1. Many emotions go through Cass’s head when she passes the stalled car in the woods: irritation, worry, guilt. Would you have stopped? Do you think she should have?
2. Have you ever had to care for an aging relative? If so, did you relate to Cass’s worries that she’d inherited her mother’s dementia? Why or why not?
3. Cass is reluctant to take medication, even after she is diagnosed by a doctor. Do you think that she was just afraid to accept her diagnosis, or do you think that all along part of her knew something wasn’t right?
4. What did you think of how many times Matthew went along with Cass’s forgetfulness before he suggested she see someone for it? Did it seem reasonable or convincing to you? Why or why not? Did you ever suspect him?
5. When did you first begin to suspect that Rachel’s relationship with Cass was not as it seemed? Did it surprise you? Why or why not?
6. Cass is very isolated where she lives. How does this isolation aid in building up her paranoia while also helping to move along Rachel and Matthew’s scheme?
7. Did you find Rachel and Matthew’s scheme believable?
8. If Cass had given Rachel the cottage earlier, could this whole series of events have been avoided?
9. Cass eventually wonders why she made it so easy for Matthew and Rachel—why she was so willing to believe she had dementia, and never questioned any of her “amnesia.” Did you ever question it? Why or why not? How would you have felt if something similar happened to you?
10. In psychological thrillers like The Breakdown, it is common for the husband to be suspect, and the best friend to be the voice of reason or even a lifeline for the heroine. Did The Breakdown stand out from other similar books in this way? Why or why not?
11. What do you think of how Cass gets her revenge? How horribly wrong it could have gone, compared with how it actually turns out?
12. Who is the true villain in The Breakdown? And is there a hero?
St. Martin’s Griffin