After a break in at their house, a young man dies and it’s Alice that killed him. Despite it being self defence, Alice feels very guilty and her need to come to terms with the death leads her to more questions. Just why did Ezra pick her house and does she know him?

A very worthy follow-up to Greenwich Park and The Other Mothers. My interest was held throughout with a weave of twists and turns, a myriad of interesting and (mostly) unlikeable or untrustworthy characters and plenty of misdirection. Highly recommended

Review - The Break In by Katherine Faulkner
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alice and Jamie’s home is broken into and the aftermath leaves everyone shocked - Alice can’t get over what happened and it soon becomes clear that there is more to this, a lot more!

This story is mainly follows Alice’s journey into the unknown trying to get to the bottom of what happened in her home - and why this man was ever there.

It seems the more she finds out, the less she knows those around her.

I was really gripped by this and I loved the way the characters stories were linked and the suspense building throughout was great.

It felt a little long in places, but this was a great read.

Alice kills an intruder who breaks into her home in self defence. Everyone tries to encourage her to move on but when strange things start to happen she begins to question who the intruder really was. She soon discovers a trail of dark secrets.

This seemed like an interesting storyline so I was looking forward to reading. This was a simple concept that really worked and delivered an entertaining, complex domestic thriller, with twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed the mystery element and the secrets to discover, which helped keep the story intriguing.

The characters were interesting and they seemed authentic, I could understand their actions to certain things. The pacing was a bit slow at times, however it was still a solid read that keeps you guessing. This was a clever, well written thriller overall and I look forward to seeing what the author writes next. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

For me this one took a while to get going, then picked up pace midway through.
There's a lot of characters and the story unravels from a few different points of view so some parts felt a little repetitive. It's quite a far fetched story of multiple lies and bad decisions - and I think they tried to throw a few too many twists in.
I didn't hate it, but equally didn't love it.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

Do you really know who you’ve let inside?

Alice does what every mother would do…protect her child but when this means killing a man things will never be the same again. As she attempts to apologise to his family she gets tangled in a web of lies and discovers that she had no idea of what’s been happening and exactly who she can trust.

I’ve read another book by this author so I was pleased when @netgalley gave me the chance to read this. A book full of twists and one I really enjoyed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication Date - 10/06/2025

#TheBreakIn
#KatherineFaulkner

I absolutely loved this book. It’s the first book in a while that has kept me really gripped throughout. They are some great twists that I just didn’t see coming. It’s my first time reading this author and it won’t be my last.

An enjoyably twisty thriller following the aftermath of a domestic break- in with fatal consequences. Told from different pov's the reader soon realises none of the characters are quite what they seem and its fun trying to second guess them!
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Wow what a twisty, turny thriller.
At the heart of this novel is Alice, mother, wife, works restoring important/old paintings, living a privileged life until the day Ezra enters her home, threatens her with a knife and she hits him over the head with a kitchen stool killing him in the process. But there are so many other characters also involved in the story who had an influence on why Ezra entered the house, and on what happened to Alice after that day - her husband, her journalist/school mom friend, her nanny ... all have secrets which are cleverly revealed over the course of the book. I really enjoyed this novel. Huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Break In is the first book I’ve read by this author but it won’t be the last.
Alice is at home with her friends having a celebratory glass of champagne to celebrate her new job, the nanny has the children in another room watching a film and her husband Jamie has popped out for some milk. They see a man at the door and as soon as he is seen he is in the house with a knife in his hand, Alice sees he’s going to the room where the children are and grabs a chair and hits him with it. What happens next will implicate Alice’s life forever. Dragged into a police station for questioning opens up some unanswered questions and everything she knows about her husband. Did he know the man that invaded their home? Where has he been when he should have been at work? Getting to the bottom of these questions leaves her life as she knows it firmly in the past.
This was a really good read, the characters came across really normal and everyday people so made it much more believable. The plot line is complicated but reads easily. There is a good pace throughout the book and it’s brimming in twists and turns and red herrings. The ending was unrushed and again felt believable.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review

Wonderful author who delivers it again! Never disappoints and always with such relatable and genuine characters! I loved the pace and the thrills thanks for sharing!!

What would you do if a break-in shattered your perfect life—and the truth made even less sense?

This was such a refreshing take on the domestic thriller. Told through three acts (Afterwards, The Day Of, and Autumn), plus a mix of POVs, letters, online comments, and media snippets—it felt layered and immersive without ever becoming confusing.

Alice was a strong lead, but it was the secondary characters that really stood out for me—especially Jade, whose presence gave me a genuine sense of unease. The book steadily unravels the mystery behind a deadly home invasion, and while the pacing really picks up in the second half, I was hooked from the beginning. Clever, original, and surprisingly thoughtful in its commentary on class, media, and public perception.

Katherine’s writing is both accessible and sharply constructed—this was one of those books where every breadcrumb mattered, and the twist completely blindsided me. If you like thrillers that build slow tension with smart reveals and eerie undertones, you’ll love this.

The first Katherine Faulkner book I have read. A bit slow developing but a great finish. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I've been reading Katherine Faulkner's books since her debut - I've enjoyed them all and The Break-In lived up to expectations. A really enthralling and twisty mystery and a superb premise

A really twisty and gripping thriller that kept me guessing to the end. Suspend belief and just enjoy this well written tale that starts with a break in where the female owner and mother hits the man who broke in and kills him. The plot thickens decidedly as the story progress.

I'm not a big reader of thrillers and so i had no idea what to expect with this one, well.....I am still in shock! I had no idea a thriller could be so gripping and i found myself reading it all in one day because i just had to know how it ended!

Highly recommend, now i have to read more books like this!

A complex tale of how a break-in can lead to an enormous can of worms being opened. At first when Alice has a few friends over to her home with their children, nothing seemed more normal. However, a young man breaks in and seemingly drunk or high makes threatens the ladies and demands to know where she is. Assuming he is confused they try and get him away but when he heads towards the room where the children are, Alice quickly lifts a heavy metal stool and brings it crashing down on the intruder’s head. Subsequently arrested for his murder, the life of Alice and her family is ultimately changed forever. Who was this man? Was he in the wrong house? The answers are a little slow to come by but then the story picks up with many twists and shocking turns. A catastrophic story that has far reaching implications for all concerned and shows that actions always have consequences. A well written story that shows human nature at its worst and makes you question how far you would go for your family.

Alice is a well off yummy mummy who find herself in the unthinkable position of having killed an Intruder in their luxurious home, which is at the expensive end of a less salubrious area. She is traumatised by the event, and the death of the young man Ezra, but was attempting to protect the children in her house at the time - both her own and her friends' kids, who were over for a playdate.

Yet something about the intrusion does not add up, the more that Alice explores what lies beneath the surface, the more terrible the true picture that begins to emerge is...

Featuring a densely packed narrative, which may occasionally require a suspension of disbelief, the story it is brilliantly crafted and Faulkner does a singular job of tying together her threads to reveal a very dark tapestry.

This book is an exponential leap up from her previous one, which was also well received, and showcases a writer at the height of her powers.

This book was a little slow at the start and I found the main character Alice's actions a little unbelievable. Story was good though and I liked the ending.

The Break-In is a gripping and compelling mystery about Alice, a middle aged, middle-class yummy mummy who is under police investigation for killing an intruder, a troubled young man of eighteen, Ezra Jones. Wracked with guilt, traumatised by the public reaction to the crime and seeking to understand Ezra’s motivation for the break-in, Alice makes contact with Linda, Ezra’s mother and enlists the help of her journalist friend Stella, to make further enquiries into the family. In the process, she uncovers disturbing secrets that are much closer to home and that will disrupt her life forever. This story is engaging from the start, and although Alice comes across as naive, reckless and insecure, she is an interesting character. Some of the twists are easier to guess than others, but there are plenty of unexpected plot twists to keep the reader on their toes. Well plotted and executed.

I found the book hard going, I was not invested in any of the characters.
Slow moving and reflective. No one is without motive which become clearer as the story unfolds.
Not for me but well written