The Breakdown. B A Paris
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‘An addictive new voice in suspense fiction’
Sophie Hannah
‘A psychological page-turner’
Good Housekeeping
‘Gripping!’
Woman
‘You’ll love this’
The Sun
‘Chilling’
Heat
‘Utterly compelling, brilliant and tense.’
Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me
‘If you loved The Girl on the Train read Behind Closed Doors’
Elle
‘Brilliant, chilling, scary and unputdownable.’
Lesley Pearse, bestselling author of Without a Trace
‘BA Paris has done it again! A page turning thriller that will leave you questioning the family you love, the friends you trust, and even your own mind.’
Wendy Walker, author of All is Not Forgotten
B A PARIS is from a Franco/Irish background. She was brought up in England and moved to France where she spent some years working as a trader in an international bank before re-training as a teacher and setting up a language school with her husband. They still live in France and have five daughters.
She is the author of the bestselling psychological thriller Behind Closed Doors.
Eternal gratitude to my wonderful agent Camilla Wray, who has made so many things possible, and to the rest of the team at Darley Anderson for being an absolute pleasure to work with. And also for their expertise - I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
Huge thanks to my amazing editor, Sally Williamson, for her invaluable advice and support, and for always being on the end of the phone. Thank you too to the rest of the team at HQ for their enthusiasm and professionalism – you’re the best! And in the US, to Jennifer Weis, Lisa Senz, Jessica Preeg and all at St Martin’s Press for their continued faith in me.
Last, but definitely not least, special thanks as always to my family – my daughters, my husband, my parents, my brothers and sister - for always being interested in my writing. And to my lovely friends, both in England and France, who are as excited about my new career as I am!
CONTENTS
Dedication
FRIDAY, JULY 31ST
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2ND
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5TH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7TH
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8TH
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9TH
MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12TH
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13TH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14TH
SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28TH
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1ST
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2ND
The thunder starts as we’re saying goodbye, leaving each other for the summer holidays ahead. A loud crack echoes off the ground, making Connie jump. John laughs, the hot air dense around us.
‘You need to hurry!’ he shouts.
With a quick wave I run to my car. As I reach it, my mobile starts ringing, its sound muffled by my bag. From the ringtone I know that it’s Matthew.
‘I’m on my way,’ I tell him, fumbling for the door handle in the dark. ‘I’m just getting in the car.’
‘Already?’ His voice comes down the line. ‘I thought you were going back to Connie’s.’
‘I was, but the thought of you waiting for me was too tempting,’ I tease. The flat tone to his voice registers. ‘Is everything all right?’ I ask.
‘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?’
I feel the air heavy on my skin and think of the storm looming; no rain has arrived yet but instinct tells me it won’t