July 2017

“Don’t” is a powerful word. For Cass Anderson, “don’t” is what her husband, Matthew, says about her taking a shortcut on a road through the woods on a rainy, stormy night. But alas, Cass makes the turn anyway. She passes a car with a woman sitting inside, but keeping in mind her husband’s words about the dangers of being out there in the rain, she hesitates to stop to help.

The following morning, Cass learns that a woman named Jane Walters was killed in those woods, and she was sitting in that car. She is torn up by what happened. Did her not stopping cause this murder? At the same time, Cass finds her memory slipping. Her mother died of Alzheimer’s at a young age, and she fears this may be her fate as well. Cass is safe, but there is a keen sense that someone is watching her, and it's unraveling her. What’s going on?

While there is lots of repetition before the reveal, I was engaged and read THE BREAKDOWN in less than a day. For those who shied away from the violence in B.A. Paris’ debut, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, note that THE BREAKDOWN spares readers from physical violence, though there is lots of mind-bending drama.