Fiction | Book Chatter

The Breakdown
By B.A. Paris
St. Martin’s Press, 9781250122469, July 2017, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Another unputdownable read by B.A. Paris.

The Rest of It:

I’ve spent this summer reading page-turners and I have to say, it’s be a really pleasant summer for these types of reads. In The Breakdown, we meet Matthew and Cass. Newly married, they live in a large home in rural part of town. A home that backs to the woods and a road that Matthew has warned Cass not to take late at night. After an evening out with friends and the horrible storm-related traffic on the highway, Cass goes against her better judgement and takes the shortcut home. What she didn’t expect to see was a woman pulled over to the side of the road. She makes a snap decision to NOT stop to see if she needs assistance and to her horror, the woman turns up dead the next morning.

This is a fun book to read. I’ll admit, Cass has some issues and they get a little repetitive in the telling. For one, she has signs of early onset dementia, which her mother had so everything she does and knows cannot be relied upon because of her failing memory. Plus, she’s jumpy from the fact that a murderer is on the loose so there are a lot of false alarms but man, I couldn’t stop turning those pages.

I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors so when I heard that Paris had another book out, I jumped at the chance to read it and I am glad I did. It was fun and suspenseful even though I kind of figured out what was going on. If you like quick, psychological thrillers and don’t mind an unreliable narrator (I love them!) then be sure to pick it up.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

A House Among The Trees
By Julia Glass
Pantheon Books, Hardcover, 9781101870365, June 13, 2017, 368pp.

The Short of It:

Strong story potential that fell flat for me.

The Rest of It:

From Indiebound:

When the revered children’s book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will.

This book is said to be a tribute to Maurice Sendak, the beloved illustrator and author of children’s books and the inspiration behind the main character for A House Among the Trees. When I read that blurb, I just had to read it.

Morty Lear falls from his roof to his death and leaves his estate to Tommy, his long-time live-in assistant. Much of the story centers around the visit of a well-known actor who has been cast to play Morty in a film and how Tommy has to deal with that and all the other things required of her.

Normally, this type of story intrigues me but this time I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters. I can’t even say why. I could not connect or relate to any of them and there seemed to be a lot of back and forth where things didn’t flow well. Perhaps that is more of an editing issue. Not sure, but in the end this one didn’t work for me at all and I really wanted to love it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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