What would you do if the man you love was accused of murder? Bad things never happen to Charlotte. She's living the life she's always wanted and about to marry wealthy banker, Dan. But Dan's been hiding a secret, and the pressure is pushing him over the edge. After he's arrested for the vicious killing of a nightclub owner, Charlotte's future is shattered. Then she opens her door to Keisha, an angry and frustrated stranger with a story to tell. Convinced of Dan's innocence, Charlotte must fight for him - even if it means destroying her perfect life. But what Keisha knows threatens everyone she loves, and puts her own life in danger. DC Matthew Hegarty is riding high on the success of Dan's arrest. But he's finding it difficult to ignore his growing doubts as well as the beautiful and vulnerable Charlotte. Can he really risk it all for what's right? Three stories. One truth. They all need to brace themselves for the fall.
Claire McGowan is the Director of The Crime Writer's Association and The Fall is her debut novel and I for one hope there will be many more to follow.
The book is written from three people's viewpoints: Charlotte; soon to be married PR girl, Keisha, a down and out who has had her daughter taken off her, with a violent boyfriend;and Hegarty, the police detective in charge of the murder case. At the start of the book, the narrator changes quite quickly between the three, however as the story progresses, the narrators have longer sections and you really begin to get the know the characters and their thoughts.
The story is fast paced and there are twists and turns throughout the book. On a number of occasions I changed my mind about who actually committed the murder. I also found myself turning against Dan (the arrested and charged suspect) and then changing my mind a number of times. I liked the character of Keisha - she had had a lot of difficulties within her life and she also had many issues dealt to her throughout the book. Charlotte also went through a lot through the book and was able to see what she really needed in life - her posh lifestyle was quickly disregarded. I did find Hegarty annoying - a detective who wanted to get a big case under his belt to project him up the ladder, but he grew on me in the end.
When I tweeted the author to say that I had finished the book, she asked what I thought of the ending as she was sure when she submitted it that she would be asked to change it. However, as I said to her, I think the ending was very good - it was what I hoped for throughout the book and it really finished the story off perfectly.
I would recommend this book to crime lovers everywhere, ones who like crime novels that leave you trying to work out who it was and why. It is not a gory crime book, but is one which will leave you wanting to read just one more section before putting it down. I am sure McGowan will be around for many more book releases and I am certainly waiting for the next one already.
Thank you to the publishers, Headline, for sending me the book to review.
