I'm not sure what I was expecting when I read the blurb for this book but it wasn't what I thought. When you take your family to a remote lodge away from everything to repair your family after a loss, you don't expect to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a window breaking.
When you see men in white suits with plenty of equipment to clean up after themselves you know this wont and well.
The book is fast paced with a good twist and ending, as we live through a very long night of escape, terror, fear and injury with one family desperately trying to escape and wondering why they're being targeted.

Don't start reading this when going to bed, it will keep you up for two reasons - the suspense and the desperation to keep on reading!

This was the first part of the book for me, consumed in one sitting because it I couldn't put it down. Ooh, Tom and his family on holiday are suddenly under siege it appears, and are in real danger for no apparent reason! Great stuff.

The second half of the book is a different affair almost, with a chase that is hard to follow, or even believe at times. I had to revisit certain bits to refresh myself who was who as the more characters became apparent. The ending felt like the author had run out of steam, which is a shame. The novel could have been trimmed down, losing weight in the middle and would have been a much easier read. Still worth a read though and will make a great movie one day!

Most of this book takes place over one long, tense, terrifying night. Tom, Rachel, and their daughter Holly, are staying at a picturesque private lodge in the middle of nowhere, recovering from a mugging. They are also still coming to terms with their son's death in a car accident. The secluded getaway should be just what they needed, but instead they find themselves being chased, hiding and fighting for their lives. The terrifying events are interspersed with flashbacks to what happened to the son. As the story progresses, the layers of secrets and lies are slowly peeled away.

This book is a page turner. I needed to keep reading to find out what was happening, and each time I thought I could predict the ending, something new was revealed. It's an exciting read, with lots of twists and turns. The isolation is really well put across, the atmospheric writing adding to the fear and panic. Not a book I would want to read whilst alone in the house, I have to admit!

As someone who loves fast paced psychological thrillers it soon became clear this wasn’t the sort of book I’d normally go for at all. It’s pace is slow with lots of time spend building atmosphere and suspense and the majority of the book recounts one night - the night of a break-in to the remote Scottish holiday home that is current being habited by Tom, Rachel and daughter Holly.

Despite it being an unusual choice for me there was something about it that kept making me turn the pages initially. My enthusiasm waned as the game of ‘cat and mouse’ around the property continued and while I appreciated the book was well written it just wasn’t for me. Fans of conspiratory theories and action may well enjoy this read however.

My thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fast-paced, thrill-a-minute read for the most part, the story completely unravels in the last few chapters, leaving you somewhat disappointed. Tom and Rachel, along with their daughter Holly, have arrived at a secluded, secure lodge in Scotland, apparently to heal from the death of their son, Michael, and from a nasty mugging that has left Holly scarred mentally and physically. But late in the night, Rachel hears a window break. Is there someone in the house? How did they get in?

Most of the story is set in one single night of horrors, with a cat-and-mouse game between the terrified trio and a couple of dangerous, armed men intent on killing. But who are they, and what do they want? There are some heart-in-mouth cliffhangers and some breathless passages, and you can ignore most of the unlikely, over-the-top stunts, but the resolution takes it all down a notch. Having said that, it was mostly a decent read.

(Review copy from NetGalley.)

A gripping tale! I found it hard to put down once I had started it. To begin with the story appeared surreal, could all that really happen, but as the story progresses you can actually relate to parts. Well worth a book if you have a free afternoon

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel - it kept me guessing, kept me thinking about it - and I’m glad I left it til a break from work as I really couldn’t put it down. Very well written and planned, highly recommended.

Fabulous storyline - unputdownable!!!

I actually could not breathe whilst reading this in certain parts - I loved this book - the ending was the poorest part but the rest was brilliant.

AMAZING!! this book had me gripped from the start i read it in one sitting! fast paced never a dull moment.

fantastic book will be following this author

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of A Window Breaks, a pacey, unputdownable thriller from C M Ewan with rave reviews from Lee Child, C L Taylor and Anne Cleeves. I'm normally a psychological thriller kinda gal, but when I read the synopsis on this one I couldn't resist!

"2am and your worst nightmare is about to become a reality. If your family was targeted in the middle of the night, what would you do?"

This genuinely is one of my biggest fears. I'm the type of person who double, no, triple checks the locks, even when I know I've not opened the door. I fear the face at the window, looming out of the darkness. I assume the slightest noise is someone breaking into my home. I probably shouldn't have read this book. But I'm so glad I did.

Picture this. It's Christmas day, and I'm reading "just a couple of chapters" to help me sleep. Ha! DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO SLEEP. The story follows Tom and Rachel, and their daughter Holly, who are staying at a beautiful lodge for a family break. But when intruders break in, in the darkest depths of the night, the family are launched into a terrifying situation, epitomising the phrase "run for your life". It's soon obvious this is no simple burglary. But then why are they there?

A Window Breaks has firmly placed itself on my top 10 books of 2019 list, if only for the fear it instilled into me. My heart was thumping so hard I thought it was going to break out of my chest. My blood ran cold. You have to read this!

Didn’t know this author but am so glad I do now. Have devoured this book. And I kept trying not to but it’s addictive!
I do not want to spoil it but it’s a fast paced book about being hunted - seriously give this a go. 5/5 on goodreads and Amazon

Wow, a real rollercoaster of a read. The book starts slow and very carefully then suddenly takes off with real edge of the seat gripping drama. It is so difficult to put his book down, I couldn't read it fast enough. The story unravels perfectly and with such momentum, I found myself holding my breath.

I was kept guessing right to the end and I wasn't disappointed. What a fantastic book, I loved it and can't recommend it highly enough.

An easy five stars. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I loved this convoluted book. Within the first few pages the action begins and it seems impossible to believe that the rest of 5he book could continue this pace. Although the action of them trying to escape being captured seemed a little far fetched and drawn out in places I could not put it down trying to work out what was really happening. The interspersing of Michael’s death added confusion but also gave the momentum to my reading.

Tom Sullivan and his wife Rachel are having problems. It's not just the usual growing apart after more than a decade of marriage. Their son, Michael, was killed in a car crash some months before: he was driving his father's Audi and at sixteen wasn't legally entitled to drive. Not only did he kill himself when the car rammed into a tree, but he also killed his girlfriend, fifteen-year-old Fiona Connor. Tom can't think about Michael without a sense of shame and guilt. Rachel is broken, but she wants to forgive Michael. To give some space, Tom's moved out of the family home, but stresses to his thirteen-year-old daughter, Holly, that it is only a trial separation.

Then there was the mugging in an alley as the family was leaving a restaurant. Holly was punched in the face and it was only the appearance of some of the restaurant staff that caused the attacker to run off. Tom finds it hard to avoid the thought that it was something more than a bungled mugging. When he confides in his boss, Lionel suggests that the family (and Buster the chocolate labrador) go to his lodge in Scotland for a break, which hopefully might allow them time and space to sort themselves out.

It sounds like a good idea, particularly when they see the 'lodge'. It's a state-of-the-art, no-expenses-spared, futuristic building with everything they could wish for. Security seems to be brilliant, so they can relax and try and piece themselves back together.

The nightmare begins when the lodge is broken into in the middle of the first night and it's obvious that the intention is to kill the family. Tom doesn't know who to trust: Rachel seems to know more than she's telling and there's a strange closeness between her and the member of Lionel's staff who welcomed them to the lodge.

I was very taken by Holly: she's mature for her years and a deep thinker, but I was less impressed by Tom, whose jealousy surfaces in circumstances where it should be the last thing on his mind and he's constantly examining his feelings. I wanted to shake him and tell him to get a grip! We do learn more about Michael as the book progresses: there are constant flashbacks to what happened on the night of his death (rather too many for my liking) which gradually build up a picture of what really happened. Suspend annoyance - it's a good story.

'Fast-paced' doesn't really begin to describe how quickly this book moves. Your nerves are constantly on edge and it's so emotionally charged that you find yourself trying to look over your shoulder whilst you're reading. Personally, I found it a little too much: I'd have been glad of the occasional chance to take a breath, but then I am a bit of a wuss. If you normally enjoy this level of charge them this could well be the perfect book for you.

I had seen great reviews for A Window Breaks so I was eager to get reading. This book starts with a bang and the momentum and action is relentless the whole way through. That being said, I did find it a bit hard to suspend belief at some of the stuff that happened in the book. It’s a pacy read though, thriller readers will enjoy it!

Thank you to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
When I started this book I found it quite easy to get into. As I continued I noticed the narrative to be quite waffly and repetitive. At first I found it irritating, but as the story progressed, I came to the conclusion the drawing out of the actual action was helping with the "chilling" factor of the events. I found the content to be not only creepy but quite dark and sordid on occasions. The plot didn't really explain itself until quite late on in the book, and when it did, it turned out to be very twisty and convoluted.
Once the story had reached it's conclusion, there was a sizeable epilogue to continue reading. This built the reader up to a feeling of fear and dread, and ended with a spine tingling feeling of satisfaction.
Once you've finished reading, you'll find there's plenty to mull over afterwards.

A very good introduction on the blurb to get the interest and excitement juices flowing for us readers.
It got me.

And the writing was easy to follow as were the main characters.

However, as lots of other reviews show it as exciting, like being on a rollercoaster, tense and eagerly flicking pages, yes! Yes indeed, I was like that.....I needed to find out about their son who died.
I needed to find out Rachel’s (what appeared to be a secret from her husband, or was it plain grief?)

I needed to find out a lot of things and why their marriage was fragile.

But it came to the just over the halfway section when all I found hooking me was the bits leading up to their sons death. Along with his girlfriend, Fiona.
What happened to them?
There were sections in the book appertaining to the lead up of the death.

Everything else, the cat and mouse around the lodge they were at was really getting on my nerves if I’m honest.

Husband, wife and their daughter being there at Lionels place all secluded off was supposed to be a retreat for the family which ended up with them going around in circles trying to escape from these two sinister men in white coverups.

It was written in a brilliantly detailed way, but after a while I was getting more exhausted than the characters being chased!

I can fully understand it, but it just got tedious for me. All I wanted to know by that time, what was going on.

I think personally there were some pages that just needed condensing.

It doesn’t put me off recommending this book though, I’m sure lots I know will love and adore it.

I did like it, it was just that the “race for the truth” took to long while the family members were being chased. Some of it was way drawn out and unbelievable.

Enough said I think.

My 3*
Because the first half was breathtaking
The continuation of the throw back to their sons and his girlfriends death kept me turning pages.
It was fast flowing.

2* knocked off because the chase was too long drawn out.
Some of the ongoing conversation was nutty under the stressful situation they were under so I raised my eyes to the ceiling on more than one occasion.

The ending was mad.

This is a rollicking read! It stretches credulity a number of times, but, it's well written and so fast paced.

I don't want to say too much about the story, as it's best read knowing little. However, it's about a family dealing with bereavement who get pulled into a dangerous situation. Tom is the father who works for Lionel. Rachel is Tom's wife who also has a link to Lionel and Holly is their young daughter. Lionel persuades the family (following a harrowing incident) to rest and recuperate at his remote lodge in Scotland. This is where things go awry - well, more awry than already experienced by this poor family! There's action aplenty and it's definitely not a relaxing read! However, if you're up for the ride, it's a good one.

It's definitely a page turner. There were a number of times when I felt slightly frustrated, either by the at times ridiculous state of affairs (and individuals reaction to them) and others at the far fetched nature of the situation. For this reason, it's a 3.5 for me. The perfect read if you just want to lose yourself in a good, easy, story.
I'd normally score a 3* GOOD for a 3.5 but, it's a book that's stayed with me and so, for that reason I've increased my score to solid 4*

Thanks so much to #Netgalley and #Panpublishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review. Congratulations to the author.

Wow!!! What a read. Gripping, fast paced thriller (after getting into it.) Was a bit slow to start but once it did I was hooked. Loved all the tense, dramatic moments.
Tom, his wife Rachel and their daughter Holly are staying at a friend's lodge. In the middle of the night they are woken by the sound of someone breaking in. The story unfolds and flashes back to their son Michael's death. Tom starts to realise that Michael's death may not have been all it seemed.
Absolutely recommend this book. Bear with it. It is definitely worth it.

I almost, almost loved this book.

First, the great parts: after a slow but simmering start, the break-in described in the blurb occurs and the story explodes into fast-paced, pulse-racing action. For a good few chapters I was genuinely on edge and loving it! Ewan can certainly write effective tension. I also thought that the way Michael's story is told backwards, so that the truth gradually comes to light alongside the main narrative, is very well done.

What let the story down for me? It started to drag, a little, around three-quarters of the way through. The ingenuity of some of the earlier escapes seemed to be lacking. But the main thing I didn't like was Ewan's reluctance to allow his protagonist, Tom, to make any truly difficult decisions. I realise that most sane people don't want to kill others, no matter the circumstances. But authors often seem to want to keep their characters as morally unambiguous as possible, and in this case that leads Tom near the end to make a pretty damn stupid decision. The fact that everything works out for him through narrative convenience only makes it more annoying.

Still, it's a good enjoyable read, fast-paced and tense, and I'd certainly try another book by the same author.