I was really excited to read this one. I had loved Paris’s first book, Behind Closed Doors. How does it work that I loved one of her books but basically hated the other? I hear of reviewers loving both or hating both, but I don’t seem to have many others in my one-love, one-hate club. Yes, it’s just that I’ve got an awful migraine. It started about an hour ago and it’s getting steadily worse. That’s why I’m phoning. Do you mind if I go up to bed?” Who can complain about being on an island off Maine? Well, if you are having memory issues, and your husband is always whispering to his sister and your daughters.... I guess, Celeste has a lot to complain about!

First, I want to thank Arianne Richmonde, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review. Jayne Smith is travelling to an island just off the coast of Maine to be an au pair for the summer for the Wainwright family. Celeste Wainwright is currently unwell following an accident, & her husband wants someone to take over looking after the children, Liam, Lizzie, & baby Violet for most of the time. Jayne will be staying in a cottage on the grounds of their house & she is happy she is not in the main house as there is a strange atmosphere. Max Wainwright is pleasant but distant, Celeste doesn't remember anything from one day to the next, & the nurse there to give Celeste 24/7 care is overbearing & unfriendly. Shortly after Jayne arrives, baby Violet dies suddenly & then a few days later, four-year-old Lizzie goes missing in the middle of the night. I believe if 'you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all,' so I thought Ms. Paris had a great idea for a storyline. I can't go into details, without spoilers, but she added a new twist I've not seen used before that I found quite clever, and like her previous novel, "The Breakdown" was also a very fast read. The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. A car accident leads to a cesarean delivery that Celeste cannot even remember. She doesn't remember the accident. She doesn't remember giving birth to baby Violet. She doesn't even understand what happened to Violet soon after her birth. Suffering from major memory loss, Celeste is in a vacuum of darkness.THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. PARIS is an interesting, thrilling, suspenseful, and cleverly written psychological thriller that takes you on a very emotional and apprehensive tale here questioning the psyche of our main protagonist, Cass. Is she really having a breakdown, early onset dementia, or is there something more sinister at work here? The following day, news comes in that the same woman was brutally murdered the night before which sets off guilt, fear and paranoia and after subsequent events leaves her questioning her own sanity. She begins to lose control of her life and fears that she will be the next victim of the murderer. Seriously, this is one INSANE psychological thriller to the greatest extent! Seriously don't even bother TRYING to guess because you. Will. Not. See. It!! Freakin flabbergasted! 😯 This was absolutely genius! My freakin' gosh!! The constant loops, twisted suspects, endless guessing and doubts. I'm. Speechless. It was one of those situations where I thought I knew what was going on, but I kept pushing through the tedious chapters and hoping I was wrong and that the ending would surprise me. It didn't. It's way too easy to work out. You might even be starting to suspect the answers before beginning if you read the author's previous book. Yes, but it doesn’t seem to be shifting. I thought I’d go and lie down in the spare room; that way, if I do fall asleep, you won’t disturb me when you come in.”

No matter how cliched that sounds, nothing sets the atmosphere and tone quite like a stormy night on dark and desolate highway. I can't say too much about the characters as I really do not want to risk giving anything away. They were all realistic and strong and I became completely invested in each of them. Your given the storyline from the perspectives of Celeste, Jayne, Dr Stephens and Adele which worked out perfectly as you could see what was going on from each of their perspectives and it made you also question each of them. I won't say anymore at the risk of dropping any spoilers. Needless to say the characters worked perfectly with this absolutely gripping unputdownable psychological thriller. Another bolt of lightning shoots through the sky and disappears into the woods. The wind whips up and branches scrabble at the passenger window, like someone trying to get in. A shiver runs down my spine. I feel so vulnerable that I release the handbrake and move the car forward a little to make it look as if I’m going to drive off, hoping it will provoke the woman into doing something—anything—to tell me that she doesn’t want me to leave. But still there is nothing. Reluctantly, I pull to a stop again, because it doesn’t seem right to drive off and leave her. But neither do I want to put myself at risk. When I think about it, she hadn’t seemed distressed when I’d driven past, she hadn’t waved frantically or given any indication that she needed help, so maybe somebody—her husband or one of the breakdown services—is already on their way. If I broke down, Matthew would be my first port of call, not a stranger in a car. 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.I have to say that Detective Adele Alba was one of my faves. She’s methodical and keeps an open mind as one would expect her to do, yet well aware that all involved are hiding something. Yeap, lies are the name of the game. So, who is telling the truth or trying to throw her off the scent? A story with a ratcheting sense of unease — a tale of friendship and love, sanity and the terrible unravelling of it.”— USA Today Cass' days are spent feeling convinced she's being watched, worrying that someone is trying to break into her house, and someone keeps calling her house but not saying anything. She's coming utterly unglued, and to make matters worse, she's starting to forget things—plans she's made, occasions she's planned—even whether she took her pills or activated the burglar alarm. The only way she can seem to cope is by taking pills to calm her anxiety, but they leave her in a drugged stupor, much to the chagrin of her husband.

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.Cass seems to have it all—a loving husband, a job she enjoys, a secure financial position, and good friends. One night in the middle of a huge rainstorm, she takes a shortcut home through the woods (in her car, not with her picnic basket), even though she promised her husband she would avoid that route. When she's nearly home she comes upon a car on the side of the road, in the midst of the storm, and she sees a woman sitting in the car. I felt like it was a little bit predictable based on the small set of characters in this book (Rachel, John, Cass, and Matthew). So, I pretty much was able to guess part of the plot and storyline. The film is fully financed by Executive Producer Ron Cundy and Kompros Films with Executive Producer Phil Hunt of HeadGear and Executive Producer Norman Merry of LipSync.