The Breakdown

B. A. Paris is a master at this! At scaring me, I mean. At making me second – and third – and fourth – guess. The Breakdown is the second book I’ve read by B. A. Paris, and it’s just as exciting as Behind Closed Doors.

The story starts on a rainy night, when Cass takes the shortcut home through the woods, even though her husband has warned that it could be dangerous. With just minutes left until she’s at their house, she sees a car stopped on the side of the road with a woman sitting alone inside. Has the car broken down? Does she need help? Cass waits for a moment, but as the rain crashes down, she soon continues on. When the news reports the next morning that a woman was killed in the woods, Cass can’t stop thinking about show more it. Pained by guilt, she has been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code to the house. What she can’t forget is the woman she might have saved. . .and that maybe the killer saw her. Then the silent phone calls start, and the feeling that someone is watching her.

The Breakdown just grabs you and won’t let go. It starts out with Cass agonizing over what she could have or should have done differently. Then she starts losing control, forgetting things and seeming more and more agitated confused. And then the phone calls start, and she obsesses over them. She’s sure someone is watching her and that she is in danger, but no one will believe her. They are concerned and worried about her, but they don’t believe her, and she can’t bring herself to tell them about leaving the woman in the woods. And the more confused Cass gets the harder it is for her to even believe herself.

At some point I almost stopped caring about what happens next, it just has to happen soon because I can’t stand the suspense. It’s not a contest or brain exercise about whether I’m right or smart enough to figure it out. It’s a thrill ride. And a thrill ride it is, like the carousel in the movies that goes out of control, spinning faster and faster. Stop! Or throw all the people off. Just make it stop spinning because I can’t stand not knowing. I want to see somebody get caught, find out who is doing this. But if someone is doing this to Cass and it’s not just her imagination, then that is almost too awful to imagine. How could someone be so cruel, so evil? What has she done to deserve it? And at what point will they stop?

The story is fast-paced, easy to read, and hard to put down. The characters are likeable, or almost likeable, or maybe they just fit in so well you don’t even pay much attention. They are just there, part of her life, and why would they want to see Cass come to harm. So whom can Cass trust? Or is the she paranoid one? At times I thought of the movies Midnight Lace or Notorious, and then thought no, can’t be like that, wait, is it, yes, no . . . back and forth right up until the end.

The issue of the breakdown itself and her actions, without any sinister happenings (or imaginings) is another fright all unto itself. Who among us hasn’t done or not done something that we instantly regret, but there is no way to absolve ourselves without exposing just how horrible we are. And we can’t make this situation right, ever. We are guilty and there’s no way to rid ourselves of the guilt.

As with Behind Closed Doors, it’s almost impossible to say much about this story without spoilers. So suffice it to say I was engaged from start to finish. A very satisfying read with the perfect ending. When I put the book down I had a smile on my face and said, “Yes!” And once again I eagerly await the next book from B. A. Paris. show less

I was very excited to see another BA Paris book hot on the heels of the fabulous Behind Closed Doors, so no sooner had The Breakdown hit my kindle than I started reading it. I did wonder if the bar had been set too high with Behind Closed Doors being such an outstanding debut, but I'm delighted to say that I am not disappointed and think that The Breakdown is as good as, if not better than, Behind Closed Doors.

At the beginning, Cass seems like a normal happily married woman with her head screwed on. Driving home one evening in torrential rain, she takes a short cut home and sees a car pulled into a layby. Her first reaction is to stop and see if the driver needs some help so she pulls in front of the car, seeing a woman looking at her show more as she does so. Sensibly, Cass has second thoughts and considers that this could be a carjacking trick, so when the woman doesn't show any signs of needing help Cass continues her drive home. The next day the news headlines report that a woman has been murdered. The same woman that Cass saw the previous night. As if her guilt wasn't bad enough, she realises that she knew the woman.

Cass then seems to unravel, thinking that the murderer is out to get her when she starts to get sinister but silent phone calls. She worries that, like her mother, she has early onset dementia and certainly everything that is happening seems to point in that direction. My heart really went out to her when she started to forget things and then when she turns to medication which all but knock her out she became even more vulnerable. The confusion was oozing out of the pages and I've read enough books to know that nothing is ever quite what it seems, but I would never have imagined the book turning out like it did.

With a conclusion that certainly kicks ass, The Breakdown is a story balanced on a knife edge and one false move could result in an early bath for any of the main characters. I had to hold myself back from pumping the air and shouting 'Girl Power' as I turned the final pages. Definitely one I'd recommend reading, The Breakdown is an easy 5 out of 5 rating from me.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris is a 2017 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Masterful and frightening tale of suspense-

It was a dark and stormy night…

No matter how cliched that sounds, nothing sets the atmosphere and tone quite like a stormy night on dark and desolate highway.

Now imagine seeing a stranded motorist, waffling on the decision to stop and offer assistance or pass on by, then ultimately deciding it was safer to drive on past, especially since the driver didn’t appear to be injured and did not indicate they wanted help.

Then imagine hearing that the person you left all alone on the side of the road was murdered. If you had stopped, would that person still be alive?

Cass had promised her husband, she would avoid taking the show more shortcut that night, but changed her mind. Knowing he would be furious with her for taking such a risk, and feeling like a horrible human being for ignoring the driver, she never tells anyone what she witnessed.

She can’t stop dwelling on it, though, and the guilt nearly eats her alive. But, Cass has other issues to contend with as well. She has begun to experience some serious memory lapses. With her family history, this is especially troubling.

But, for the reader, it’s a huge red flag. Does Cass have vital information locked inside her mind that could finger a killer? Well, someone is worried about Cass, because soon after the murder, she begins receiving menacing phone calls she perceives as threatening.

To cap it all off, people are having a hard time taking Cass seriously after a series of baffling occurrences have her family and friends convinced she has early onset dementia.

Unsure of her own sanity, Cass begins a slow downward spiral, fighting her losing battle with memory loss, but determined to avenge the death of the woman whose life she feels responsible for.

Anyone who has read the runaway hit ‘Behind Closed Doors’, has probably been looking forward, with great anticipation, to the second novel by this author. Expectations were high, and the excitement about the book was palpable.

But, I decided to take a more cautionary approach, concerned that the book might suffer from the dreaded ‘second book hangover’.

But, I needn’t have worried. This book might not have had the same, ‘I can’t bear to watch”, edge to it, but it definitely sucked me in and kept me glued to the pages.

I think we have all heard those stories about stopping to help a stranger whose car has broken down. It’s the perfect setup for serial killers looking for their next victim, and has been the opening for countless eerie ghost stories. As badly as you might feel for the person, would you risk your life on a dark, lonely highway in the middle of a storm, with no cell service?

The other major theme is dementia. What a horrible realization it must be to discover you are, for all intents and purposes, losing your mind. If this insidious disease runs in your family, any tiny misplaced item or forgotten appointment could trigger alarm bells.

Playing on real fears and putting the reader inside the mind of a person living through those scenarios allows us to feel their confusion, experience their doubt, and understand their anguish. But, of course, we all know, there is something truly ominous brewing, and it is not clear who can be trusted, even Cass- or especially Cass.

I picked up on a few obvious clues along the way and pieced together a close enough guess as to what might be going on, but I enjoyed watching it play out, and was satisfied by the way it was all wrapped up in the end.

The concept is not original, and has been done often enough and notoriously enough, its format has gone down in pop culture history. However, the author did a fine job of modernizing a classic and ever effective plotline.

No, this book is not exactly like the author's debut novel, but it stands on its own merits and was a very solid psychological thriller in its own right.

4 stars show less

I loved B A Paris's first book, Behind Closed Doors, which made a huge splash and had everybody talking about it. The Breakdown is that tricky second novel and following up Behind Closed Doors was always going to be hard but I'm pleased to say that I found The Breakdown just as much of a page turner.

This is Cass Anderson's story, told in the first person which means that the reader never quite knows whether Cass's account of events can be trusted or not. Having had a mother with early onset dementia, when Cass starts to forget things she wonders if she is going to have the same condition. Husband Matthew and best friend Rachel are rocks for her as she wonders if she is going mad after learning she was in a lay-by at the same time as a show more local woman who was murdered there. Suddenly her world is turned upside down and paranoia takes over.

This is such an atmospheric, clever and claustrophobic novel. When reading it in bed at night I was genuinely freaked out and I found the whole thing terrifying at times. The Breakdown is such a clever title as it has more than one meaning within the context of the story. Just as terrifying as anything else is the way that Cass is forgetting things like how to do the most basic of tasks. Her confusion and fear is put across perfectly to the reader.

When the big reveals came my heart was racing. It wasn't so much that it was a huge surprise, more that there was such a sense of menace about the whole book that I was feeling quite het up as I hurtled towards the conclusion.

I don't know how B A Paris does it but she manages to create these page turners that keep me reading long after I should have put it down and gone to sleep. The Breakdown is highly recommended by me and is right up there with the best of the psychological thrillers. show less

Contemporary fiction mystery/thriller about a woman, Cass, who encounters another woman in a car on a stormy night while taking a short cut home. The next day she discovers the woman in the car had been murdered and is filled with guilt that she might have somehow have prevented her death. She is also dealing with forgetfulness and worries that she, like her late mother, is afflicted with early onset dementia. I found it extremely engrossing and flew through it. I thought the author did a great job of depicting what it might be like to feel the paranoia of being stalked by a murderer. The language was direct and there were a few coincidences and unnecessary repetition, but overall, I liked it. Recommended to those that enjoy show more psychological thrillers. show less

I read B.A. Paris' first book, Behind Closed Doors which was excellent so I was excited to get The Breakdown. Cass takes a short-cut home one very rainy night passing a car that appears to be broken-down with a woman sitting in it. When the woman doesn't seem to need any help, Cass continues on home. When she hears the next morning that a woman has been murdered on that road the night before, Cass begins a downward spiral. She can't tell her husband, he specifically told her not to use that road since it was so secluded and she's afraid to tell the police because she didn't make more of an effort to see if she could help. Now, she is starting to forget things and appointments, things she ordered. This is doubly frightening since her show more mother died of early onset dementia. It started off a little slow but keep reading because it starts picking up speed and continues on to a most satisfying conclusion. show less

I loved B. A. Paris's debut novel, Behind Closed Doors. I was very excited to see what she had in store for readers in her newest book, The Breakdown.

Cass takes a shortcut home late one rainy night through a dark wooded area. She comes across a parked vehicle and wonders if the woman driver needs help. She pulls over, but the woman never exits her vehicle, so Cass drives on, thinking she will phone the police to let them know there's a possible breakdown. But she forgets to call and is stunned to find out that a woman named Jane was murdered on that same shortcut road last night. Cass seems to forget a lot these days and she is terrified that she has the same early onset dementia that her mother had. And she is just as terrified that show more the murderer may have seen her license plate as she drove by. And then things start happening....

"It's hard to believe that my split-second decision to take a shortcut through the woods that fateful Friday night has had such a devastating impact on my life. Jane may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time but so was I. So was I."

Wonderful premise! And a decidedly unreliable narrator - are the 'things' happening all in her own mind? Or are they real? Is the murderer after her as well? And her memory seems to be rapidly deteriorating....

Paris introduces a set of friends and family and because we only meet them through Cass, I was suspicious of them all. The tension builds and builds as Cass becomes even more paranoid and terrified. The last one hundred pages turns everything upside down, providing the twist that psychological suspense lovers like myself are just waiting to discover. Read carefully as Paris drops little snippets of dialogue along the way that will point the reader in the right direction for the final whodunit. There are one or two pieces of the resolution that require a few grains of salt to be taken, but this didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book in any way. (In fact it ended up being read in a day on the weekend!) The Breakdown was another great read for me and I will be looking forward to Paris's next book.

I always enjoy a clever title - Breakdown can be interpreted a couple of ways in this case. show less