BLOGTOUR, BOOK REVIEW - The Breakdown by Arianne Richmonde

 

                                                                     BOOK SYNOPSIS

My family keep telling me I’m safe. But why don’t I believe them?

I stand at the very edge of the cliff face, looking at the roaring ocean below my feet. I’m in no danger, in fact my husband and his sister talk just feet away from me, watching my every move. They’re worried I’m losing my mind, and I sense their nerves as they watch me looking down on the jagged rocks below.

Behind them sits our summer house. Apparently it’s my favourite place in the world, not that I can remember. Since the car accident, I’ve struggled to recall a lot of important things in my life, like giving birth to my daughter, Violet, just days after the crash. Or my supposedly perfect marriage…

As I stare at the huge expanse of blue below, I have a flashback to the day of the crash—an argument, my husband’s face red with anger. Why is it so different to what everyone else is telling me about my life? Beads of sweat gather on my neck.

If my memory is true, my life and my children’s lives are in danger. What really happened the day of the accident? And is there anyone I can trust

The story opens with a chilling chapter that is written from the perspective of four year old Lizzie and recounts her feelings of fear and terror as she  essentially finds herself being dragged across the island in the torrential rain. Then the time line slips back nine days and we are introduced to the two main narrator's of the story, Lizzie's mother Celeste and a young British woman called Jayne who had been hired by Celeste and her husband Max to take care of their two young children Lizzie and Liam. Celeste, her unborn baby Violet and little Lizzie had been involved in a almost fatal car accident,a tragic event that Max and the doctors were insisting was a failed attempted suicide and which had affected Celeste's memory and powers of recollection. She now spent her days apparently confined to her bedroom under the ever watchful eye of her nurse Alex Sharpe and partaking in the occasional therapy session with Dr Stephens who also voiced some chapters that were scattered throughout the book. Almost from the moment that she arrived on isolated Cliff Island and was introduced to the various members of the Wainwright household, Jayne couldn't shake the suspicion that something wasn't quite right within the walls of their seemingly happy home. Little did Jayne realise that she is about to find herself caught up in cleverly plotted scheme of secrets,deceptions and lies, all the adults within the household are harbouring secrets but who knows the truth behind Lizzie's disappearance? Is the little girl actually still alive? 

The chapters varied in length as the story flipped back and forth between the events before and during Lizzie's disappearance and the author's characterisation of her cast of characters was authentic and realistic. Apart from the children and bumbling Detective Adele Alba who came across as a female version of Columbo but was no where near as adorable, each one of them had a aura of unreliability and difficulty to trust imbued into their character. But, as we all know, appearances can be deceptive, people are very often not who they appear to be and can be known to conceal their true natures behind a variety of different masks.

The plot of the story contained some stunning descriptions of some of the sights and scenery on the island that perfectly portrayed the striking  contrasts between the beauty of mother nature and the darkness lurking within some of the islands inhabitants.between

This is a captivating domestic drama/thriller that is cleverly plotted, keeps the reader guessing and covers a number of relatable and realistic issues. As a thriller fanatic, I enjoyed the chapters which covered the investigation into Lizzie's disappearance more than I enjoyed some other aspects of the story. That said, I did think this was a enjoyable, entertaining read and I would gladly read more of this author's books in the future.

                                                                        AUTHOR INFO

Arianne Richmonde is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the psychological thrillers, THE WIFE'S HOUSE and THE NEWLYWEDS (published by Bookouture, Hachette UK). Her Pearl series has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Her stories are always character-driven and full of unexpected twists and turns.

When not writing about the passions and fragilities of human nature, she loves to spend time with her husband and their animals, including a femme fatale Husky with one blue eye and one golden eye. Arianne's a chocoholic and sometimes sneaks off to sunny, exotic locations, all in the name of research.

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Publication Day: April 11th 2022

 

Buy Links:         

https://geni.us/B09RQPHRX7social

Audible:

UK: zpr.io/eCy5KBxjpCwS

US: zpr.io/wmV3DWmBH37H

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-breakdown-by-arianne-richmonde-narrated-by-laurence-bouvard-rose-mcphilemy 

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