The Breakdown Book Review

The Breakdown: Book Review By Dinh.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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…

Synopsis from hardcover book, 336 pages, copyright July 18th, 2017 and published by St. Martin’s Press.

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Review:

I read B. A. Paris’ Behind Closed Door last year and enjoyed it and was hoping that her latest psychological thriller, The Breakdown, would be better. Alas, it was not better but still a good read.

My expectation of this book came in about where I expected. It didn’t wow me. In fact, both books were very similar in style that I could identify the author if blind tested.

Here’s what to like about the book.

Plot

On reading the summary, it sounds like the plot is going to be intriguing.

However, I found the story line a bit tedious and predictable. There is a murder and the protagonist Cass is scared about the murderer on the lose in her area.

Cass starts to question all the things that are affecting her and begins to get paranoid that the killer is after her.

It is quite obvious from the clues what is going on and who the killer is going to be.

Author’s Style

The strength of this book is that it is a compelling read. The author knows how to combine the elements of a suspense and create a page turner.

This was a fast paced read and was thrilling in parts, even though the story line was predictable.

B. A. Paris writes in the same vein as her first book Behind Close Doors. The narrative picks up about just after two thirds way and by then you are looking for the big reveal.

Characters

The characters in the book were okay. There aren’t that many players and none of them stood out. (This really narrows down the possible suspects in the book)!

Cass was portrayed as paranoid, demented and weak. I really didn’t like her much when she was like that. There’s not much of the normal her in the book and I didn’t root for her whatsoever. It’s a shame that she was so weak and whinny throughout.

Ending

The ending was predictable but it closed the book nicely.

What a lucky break Cass had! I didn’t really buy into how strong she was in dealing with the options she had after she found out the truth. The transition from weak Cass to strong Cass felt a bit far fetched.

I did like the irony that all this might not have happened if Cass had shared her intentions to begin with.

My Final Thoughts

The Breakdown by B. A. Paris was an enjoyable read.

It had a predictable story line and had a steady pace. I enjoyed  the author’s writing style. The Breakdown met my expectation just about.

Whilst it was not riveting and kept you glued to your seat, it did have its moments and it is worth a read if you enjoyed her first book, Behind Closed Door.

I probably will read her new book Bring Me Back.

Get The Breakdown here, or listen to it for free with an Audible trial.

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