Monday, August 26, 2024

Hayley Scrivenor, Girl Falling

 



- This second novel from the author of the international bestseller Dirt Town is a riveting read.

- I polished it off in two days, despite having other things to do, because it sucked me in and demanded my attention, and I thought about it - the characters, the possible endings - during the night when I was trying to sleep!

- I can't do better than the back cover blurb to describe the basics of the novel:

Finn and her best friend, Daphne, have grown up together in the Blue Mountains. Bonded by both having lost a younger sister to suicide they've always had a close - sometimes too close - friendship. Now in their twenties, their lives have finally started to diverge: Daphne is at university and Finn is working in the Mountains, as well as falling in love with a beautiful newcomer called Magdu. 

Unused to sharing Finn, Daphne starts to act up in ways that will allow her to maintain the control over her best friend she's always relished. Then, one fateful day, Finn, Daphne and Magdu all go rock-climbing - and Magnu falls to her death. Is it suicide, or a terrible accident - or something more sinister?

Bold, dramatic and utterly compelling, Girl Falling forces us to confront the stories we tell ourselves about the people we love. Displaying all of Hayley Scrivenor's razor-sharp skills for character, landscape and narrative, this is a breathtaking read. 

- There is much more to the book than this brief description. It's a study of gay relationships, an analysis of narcissism, parental oversight, sibling rivalry, and the very elusive nature of frankness, truth and courage. Is suicide always the right word, for example, when 'accidental' may be more accurate? 

- Right to the last page I couldn't predict the ending. There were a number of realistic possibilities. That there says a lot about the high quality of this multi-layered, deep and insightful crime thriller. 

- Absolutely worth your time. 



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