The Fall by Rachael Blok
Summary:
The sins of the past echo in the present in the new literary thriller from crime-critic favourite, Rachael Blok.
The bigger the sin, the further the fall…
With Easter approaching, the verger of St Albans Cathedral was supposed to be readying the church. Instead he discovers a man lying dead, fallen from the famous 150-foot-high tower. Did he jump, or was he pushed?
For DCI Maarten Jansen, it’s a simple case of suspected suicide. Until a stranger, Willow, who witnessed the jump, prompts a deeper investigation into a long-buried past, involving a psychiatric hospital, a pregnant woman, and fifty years of silence. As Willow’s own family history entwines with the case, Jansen starts to wonder how everything is connected.
The Fall is a haunting literary thriller about loss, trauma, silence, and how our past shapes who we are.
My Review:
The question for DCI Maarten Jansen is was it suicide or something more sinister? The Fall (Aries Fiction, Head of Zeus) was released on the 14th April just ahead of Easter and ironically Easter is the setting for this gripping thriller set in St. Albans.
It is the small hours of the morning, and all seems quiet, and Willow has arrived at the St. Albans Cathedral to prepare for an event but from the darkness she hears a noise. On the roof of the Cathedral a man is struggling, and he is trying not to fall. High up there the wind is strong, and it is cold. The man cries out for help. Far below Willow thinks she hears a shout but believes she is hearing things. It is dark and sometimes you can hear things that are not there. Then there is a crash.
It is down to DCI Maarten Jansen who is originally from Rotterdam to investigate what happened to the 80-year-od man. Why would he be up there on the roof of the Cathedral in the early hours of Good Friday. Jansen believes it was suicide until Willow arrives and tells the DCI Jansen what she witnessed, and this now requires a deeper investigation, and this now has the past coming to life and there are some characters in the novel that would be keen to see this and would rather the past be buried and stay buried. This is going to be a complex case and not as straightforward for DCI Jansen.
What I really enjoyed is how Rachael Blok has created such an interesting back story that involved several characters many have stories to tell and the inclusion of the Cathedral that is centre of the novel as well as a psychiatric hospital all play a part in the novel and there are secrets from the past that are bubbling to the surface.
The Fall is slow to get going but it is worth continuing as the story really gathers pace the further you get into it. I really enjoyed Rachael’s writing and the research she has done for the background the novel. The Fall is one book I am happy to recommend.
400 Pages.
My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) and Aries Fiction (Head of Zeus) for the review Copy of The Fall by Rachael Blok Published on 14 April 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org
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