The Breakdown

by B. A. Paris

[Leah]

Behind Closed Doors was one of the breakout books of 2016, selling (I think) over a million copies. Some authors don’t even sell a million their entire career, never mind with one book, never mind with a debut. So it stands to reason that B.A. Paris’ second novel The Breakdown had the same kind of hype. Would it be as good? Would it sell the same? How do you follow up something so excellent as Behind Closed Doors with another unique read? The pressure must be immense. The Breakdown is a very different book, in that unlike Grace, you feel like Cass has the potential to be an unreliable narrator. But it’s just as absorbing and I read both books in one day. One before my shift at work, one after my shift at work. (And no, my shift at work wasn’t 15 minutes long…)

The Breakdown is such an intriguing read. Cass drives home on a stormy night (*shivers*), through woods she promised her husband, Matthew, she wouldn’t drive through and she sees a car broken down, in a lay-by. She stops, but since the driver makes no move to get out or flag down assistance, Cass drives off. The next day, the woman is reported as dead and Cass starts feeling incredibly paranoid. She’s forgetting things, she’s getting crank phone calls, and she feels like she’s losing the plot, like the dementia that took her mother has come for her, even though she’s a decade younger than her mum was when she was diagnosed. Cass is sure everything that’s happening to her is a combination of early onset dementia but she’s also sure it has something to do with the murder in the woods.

The Breakdown wasn’t as edge-of-your-seat as Behind Closed Doors, nor was it as inherently creepy, but it was fascinating to see Cass seemingly lose the plot. I forget things, I can be at work and ask the customer if they want a carrier bag and completely forget their answer within thirty seconds and have to re-ask. I go online, planning to look at something and completely forget where I was planning to visit. Does that mean there’s something wrong? Or am I just forgetful? Is Cass just forgetful? It’s hard to defend her as the novel wears on, because she does become increasingly erratic and there’s a part of me that wonders where exactly the plot would have gone, whether Matthew and her friends would have believed Cass, if she’d just told them how she’d gotten home the night of the storm, that’d she’d seen the murder victim, Julie. OF COURSE it sounds crazy that a murderer is stalking her, because there’s no context to it. WE, the reader, know that Cass saw Julie, but no one else does, because she just keeps it a secret. It’s so frustrating!

The biggest thing for me, the thing that made the book, was actually not a surprise. I can’t even tell you my favourite line from Major Crimes because it will totally tell you exactly what happens in this book, boo. But there’s a line from the show that pretty much sums up this kind of book and I NAILED IT. Actually, I got it half right? BUT THAT IS A WIN. I am taking that as a win. So once again, Leah beats the thriller. HUZZAH. *Confetti falls* As the plot unfolded, it was incredible. It was satisfying. I really liked Cass, despite everything, and when you look back on it in hindsight everything that happened was just nightmare type stuff.

The Breakdown was another incredible read. B.A. Paris really knows how to write thrillers, how to write marriages, how to keep me on the edge of my seat and I’m devastated I’ve finished both of her books so quickly. The way she delves into the human psyche and the way her characters act are scary, but also incredibly compelling. Put me down as a huge fan, it’s rare I read one book in a day, never mind two but I was hooked from start to end. I very much recommend you pick up either The Breakdown or Behind Closed Doors, they are two unique thrillers you won’t forget in a hurry, and they definitely herald the arrival of a brand new thriller superstar in B.A. Paris!