Breakdown: A Love Story

Written by Katherine Amt Hanna

Narrated by Ralph Lister

An influenza plague decimates humanity…

A man loses his wife and baby daughter…

Six years after a pandemic devastates the human population, former rock star Chris Price finally makes it from New York to Britain to reunite with his brother. His passage leaves him scarred, in body and mind, by exposure to humankind at its most desperate and dangerous. But another ordeal awaits him beyond the urban ruins, in an idyllic country refuge where Chris meets a woman, Pauline, who is largely untouched by the world’s horrors. Together, Chris and Pauline undertake the most difficult facet of Chris’s journey: confronting grief, violence, and the man Chris has become. They will discover whether the human spirit is capable of surviving and loving again in this darker, harder world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469213361

Katherine Amt Hanna

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Katherine Amt Hanna studied costuming and creative writing at Lynchburg College in Virginia, spent thirteen years working for Kodak, and now operates a home-based business selling medieval, Roman, biblical, and other historical costumes. She presently lives in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. Her first novel, Breakdown, was published by 47North in August, 2012. The Work of the Devil is her first novella.

Reviews for Breakdown

[katlb82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a slightly crazy obsessed fan of PA, I picked up Breakdown the moment I saw it. One thing often missing in post-apocalyptic novels is the ‘what happens after’ effect – sure, the tension and action are high during a pandemic, but what is the emotional effect on those left behind, and how do they move on with their lives? Starting with a prologue in January 2000, a global pandemic smacks down the population of New York, changing the life of Chris in an instant. Estranged from his family and friends in the UK, Chris finds himself suddenly and unexpectedly alone in a world turned on its head. Breakdown is the story of the fall-out of the epidemic, six years on. Life is fundamentally changed, trading and bartering is back in vogue and families stick together, living in the same house and working together to survive day-to-day life. The unique side of Breakdown is in exploring the emotional toll of the epidemic that has changed the world and the dynamics of friendships and family relationships. Emotion is high, loyalties are radically changed and priorities have been re-assessed. What I particularly loved about this book are the characters. They are damaged, changed and, against all odds, positive people – not only trying to survive but thrive. Family bonds are strong, love is more meaningful and the basic things in life are what the characters live and strive for. Breakdown ends strongly, with high emotion, and although I’m too tough to cry (no tear ducts on zombies!), I couldn’t put this book down. If you want a PA book that has heart and soul, Breakdown is the book for you. My favourite quote: ''Another part of me, dead. More of me is dead than alive. That's how I feel. I switch off and run on autopilot. Don't think, don't feel. Until something finally kills me and I'm done.''

[newsieq · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although I’ve read many of Sara Paretsky’s mysteries featuring Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski, I haven’t read any recently. That was why I was surprised when picked up Breakdown and discovered that V.I. had actually aged – she’s nearing age 50. Many of my favorite mystery heroines – Carolyn Hart’s Annie Darling and Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone come to mind – have barely aged a day in two decades. I found it refreshing that dear V.I. has aged, and gracefully.In Breakdown, V.I. helps rescue seven 11- and 12-year-old girls from a Chicago cemetery, where they’ve gone to perform an initiation based on a series of books they’ve been reading. Unfortunately, the cemetery is also the site of a recent murder – that of a private eye who is stabbed in the heart by a piece of rebar. After the body is spotted by one of the girls, V.I. hustles them out of the cemetery before the police can get to them. Her Good Samaritan act plops her down in the middle of a murder inquiry, and into the lives of Chicago’s wealthiest and most influential families. Then she’s contacted by a long-ago law-school friend, Leydon Ashford. V.I.’s friendship with the troubled woman is difficult, but Leydon’s cryptic message draws V.I. to a university chapel, where she discovers that her friend has fallen, or was pushed, from a small gallery. With multiple broken bones and head trauma, her condition is critical. Now, V.I. has two crimes to look into. Of course, things get even more complicated and V.I. finds herself in great peril as she dashes from city to suburb, from mansions to a DuPage County private psychiatric hospital where Leydon had been a patient .Breakdown started a bit slowly, but it quickly picked up momentum … and soon I couldn’t put it down. The plot is complex, the characters and situations compelling, the resolution quite satisfying. And the writing is wonderful, just what I remembered from the earlier books in the series. I’ll have to catch up to those I’ve missed in Ms. Paretsky’s long list. Review based on published-provided copy of the book.

[valca85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have a weak spot for post-apocalyptic novels, so when I was offered a free review copy for this book, I jumped at it. I was not disappointed.What makes this particular book work so well is the pacing. The readers are thrown into the remnant of a world we vaguely recognize, but we don’t know all the facts. We know a plague caused all the damage, but we don’t really know what that means. Slowly, through the main character’s (Chris) recollections, we begin to get a sense of how wrong things actually became. That feeling of not quite having all the information creates a great unease that propels the reader to turn the pages.More than the actual plague and everything that comes after it, what draws the reader is the character development and the very familiar relationships. We see Chris beginning as a haunted man, a shadow of a real human, and we see Pauline, a sensitive person who does her best to keep things together throughout the chaos, evolving and growing closer, healing each other.The writing was spotless and engaging, the author’s voice fresh yet with a bit of bite. I had a hard time putting the story down after I began to see all the connecting threads that guide us, and Chris, to the end.Highly recommend it.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Civilization breaks down after a devastating plague, and former musician Chris Price is making his way home to reunite with his family in Bath, England.This is a love story, as the subtitle indicates, and I am not generally a fan of romance. It's a quiet book, a different take on the post-apocalyptic story with more rebuilding and less violence. It's competently done, but it doesn't shine. The writing likes rhythm, and the characters seem to blur together.Read in 2015.

[aztwinmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

V.I. Warshawski is a PI in Chicago and as tough as the city. But this case involves her cousin and a group of young girls and VI is older and has mellowed some. This is a good mystery with many intertwined lines which were tied up in the end. The middle was a little slow, leading to an exciting finish.

[angel2649 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

V.I. has been around now for about 30 years. Though the technology in the book as kept pace with the years, V.I. has not aged as much. The book had lots of characters and seemingly random story lines that all come together in the final chapter, although I did figure it out about 1/3 of the way into the book. Still, it was fun to read.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This series was recommended to me a long time ago as being similar to the Kinsey Milhone Alphabet series. Now that the Alphabet Series has concluded, I decided to give this series a shot and see. Given how often V. I.'s written about cases include pro bono work and how much she ignores her paying clients while she's on the trail of the mystery, I sometimes wonder how her business survives. V. I. does seem to have tamed her mouth to some extent. In earlier books, she just used to blurt out her uncensored thoughts and it usually got her into trouble. At least at this point in the series, she's starting to sometimes think about what she says before deciding to say it.Once again though (for the third or fourth time in the so-far-fifteen-book-series) she's involved in a case that involves children--in this case, girls from her niece's book group. She also reunites briefly with a former-law-school friend (whom we've never heard about before to my recollection). This friend has a mental illness (though is still a member of the bar). Despite most people thinking the friend was just spouting gibberish, V. I. pieces together that the friend had actually discovered evidence to clear a man incarcerated with diminished capacity of murder. The plot seems very convoluted. I listened to this as an audiobook and, as usual, I thought the case was wrapped up but still had 2 CDs to go. In this case, that was wrapping up the second part of the story, part of which was intertwined with the first.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Paretsky's Warshawshi is in vintage form in this novel, and is able to solve the case with her usual flair. A very good read. And completely nails the stupidity of teens all over America, today, spot-on.

[ameise1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An exciting story that fits the American Midturn election. Two candidates fight with different machinations for the election. While some use the media to defile the other party, the patriarch of the other party tries to protect the family. It turns out that everyone has something to hide from their past. V. I. Warshawski has her hands full discovering the ghosts of the past.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

V.I.'s cousin Petra is working with teen girls, and runs a book group about a shapeshifter. When some of the girls break curfew and go to a cemetery for a midnight ritual, V.I. is sent to find them, and finds herself embroiled in a series of events that kills several people.

[cygnet81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

WOW - Surprise ending! At first I didn't love this book because Wade Lawlor's character was so repulsive but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did!

[jepeters333 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Carmilla, Queen of the Night, is a shape-shifting raven whose fictional exploits thrill girls all over the world. When tweens in Chicago's Carmilla Club hold an initiation ritual in an abandoned cemetery, they stumble on an actual corpse, a man stabbed through the heart in a vampire-style slaying. The girls include daughters of some of Chicago's most powerful families: the grandfather of one, Chaim Salanter, is among the world's wealthiest men; the mother of another, Sophy Durango, is running for the United States Senate.

[antt-4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of Paretsky's best. Before I read her most recent book, Critical Mass, several weeks ago, I had forgotten why I like her writing so much. She's a skilled technician—not appreciated enough today—but what makes her books so appealing to me is that every one is different, and the recurring characters grow and change.

[echasc · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This installment in the V.I Warshawski series is far from Paretsky's best effort. The plot is full of holes and many, many unlikely happenings. The characters are mostly caricatures and the political ranting is annoying and not relevant to the story. Diehard fans of the Warshawski series will find reasons to finish the book (as I did), but others are advised to skip Break Down and wait for the next installment. Readers who are new to the V.I. Warshawski series should start with one of Paretsky's earlier efforts.

[leduck-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've followed Sara Paretsky since V.I.'s debut; it is one of my favorite series in the genre. I do have to say, though, that this was not the strongest entry in the series. It isn't that I think she's wrong about the nastiness and sensationalism of political discourse (and much as it pains me, liberal commentators and entertainers seem as guilty as conservatives in this regard). It's just that this was fairly heavy-handed; a commentary without much nuance. Combine this with a painfully obvious mystery, and I ended up with a mystery that didn't have at all the usual suspense of a usual outing with V.I. Warshawski. Nor did I think the story did a good job of wrapping up all the loose ends or unifying the varous stories particularly well.

Although this was something of a disappointment it won't stop me from picking up the next in a generally entertaining series.

[schant-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Quite disappointing. Seemed formulaic and a bit incoherent. The ending was dire and pretty implausible.

[cherybear · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My first Paretsky, and my first Warshawski. Yes, I'm a bit behind. Great read, couldn't put it down. Lots of characters woven throughout. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Who can V.I. (or Vic as her friends call her) trust? Who killed the man whose body was found in the cemetery? What do the various political candidates have to do with it? What does Vic's old friend Leydon have to do with it? Did she fall, or was she pushed?

[terran_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

V.I Warshawski is called in to a case by her niece, Petra, when a group of girls holding an initiation ritual in an abandoned cemetery stumble on a corpse stabbed through the heart in a vampire-style slaying. Investigating the murder brings V.I. into contact with some of Chicago's most powerful families. Is the killing linked to a hostile media campaign against Sophy Durango, a US Senate candidate? Or to Chaim Salanter's childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania? Racism, bigotry, and politics take the forefront as V. I. struggles to solve the crimes. The book took awhile to get started, and V.I. gets into a lot more physical conflict that a 50-year-old should, but it's never boring. Her supporting cast of characters appears as well, which brings in humor and humanity.

[kimsmyth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although well written as always, this book is my least favorite of the VI saga. Too much preachiness against the right for me.

[monicalynn-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am at a disadvantage as this is the first VI Warshawski novel I have read. It was hard for me to follow along at points and I felt out of the loop in areas. Overall for me the book was an okay read. I had difficulties getting into and reading this book, probably because of my disadvantage of not reading the first 14 novels.

[owlie13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read most if not all of Paretsky's books, and Breakdown is a reasonably good installment in the V.I. Warshawski series. The plot was interesting, but I did feel it was a little lacking in character development. It could be because I'm getting older, but I found it hard to remember all the characters and their relationships (which daughter was part of which famous family). Overall, a pleasant read but probably not one I would read a second time.

[indygo88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I suppose I'm at a disadvantage for not having read any of Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski novels previously. There were a few instances where I felt a little out of the loop for not knowing any background information, but for the most part, I could follow the storyline without too much difficulty. V.I. ("Vic") is a tough female private investigator, sometimes trying to be tougher than she probably actually is. But not bad for an around-50ish P.I. I thought some of the transitions in this book were a little choppy, but overall I really liked the mystery of the whole thing and I was kept guessing until almost the end. I also loved the Chicago setting. It's fun to read about locations you can relate to.

[camellia1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this newest book in Sara Paretesky's VI Warshawski series. It is always fun to catch up with VI and her friends and family; however, in this case, I thought the mystery dragged a little. Also, while I appreciate that VI ages from book to book, she still has miraculous healing powers to rapidly combat whatever her enemies throw her way. Overall, this was fun to read to keep up with the series, but I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed it if this was the first VI Warshawski book I'd ever read.

[kraaivrouw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the things I admire most about Sara Paretsky is her ability to fully embrace the moment and the choices she's made. Like her character, V.I. Warshawski, she is smart, self-aware, passionate, and funny.This is another series that I've been reading for a very long time. V.I. is great character and Paretsky has done a wonderful job of placing the books in the series close enough in time that Warshawski doesn't age out too soon, but far enough that she does age and we get to go there along with her as priorities shift, stories change, choices become different, and her love for her friends and neighbors remain a constant.Breakdown is the latest in the series and covers a murdered body in a mausoleum near where some high school girls are playing shapeshifter. This would normally be an interesting occurence (I know I'd follow the story on CNN), but it's made more interesting because two of the girls come from very prominent, wealthy, and powerful families.There are multiple subplots all swirling around each other, sometimes touching, sometimes not - interrelated, but not necessarily central to the fact of the dead guy with rebar through his chest. Paretsky handles all of this skillfully and I could not put this book down - and I do mean that. I read this everywhere and was fortunate enough to be about halfway through so I could finish it straight through on a Saturday. Yes, it was really entertaining.I love the way Ms. Paretsky has allowed V.I. to mature - she's not the V.I. she was at the start of the series - she's acquired a certain amount of grace, common sense, and even dignity - this is especially noticeable in this book - which may be one of the very best in the whole series. Must read.

[bumpersmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series has been consistantly a great read. In earlier books, there was an awful amount of physical action on V.I.'s part, but as she gracefully ages, she has toned some of that down and it appears that she does a little more thinking before swingingAll the familiar background characters are here and the story this time involves multiple murders, mayhem, teens, vampires, and midnight cemetery visits. For Warshawski fans, this is a delicious read and a page turner full of fun.

[romonko · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This wonderful long-running series has always been noted for Ms. Paretsky's tight plotting, wonderful characterizations and the tension that she can create throughout each and every book. This book has all these in spades. I couldn't put it down. I think what I like the most about V.I. is that fact that she is aging with each book, as are the rest of us. It gives her a vulnerability that is very appealing which hides underneath her tough exterior. This book starts out innocuously in an abandoned graveyard late at night where five or six tween girls are enacting a shape-shifing experiment in order to emulate their favourite fictional heroine. V.I. hears them and goes to see what is going on and then the madness starts. She finds a dead body in the graveyard and this sets her on a very dangerous mission to find and catch a truly chilling killer who thinks nothing of eliminating all those who stand in his way, including V.I. herself. It's V.I. against the rest of the world through most of the book until the final few chapters where we see her extended family and friends coming to her aid. What a humdinger of a book! I highly recommend this entire series.

[lehack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A new VI Warshawksi novel is always a good thing. VI gets an emergency call from her cousin, Petra to help her and a group of friends who are in Mount Moriah cemetary to perform a ritual inspired by a currently popular YA novel. The kids think they have seen a vampire and there is a dead body with a stake through its chest. This case embroils VI into politics and a vitriolic sensationalist TV talk show host who reports "news" without checking to see the truthfulness. As long is it is controversial, anti-liberal and helps his conservative candidates, he keeps up the onslaught. Her best friend from law school, Leydon Ashford, tries to reach VI, but is injured before they can talk. Leydon spent time in a mental hospital. VI isn't sure, but thinks the attack on Leydon may be related to something that happend there. VI is now 50, has a steady list of clients and works primarily on white collar, fiscal related cases. Breakdown moved up on my list of favorite Paretsky novels. I took a little longer to read (and savor) it. There are many characters and threads throughout, but Paretsky weaves them all together with her usual skill.

[weeziesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have long been a fan of Sara Paretsky and I was very please to be selected to receive a early release of her new book, “Break-Down”, a V.I. Warshawski series book from Putnam Publishing. The setting for the story is Chicago. The time could be today. I enjoyed this book and Paretsky fans will be delighted with this next installment of our favorite P.I. As usual V.I. becomes involved in investigating a murder, but this time it is another PI, one without a sterling reputation. While searching a local abandoned cemetery for some teens who are involved in the exploration of a vampire life, she stumbles upon a man with a stake through his heart. It seems that this incident may be involved with another case she is investigating regarding a high profile rich man, politics and a large media company. Paretsky uses modern communication venues such as cellphones a social network sites in a way that makes this book seem very current. Her unrelenting searches for the truth and closure for those impacted by the crimes is part of the charm of her character. I find the characters fully developed, the plot tight and full of action and suspense, and as usual containing sub plots that come together to tell the full story. In out cultures today we deal with the issues of prejudice, litigation, politics and control of public discussions by media. This book has it all. Another great read by Paretsky. I look forward to the next book. I give it 4 stars.

[aardvark2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun book with all the usual Paretsky elements: an intricate plot that keeps you guessing until the end, a cast of characters large enough to need a scorecard to keep straight, a gritty Chicago-area setting (local residents can actually visualize V.I.’s movements), and the stable of familiar regulars (Lotty and Max, Mr. Contreras, etc.). A solid and entertaining novel.

[pennybrainerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

V.I. has been around now for about 30 years. Though the technology in the book as kept pace with the years, V.I. has not aged as much. The book had lots of characters and seemingly random story lines that all come together in the final chapter, although I did figure it out about 1/3 of the way into the book. Still, it was fun to read.