A thriller with strong, vivid characterisation that grips you - perfect for the coming cold weather!

Grab snacks, and anything else you might need before diving into this one, go to the loo before, you have been warned!

This one will keep you on the edge of your seat, I shouted 'oh no' more than once reading this!

It starts out a little slow, but then the pace kicks in, and you are running full force for the rest of the story.

Tom and Rachel are married, however they are slowly breaking down, their teenage son died in a car accident, and the blame and hurt are slowly creeping into their marriage, and neither of them really know what to do.

On top of the guilt for their sons accident, their 13 year old daughter was involved in a mugging and although she says she is ok, her swollen face from where the mugger punched her, makes the guilt rear it's ugly face once more.

A family friend offers the family to get away and stay in a lodge that he has in a remote place in Scotland, and although Tom isn't really up for it, they agree as it will give them to have time as a family together, as Tom has recently moved out of the family home to give him and Rachel some space to sort things out in their own heads.

The lodge is amazing, all mod-cons and fancy-pants, with a great big gate to stop other people from coming in.

They have a fab evening and all got to bed as usual, but then they hear a window being broken, and when going to investigate, Tom sees 2 masked men walking around downstairs!!

Tom, Rachel, Holly and Buster the dog have to try and find a way out of the house and to safety, but how can you do that when you are in the middle of nowhere, with no phone signal, and gates the that are supposed to keep people out, are the ones keeping you in?

A thrill-a-minute read, strap yourself in!

What a roller-coaster! The tale starts straight in at a steady pace and gathers speed very quickly. It kept me reading late into the night. The characters are fascinating - particularly Tom, who is not a brave or practical man when it comes to defending his family, which makes him all the more endearing and adds to the tension. Added to that is the very clever reverse tale of Michael and his car accident. An excellent tale well told.
So good to see that the blurb at the front gives nothing away and this adds to the mystery and you have to keep reading to see where the plot is going.
Four and a half stars and I will definitely be reading more by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley/C.M. Ewan/Pan Macmillan for a digital copy of this excellent title. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars
This is one of those stories that will keep you up all night and have your pulse rushing like crazy.
I liked that even if the story it’s told in his point of view, he’s very reliable and down to earth, with emotions that are showing through the story and all his thoughts and remorse about his wife and children.
Imagine having to live with the uncertainty of not knowing what really happened when your son was killed and what comes after it’s definitely not a normal life or a life that you were used to.
There are many moments when I really thought “This is not going to end well, this is one of those stories where the main characters are killed”, but it turns out that I was wrong and the end story was very different. It’s a very graphic description of all the events and it makes me wonder if the author has taken some self defence training because there’s a lot of moments where I thought that everything was very well done in the research department.
It’s gripping, it’s terrifying and heartbreaking but most of all, it’s worth of your time and money more than I have expected.

A Window Breaks by C.M Ewan is a 5 star read.
This fast paced thriller had me gripped from the first page, I couldn’t put it down until the end. I would highly recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Tom Sullivan and his wife Rachel are mourning the loss of their son, Michael aged 16 yrs who died when he took his dad's car without permission and crashed killing his girlfriend too. The Sullivans decided to take a break in Scotland at his boss's lodge and this is where it all kicks off. The first night men break in, hell bent on killing them. Tom is left wondering why them. As the story progresses, truths, lies and twists come out. There is a lots of flashbacks relating to Michael's death and the story is a nail biter as the Sullivans battle to stay alive. The shocker is why the men are after them, I would never have guessed. A good tense read.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan for an eARC via NetGalley of C. M. Ewan’s ‘A Window Breaks’ in exchange for an honest review. Its ebook and audiobook editions were published on 31st October with the print edition due on 20 February 2020.

In the opening chapter Tom Sullivan with wife Rachel and thirteen-year old daughter, Holly, are heading to Scotland to stay at the remote retreat owned by his boss, Lionel. Four days previously the family had been mugged after leaving a gala event hosted by Lionel. During the evening Lionel had suggested they get away for a brief break to reconnect as a family.

Eight months before this their sixteen-year old son, Michael, had died in a car accident along with his girlfriend. Michael was too young to drive and the coroner’s hearing had concluded that they had been joyriding and Michael had lost control. The entire family was devastated by this event. Following the mugging, Tom accepts Lionel’s invitation.

So now tucked up in bed in the luxurious lodge, Tom is awakened by the sound of a window breaking downstairs .....

Wow and wow again! This was so intense as the twists and turns came one after another at breakneck speed.

In addition to all the action, the characterisations were strong and I felt very invested in the outcome of events. A brilliant thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I found it was almost impossible to put down.

Highly recommended.

Gripping from the start. I couldn't put this book down. My heart is still pounding. It's full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Very cleverly written. I can't recommend this enough. If you love a good thriller this book won't dissapoint.

Sometimes things are so good you just don't realise what you have until it is snatched away. Tom and Rachel have a very nice life, thank you. He is a corporate lawyer, she's a doctor, they have two lovely, level headed, children, Michael, 16 and Holly who is 13, as well as a soppy dog, and everything is right with their world ... until it isn't.

Their lives are turned upside down because of an unspeakable tragedy they have no idea how to deal with or move forward from. Given the opportunity to reconnect with each other at a friend's home in Scotland their peace is inexplicably shattered once more but this time if they don't work together they may never get another chance at anything.

This is an excellent story, the tension is present throughout, there is absolutely no let up from the first page to the last and no obvious hints at what will happen next or what the overall outcome will be. Written in the first person from Tom's perspective there are occasional flashbacks from another point of view to give insight where otherwise it would be almost impossible to discover what started the nightmare there is no obvious reason for or escape from.

The author does occasionally show a softer side, one worked, another, right at the end jarred and seemed out of place but that could just be me. As a stand alone it is brilliantly done and leaves nothing unsolved or unsaid except where there is no other option.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it highly. If you like fast paced, tension packed fiction this is definitely a book for you.

The synopsis grabbed me instantly and i was really interested to see what choices would be made in this story by the main characters, i love when a synopsis is short and snappy! sometimes that is really all it takes,

I read a lot of thrillers, but this book is more than that because of how action packed it is and the events that take place, it's an Action/Thriller going on and it works so well!. I was really taken in by the story and i loved the writing style, it seemed to flow so well and seamlessly.

There were plenty of creepy moments that were really great and just in general the whole vibe of the book is such a built up and tense atmosphere surrounding it. There were lots of moments i wanted to shout out to the main characters, and moments that had me on edge wondering how it was going to play out.

I thought this was just a really solid, unique and creepy page turner, that i would recommend to anyone who is a fan of a thriller with plenty of action and well paced story.

I

WOW!!!!! This story is packed full of action from the first page until the very end, my head was spinning. Amazing storyline with brilliant characters. I have no doubt this book will be a huge hit. Must read in my opinion.

A great thrilling read that left me gasping at the plot twists. I could not stop reading it, I was addicited.

Highly addictive and highly recommended!

What would you do if you hear a noise downstairs in the middle of the night?
Rachel and Tom have had alot to deal with recently, with the death of their 16 year old son and his girlfriend dying in a car crash, they decide to go to Scotland retreat owned by Tom's boss to reflect with their daughter.
Little did they know that they are being hunted but by whom and why?

Reading this novel is the equivalent of taking a very deep breath, strapping yourself into a rollercoaster racing through a wind tunnel and staying there right until the end. The action is relentless and is more akin to watching an incredibly fast paced film than sitting down to read a book. How the author kept up the perpetual intensity is beyond me; it just never stops. I was exhausted by the end, in a good way!

Tom and Rachel Sullivan and their daughter Holly are staying in a lavish lodge in an extremely remote part of Scotland. The lodge is owned by Tom’s boss and they have been offered a break there as a way of overcoming the death of their son Michael in a car crash and an attempted mugging which left Holly bruised and very scared. Tom and Rachel have separated and Tom, in particular, is hopeful that the break might provide the opportunity to mend their relationship.

On their first night they are woken by the sound of breaking glass downstairs. What follows are their frantic attempts to escape the unknown visitors whom they soon discover, for some unknown reason, are out to do them some very serious harm.

The breakneck speed of the narrative does not detract from the depiction of the characters. Tom doesn’t know if he is brave enough to save his family, Rachel seems to know more than she is willing to say and Holly is terrified but also brave and resilient.

There are clever twists and turns in the plot and, although there are a few ‘really?’ moments this is a great read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel, Tom and their daughter Holly are still grieving for the loss of Michael, their sixteen year old son, in a car accident. When they are given the opportunity to get away for a few days in a remote part of Scotland they decide to go. They all see it as a chance to repair their failing relationships and move on with their lives.
However, their worst nightmares are realised when, on the first night there, they hear glass breaking downstairs and know that someone has broken in. They are terrified and it becomes clear that their lives are at risk and they must take drastic actions to try and save themselves.
The suspense is palpable, the book moves incredibly quickly and I simply did not want to put it down. Riveting to the end!

#AWindowBreaks #NetGalley
The creepiest thriller that you won't able to put down this Halloween.
Fast paced from the start till the end. You're sleeping in your house and suddenly you hear a noise, a glass crunches but you don't know what had happened and then suddenly your worst nightmares start happening. CM Evan had proved it again that he's made to write such thrillers.
Characters are good with lots of twists which you won't see coming.
Highly recommended.

That terrifying moment when you hear a window breaking and you realise someone is coming into the house. The house you and your wife and your teenage daughter are in. Is someone after you?

Tense and tightly controlled, you feel like you're there with the main character, trying to piece together events and make sense of what's happening - in the middle of the night - in the dark. Gripping.

that was the most intense book I've read. once I started I physically could not stop. and the stress I was in!!! I can't believe how incredible this book is: read it, sit on the edge of your seat, put you're life on hold until you finish it. simply exquisite. and the ending? perfect.

I was hooked from the outset. If it hadn't been for sleep and work, I would have read A Window Breaks in one sitting - instead, it took two sittings. My first sitting involved reading until 1.15 am. My second sitting involved ditching work for an hour after lunch (just as well I work for myself so my time is my own).

The book is split into two parts. There's the present, as Tom and Rachel try to keep their 13-year-old daughter safe from the armed intruders. And then there's the past, following the story of their 16-year-old son, Michael, who was killed in a car crash nine months earlier. Events are cleverly revealed by going backwards in time, with snippets of what really happened that night and how Tom has struggled to come to terms with Michael's death.

I read this book so quickly - I barely took a breath and could feel my heart pounding throughout. I had to force myself to slow down. I often worry with these fast-paced thrillers that everything will be unbelievable. But this all felt so real - from the characters to the setting and even the plot. It all seemed plausible too, nothing so outlandish that I sat there shaking my head. I could feel the tension, every moment of fear. I could picture it all. I felt as though I was there.

This is likely to be one of my books of the year.

This book wasn't my usual read, although I thought from the blurb that it was, and I found it a bit of a drag for the first two thirds and then confusing and ridiculous for the last third. I did finish it but I was glad when I did. I know that other readers really enjoyed it but really it wasn't for me.