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The Breakdown: A Novel Paperback – May 22, 2018
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Finalist for the 2018 International Thriller Writers Best Hardcover Thriller Award!
Named One of the Most Anticipated Thriller Novels Of 2017 by Bustle!
THE NEW CHILLING, PROPULSIVE NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods. It was on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, and a woman was sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm, and she probably would have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. Not only that, her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home.
But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing. Where she left the car; if she took her pills; even the alarm code.
The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.
And the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMay 22, 2018
- Dimensions5.43 x 0.93 x 8.15 inches
- ISBN-101250179831
- ISBN-13978-1250179838
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A story with a ratcheting sense of unease ― a tale of friendship and love, sanity and the terrible unravelling of it.” ―USA Today
“B.A. Paris has done it again! The Breakdown is a page-turning thriller that will leave you questioning the family you love, the friends you trust, and even your own mind.” ―Wendy Walker, author of the USA Today bestselling novel All Is Not Forgotten
“In the same vein as the author’s acclaimed debut, Behind Closed Doors, this riveting psychological thriller pulls readers into an engrossing narrative in which every character is suspect. With its well-formed protagonists, snappy, authentic dialog, and clever and twisty plot, this is one not to miss.” ―Library Journal (starred)
“This psychological thriller is even harder to put down than Paris’ 2016 best-seller debut Behind Closed Doors; schedule reading time accordingly.… With two in a row, Paris moves directly to the thriller A-list.” ―Booklist (starred)
“British author Paris follows her bestselling debut, 2016’s Behind Closed Doors, with another first-rate psychological thriller.... Tension quickly builds to a crescendo as Cass’s fears...become palpable.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Behind Closed Doors
“Debut-novelist Paris adroitly toggles between the recent past and the present in building the suspense of Grace’s increasingly unbearable situation, as time becomes critical and her possible solutions narrow. This is one readers won’t be able to put down.” ―Booklist (starred review)
“Making her smash debut, Paris [keeps] the suspense level high. In the same vein as Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, this is a can’t-put-down psychological thriller.” ―Library Journal (starred review)
“This debut is guaranteed to haunt you ― especially if you’re about to tie the knot. Paris’s thriller asks the question: ‘The perfect marriage or the perfect lie?’ Jack and Grace, the couple at the center of this totally enthralling novel, are so clearly not what they seem you’ll have no choice but to read and read and read until their darkest secrets are revealed. Warning: brace yourself.” ―Bustle (10 New Thrillers to Read This Summer)
“A gripping domestic thriller…the sense of believability and terror that engulfs Behind Closed Doors doesn't waver.” ―The Associated Press, picked up by The Washington Post
“Behind Closed Doors takes a classic tale to a whole new level…This was one of the best and [most] terrifying psychological thrillers I have ever read…each chapter brings you further in, to the point where you feel how Grace must feel. The desperation, the feeling that no one will believe you and yet still wanting to fight because someone you care deeply about will get hurt.” ―San Francisco Book Review
“Paris grabs the reader from the beginning with a powerful and electrifying tale. Behind Closed Doors, a novel sure to make one's skin crawl, also reveals no one truly knows what does go on behind closed doors.”―New York Journal of Books
“Newlyweds Grace and Jack Angel seem to lead a perfect life in British author Paris’s gripping debut, but appearances can be deceiving...Grace’s terror is contagious, and Millie’s impending peril creates a ticking clock that propels this claustrophobic cat-and-mouse tale toward its grisly, gratifying conclusion.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A frighteningly cool portrait of a serious sadist, Behind Closed Doors is a gripping, claustrophobia-inducing thriller... Read at the risk of running from every handsome British lawyer who crosses your path.” ―Romantic Times
“This book proves that looks are most definitely deceiving...Disturbing, to say the least, readers will definitely be shaken as the story commences and they become immediately absorbed. The writing was incredible, and the pace is quick, offering up too many chills to count...Behind Closed Doors screams: ‘Stay single!’” ―Suspense Magazine
"This book just has to be huge in 2016. I flew through it in two breathless sittings. Quite simply: astounding." ―S.J.I. Holliday, author of Black Wood
"This outstanding debut novel will leave you breathless." ―Bella
"This one is 2016's answer to Gone Girl. Nuff said." ―Women's Health UK
"It took me just an afternoon to read this book and by the end, my heart was pounding. If you like fast and frantic stories, you'll love this." ―The Sun
"Behind Closed Doors is an intriguing, sharply gripping debut thriller." ―Lovereading.co.uk
"An utterly compelling journey through the darker side of the human psyche. Your blood will run cold but you won't be able to stop reading, I promise you that." ―Sarah Harper, Lovereading reviewer
"This has been one of my best reads EVER and will be huge in 2016. Congratulations to B A Paris on a remarkable debut book." ―Shelley Bennett, The Book Club member
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (May 22, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250179831
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250179838
- Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.43 x 0.93 x 8.15 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #14,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #449 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #776 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #2,108 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

B.A. Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back, The Dilemma and The Therapist. Having sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide, she is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller as well as a number one bestseller on Amazon and iBooks. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, and Film and TV rights to Behind Closed Doors have been optioned. She is currently based in the UK.
Follow B.A. on Twitter and Instagram at @baparisauthor. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and BookBub.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2017
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The next morning she is horrified to learn the news of the woman’s brutal murder. She feels so much guilt over not stopping, but she cannot tell her husband Matthew because she promised not to go that way. When she realizes that she knew the murdered woman, she is racked with guilt that is accompanied by tremendous anxiety. When her best friend Rachel calls she decides she will tell her over lunch. However, she is so overwrought because she forgot that she was supposed to be buying a group gift for another friend and has no idea what the gift was supposed to be, that she decides not to tell Rachel after all.
As she begins to forget more and more things she becomes fearful that she is experiencing Early Onset Dementia like her mother, who was diagnosed at age 44. As her anxiety grows, so does her fear and then she starts receiving phone calls with no one speaking on the other end. Terror floods her mind as she believes that the killer must have seen her that night in the woods and is now out to get her.
The fear, anxiety, and forgetfulness begins to worry Matthew and he insists she go to a doctor. The doctor gives her medicine for anxiety, and, although the pills help, they keep her knocked out most of the time and she can barely function. However, not taking them leads to a breakdown. Will she ever find out who is calling her? And is she really going crazy? Or is someone out to harm her or make her harm herself?
Having read and loved B.A. Paris‘ Behind Closed Doors (click the link for that review) I was very excited when this book came out. When it finally made it to the top of my TBR pile, I was eager to get into it. My excitement abated a bit when I did not immediately click with Cass. I liked her, but she just wasn’t a friendly person to me. I listened on, believing that I would come to like her more, and I did a little and I felt somewhat sorry for her. The story is really good, even though I didn’t love Cass and didn’t really like her husband Matthew, either. I did like her friend Rachel, however.
I wanted Cass to own up to someone about why she felt so guilty about the murdered woman, just wanted her to tell someone what she saw on the road and why she was afraid the murderer would target her. The story was really good and the twist at the end did shock me a little because I thought I had it figured out, but I had somewhat missed the mark. I really like how it ended and I came to really like Cass when she finally took control of her own destiny and stopped wallowing in self-doubt and self-pity.
B.A. Paris has another book, Bring Me Back, coming in June of 2018 and it is one that I will look forward to reading as I truly enjoy her writing style and her twists that keep you a little off-balance. I also hope that Georgia Maguire is the narrator for the next one as she beautifully narrated both Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown. Her voice is very appealing and she gives the characters an air of dignity that I really like.
As recommendations go, if you haven’t read anything by B.A. Paris, I suggest you start with Behind Closed Doors and then read The Breakdown. I liked this one, but I loved the first one and I am looking forward to the next one. Note: These are all stand-alone books, they are not a series.
That all said, the writing is well done, the story is pretty interesting, I was just frustrated by how the MC is just so scared to talk to anyone. I get that she lost a lot of people in her life and is afraid of losing more, but still. It seems obvious to me that this one of the author's first novels. (I think she mentioned this was her second or third book? in the short interview at the end of the audiobook.)
The main character is Cass. She's a teacher and a recently married woman who after meeting some of her friends for a night out decides to take a shorter but darker pathway to get to her home. She's traveling at night and during a heavy storm. The storm is scaring her and it doesn't help that her husband told her not to take the shortcut because it could be dangerous at night. Soon after, she almost loses control of her car to avoid crashing into a parked car on the road. A woman is in the car. Cass is afraid it might be a way to entice her to get out of her car and then get attacked. After a few minutes of waiting to see if the woman comes asking for help, Cass drives away. The next morning she learns a woman has been found dead just a few miles away from her home. She, later on, learns the woman was murdered and it's the same woman she encountered on that dark and stormy night. What makes it even more disturbing is that she had met the victim, Jane, a couple of weeks back and they had clicked as friends.
Cass is overwhelmed with guilt because she forgot to call someone to tell them a woman was stranded on the road and later, she decides not to contact the police about what she knows because she feels ashamed. Cass can't stop playing scenarios in her head. She could have helped Jane or maybe the murderer could have killed them both. Her guilt festers and becomes unbearable. It also coincides with Cass having short term memory issues. At first is just something inconsequential like forgetting her purse but soon she's forgetting she has invited friends over or she's buying things she can't remember purchasing. She's terrified she has developed early onset dementia, just like her mother did.
The Breakdown is entertaining and suspenseful. Cass is engulfed with guilt and shame over not helping Jane on that frightful night. She's the perfect candidate to be manipulated. It was easy to guess who was manipulating her and the why but I still found myself absorbed by the plot. The last third of the book was the best and I was happy with the course of events.
So what part didn't I like? It involves a new pet peeve of mine. I've seen this in multiple thrillers I read recently. It involves the lack of common sense against calling the police early on. Why wait so long? Want to get murdered before the bad guys are discovered? No, then call the cops!!!
Anyway, I'm happy to report that The Breakdown is going in my yes thriller column.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 25, 2021

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