Brilliant story that is compelling, full of suspense and twists. Based upon a couple whose lives have changed following a lottery win and live next door to a seemingly other wealthy couple next door. Great storyline and a real page turner

This character driven, tense and suspenseful, psychological thriller is the latest offering from Gilly Macmillan, set in the beautiful and vibrant rural location of the Wye Valley. The twisty narrative is related from numerous multiple perspectives, shifting between the past and present and includes journal entries, little is as it appears and as might be expected in the genre of psychological dramas, there are unreliable characters. After living a ordinary life in Swindon, Tom and Nicole find themselves caught in a whirlwind and the shock when they win £10 million on the lottery. The kind of money destined to irrevocably change lives, but which is well known to bring with it potential difficulties as well as great improvements.

It is Tom that finds it harder to adjust to the changes, whilst Nicole slips into the new wealthy lifestyle with more ease. The couple relocate to their dream technological smart home, recently converted, with its cutting edge security system, The Glass Barn, on the Welsh border, constructed on land sold by their next door neighbours, Olly and Sasha, who live in the adjacent historical Lancaut Manor, their respective homes sharply contrasting with each other. On a summer's day, Nicole returns home to the horrifying tragic sight of Tom's body in the pool, is his death an accident or something far more sinister? Olly and Sasha's home is riddled with secret priest holes and passages, and their housekeeper, Kitty, lives in the grounds in the coach house. There are a wide array of suspects for the reader to come to grips with, as the police investigate.

There are dark themes in this stylish and well plotted thriller, terrifically written by a skilful and experienced author, that kept my attention throughout as the twists and surprises kept coming. I have no doubt that many of Macmillan's fans, and others who like crime and psychological dramas, are likely to enjoy this, although a suspension of disbelief is required on occasion, a compulsive, fast paced and entertaining read where you should take nothing at face value. And finally, if you dream of winning the lottery, you might want to think twice! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I don’t mind unlikeable characters but I do mind the unbelievability of certain aspects of this book. It was enjoyable, but it took a while to get going and the resolution was pretty predictable, although I did like the ending.

Nicole and Tom's lives are turned upside down and changed over night when they win the jackpot on the lottery.

Wanting to keep some money safe but also splurge a little they buy and move into a gorgeous state of the art converted glass barn in the stunning surrounds of Lancailut manor in Gloucestershire.

But quickly things spiral into the dark and scary. When Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Someone has killed Tom but who did it?

Throw into the mix jealous ex best friends, and really sinister neighbours and you have the makings of a great storyline.

What I loved most about this book was all the twist and turns. When you thought you had figured it all out. Something else would happen and bam you would realise you didn't have anything worked out after all. Another excellent book by Gilly MacMillan.

Nicole and Tim are lottery winners, and have built a new home in the grounds of Lancault Manor where Sasha and Olly livewith their housekeeper Kitty, but not everything is as it seems. When Tim is found dead in his swimming pool with a head injury, the police suspect foul play, but the book gradually reveals what happened that day, and the back story of all the characters.
Hal and Jen, the investigating officers, have their suspicions, but don't really follow up on their leads, and seem more interested in each other. The rest of the characters are quite unpleasant, and the ending seemed a bit silly given the seriousness of the crimes revealed.

Nicola and Tom have built the perfect life. Childhood sweethearts, then a lottery win, they have everything...
Until Nicole returns home to find Tom floating in the pool killed by person or persons unknown.

Suspicion falls upon her coercive neighbours and the plot twists and turns to its conclusion.

A great tale by Gilly MacMillan

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Publishing for the chance to review this book

Who doesn't dream of winning the lottery? Considering the number of people who play the lottery every week, it does seem to be the dream of many people. And in 'The Fall', our protoganists are living the dream as they have recently won the lottery and built their dream home. Tom is feeling the loss of their old lifestyle as he struggles to live upto the ideal of their new life. He misses their friends and the easy comfort of their old lives. Nicole on the other hand is settling into the new world with greater ease and is focused on achieving a lifestyle to match her dreams.
Of course, there are some shocking events to come and our author kick starts the action quickly to ensure that the attention of the read is engaged from the opening pages. We quickly learn of Tom's death and that it may not be an accident. And this is when the story takes a fascinating turn!
The second timeline beings, when we learn about Anna's story which begins 5 years again and leads upto present day events with some shocking revelations. We also learn of the events from the perspective of both Olly and Sasha.
The novel is well-written and the movement between timelines, ensures that the reader is kept gripped and does not become bored for a minute.
My only advice would be, not to start reading this book late in the day - I started this book at around 9pm and the next thing I knew, it was 2am and I was just finishing the book! It was so good that I had to keep reading until I reached the ending!

Nicole and Tom have a wonderful lifestyle after winning the lottery.
When she comes home one day she is devastated to find Tom’s body in their swimming pool.
Lots of twist and turns in this thriller.
Multiple timelines and numerous narratives that had me confused and I had to keep good back to read chapters to keep track.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review

Having enjoyed several of this author's other titles I was looking forward to reading this one and was not disappointed. It's an engaging tale of the death of a lottery winner, and the secrets his neighbours and wife are keeping.

It was fun watching the full story gradually be revealed and unlike some of the other reviewers I did not find the multiple viewpoints to be confusing. I found myself keen to get back to the book to find out what happens next which is always a great sign for a book.

The Fall was a real page turner for me. We first meet Tom and Nicole who, having won the lottery, have recently moved into the Glass Barn on a small peninsular on the Welsh Border. The Barn is newly built state-of-the-art smart home which uses technology for all kinds of things. Tom and Nicole had asked to keep their huge lottery win private but are finding it hard to live as before as instead of having dreams and aspirations they can simply buy most of them immediately. Tom in particular is finding it hard as he’s moved away from his friends. This is not helped by his best friend, Patrick, not putting pressure on Tom to give him more and more money despite them giving his a lump sum already.

The Barn is built on land that was sold off by the next door neighbours in the old Manor House. Olly and Sasha live in the Manor House with their maid Kitty who lives in the Coach House in the grounds. Tom tries to forge a friendship with Olly but finds they have little in common.

A few months after Tom and Nicole move in there is a tragic accident. Or was it? The story is told from the points of view of the various main characters, including a number of flashbacks to a five years earlier. There are constant twists and turns as we hear more of the history of Tom and Nicole, Olly and Sasha and Kitty.

I found the book well-written with the different points-of-view easy to follow. It kept me gripped to the very end and I enjoyed the ending. I’d definitely read more by this author.

This book confirms what I have always known: you don't want to win the lottery particularly millions of Pounds or tragedy inevitably comes along with the initial joy of winning, It's human nature.
The concept of this murder mystery in really interesting as poor Tom who just won the lottery does not get to live to enjoy his life as a new lottery winner.
The book is written in multiple POVs which is not always for everyone but works into explaining the murder plot really well.
It is an enjoyable mystery read which I found very entertaining.

I have read this author before and was excited to read this one.

It is a book full of twists and turns, and a lot of suspense throughout. I loved the story and the way it went, it kept me guessing all the way to the end. Which I loved by the way (the end!)

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Simple and easy to read. I think the popularity of Richard Osman's book has generated a lot of authors who write easy to read plots. So this is a four or five hour read, sort of thing I'd read on a flight or a beach from cover to cover. The author certainly makes you turn pages, but I found the switching around of "first person narrative" a bit irritating as well as "I said, then he said, then she said". Like Osman's style, but perhaps a better plot and a plausible overall story. This book will appeal to lots of people and I was going to give it 4 stars until the very implausible twists and turns at the end of the book, where the author (great imagination, hats off) engineers a happy ending for all the women that remain.

The multiple narratives really put me off this book. I found it confusing and it slowed my speed down too. This is definitely not the best by this author.

Rating: 2.2/5

Not for the first time I found myself attracted to a Gilly Macmillan novel by an enticing premise. Sadly, also not for the first time, I found it a disappointing reading experience. On this occasion the story is based around a couple, Tom and Nicole, who have just landed a huge lottery win and moved into a new luxurious home with all the trappings of their recently acquired wealth. Disaster soon strikes when Tom is found dead in the couple's swimming pool. Is his death merely a tragic accident, or has there been foul play?

Firstly, if you are the kind of person who dislikes stories told from multiple viewpoints, then this is probably not the novel for you. In total there are nine different points of view utilised in "The Fall" one of which is in the form of extracts from a journal. I criticised Gilly Macmillan's previous book, "The Long Weekend" for using multiple perspectives without any kind of signposting. Thankfully, that has not been repeated here and each chapter is clearly marked to show whose account we are witnessing. That said, it still isn't the easiest to follow and there were occasions when I had to flick back a few pages to check who was providing the narrative at that point.

There are some genuinely good ideas in this novel that could have been the basis for intriguing plot developments - but there is something decidedly lacking in the way the whole thing has been put together. Credulity is stretched too far, too often and the construction is overly simplistic at times. On occasion it reminded me of the kind of adventure mystery that might have been penned for a far younger audience, with easily identifiable pantomime baddies ... I could almost hear the accompanying boos and hisses with the warning shouts of "He's behind you!"

"The Fall" is certainly not the worst book I have read so far this year - but it is also a long way from being the best.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is an OK book. It had promise at the start but then spent much of the book being rather slow paced. I couldn't invest in.the characters either. The ending felt rushed too. This of course, is my opinion and many others have enjoyed the book.

I loved the concept behind this, but felt that it was a little too far reaching - too many narratives, spanning time as well. Just too much. Sorry.

Absolutely loved this book!

Every time I picked it up I’d say to myself “just one chapter…” but that was practically impossible, every chapter ending left me desperate to read on.

Such a twisty, turny, clever murder mystery. Every time you think you’ve got it all figured out or you decide you particularly like or dislike a character, something else comes along to throw you off the scent.

My only complaint is that Anna’s journal entries didn’t read at all like journal entries. I don’t know anyone who would write a journal and include full conversations the way Anna does. That felt a bit false to me, but the actual journal itself was a great additional layer to the story.

Engrossing murder mystery that 'grows and grows'! Lottery winners Nicole and Tom are living in their architect-designed dream glass home on a picturesque peninsula on the English/Welsh border. One day, returning from a County show, Nicole is horrified to discover Tom's body, face down in the pool. She rushes to her neighbours' Manor House home in shock, but Tom is already dead.
The police investigation that follows indicates that most characters aren't as they initially seem. You don't know who to trust and the reader is led into quite a paranoid state (let alone poor Nicole). Creepy personalities emerge, identities change, there's blackmail, coercive control, betrayal and lies.
The story flashes back 5 years to the story of the Manor House (the neighbours' home) giving a good background story which leeches into the current situation, and also to the morning of Tom's death. There's plenty of false leads, wrong conclusions and terrible behaviours and personalities! I can't help feeling the ending could have had a more serious outcome for the guilty party, had the police investigated more around a Plague Pit/clue given to them (and witness by Jen the Detective) earlier... However, very gripping and highly recommended.

Wow, what a fantastic book. Loved hearing the story told from the different perspectives of characters. It is one of those books that kept me guessing the whole way through. Every chapter revealed something new that just made you want to keep turning the page to find out what happened.