Book Review: Let Me Lie By Clare Mackintosh

LET ME LIE

By: Clare Mackintosh

Published: March 13, 2018

Publisher: Berkley

Fiction/Suspense

LET ME LIE is the third novel by Clare Mackintosh, a former UK detective who uses her background in police work to write thrilling novels. Her newest thriller will leave readers in disbelief as the twists are revealed.

Anna is overwhelmed with grief. Over a year ago, her father, a well-known business owner and loving husband, killed himself by jumping off the cliffs at Beachy Head. Then months later, her mother did the exact same thing. Anna has never been able to understand why her dad committed suicide, but it was unfathomable to her that her mother would put Anna through the same unimaginable grief. She has never fully understood until, on the one-year anniversary of her mother’s suicide, Anna receives a card with the inscription, Suicide? Think again. It’s all the confirmation she needs that her mother didn’t commit suicide and was instead, murdered. Maybe her father was murdered too. Anna takes the card to the police and luckily meets a retired detective who is working a desk job to help out on the force. Murray agrees to do a little investigating because he feels sorry for Anna. Of course, he has to do the investigating under the table since he really isn’t a detective anymore. What he uncovers is beyond anything he imagined.

“I just want answers”

“Sometimes they’re not the ones we want.”

Each chapter is told from the alternating viewpoint of Anna and Murray with an occasional chapter from the ghost of Anna’s parents. Even though the ghost character turned me off a bit, it does offer the opportunity for the reader to understand their perspective and eventually leads the reader to the shocking conclusion.

Murray’s life story emerges in the background as he investigates Anna’s parents’ death. His wife’s frequent stays at the hospital for the mentally ill don’t diminish his deep love for her. On her good days, Sarah is the wife he always dreamed of having and he loves picking her brain about the cases he is investigating. Sarah’s numerous attempts at suicide give him a unique perspective on Anna’s case with empathy towards Anna’s grief and disbelief related to her parents.

Mackintosh expertly creates an unreliable narrator in the story that will lead you to believe one thing and then drops on bomb on the reader revealing something quite different. You will frantically want to flip back through the pages to reread everything from the new perspective that has just been revealed.

Mackintosh created this story after a well-known suicide that was all over the UK papers several years ago. Her fascination with the particulars of that case led her to create this seemingly cut and dry version of two suicides with a shocking twist. The author does address the serious topic of suicide and encourages those who are suffering to call the hotline. The place described in the story is real and the Chaplaincy Team that patrols it has saved countless lives from making that final decision. Her focus on this important group of volunteers will hopefully continue to save lives and bring more awareness to suicide prevention. 

Clare Mackintosh - source

Clare Mackintosh spent twelve years in the Thames Valley Police Department, during which time she worked on criminal investigations. She left the police force in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant. She is the Director of the Chipping Norton Literary Festival and lives in the Cotswolds with her husband, a police officer, and their three children. Visit Clare Mackintosh at her website, HERE. 

To purchase a copy of LET ME LIE, click the photo below:





Other books by Clare Mackintosh:

I LET YOU GO

I SEE YOU




Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase this book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com. 

Book Review: The French Girl By Lexie Elliott

THE FRENCH GIRL
A Novel 

By: Lexie Elliott

Published: February 20, 2018

Publisher: Berkley Books

Fiction/Suspense/Mystery




Debut novelist, Lexie Elliott always wanted to be a writer. Thinking back on a summer vacation with her friends to a farmhouse in France, the idea for this novel was formed. Kate Channing, along with her boyfriend Seb, and three other friends spend a week at their friend Theo's farmhouse in France. It's the perfect reward for surviving Oxford University. The six of them are the best of friends with Seb and Tom, cousins, Lara and Kate being best friends, Caro a childhood friend of Seb and Tom and Theo. Then the beautiful French girl, Severine, who lives next door, shows up. She changes the dynamics of their friendships and the day the friends are all set to return to London, Severine disappears.

Fast forward ten years later. Kate is living in London starting her own headhunter business. Seb is married...to someone else and is moving back to London. Tom and Lara are still Kate's best friends and Caro is ending up being a new potential client of Kate's. But, Severine has come back to haunt them. Her body has just been found at the bottom of the well at Theo's farmhouse. Theo can't be questioned because he was killed in Afghanistan. The five are now thrown back into what happened that week at the farmhouse and realizing someone isn't telling the truth.

I chose this novel because I love stories of friendships and secrets. When Severine's body is found and the timing points to one of the six likely committing the murder, the questions start to circulate in everyone's minds. Who isn't being truthful, what really happened that last night in France, and who is going to ultimately be the murderer? The story starts to unravel as Elliott takes you back to the week in France and into the minds of the five friends that are left to answer the detective's unending questions.

Elliott immediately starts to put you in the mode of questioning every character's motive. Why is Caro suddenly back in Kate's life? Why is Seb moving back with his new wife? Since Theo can't be questioned, can he be trusted? Elliott throws you into the lives of these thirty-something professionals who thought they could put that week in France behind them and now their lives and careers are hanging in balance as the investigation gets more and more intense and the French are pushing to make an arrest.

The interesting part of the story that really intrigued me was the introduction of Severine's ghost that only Kate could see. Severine loomed in Kate's periphery joining her at home, at work, after work at the bar, at dinner with friends, and while she was being questioned. At first, Kate can only see her bones or her skull, but then as the investigation moves forward, Severine becomes a crucial character in the story of her murder. She hovers around Kate, insistent that she isn't forgotten.

Even though I guessed the murderer and the story has a common second attempt at murder that I see in many novels as the murderer gets desperate, I was still surprised by the conclusion of the investigation. I thought it might leave me feeling angry, but it actually left me feeling like it was a bit more realistic than some other conclusions. Is this a fast-paced thriller with a shocking twist? No. It's more of a slow mystery that builds as you get to know the characters and their motives for keeping the secrets that have been inside them for ten years. I think Elliott has talent and creativity. Since she used bits of her own idyllic trip to France back in college for this story, I am hoping she has other recollections that she can fall back on for more twisted mysteries.

Lexie Elliott - source

Lexie Elliott has been writing for as long as she can remember, but she began to focus on it more seriously after she lost her banking job in 2009 due to the Global Financial Crisis. After some success in short story competitions, she began planning a novel. With two kids and a (new) job, it took some time for that novel to move from her head to the page, but the result was THE FRENCH GIRL.

When she's not writing, Lexie can be found running, swimming or cycling whilst thinking about writing. In 2007 she swam the English Channel solo. She won't be doing that again. In 2015 she ran 100km, raising money for Alzheimer Scotland. She won't be doing that again either. But the odd triathlon or marathon isn't out of the question. For more, check out her website, HERE. 

To purchase a copy of THE FRENCH GIRL, click the photo below:




Other posts you might like:

JUST BETWEEN US

THE BREAKDOWN

I SEE YOU

VENGEANCE



Thanks to the publisher for providing copies of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.

Book Review: Just Between Us By Rebecca Drake

JUST BETWEEN US
A Novel

By: Rebecca Drake

Published: January 9, 2018

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Fiction/Suspense/Thriller



I think what makes suspense novels such a thrilling read is when you can picture yourself in the story. Four suburban moms who meet every morning and afternoon at the bus stop become quick friends. Even though their backgrounds are a bit different, they soon become dependent on the friendship and support that each one offers. Julie, a high-profile realtor, and Sarah become friends first. Then Alison moves in. Even though she keeps her past a secret, she soon becomes friends with Julie and Sarah but always feels like the third wheel. Then Heather, a former model and wife of a plastic surgeon, seems like the perfect addition to their group. Soon their lives become intertwined and three of the friends begin to suspect that one of their friends is being abused by her husband. When they finally confront her, the ripple effects of that revelation result in a murder and a downward spiral that none of them would have expected. 

Some of my closest friends are moms that I met because our children have been going to school together since preschool. While reading this book, I could picture myself being wrapped up in the care and concern of a friend being abused. But, would I have gone to the lengths that these women did to protect her? I can't say, but it did make for a thrilling page-turner. 

The novel is told from the perspective of each of the women. In each chapter one woman shares just enough of their past, as well as their regrets regarding the decision they all made, to keep the reader guessing as to what that horrifying choice was that forever changed their lives. I appreciated that the top of each page-spread had the character's name since especially in the beginning, it was tricky to keep all the women straight. Even though parts of the plot are predictable, the author adds in just enough surprises and twists to keep the reader interested. Although some of the particulars made have felt a bit far-fetched and I had to keep reminding myself to overlook the details, I still became enthralled with the story. Once the twist is revealed, I did find some of the material a bit graphic, but I easily skimmed the details and moved on to the next chapter as I got the gist of what happened. 

Fans of suspense novels and a bit of the unreliable narrator will be intrigued by the secrets each of the characters are hiding from their friends. Once doubt creeps into the minds of the women, the fear of what's to come grows among the pages. I believe that most of us feel like we would never be able to commit such a horrific crime, but that line that separates us from those who have committed a crime becomes blurred very quickly. You really have no idea what you would do if you were thrown into a situation of protecting your best friend. 

Drake's fast-paced novel shares the lengths that women would go to protect their friends and their families, how secrets can creep into the psyche and affect the ways we interact with others, and the shame we feel when everything begins to fall apart. 

Rebecca Drake - source

Rebecca Drake is the author of the novels Don’t Be Afraid, The Next Killing, The Dead Place, which was an IMBA bestseller, and Only Ever You, as well as the short story “Loaded,” which was featured in Pittsburgh Noir. A graduate of Penn State University and former journalist, she is currently an instructor in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction M.F.A. program. Rebecca lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband and two children.

Website: https://www.rebeccadrake.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.drake.writer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorRDrake

To purchase a copy of JUST BETWEEN US, click the photo below:

Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase the book through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com. 

Books That Came in September 2017

Last week was crazy with it being Homecoming week. But it was so much fun! Our son Patrick was crowned Homecoming King which has been so wonderful. We are so proud of him.

I'm in my second of a thirteen-week long-term sub. I'm still getting into my groove of this new routine and struggling with finding time to read when our nights and weekends are also so busy. I do have a few good books to share this month that I am really anxious to read.

Today is also my 45th birthday and one of the books I'm sharing below was my gift to myself. I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. My husband and children, my parents and extended family, and my closest friends make life absolutely wonderful. I am thankful for all of you as well that allow me to share my love of reading with you. Books truly bring me joy and I hope that I have shared a bit of that joy with each of you.

Currently Reading: OEDIPUS REX (with students), OF MICE AND MEN (with students), BENEATH A SCARLET SKY
Currently Listening: A MAN CALLED OVE
STILL Reading: HOW TO MANAGE YOUR HOME WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND, GRACE, NOT PERFECTION
Up Next: I can't even say because these are going to take me awhile to get through now.

If you would like to purchase any of the books in this post, clicking the photo or title of the book will take you directly to Amazon. If you choose to purchase the book I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting me.

THE BEST DAY EVER
By: Kaira Rouda
Published: September 19, 2017
Publisher: Graydon House
Format: Paperback

I previously read and reviewed Rouda's book IN THE MIRROR back in 2014. Her newest is a completely different type of book and it is already getting a lot of buzz. It reminds me of the book BEHIND CLOSED DOORS which I read almost straight through.

I glance at my wife as she climbs into the passenger seat, and I am bursting with confidence. Today will be everything I’ve promised her…and more…

Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he's promised today will be the best day ever.

But as Paul and Mia drive out of the city and toward the countryside, a spike of tension begins to wedge itself between them and doubts start to arise. How much do they trust each other? And how perfect is their marriage, or any marriage, really? 




MONSTERLAND
By: Michael Okon
Published: October 13, 2017
Publisher: WordFire Press
Format: Paperback

Not my kind of read. I haven't ever read about monsters or zombies. But, maybe one of you would be interested. If you'd like my comment, leave me a comment and I'll send it to you!

Welcome to Monsterland, the scariest place on earth.

When world markets are decimated by a crippling plague, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, Vincent Konrad decides to place monsters in a theme park setting to promote education and tolerance. Copper Valley is chosen as the primary site for the park in the United States. 

Wyatt Baldwin, a high school senior is dying to go to the opening and when he lands special passes to the park, he and his friends are expecting the experience of a lifetime. 
After all, in a theme park where real zombies, werewolves, and vampires are the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?






PRAYING THE SCRIPTURES FOR YOUR TEENS
Discover How to Pray God's Purpose for Their Lives
By: Jodie Berndt
Published: August 12, 2007
Publisher: Zondervan
Format: Paperback

I purchased this book to help guide some of my prayers for our kids. With Patrick just being months away from leaving for college, I'm struggling with my emotions and fears for him. The best play to go to help with that....God.

It’s never been tougher to be a teenager—or the parent of one. Thankfully, from your teen’s first date to the next time he or she borrows the car keys, you can take your concerns to God through prayer.Drawing on God’s Word, Praying the Scriptures for Your Teenager offers palpable help to pray about the stormy issues your teen faces:Relationships Depression Rejection Sexuality Eating disorders … and much more.This book also guides you in praying about everything from your teen’s character and safety to the purposes and plans that God has for his or her life. Filled with historical, biblical, and contemporary illustrations, Praying the Scriptures for Your Teenager shows how to make the Bible your source for prayers that can powerfully influence your teen’s life.With humor and a warm, personal style, author Jodie Berndt encourages you that, in this sometimes daunting new world, “when you pray the Scriptures, you tap into the same power that has kept teenagers safe for generations.”






THOSE WHO SAVE US
By: Jenna Blum
Published: May 2, 2005
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: eBook

This has been on my list for a long time and when it came up as a Kindle Deal, I snagged it. I fell in love with Blum's writing in GRAND CENTRAL.

For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.

Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother's life.

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT ONE SENTENCE JOURNAL
A Five-Year Record
By: Gretchen Rubin
Published: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Potter Style
Format: Hardcover

I've been wanting this journal for awhile and I decided it would be my birthday present to myself. I am letting go of my "Type A" tendency and starting it on the day I received it. This journal will take me through the rest of my 40's and I am hoping for 5 solid years of happiness to read through. It's a way to chronicle all those happy moments I have with our kids. In five years, Reagan will be a senior and the boys will be done with college. I can't even fathom that. I can find time to write one sentence and remember one moment of happiness from my day. I'm super excited to keep this going.

365 days. 5 years. 1,825 happy moments. The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal for Mothers is the ideal project for moms who want to capture the everyday moments of their child's growth but are naturally short on time.

Based on the book, Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin, this five-year journal will help you make a time capsule of your family's growth in the simplest way possible. You can start at any point in the year. Simply turn to today's date, and take a few moments to think about the quote or question on the top of the page. Jot down your thoughts and perhaps a note or reflection about your child. As the years go by you'll notice how your children evolve and discover the aspects about your family that lead to lasting happiness. The quotes are interesting, funny, and always thought-provoking. The diary can be started on any day of the year but makes a terrific gift for the New Year or Mother's Day. 

THE UNQUIET GRAVE
A Novel
By: Sharyn McCrumb
Published: September 12, 2017
Publisher: Atria Books
Format: Hardcover

This was part of my Page Habit subscription this month. Along with the book came a collection of short stories, a coaster, a Time Traveler patch, and a bookmark with the quote, "The love of books is a love which requires neither justification, apology, nor defense." J.R. Langford

When I first looked at the book that was sent, I thought maybe I had gotten sent the mystery shipment and not historical fiction. But then reading the synopsis, I noticed it's a bit of both mystery and history and it's based on a true story, which is even better!

From New York Times bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb comes a finely wrought novel set in nineteenth-century West Virginia, based on the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American history—the case of the Greenbrier Ghost.

Lakin, West Virginia, 1930
Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P. D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Fresh out of medical school, Dr. Boozer is eager to try the new talking cure for insanity, and encourages his elderly patient to reminisce about his experiences as the first black attorney to practice law in nineteenth-century West Virginia. Gardner's most memorable case was the one in which he helped to defend a white man on trial for the murder of his young bride—a case that the prosecution based on the testimony of a ghost.

Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1897
Beautiful, willful Zona Heaster has always lived in the mountains of West Virginia. Despite her mother’s misgivings, Zona marries Erasmus Trout Shue, the handsome blacksmith who has recently come to Greenbrier County. After weeks of silence from the newlyweds, riders come to the Heasters’ place to tell them that Zona has died from a fall, attributed to a recent illness. Mary Jane is determined to get justice for her daughter. A month after the funeral, she informs the county prosecutor that Zona’s ghost appeared to her, saying that she had been murdered. An autopsy, ordered by the reluctant prosecutor, confirms her claim.






MY LIFE WITH BOB
Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues
By: Pamela Paul
Published: May 2, 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Format: Audiobook 

I have been wanting to read this and saw a few positive reviews for the audio version, read by the author, so I decided to use one of my credits for it. I can't resist a book about books.

Imagine keeping a record of every book you’ve ever read. What would this reading trajectory say about you? With passion, humor, and insight, the editor of The New York Times Book Review shares the stories that have shaped her life.

Pamela Paul has kept a single book by her side for twenty-eight years – carried throughout high school and college, hauled from Paris to London to Thailand, from job to job, safely packed away and then carefully removed from apartment to house to its current perch on a shelf over her desk – reliable if frayed, anonymous-looking yet deeply personal. This book has a name: Bob.

Bob is Paul’s Book of Books, a journal that records every book she’s ever read, from Sweet Valley High to Anna Karenina, from Catch-22 to Swimming to Cambodia, a journey in reading that reflects her inner life – her fantasies and hopes, her mistakes and missteps, her dreams and her ideas, both half-baked and wholehearted. Her life, in turn, influences the books she chooses, whether for solace or escape, information or sheer entertainment.But My Life with Bob isn’t really about those books. It’s about the deep and powerful relationship between book and reader. It’s about the way books provide each of us the perspective, courage, companionship, and imperfect self-knowledge to forge our own path. It’s about why we read what we read and how those choices make us who we are. It’s about how we make our own stories.  




REMEMBER THE LADIES
Ellis the Elephant
By: Callista Gingrich
Illustrated by: Susan Arciero
Published: October 10, 2017
Publisher: Regnery Kids
Format: Hardcover/Picture Book

This is the 7th book in the Ellis the Elephant series and I wish I had known about it sooner. I love the idea of this elephant learning and sharing about our great country with young children. Look for me to review this soon!

Ellis the Elephant is headed back to the White House! In Remember the Ladies, the seventh in Callista Gingrich's New York Times bestselling series, Ellis meets some of America's greatest first ladies and discovers their many contributions to American history.

In preceding books, including Sweet Land of Liberty, Land of the Pilgrims' Pride, Yankee Doodle Dandy, From Sea to Shining Sea, Christmas in America, and Hail to the Chief, Ellis learns about the pivotal moments that have shaped our nation. Now, in Remember the Ladies, this adorable pachyderm explores the fascinating lives of our first ladies.

Authored by Callista Gingrich and illustrated by Susan Arciero, Remember the Ladies will delight young and old alike with a look at the first ladies who helped make America an exceptional nation.




A SMART GIRL'S GUIDE: DRAMA, RUMORS, & SECRETS
Staying True to Yourself in Changing Times
By: Nancy Holyoke
Illustrated by: Brigette Barrager
Published: February 28, 2015
Publisher: American Girl
Format: Paperback

I purchased this for our daughter who is in middle school and already coming home with stories of drama and spats between friends. I expect this, especially in middle school. Ugh, I remember those days. I'm hoping this book will give her tools (me too) for how to respond to harsh words, how to support friends, and remove herself from the drama. I've purchased other books in this American Girl series and have been quite pleased.

Watch out for the drama trap! This book offers expert insight into drama, from jealousy to gossip to cyber-bullying, and how to deal with it. You'll learn why drama exists, how it starts, what keeps it going, and how to cool it down. You'll find quotes and advice from real girls like you, plus tips and quizzes to help you rise above the drama game and keep yourself safe.






SPACE BOY AND THE SNOW MONSTER
By: Dian Curtis Regan
Illustrated by: Robert Neubecker
Published: October 10, 2017
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
Format: Hardcover/Picture Book

I'm not ready to think about snow or Christmas yet, but those books are starting to roll in. I previously reviewed SPACE BOY AND HIS DOG a couple years ago. This is another addition to that series.

In this third book in the Space Boy trilogy, Niko and his trusty dog, Tag, blast off on another outer-space adventure, when suddenly Niko's robot copilot is captured by a snow monster (who looks an awful lot like Niko's annoying sister, Posh). When they reach Planet Ice, Tag is captured by the snow monster as well, leaving Niko to save them both. After defeating a killer bunny and the snow monster's army of snowmen, Niko and his crew race back to Planet Home, just in time for cocoa.

Illustrated in comic-book style and featuring easy-to-read text packed with humor, Space Boy and the Snow Monster is both a thrilling adventure and a celebration of the power of pretend play.






RONALDO
The Reindeer Flying Academy
By: Maxine Sylvester
Illustrated by: Maxine Sylvester
Published: December 16, 2015
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Format: eBook

At just under 100 pages, this chapter book is the first in a series of adventures for Ronaldo the Reindeer with an additional two books in the series.

Ronaldo is the top flying cadet at the prestigious Reindeer Flying Academy. He dreams of getting his flying license, just like his hero, Vixen. In this first exciting chapter in the ‘Ronaldo’ series, our hero is faced with his toughest flying test ever – The Endurance Challenge!  Can Ronaldo triumph over mean bully, Dasher, and win the 'Golden Wings' medal? Spurred on by Rudi, his quirky, loyal best friend and with a belly full of his favorite carrot pancakes, Ronaldo takes on the challenge of his life! 

I'm linking up with THE DELIBERATE READER for her monthly feature NEW ON THE STACK. To see other bloggers new books from September, click HERE.

If you have read any of these books or read them after seeing them listed here, be sure to let me know your thoughts! Happy October reading!

Book Review: The Breakdown by B. A. Paris

THE BREAKDOWN

By: B.A. Paris

Published: July 18, 2017

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Fiction/Suspense/Mystery/Thriller




One of the most riveting thrillers I read last year was Paris's first novel, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. It made my skin crawl and kept me turning the pages until I finished it. Her sophomore thriller, THE BREAKDOWN is just as creepy and mystifying, but maybe not quite as exciting.

Cass, a newly married teacher, who after celebrating the end of the school year, drives home during a heavy rain storm. Anxious to get home, she takes the shortcut through the woods, even though she knows it could be dangerous during the storm. Just miles from home, she comes upon a car pulled along side of the road. After some thought, Cass decides the person must be waiting for someone and chooses not to get out and investigate. The next morning, Cass learns that a woman was found, murdered, on the same stretch of road, right near their home. After Cass realizes she also knew the woman, her life is completely torn apart by her guilt at not stopping to help and her fear about whether the murderer is still out there and saw her that night.

Cass's mom has recently passed away from dementia and the stress of the murder has made Cass's own memory lapses more pronounced. She can't seem to keep anything straight and wonders if it is stress from the murder or if she too, is suffering from early on-set dementia like her mom.

Along with Cass, her husband Alex, her best friend Rachel and some other co-workers fill out the main characters in the story. The book chronicles the dates of July 17 through October 2 during the present day. Each chapter highlights the events of that day which mostly includes Cass's paranoia about the murder and her memory lapses. As the dates move along through the summer, I got a little bored with the repeated occurrences of Cass's fear and forgetfulness, Alex's concern and desperation, and Rachel's inability to be there for her best friend. The murderer is eluding the authorities and the reader begins to question every character and conversation, wondering who the murderer could be.

Finally, when you can't seem to stand it anymore and you just want to skip to the last page of the book, the author gives you a little twist and baits you to keep reading all the way to the end. There is a lot of build-up and the characters continue to throw you off. At one point, I even wondered if Cass, as the narrator could be considered as reliable due to her constant confusion. But, once the truth is revealed, you keep reading to make sure that the murderer is caught and revenge has taken place.

I still found this to be a good mystery that held my attention. I just found it a bit repetitive. Paris does, however, create scenes that the reader can feel the panic in the character's voice and actions. Readers will care about Cass and feel sorry for her when she is frantically looking for her car in the ramp or trying to remember why she ordered an item that arrives in the mail. They will sympathize with her fears knowing the murderer is still loose. Cass is likable and easy to root for, even if her struggles to function get annoying. Paris has a way of creating characters with flaws that we will still relate to, root for, and believe in. She also has a way of surprising you once the mystery is revealed. All qualities much needed in a good mystery novel.

B. A. Paris - source

B.A. Paris grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked both in finance and as a teacher and has five daughters. Follow her on Twitter, HERE. 

To purchase a copy of THE BREAKDOWN, click the photo below:  




Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase the book through the above link, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. Thanks for supporting SincerelyStacie.com