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The Fall
by
Claire McGowan (Goodreads Author)
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...more
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...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
February 2nd 2012
by Headline
(first published January 1st 2012)
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I generally read several books at a time and switch between them as the fancy takes me but this one gripped me to such an extent that I have been reading it in any spare moments I’ve had over the last two days as well as in my usual long sessions in the evenings.
Charlotte and Dan are the ideal couple. She’s in PR and he’s a banker. But things are about to change. A week before their wedding and their luxury honeymoon in Jamaica things go wrong when a night out results in arrest for Dan on a cha...more
Charlotte and Dan are the ideal couple. She’s in PR and he’s a banker. But things are about to change. A week before their wedding and their luxury honeymoon in Jamaica things go wrong when a night out results in arrest for Dan on a cha...more
The Fall is the debut novel from Claire McGowan and tells the story of a murder investigation and journey to trial from the point of view of three characters: the wife-to-be of the accused, the girlfriend of an unsavoury man who happened to be in the same location as the victim and accused on the night of the murder and, finally, the investigating officer.
At first I found the switch from one perspective to another a little jarring because the switches seemed to happen with great regularity. Howe...more
At first I found the switch from one perspective to another a little jarring because the switches seemed to happen with great regularity. Howe...more
It looks like a crime novel, and yes, it is a crime novel. But it’s not so much the sory of a crime or the story of an investigation as the story of the effects of one crime on two very different women.
Charlotte has a wonderful life. She has a high-flying career in PR, she is engaged to Dan, a wealthy banker, they live in a luxury London apartment, and she is making elaborate plans for a dream wedding.
Keisha has a less wonderful life. Chris, her boyfriend has started to drink heavily and if ofte...more
Charlotte has a wonderful life. She has a high-flying career in PR, she is engaged to Dan, a wealthy banker, they live in a luxury London apartment, and she is making elaborate plans for a dream wedding.
Keisha has a less wonderful life. Chris, her boyfriend has started to drink heavily and if ofte...more
It is almost insulting to refer to The Fall as a debut novel, as nothing about this stylish, mature and accomplished work suggests a first book.
Two young London women from diametrically opposite ends of the social spectrum are thrown together one night after a violent murder in a Camden nightclub. The fiancé of one becomes the police’s prime suspect; the boyfriend of the other is ours. As the lives of both women go into freefall, they each lose everything and everyone on whom they previously re...more
Two young London women from diametrically opposite ends of the social spectrum are thrown together one night after a violent murder in a Camden nightclub. The fiancé of one becomes the police’s prime suspect; the boyfriend of the other is ours. As the lives of both women go into freefall, they each lose everything and everyone on whom they previously re...more
From the first moment I started reading this book I couldn't put it down.
The story revolves around the beautiful and fragile Charlotte, who's banker husband-to-be suddenly goes off the rails and is accused of murder.
Concurrently with Charlotte's story we follow the chaotic life of Keisha, who unlike Charlotte has not been so lucky in love. Her boyfriend, and father of her daughter, is violent and mean. Keisha's background is also in stark contrast to Charlotte's middle-class upbringing, and it...more
The story revolves around the beautiful and fragile Charlotte, who's banker husband-to-be suddenly goes off the rails and is accused of murder.
Concurrently with Charlotte's story we follow the chaotic life of Keisha, who unlike Charlotte has not been so lucky in love. Her boyfriend, and father of her daughter, is violent and mean. Keisha's background is also in stark contrast to Charlotte's middle-class upbringing, and it...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put it down. The story is about Charlotte and Dan who are a week away from getting married. Charlotte is planning the perfect wedding and everything is great, when suddenly her whole world falls apart. Dan is accused of a violent murder at a nightclub they visited together and is arrested. Charlotte is left trying to pick up the pieces of her life, with the wedding off, discovering Dan's secrets and dealing with both the press and the police, C...more
Time Taken To Read - on and off for 10 days
Blurb From Goodreads
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...more
Blurb From Goodreads
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...more
Enjoyed this one - an easy read but hard to put down even though it is obvious from the start who committed the murder. But the characters are so well developed that you end up caring what happens to them all. All very topical and relevant as well with its references to Facebook and corrupt bankers. Writing style reminded me of Into the Darkest Corner (although nothing like as creepy and threatening as that book becomes later on), another debut author book that I enjoyed recently. Don't often co...more
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I'm not particularly into thrillers but when esteemed author Peter James was quoted as saying this was a British Bonfire of the Vanities - my all-time favourite book - I was hooked. And there are, indeed, similarities - they both have a cover and some pages in the middle with words on them. Sadly, that's it. Bonfire is a work of genius, bursting with magical set-pieces, complex, inter-woven story lines, on-the-money social commentary and fascinating, nuanced characters spouting sparkling dialogu...more
I had this book on my kindle for a while and thought I would give it a read whilst awaiting a pre-order to arrive. All I can say is, wow! I wish I had read it sooner. It's a cracking read and I couldn't put it down.
I liked Charlotte and Keisha but really liked the lovely Matthew Hegarty. The pace at the beginning is relentless, slows up in the middle and regains pace again. I particularly liked how the story was written from the viewpoints of the three main characters, and the trial itself was q...more
I liked Charlotte and Keisha but really liked the lovely Matthew Hegarty. The pace at the beginning is relentless, slows up in the middle and regains pace again. I particularly liked how the story was written from the viewpoints of the three main characters, and the trial itself was q...more
1 like · like · see review
This novel was decidedly flat and is more drama than suspense or crime/murder.
It is a debut novel and it reads unfortunately like one. Lots of description but the plot is really about the trial of the main character's boyfriend and a sub-plot.
Multiple voices are used to narrate the novel but of course this just makes it convenient to pad out the novel and til the pages.
374 pages is a lot of stuff to read and be underwhelmed in the end.
Reviewers might be kind to the author because she is the dir...more
It is a debut novel and it reads unfortunately like one. Lots of description but the plot is really about the trial of the main character's boyfriend and a sub-plot.
Multiple voices are used to narrate the novel but of course this just makes it convenient to pad out the novel and til the pages.
374 pages is a lot of stuff to read and be underwhelmed in the end.
Reviewers might be kind to the author because she is the dir...more
I enjoyed everything about this book from the first page to the last. In fact I didn't want it to end, I got so involved with the characters and their lives. It has all the pace and excitement of a thriller with an added 'feelgood' factor (would love to say more here but don't want to spoil it for prospective readers). I admired the writer's exploration of the terrible inertia of depression but also the power she gives her characters to make changes in their lifes. I recommend it as a really abs...more
The Fall is an ambitious debut novel that delivers some memorable moments, but for the most part feels ungainly, as the characters are often used instrumentally by McGowen.
The story is centred on a chaotic moment in which the lives of two girls in their mid-twenties - who appear pretty dissimilar at first - collide with mutual tragedy. It's an interesting premise, but lacks any real momentum or mystery as the reader is quite quickly made aware of the real perpetrator.
There are some genuinely fun...more
The story is centred on a chaotic moment in which the lives of two girls in their mid-twenties - who appear pretty dissimilar at first - collide with mutual tragedy. It's an interesting premise, but lacks any real momentum or mystery as the reader is quite quickly made aware of the real perpetrator.
There are some genuinely fun...more
I’m not sure how I came to this… possibly a review. However I do remember reading the first few pages via Amazon and wanting to read more. It’s basically a crime novel but is also has a bit of chick lit to it. That puts it outside my usual comfort zone, but I think reading out of the norm from time to time is a good thing.
The Fall is mainly written from the points of view of two young women. Charlotte has a nice job in PR and is busy planning her wedding to City banker Dan. He’s been a bit stres...more
The Fall is mainly written from the points of view of two young women. Charlotte has a nice job in PR and is busy planning her wedding to City banker Dan. He’s been a bit stres...more
This is the debut novel from a new name on the scene, Claire McGowan, whom we’ve interviewed on the site and recently featured in an article about where authors do their writing. She’s also a director of the Crime Writers’ Association, who has become a writer. And she doesn’t pull any punches with her first novel, tackling issues of class, racism, and how far you’d go for love.
Told from three different points of view, The Fall opens with Charlotte, the fiancée of a high-earning banker, planning...more
Told from three different points of view, The Fall opens with Charlotte, the fiancée of a high-earning banker, planning...more
‘Everything could crumble. Everything could fall apart. She knew that now.’
An intriguing, short prologue already has us wondering, who is this, what has happened, and why? Then we meet the two main female protagonists, Keisha and Charlotte; two very different women drawn together by a crime. Charlotte seems to have a very happy life, she has a successful career in PR, and is deeply in love and very soon going to marry Dan, her partner, who is a wealthy banker. They have a gorgeous flat and all t...more
An intriguing, short prologue already has us wondering, who is this, what has happened, and why? Then we meet the two main female protagonists, Keisha and Charlotte; two very different women drawn together by a crime. Charlotte seems to have a very happy life, she has a successful career in PR, and is deeply in love and very soon going to marry Dan, her partner, who is a wealthy banker. They have a gorgeous flat and all t...more
Interesting that Claire McGowan mentions Elizabeth Haynes in her acknowledgements because their books are very much from the same stable - this was good, but Elizabeth Haynes currently has the clear edge. The characters were a tad stereotyped and not particularly likeable - Dan the banker, Charlotte the posh girl, Keisha the battered mixed race mother... but I did really like Hegarty, the police officer trying to do the best job he can. The story's strong, and I found it quite a good read with t...more
This was a good first effort; well-rounded characters, intricate plot, pervading sense of menace. However, it goes on to become less menacing and more chick-lit as the plot unfolds to a “saw it coming a mile away” ending. Despite that, it held my interest and I read it quicker than I read a lot of books in this genre. I look forward to subsequent books from this new author to see how she develops.
A very good debut novel very much in the vein of Elizabeth Haynes and Sophie Hannah. It is interestingly told through the perspective of three people and each of these characters in themselves were very different. It isn't an all action thriller but it burns away at a medium pace that is just enough to keep you hooked. I shall certainly look fotward to her next book.
This isn't my usual cup of tea, but I stumbled across the author on Twitter and have been following her for a while because she is both interesting and amusing, so I thought that I would give her book a try and I am very glad that I did.
It's a book about two very different women who are thrown together after a gruesome murder. It isn't a whodunnit, it's fairly obvious "who" dunnit fairly early on, it's more about the characters and how they develop through the tough times.
It's a book about two very different women who are thrown together after a gruesome murder. It isn't a whodunnit, it's fairly obvious "who" dunnit fairly early on, it's more about the characters and how they develop through the tough times.
I bought this book a few months ago and have only just got around to reading it. I wish I had read it sooner, I liked the way the story jumped from character to character, even if just for a couple of pages to describe the events. Looking forward to the new book next year, won't be waiting as long to read it this time.
I couldn't put this one down once I started. A good debut novel and reminds me of Sophie Hannah's books. This story is told through eyes of three very different people. A slow burner that moves at a steady pace that keeps you hanging in there.
not something i would normally read, but an intriguing novel written from the point of view of three different characters and how their lives were each affected by the crime.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10289570
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10289570
Read this after reading recommendations from other authors. An easy read but one that raises a number of moral questions. There is a crime but the central themes are about love, loyalty, fear and doing the right thing. Thought provoking.
A fast paced page-turner, the Fall is an excellent debut novel and very readable. It appears to be a crime novel, and there is a crime, and plenty of suspense, but the book is more about Charlotte and Keisha and the effect the crime has on their lives. The book taps into a different (possibly new) market, where young women’s lives meet crime and suspense.
This book is ace! Told from three points of view one catastrophic event is played out to trial. Could not put it down.
A good read if you want something easy... A tad predictable although she does keep you guessing.
very poor ending
May 25, 2013
Jill B A
marked it as to-read
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Claire McGowan grew up in a small village in Northern Ireland. After a degree in English and French from Oxford University she moved to London and worked in the charity sector. THE FALL is her first novel.
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