoil. Who is the BAD person? Who is the GOOD person? Why, oh, why do you torment me and all the other people who will read this book? I don't want to spoil it for anyone else, but why have you left me with all these ethical internal debates?


So, after all this, I have to ask you.... When's your next book coming out? 😜



Expected Publication 26/08/25
Goodreads Review 12/08/25

This is a smart, compelling domestic thriller with a slow-burn beginning that builds into a well-paced, tightly woven story full of tension and psychological twists. The opening lingers on atmosphere and character, but once the plot begins to turn, it grips you completely. Faulkner is especially skilled at red herrings and keeping readers psychologically off-balance—constantly shifting their sense of what’s real, who to trust, and what actually happened. The writing is sharp, the emotional layers feel authentic, and the suspense intensifies with each chapter. A satisfying and cleverly constructed read, perfect for fans of thoughtful, character-driven suspense.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada | Simon & Schuster for this ARC. This is my honest review.

In the mood for a dark and twisty tale of scandal and nasty behaviour? Then this is the book for you! This was not my first read by Katherine Faulkner so I knew I was in for a compelling, gripping read from the onset. The characters in this book do not install any faith in humanity so if that's what you are looking for, do not read this. I did enjoy the different POVs and the fast pace but have to confess I wasn't at all surprised by the ending - it was pretty obvious to me from the onset and the last 1/3 of the book seemed to take forever to wrap up the storyline. That said, I was committed to the end and will definitely read more by Katherine Faulkner as I really appreciate the "journalistic flair" she takes with her novels. Thank you to Katherine Faulkner, Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing an Arc. 3.5 stars rounded UP! Enjoy the RIDE!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Break-In releases August 26, 2025

Alice, a wealthy mother living in London, kills an intruder in self-defense while hosting a playdate. But Alice is unable to put this tragedy behind her, especially now that everyone around her acting strange, so she becomes intent on learning more about the teen she killed and his motives for breaking into her home.

I’m so bummed that this suburban thriller didn’t work for me. Even with the use of multiple character pov’s and mixed media, the plot was severely lacking in suspense and the pacing wasn’t urgent enough to hold my attention.

cw: infidelity, Huntington’s, cancer

🤯 M A N I C M O N D A Y review 🤯 featuring “The Break In” by Katherine Faulkner!

One night when hosting a playdate with her friends and their kids, Alice unexpectedly stares danger right in the face. As the ladies drink wine while the nanny watches a movie with the kids in the next room over, a disturbed man breaks into her home! Overcome with fear, Alice panics and hits the man over the head with a bar stool. The man ends up dying from the hit and eventually Alice gets excused from any criminal charges once the case gets ruled to have been self defence!

Alice tries to move on from the traumatic break in, but she has a lot of questions and feels guilty for killing the intruder. She is desperate to find out more about him and why her house was targeted. As she digs for information that reveal secrets that hit closer to home than she could ever imagine, Alice starts to downward spiral as her entire life unravels and she has no one she can fully trust.

💭 Talk about TWISTED!! This book made me feel delusional at times and unsure what to believe was real or an illusion fuelled by anxiety or trauma. I enjoyed how the story line flip flopped between after the break in, the actual day of the break in and then what happens in present time. There is so much more to the story than just a random break in and I loved how the plot took a dramatic turn when I least expected it!

Thank you kindly to @katherinefaulknerwrites @simonschusterca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 26, 2025!

I received a complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are mine.

What a thrilling read? The book follows Alice who did what could possibly be argued as a mother’s act of love. She kills a man that breaks into her home but everything is not what it seems. This is a well written thriller where you cannot trust anyone and what you know you don’t.

Actual rating:3.5

This one had a solid plot. I found the main character a bit implausible in her actions and I felt this book could have had a bit more action. This was really centered around one event and the rest was fairly passive. The writing was great. It was overall a good read. Just more of a slower burn.

This was a wild ride . Katherine is one my go to Authors , her books pack thrills secrets and scandal . This was one of my most anticipated reads and it didn’t disappoint! Loved .

I am a huge Katherine Faulkner fan and I fully believe this is her at her best! I was hooked from page one and finished this within 24 hours.

Alice, a professional mother of one, is hosting a playdate with friends at her upscale London home when a disturbed man breaks in. With her child in the next room, Alice panics and kills him--an act later ruled to have been in self-defense.
Everyone tries to encourage Alice to move on with her life--but with strange comments appearing online, a mysterious phone call telling her all is not as it seems, and her husband, nanny, and friends behaving strangely, Alice finds herself drawn to the mystery of who her intruder really was. As she digs deeper, she discovers a trail of dark secrets that spiral closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

The break in; that’s alluded to in the title; happens on page one and while after that the story becomes a bit of a slow burn; not once did I get bored or lose interest. There’s a large cast of characters and each povs provide a new shadow of doubt and/or twist. Again; nothing is overwhelming or confusing, just highly entertaining. Some things I figured out and others i definitely didn’t. While this story has ALOT going on I really believe this is the only book I’ve read that the author has an explanation for everything.

I highly highly highly recommend

A Masterfully Woven Mystery That Keeps You Guessing

Few mysteries achieve the level of intricacy and suspense found in Katherine Faulkner’s cleverly constructed novel. Told through multiple perspectives, The Break-In unfolds like a puzzle, with each character offering their own version of events. I was left constantly questioning who could be trusted. Just when I thought I’d pieced it all together, new revelations shifted the narrative, which made every detail feel purposeful and deliberate.

The brilliance of The Break-In lies in its ability to seamlessly weave disparate threads into a cohesive and satisfying conclusion. Every subplot and every clue is carefully planted and expertly revealed By Faulkner. As a result, the ending culminates in a way that feels both surprising and inevitable. It’s the kind of mystery that lingers in my thoughts long after the final page!

If you're a fan of intricate storytelling and deceptive characters, The Break-In is a must-read!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This starts with a section narrating the aftermath of a break-in at Alice's home. A young man wielding a knife (Ezra) threatens the safety of her daughter, and Alice crashes a stool over his head. Ezra dies and Alice feels enormous guilt, but eventually the police determine that she acted in self-defence. Alice's guilt leads her to seek out Ezra's mother Linda, but she does not explain who she is. This section was slow and overly long.

Then the narrative starts to jump around in time and there are chapters from the perspectives of people like Stella, a journalist friend who was present at the time of the break-in; Linda; Becca, Alice's nanny; Jade, Ezra's twin and so on. I found the middle section intriguing, although Alice spent the whole time acting so foolishly I wanted to shout out to her (e.g. 'don't leave a cup of coffee unattended next to that Vermeer!'). I never really felt I understood Alice, and none of her relationships rang true.

The final third was so twisty and turny and devious that it was a little mind-boggling. An entertaining read, but it won't stay with me.