Review: The Breakdown by B.A Paris

Summary from Goodreads:

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman 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. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.


Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…

My Review:


What I Liked:

Writing. I recently read Paris's first novel, Behind Closed Doors, and went in knowing that my favorite thing would be the writing. Even though I did not care for the pacing, Paris's writing style was still suspenseful and easy to read.

Twist/Ending. The big reveal made my reading experience tens times better, the pacing picked up and I went back to reading with a desire to know what would happen next. It was a shocking twist that was well done. I loved how Paris kept the reader guessing up until the very last page.

Characters. I enjoyed the fact that the author only gave us the mystery from Cass's point of view, it kept up the suspense and made the big twist even more shocking. I was not a huge fan of a lot of the side characters (for good reasons) but they were not the main focus of the novel, it mainly revolved around the main character, Cass.

What I Disliked: 

Pacing. I struggled with the build up to the big twist. I had a hard time keeping my attention during that first half because I felt that it dragged. However, it picked up past half way and I flew through the rest of the novel.

I recommend checking out this thriller, it had a slow start but it packed a punch at the end.

My Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars