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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alex comes to a small town to make arrangements for her mother, recently diagnosed with dementia. About to get a divorce, and with her career as a barrister having stalled, all is not well in Alex's world when she and her mother find part of a body at the beach. Alex discovers links to another murder, and is soon embroiled in a case involving family secrets, dodgy cops, and art. A satisfying mystery with intriguing characters, and a beautiful sense of place,
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Given the juxtaposition of this review, and my recent one for THE STONING, I probably should mention that Aoife Clifford was the author I was discussing rural noir versus rural crime with. To my eye, Clifford is one of the great writers of rural crime in Australia at the moment, and she's right when she says the difference between her books and the more noirish styled ones like THE STONING is her self-professed affection, and sense of hope for the small towns that she sets her action in.
WHEN WE FALL is the story of Alex Tillerson and her mother and the small coastal town of Merritt, as much as it is the story of two murdered women. Alex is back in town for some very complicated reasons - a pending divorce, and a career as a barrister that's tanking; her mother's gentle slip into dementia requiring some difficult decisions to be made; and there's family history in Merritt that's complicated and challenging for all. The quote from the blurb sums it up beautifully:
When Alex and her mother make a shocking find on the beach one morning, the local police seem to be almost desperate to call it an accidental death, but there are whispers around town, and there's some odd connections between Maxine McFarlane, the latest victim, and the death of Bella Greggs a year earlier. She was found at the bottom of a ravine, despite having drowned in salt water. Maxine was found on the beach, supposedly drowned but her death quickly becomes more complicated as well. Nobody has ever explained the black feathers found with both bodies.
Cleverly interwoven with the deaths of these young women are many current day issues, from environmental activism, climate change, addiction, forced adoption, and the prejudice and unemployment that seems to blight so many small Australian towns these days. Elegantly plotted, tightly paced and littered with red herrings, readers are going to be left adjusting guesses at motive, and possible perpetrators right from the outset, with a lot of people - locals and incomers - with a lot of secrets to hide.
Aoife Clifford really writes descriptions of place, people and impact well. As with earlier novels, there's a clever juxtaposition of architecture and atmosphere, something, somewhere in the location that speaks to the central theme - in this case a lighthouse that looms, creating dark corners, and then shining bright, clear light in them. There are problems in her small town Australia locations, but there is always that sense of hope, and affection that peaks through. Her characters are beautifully nuanced and complicated, many of them with a sneaking sense of hope: that they didn't do it; or they will get to the truth; and will find a way of living a good life, in a place that deserves a second go.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/when-we-fall-aoife-clifford
WHEN WE FALL is the story of Alex Tillerson and her mother and the small coastal town of Merritt, as much as it is the story of two murdered women. Alex is back in town for some very complicated reasons - a pending divorce, and a career as a barrister that's tanking; her mother's gentle slip into dementia requiring some difficult decisions to be made; and there's family history in Merritt that's complicated and challenging for all. The quote from the blurb sums it up beautifully:
‘It isn’t strangers you need to worry about here. Blood lines run deep and in unexpected places. Every victim, every accused, we’ll know. The past runs alongside us all the time. Some days it spills into the open.’
When Alex and her mother make a shocking find on the beach one morning, the local police seem to be almost desperate to call it an accidental death, but there are whispers around town, and there's some odd connections between Maxine McFarlane, the latest victim, and the death of Bella Greggs a year earlier. She was found at the bottom of a ravine, despite having drowned in salt water. Maxine was found on the beach, supposedly drowned but her death quickly becomes more complicated as well. Nobody has ever explained the black feathers found with both bodies.
Cleverly interwoven with the deaths of these young women are many current day issues, from environmental activism, climate change, addiction, forced adoption, and the prejudice and unemployment that seems to blight so many small Australian towns these days. Elegantly plotted, tightly paced and littered with red herrings, readers are going to be left adjusting guesses at motive, and possible perpetrators right from the outset, with a lot of people - locals and incomers - with a lot of secrets to hide.
Aoife Clifford really writes descriptions of place, people and impact well. As with earlier novels, there's a clever juxtaposition of architecture and atmosphere, something, somewhere in the location that speaks to the central theme - in this case a lighthouse that looms, creating dark corners, and then shining bright, clear light in them. There are problems in her small town Australia locations, but there is always that sense of hope, and affection that peaks through. Her characters are beautifully nuanced and complicated, many of them with a sneaking sense of hope: that they didn't do it; or they will get to the truth; and will find a way of living a good life, in a place that deserves a second go.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/when-we-fall-aoife-clifford
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An enjoyable if not amazing read. Typical "small town" crime book, with quirky characters and everyone in everyone else's business. I was glad it wasn't one of the two "obvious" perpetrators but felt Theo was a bit one dimensional - all good until he was all bad I probably liked the substories about the main characters relationship breakdown and her mother's past and now dementia more than the main crime mystery!
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In a small town where everyone knows everyone this vivid, twisty crime thriller will have you analysing every word to figure out the secrets and lies of each character.
Alex has returned to Merrit under the ruse of taking care of her Mother, but with work as a barrister non existent and her ex husband chasing her to sign divorce papers it wasn’t a hard decision to go back to the place her mother grew up. But Merrit is reeling from the deaths of Bella Gregg’s and Maxine McFarlane, unconnected according to the police but the whispers of murder alongside the fact Alex and her mother were the ones to make the grisly discovery of Maxine’s leg Alex feels compelled to find truth and justice for the two women.
The story follows Alex has she gets sucked into investigating what happened to the women whilst balancing her personal demons and struggling with caring for her mother. As the past collides with the present Alex is left questioning who she can trust and whether she should stick around to find out the truth.
A captivating and completely absorbing page turner, I loved the inclusion of art as one of the focal parts of the narrative it adds a chilling atmospheric side to the storytelling. There a lot of characters to get your head around but all play such a key role to the storytelling and intertwining story it brings life to the town.
A great true Australian small town crime drama perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Mark Brandi. With thanks to the wonderful team @ultimopress for the gifted copy I can’t wait to share it with my book club friends
This was the first of Aoife’s books that I’ve read and now I wonder why I haven’t read any before! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters were likable and believable. The story wasn’t convoluted and it was easy to follow without being overwhelmed by the ups and downs as some thrillers tend to do. I liked the ending and this was a very solid four star read for me. Thank you to Better Reading for the ARC.