Talk about watch your back and check your WhatsApp! A quick read about friendships, betrayals and loss

The premise of this book sounded really interesting and I was anticipating a pacey thriller with interesting twists and characters. Whilst the book did delivery this to some extent it wasn't quite what I wanted and I feel there could have been so much more to the story. The fall wasn't particularly dramatic and the characters weren't that likeable.

2.5 stars

The book is about the mums and there lifestyles and how they do things to have an appearance infront of all! It took me longer to read than expected. It all was a bit false for me

Sarah and Liza are best friends who have seen each other through thick and thin. When Ella - a glamorous and mysterious mama arrives back on the scene, Sarah is distracted from watching Liza's little boy who falls from a pole and injures himself seriously.

What ensues is middle class hysteria. Every character has an issue and a secret and every communication is disingenuous or misunderstood. The two main mums are fraught the whole way through the book, which means that the tension doesn't let up for a single moment.

The narrative is broken up with bitchy WhatsApp groups and interviews from witnesses - which is a bit of a respite from the maximum mummy angst that our two protagonists are going through.

This melodramatic read, opened my eyes to the issues of being a mum, and worrying about how the community perceives you and your family. Overall - it was not a relaxing read, and I felt very wound up with every single character by the end. I felt the idea was a bit thin to be stretched over so many chapters, but I can see that there is a whole demographic who would devour this eagerly - especially those moms who have to deal with school gate politics regularly!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the gifted eBook.

I enjoyed this read more than I anticipated. At first it just seemed about middle class, privileged mums and their spoiled lifestyle. But there was more to it with hints of domestic abuse, the stronger “A list” friend and how that changes behaviour, women and their pack instinct, turning on their own rather than supporting. And the terror of all mums everywhere- something awful happening to our child. We know Sarah feels guilty that she didn’t stop Jack’s fall but why is she so jittery? There must be more to it. Such a lot going on in the background- shows you never really understand what anyone else is living.

Great book. Enjoyed the plot and found the characters relatable.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Rebecca Thornton for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

The main characters in this story have all made big mistakes and continue to do so.
It is all about relationships but no one seems able to say what they feel or why anything has happened. The main focus is about keeping secrets which seem unnecessary to me. I was disappointed in the story which felt 'thin' and mostly about what the characters hadn't told each other.

A book that is so relate able as it is so easy for anyone to be in the beginning of this book. As a mum I really enjoyed this book although there were stages that my emotions became entwined with the story

It had only taken me 2 sittings to tag this engrossing, update book The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton. It was so refreshing to read emails, WhatsApp messages and Facebook posts as part of the story. The conversations on them where so on it, current. The characters all seemed to have secrets but you have to wait until the end to discover what they actually are, great novel

This is my first novel from Rebecca Thornton, when I started reading this I must admit I initially thought I wouldn't like it but I did. I will admit it was a bit of a slow burn but once it got going it was a really good book.

I kind of remember that feeling at the school gates when you're not part of the yummy mummy brigade, you know the mums in gym gear that make it look effortless. needless to say I wasn't that type of mummy. This book had an element of that and it made me realise that it probably wasn't as easy as they made it look. We've all been at soft play or somewhere like that, been gabbing to our friends and heard a scream or a yell from somewhere not sure if it was our child or not, that moment of distraction is all it takes.

The story centres around a young 10 year old having suffered a rather bad fall while out and as the title suggests this is the "Fallout". Two friends are out & one catches the eye of the elusive yummy mummy Ella, instead of doing what Liza asked her to do she gets side tracked and tragedy strikes. The side effects of "the accident "are exacerbated by each of the three main protagonists keeping secrets, secrets that look set to destroy them one by one.

I enjoyed that the author has brought social media into the spotlight' the majority of us use WhatsApp, Messenger and any number of message apps, we start private chats including and excluding friends, using it for gossip, to make plans and yes to keep secrets. I'm sure that most of us have sent a text to the wrong person that could have caused an argument or disagreement. I often think that the internet and social media can be a dangerous tool in either an accidental or even deliberate way.

I formed initial opinions of characters but as the story unfolds my opinions appeared to change with every chapter, Sarah irritated me, Liza intrigued me but Ella well she was one of a kind, endlessly generous when needed but she seemed just too perfect and as we all know, no-one is perfect.

I'll definitely recommend this to my bookworm family, friends and book groups.

Read for an honest review. Thank you Ms Thornton, Netgalley and HarperCollins UK HarperCollins

I really wanted to like "The Fallout": I thought the premise was great, and I had heard good things about it. but I spent most of the book wishing it was over - if I hadn't been reading it for NetGalley, I wouldn't have finished this one. 

The entire plot spins on Sarah's not checking on her best friend's son as she said she would, which is in my opinion blown out of all proportion, and certainly beyond anything that would sustain a whole novel. She half checks on the little boy, who is climbing a post at the time, and is then distracted; because of the accident that ensues, it then becomes our focus for the rest of the book. Should she have done a better job of checking up on the boy? Sure! Is there enough plot there to sustain a whole novel? Not for me, no. 

Would so many parents really have clamoured for "answers" as they do in the book? Would newspapers really have gotten involved?  This hasn't been my experience in real life. I'm sure parents would question the circumstances of the accident initially and then chalk it up to being an accident (as it was) - in this book, we have a huge drama boiling up from what essentially is a little boy falling off a pole. Accidents happen: I found it difficult to believe that it would create quite the furore it did, with furtive interviews and whatsapp groups set up. 

The characters were well written but a lot of the plot was repetitive, and we just kept circling back to Sarah not checking on Liza's son, and by the end I didn't care who got what comeuppance or who was in the right or wrong. There was just not enough plot for me to get my teeth into on this one. I'm sure other people will love it, but this one wasn't for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really drawn to this book as soon as I read the synopsis and it didn’t let me down! The Fallout is a book about toxic friendships and I love that in a novel! An accident happens at the local health club and the finger-pointing and covering of backs begins very quickly!

Liza is looking after her young baby as her older child is playing and she trusts her best friend Sarah to look over and check on him when she goes to get coffees. But whilst in the queue she bumps into an old acquaintance from when all the women were pregnant she gets distracted.

The way the three women are with each other and the way they all seem to compete to appear perfect, whilst at the same time all trying to be the very best friend in the circumstances was cringe-worthy but oh-so-readable! I find female friendships fascinating, especially when elements of the friendships make them seem more like frenemies. In my experience friendships between women can be so complex for so many reasons and often you never get to know why someone suddenly backs off. It’s something I don’t really understand and I have lived through it many a time. Thornton captures this so well, and it’s made even better in this novel by the fact that none of the women are particularly likeable. I did feel sorry for Liza with what happened to her son, and at times I could understand some of Sarah’s behaviour but overall they are not women you’d want as your friends! And add into to all of this a sprinkling of secrets and lies and you have a potent mix for a novel!

I found this book hard to put down, it really did grab me and it held me right to the very end. If you like novels about messy friendships and you love unlikeable characters then this book is for you. I very much enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more by this author!

Not an enjoyable read.... generally an uncomfortable read..a missing child makes you feel cold and fearful. However a good read with realistic characters. Well written and certainly kept my interest. Not my usual choice of reading material. Would recommend.

This is an interesting one and a bit of a dilemma for me because I kept avidly reading The Fallout and thought the writing was good but actually disliked the characters for their shallow, privileged yummy mummy stance. Even when events showed the reader a different side to each female character (Ella, Liza & Sarah) I still disliked them all!
Fear and emotional pain distorts lives and makes people act very differently because perspectives are skewed and choices aren't always rational. This is the premise of this taut emotional novel about friendships, deception, depression and marital relationships. The anxiety that these women are feeling literally seeps from the pages and makes the reader desperate for them all to receive help! It produces a claustrophobic feel that you want to escape but at the same time feel compelled to endure.
We are led to believe that everyone is hiding very dark secrets and yet these secrets are (mostly) in plain sight. Post natal depression, losing a child at birth, being unable to conceive and the death of a sibling, envelop these women and push them to cover up their frailities in order to compete with the wealthy, gossipy competitive mummies of West London. I mean, heaven forbid that any of us ever admit to feeling inadequate or being flawed in any way. How utterly ridiculous!
The inclusion of WhatsApp group chats and interview transcripts are a welcome, light hearted (but also profound) way to comment on the skewed perspectives held by many of the characters and the pressures of modern day parenting that perhaps were not evident in an age before social media existed.
Is anyone to blame for Jack's fall from the post in a West London health club? Is it his mother's fault for not watching him, is it the lack of rigorous health and safety policies of the health club? Is it Ella's fault for turning up out of the blue and turning heads? Or is it Sarah's fault for lying about what she did and saw?
Friendships will be tested and a very high price will be demanded. Would you pay it or would you walk away?
I recommend this book as I think many will find it relatable.

I was intrigued by the description of this book as it reminded me of another book where a child being looked after by the mother’s friend went missing. I found this book rather odd, although I did want to know what was going to happen next. None of the characters were particularly likeable, and Sarah’s behaviour was quite frankly extremely worrying. Although when it was explained what had happened previously, it became slightly more understandable. A slightly odd book but gives an insight into the mum’s at the school gate and their wattsapp groups!

Great read about friendship, children and playground politics. When a simple white lie unravels before your eyes. How something can happen in the blink of an eye that has huge repercussions. Lots of twists and turns, great read, and makes you think about the value to friendship and what you would do to protect it and yourself. Thank you for letting me review this book. Loved it.

The Fallout was a playground drama that didn’t quite do it for me.
Liza and Sarah are friends since anti natal classes, getting on well , same sense of humour and same playground bitchiness! The trouble starts when Liza who is busy with her young daughter asks Sarah to check on her son, who is playing in the children’s play area at the local gym. Sarah is side tracked by another mum she hasn’t seen in ages and forgets to properly look for Liza’s son this resulting with him having a bad accident, but does Sarah come clean that she didn’t really see him or should she go along with the tale that she did.
This book would have been better had it been shorter, the female characters were to me all unlikeable, which I do t know if this was intentional or not but didn’t really work for me. The storyline had it been shorter would have totally worked. It’s not a book I would read again which is a shame as I have loved Rebecca Thornton’s previous books. It was still an ok read and would urge others to read it as everyone’s opinions are different.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant study of mums at the school gates and modern life with its whatsapp groups. Friendships are tested after an incident at a club. This was a real page turner, I had to know what secrets each of the mums had and what hold they had on each other.

What a read! Loved this book! Couldn’t put it down.

When Lisa’s little boy is injured in an accident at a health club her best friend and another school Mum lie about where they were and what they saw.

This lie kicks off a whole chain of events which affects their lives and alters their friendship forever.

Then to add to this mess, social media speculation and gossip adds fuel to the fire and poor Lisa is vilified by her own community and school circle.

At the centre if the story their are three women, doing their best to navigate through motherhood and schooling their kids and also deal with their own tough and heartbreaking personal stories.

Sometimes we have no idea what people are really going through, and we make our own minds up and have opinions, which are often completely wrong.

In these days of endless What’s-app groups and Facebook pages it’s easy to see how lies and gossip can escalate and change the way people behave and think.

One of those books you can’t put down as you need to know what’s coming at the characters next.

Is a little white lie harmful for a friendship? The Fallout explores how the dynamics of a friendship alters when the truth of a devastating secret is withheld.

Sarah and Liza are best friends who share everything together ... or so they think. When out one morning at the local leisure and health facility Sarah finds that her actions have a devastating effect on Lisa’s 4 year old son, Jack. Rather than owning up to her mistake she is led by the mysterious Ella Bradby into a web of lies that will test Sarah’s sanity to the limits.

Will their friendship survive the lies and what else are the supposed friends hiding from each other?

I found this book an okay read but found they I wasn’t particularly fond of the characters who seemed selfish and needy.

Overall not bad.