⭐⭐⭐Arc Review⭐⭐⭐
Breakneck Bay by Faith Gardner
Release date: 24th July 2025

What would you do if the water park you and your husband worked at turned into a crime scene? Well Kit is about to find out. Breakneck Bay is already on a bad streak when a bloody crime scene is discovered.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book so it made getting into it a lot easier. I really like the dual POV every few chapters, Building the 'who is the killer' moments. Overall the main characters where likeable with a good background to keep you interested.

The author managed to integrate enough characters in the storyline, that at times I thought to myself ' yes it's them, they are guilty ' they infact where not. That's something I love in a good thriller, when the author manages to trick me into believing it was someone else entirely.

Thriller books are one of my favorites, but I am a sucker for a theme park based book, so this being a water park made me click apply for ARC so quickly. I think my only flaw was I hoped it would be based more in the water park itself, with maybe more of the murders happening there.

Overall I would recommend this to people who enjoy a thriller with some good story progression. I read this over 3 days so definitely one that can be binged if your a fast reader

Thank you as always to the author for the opportunity to be a Arc reader. Netgalley and Mirror house press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a honest review
Overall I gave this a 4 star rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I read the author's previous book, The Mirror Girls and really enjoyed it so I was excited to read this one, a mystery/thriller set at a water park, what could go wrong, right? We follow Kit and her husband Mitch who work at the park and a young female employee goes missing, Whispers around the park are that Kit's husband and the girl were "close" but she does not believe this until things start happening. Her troubled brother shows up and things take a turn for the worse as Kit tries to find out what happened to Gloria while trying to figure out what is going on with her husband. Told between her perspective and the killer's during different decades, it was an interesting read and I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.75 stars)

Thank you to the author for the ARC of Breakneck Bay! I really enjoyed this fast-paced, twisty thriller. The small-town setting mixed with secrets and suspense kept me turning the pages. Faith Gardner does a great job creating tension and building atmosphere, and I appreciated how the story kept me guessing.

While there were a few moments that felt slightly predictable, the pacing and emotional depth made up for it. I can definitely see this being a hit for fans of domestic thrillers and psychological suspense.

I’ll absolutely be reading more of Faith’s books—The Mirror House Girls was phenomenal, and Breakneck Bay has solidified her place on my must-read list!

Unfortunately this was not for me. I didn’t like the setting and felt there was a lot of unnecessary waffle detracting from the story. I’m not leaving a review for this one as I feel it would be unfair, I normally enjoy Faith Gardner but this one just missed the mark for me.

This novel definitely moved at a breakneck pace. There was a missing girl, a possible serial killer and a mysterious caller leaving ominous messages.

Kit and her husband Mitch work at Breakneck Bay, a waterpark that I would highly recommend avoiding. It is basically run by the teenagers who work there. There are very little safety measures minus ride at your own risk which leads to every type of injury imaginable that apparently only iodine and Band-Aids can fix. It reminded me of a waterpark where multiple Band-Aids might be floating past you on the lazy river, which I only know of in theory because that is one reason why I do not go to water parks… among other things. Waterpark phobias aside lets get back to the review…..Mitch arrives to work and realizes he can’t get into his office. He’s been locked out. Eventually the lock is picked and what he finds appears to look very much so like a murder scene. Mitch is suspect number one. In the midst of all of this a park employee has gone missing, could they be connected?

The pacing of the book does not let up and all the pieces came to a satisfying conclusion. However, it lacked the grit and depth that I was hoping for in this type of thriller. In my opinion, this read more of a popcorn thriller, and I think with the right expectation it will be highly enjoyable for most readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to get the ARC for this book. After reading two books by this author it’s safe to say I am loving her books. I really enjoyed reading this book, it had me hooked from the very first few chapters and throughout. I really enjoyed the little media snippets throughout which helped me fly through the chapters.

Breakneck Bay by Faith Gardner
I really enjoyed how this book was set in the 80’s. Being a child of that era and especially remembering going to the waterpark near our home then. (Makes me wonder more about the now defunct park now!)
Kit and Mitch are newlyweds. Kit decides to follow Mitch from California to his ‘summer’ job at Breakneck Bay, a wild & notorious water park he manages each summer. This is a totally different lifestyle than she’s used to and her eyes begin to question lots of things. Especially when one of the teenaged workers disappears and a few days later a bloody mess is found in Mitch’s office. Mitch is equally surprised and doesn’t understand what’s going on. Things don’t add up and Kit, his biggest supporter starts to question if she really knows the man she married.
I kept thinking the ending was gonna twist back around some way and end differently than what I was thinking but it didn’t. Still a very good read! Faith Gardner is beginning to become a new fave author. I especially appreciate her touch of wit and humor.

Thank you NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by this author and I was very surprised how much I enjoyed her writing style. I loved the turns this book took and although I saw most of them, I still enjoyed the execution. I wish there was more elements of the waterpark involved so that is why it was bumped down to a 4star for me.

A radical read!

Get ready to be transported to the 1980s in this action packed, wet and wild theme park thriller that will have you questioning absolutely everything and absolutely everyone.

Faith Gardner is already one of my favourite authors, having read all of her previous thrillers, so I was super excited to read Breakneck Bay. It did not disappoint!

Faith does an amazing job of sending us back to the 80s, from the language, clothing, music and the behaviours (hello, smoking in a hospital!). This book made me want to whip out a neon shirt and blast Prince on the boombox!

5 stars from me!

"I water you. You water me. We grow together." (Brendon Nembhard)

There's a definite water theme happenin' here. But in this case, all that watering promotes the growth of something dark and foreboding......like a serial killer with long gripping tentacles that will eventually find you. He's just programmed that way.

It's June of 1982 and the waterparks of America are open for business. Take Breakneck Bay that should have been closed down years ago for safety reasons.....but it's still up and running and so are the questionable people who work there.

Katherine "Kit" Blue and her husband, Mitch, are the main employees. Kit just moved permanently from L.A. to be with Mitch who manages the facility. Kit is now in charge of the First Aid section. Kit has no experience in the medical field except for knowing how to peel back a band-aid. It's hardly a lifetime profession, but she's crazy in love with Mitch.

In walks Rhonda, her seventeen year old assistant, who's wrapped up in tales of local lore of serial killers like the Green River Killer. Rhonda can creep you out in a nano second. But her stories soon begin to keep Kit on edge.

And then Faith Gardner works her magic with panoramic views into the life of "Hawk", a full-fledged serial killer with a blackbelt in heinous activities. Gardner keeps tipping the scales until we know that evil has found a place skirting around the backdrop of that waterpark. And Kit will know up front and personal. Three letters......RUN!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Mirror House Press and to the talented Faith Gardner for the opportunity.

Starting out this review by saying I love Faith’s dark lil mind and the stories that come out of it. This book was such a great summer thriller to read! I loved the inclusion of the water park in the setting. The reputation of the park and the owner made the atmosphere even more dark and sketchy.

I’m usually iffy about thrillers set around theme parks (wasn’t a fan of Wonderland or FantasticLand) but this one actually worked for me! It was fast paced and filled with thrills and suspense. I figured out how the story would play out early on but I still loved watching it all unravel. If you love dark and twisty psychological thrillers, this book would be perfect for your summer TBR!

Thank you NetGalley and Faith Gardner for the early read of Breakneck Bay! I am a big fan of Faith Gardner’s thrillers, and as usual this one was a quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you @netgalley for the ability to be an ARC reader. From the author of Mirrorhouse girls, comes another suspenseful thriller. The book is named breakneck bay after the waterpark the employees work at. The author sets the scenes as the book unfolds with what appears to be a very grizzly murder. The main character, Kit, is thrust into the middle of a nightmare where she finds her husband also in the middle of a nightmare. He ends up shot and she ends up trying to solve his “murder” because everyone else in town is so terribly incompetent that a teenager and a grieving wife seem to be able to dig up more dirt than the one cop in town.

Now you maybe wondering why I gave it four stars if I’m writing so negatively about the book…the book kept me in suspense. I could not put it down. I was hooked from the very first few pages. It is like the author hypnotized me, this also happened with mirrorhouse girls. Faith Gardner, you write some suspenseful books that I enjoy reading!! Thank you again for allowing me to be an Arc reader!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

This was the perfect way to kick off a dark, murder-filled summer (in books only, don’t worry). The waterpark setting was a cool and unique twist, inspired by real-life spots like Action Park and true crime cases like the Green River Killer. I always appreciate when a story pulls from reality because it makes the whole “could this actually happen?” question way more intense.

The mystery had me hooked from start to finish. I wasn’t totally sure who the killer was until pretty late in the game. Kit’s perspective really added something important here. Spouses of criminals often get painted as clueless or complicit, but Kit’s struggle with the idea that her husband might be a serial killer felt real and heartbreaking.

That said, I do wish the waterpark played a bigger role in the story. It mostly felt like a backdrop the characters visited now and then, rather than the central focus I was hoping for. The ‘80s vibe was strong and gave the book this fun, old-school campy feel that I really enjoyed.

The ending didn’t quite do it for me, but that’s probably just personal taste. Overall, I enjoyed Breakneck Bay and would recommend it to anyone who likes suspenseful domestic thrillers with a dark edge.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mirror House Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

4.25 Stars. This was about a woman who joins her husband to work at Breakneck Bay water park. A place where many lawsuits and shady business practices happen daily. One day they find blood and what appears to be a crime scene in her husband's office, sparking an investigation and a connection to a serial killer who takes a canine tooth from his victims. Most of the book we grapple with trying to guess who is the killer. I loved the setting of the book, the serial killer aspect and the guessing along the way. I rated this only 4 stars just based on the unanswered questions I still have, and the ending for me was a little lacking. Personally wish there were more twists revealed at the end. But overall I loved the storyline, the writing of the author was incredible and immersive. I would definitely read more from Faith in the future.
Thank you to Mirror House Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read a lot of this while floating around in my pool, and that's really the best way to read this fun thriller about a crazy waterpark. I will say I was expecting a lot more of the premise to be about the waterpark itself, but that did not take away from the enjoyment I ended up getting out of this book. A perfect summer read. An underwater ferris wheel? A serial killer with an awesome name? I would love to read more books set in this waterpark! This was a very enjoyable time!

Alright, let's talk about Faith Gardner's "Breakneck Bay" because, CANNONBALL!, this book was a vibe. Her writing style? Chef's kiss. Absolutely inhaled it. Seriously, trying to put this down felt like trying to stop eating chips once you've opened the bag–nearly impossible.

The story was so engaging, you'd think it had super glue on its pages. And the dual timelines from two perspectives? Kept me on the edge of my floatie, trying to figure out which twisty slide I was on next. Pure literary catnip. Heads up, though: one perspective dips into some potentially heavy stuff. Seriously, check those trigger warnings before you dive in. You wouldn't jump head first into an empty pool, would you?

My only minor complaints? The water park felt more like a pretty backdrop than a main attraction. I wanted a bit more splash, more questionable rides, maybe even a leaky pipe or two! And story was a bit to neatly wrapped up for my taste. I like my literary bows slightly untied, leaving a bit of chaos, not a perfectly ironed beach towel.But honestly? Those are just tiny ripples. Overall, I seriously dug this story. It was a refreshing splash of summer fun, and if you're looking for a read that's anything but a shallow end experience, grab this one.

Pub Date: July 24, 2025

4.25⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Mirror House Press and Faith Gardner for this advanced reader copy. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Chilling Mystery That’s Worth the Wait

This book had a slow start, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Once it picked up, the story really pulled me in and kept me engaged. While some of the twists were predictable, the overall plot was still compelling and enjoyable.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I’m already diving into The Mirror House Girls. If you enjoy stories about serial killers and mysteries that make you question everything — especially the people closest to you — this one’s for you. It’s a solid read for fans of psychological thrillers and dark mysteries.

I was super keen to read this book just by the look of the cover! I felt like the whole way through I was waiting for a heap of twists but never got them.
I felt like the authors writing was well done and I read the characters expressions really well.
I feel like it was lacking the intense thriller type vibe I usually go for.
I was a little confused at the end of the bonus.. I'm unsure who it was in the yoghurt shop.
3 ⭐️ for me.

My second ever copy of an ARC and this book was a nice easy dual POV read. I liked the setting of the waterpark and that it was in the 70s and 80s. <br /><br />The Hawk chapters which were told from the serial killers POV, really made the book in my opinion and were eerie and gave you those thriller vibes you seek when reading a thriller.<br /><br />The other POV is told from Kit who is trying to figure out the mystery of a missing employee when suspicion falls on her husband. <br /><br />A few of the twists I would say were a little predictable and far fetched but all in all it was a fun light hearted enjoyable thriller read. Thank you NetGalley 🫶
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/174943339-shannon-adlam">View all my reviews</a>