REVIEW: The Break by Daniel Hurst

The Break by Daniel Hurst

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller

Read: 14th March 2022

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Published: 13th March 2022

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

All she wanted was some peace and quiet. But someone was watching.

Karen is a busy wife and mother. Between work, her husband Peter, and their two children, Oscar and Noah, she doesn’t have a minute to herself.

So when it all begins to feel too much, Karen knows just what she needs - to get away for a little while. Nothing big. Just a short break.

Her friend, Eve, tells her about a quaint little holiday home, and Karen books herself a short stay. She’ll have time to read, take bubble baths, unwind. Perfect.

But this is no ordinary holiday home – it contains a dark and disturbing secret. Because Karen isn’t alone here – someone is watching her. Waiting for the right moment to spring the trap and plunge her into a nightmare she’ll never forget.

The Break – the stunning psychological thriller from the author of The Passenger and The New Friends

MY REVIEW:

After thoroughly enjoying "The New Friends" just a couple of months ago and devouring THE BREAK in just four hours today, I have to say that Daniel Hurst has earnt the honour of being my new go-to author as well as a new favourite. I just love his easy style written in such a way the reader is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, lies and deception and watching it all unravel with glee. His chapters are also short and snappy, which are my favourite kind, keeping the story moving along at a fast moving pace. And despite knowing exactly what is going on, the ending is an explosive one that brings everything together and making it by far a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive read.

Is it not normal NOT to want to go on holiday with your family?

Sometimes we all just need a break from our lives to rest, reset and come back refreshed. But for Karen it could well be her last! It was supposed to be a relaxing time away...and it was...but what then ensues is her worst nightmare!

Karen is a busy wife and mum, physically and mentally drained with never having a moment to herself. All day she is pushed and pulled in every direction giving everything she has to everyone that needs her, relies on her...and for once, she just wants a little "me time" for herself. That's not too much to ask, is it? So it's when she is monologuing to her friend Eve during her lunch break about everything, she is shocked to find her friend suggesting she do just that. Get away. Take some time out for herself. She deserves it. She's earned it.

For the past decade she has given her life to her husband Peter and for the past eight, her children Noah and Oscar, and put them all first. So who looks after her needs then? When Eve tells her about this delightful holiday home not too far away on the other side of town, Karen dares to hope that she could just throw caution to the wind for a night or two and just spend some time for herself. It's really not too much to ask, is it?

Karen and Peter have struggled in their marriage since his infidelity a year ago and, while he is suitably remorseful and apologetic, Karen knows she needs time to get over the betrayal. After all, he broke her heart as well as her trust. But getting back to where they were before the affair has been a slog, especially since their two boys are incredibly energetic and keep them busy throughout the day and into the evening that by the time they've put them to bed, Karen and Peter are too exhausted to do anything on rekindling the romance that was once between them. Maybe a break is exactly what she needs...what they both need.

And then the nightmare begins...but will anyone make it out alive?

With three narrators - primarily Karen and Eve with a handful of chapters from Peter - THE BREAK unfolds at a break-neck speed delivering a no holds barred psychological thriller that is addictive, pageturning and absorbing from start to finish. I did not want to put it down...not even for dinner! How dare real life get in the way of such a thrilling tale? The easy-to-read style makes it a quick read, devouring it in just over four hours (reading time with dinner in between) while the short snappy chapters keep it moving at a fast pace. 

I love how Hurst doesn't feel the need to fill the pages with too much detail and description, but give just enough to keep me entertained throughout. And dialogue. I love plenty of dialogue. People tend to dig their own graves with the things they say and Hurst makes good use of this with his very flawed characters' dialogue.

Oh, how wonderfully flawed these characters are. How terribly stupid they are and in some ways, naive. They each make their mistakes and how the story snowballs as a result by not one action, but each of their actions. It's like you are yelling at them "Don't do it!" knowing they will anyway because how can there be a story if they didn't? Not an interesting or as thrilling one at least.

This is only the second Daniel Hurst book I have read and devoured, "The New Friends" being the first and oh how I loved that deliciously deceptive thriller. Hurst is unique in his style as with the two I have read, the reader knows who the villains are from the beginning and the story unfolds through each of their eyes as we get to see the drama play out from both sides. Knowing who is responsible doesn't detract from the thrill of the chase at all. You still want to know how it ends...what the outcome will be. And that is his adept skill - his ability to keep us entertained and turning the pages even as we watch the entire scene unfold from both sides through his easy style. We know who's responsible and yet we stay for the show anyway.

A gripping read, THE BREAK certainly did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride Hurst took me on and I was immediately hooked from the moment I opened my Kindle. Well plotted and well written, I have to say Hurst is an expert at what he does and I cannot wait to devour more of his thrillers if they are anything like the two I have read.

Suspenseful, twisted and thoroughly entertaining, THE BREAK is a fast paced quick read where the pages literally just turn themselves. Highly recommended for fans of the psychological or domestic thriller genre or the likes of Shalini Boland and K.L. Slater.

I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheBreak in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Daniel Hurst writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.

Daniel writes psychological thrillers. The New Friends will be his fourth novel published with Inkubator Books.

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