Breaking is a taut and extremely well written thriller that isn’t afraid to take risks. An unflinching and razor-sharp examination of motherhood. Propulsive and clever. I loved it!

Thank you to the publishers for this review copy. This is a good crime read, very much looking at how the media become very involved in missing person cases. Also looking at how mother's are judged, especially if there may have been something of concern in their lives previously. Good tension, good characters, good pace. I will certainly read Amanda's next book.

Breaking by Amanda Cassidy is a novel that I struggled to finish. I found the story to be dull. The characters were not likeable, especially Dr. Mirren Fitzpatrick. Mirren spends more time at the bar than on the beach. Mirren comes across as cold and unfeeling from the very beginning. She does not love her youngest daughter, Alannah, because she is adopted. We get to know Mirren from the chapters that describe her past. The police investigation is clinical (monotonous). Those chapters are a great cure for insomnia (they put me right to sleep). I ended up skimming through those sections. The investigators lacked depth and were unlikeable. There is a touch of excitement near the end, but it is too little and too late. It is easy to guess what happened to Allanah. The story concludes with a loose end or two. Breaking moved along at a snail’s pace. As you can tell, Breaking was not an enjoyable experience for me. Breaking lacked action, suspense, and emotion as well as relatable characters. Breaking was not my cup of tea.