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Breaking Point cover art

Breaking Point

By: Edel Coffey
Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow, Rachel Handshaw
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Summary

Winner, An Post Irish Book Awards Crime Fiction Book of the Year, 2022

Short-listed, An Post Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year, 2022

One mistake could cost her everything.

Susannah has two beautiful daughters, a high-flying medical career, a successful husband and an enviable life. Her hair is glossy, her clothes are expensive: she truly has it all.

But when—on the hottest day of the year—her strict morning routine is disrupted, Susannah finds herself running on autopilot. It is hours before she realises she has made a devastating mistake. Her baby, Louise, is still in the backseat of the car, and it is too late to save her.

As the press close in around her, Susannah is put on trial for negligence. It is plain to see that this is not a trial, it's a witch hunt. But what will the court say?

©2022 Edel Coffey (P)2022 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"A rare treat, an emotional thriller steeped in humanity. I read it in a single sitting!" (John Boyne)

"Breaking Point is raw, compelling, and ground-breaking; Coffey puts the life of working mothers under a microscope. To say I loved it is an understatement, I expect it will be a huge success." (Liz Nugent) 

"Gripping, unswerving, heart-breaking, you'll read this book through parted fingers - and learn a crucial lesson as you go." (Celia Walden, author of Payday)

"'A gripping, compulsive pageturner about what we expect from women, especially mothers. It's going to be a massive hit." (Marian Keyes)

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What listeners say about Breaking Point

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This book blew me away.

I don’t give out five stars lightly, but this novel deserves a ‘5-star’ status.

If you’ve ever had young children, a husband, and a job, you will identify with Susannah in a heartbeat. With hormones racing, schedules bulging, and relentless demands from work, we are all guilty of dropping the baton somewhere along the line, but at what cost? Edel Coffey takes you to hell and back while you easily relate to the lead characters’ problems.

I left my 3-week-old baby in the Post Office, returned home then had a panic attack. When I rushed back, he was happy being passed from one lovely, kind, caring lady to another. I’d had a traumatic birth and little sleep, my husband was a chocolate teapot, and I can now look back and hold my hands up to being guilty.

Thank you for writing this book. It’s an eye-opener to motherhood in 2022, proving that it’s nigh on impossible to have everything as a woman! I wish I could go back and have another go!

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Straightforward story

Great character development loved the narration with 2 readers
No surprises story went as expected but keep me interested and invested

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5 people found this helpful

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Brilliant book

I really enjoyed this book and the way the author dealt with the unspoken topic of how bloody hard it is to have it all and be everything to everyone and fail at it. Narration was excellent and well edited book with back story nicely filtered through without a deluge of chapters.

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5 people found this helpful

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Just Okay

I had high hopes for this book after reading multiple reviews raving about it. Honestly I thought it was just okay. The themes are interesting, important and timely but at times feel like they are clumsily shoved down your throat rather than allowing for any nuance. The courtroom scenes seemed particularly unrealistic and I found myself rolling my eyes at several parts! Overall, an okay listen but not one I would recommend.

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2 people found this helpful

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Tense throughout

Great book to listen to. The author describes the mania of everyday wonderfully and the guilt plus pressure mothers are put under to do it all.

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Unputdownable

Listened to breaking point. It was so unputdownable. I was on the edge until the very end

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loved this

this is a real page Turner keeps you interested as All the chapters are short so it moves along. Great narration as well. hope Edel has another one on the go. I will be watching out for more like this.

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1 person found this helpful

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breaking review

excellent story based on issues that reflect reality and about staying in a loveless marriage for the sake of the children. shows how you need to have work life balance to stop tragedy happening.

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Loved this book, an important & difficult subject.

This subject matter is difficult, layered, delicate and complicated and such an important subject to cover for so many reason. I congratulate the author on her writing and successfully capturing the reality of balancing motherhood & career while dealing with modern pressures, child loss, miscarriages & grief.

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A great story

This was moving and thought provoking. A well written and all round emotional rollercoaster of a book.

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