First To Fall

This is the first book in The Avalon series and I will be looking for the next one. I received this book from an invite on Netgalley and promised an honest review. Once I started reading the book I wanted to finish. Aiden Connelly is a bigtown lawyer who moved with his wife Isla and his 2 year old daughter to the small town of Avalon to escape the hustle and work from the big city. His first case is the murder of the town hero by his wife. Brandy was the disgraced daughter of an addicted mother who disappeared when she was in her teens. She meets Brandon, the town football hero and eventually they get married. Five years later she is in prison for his murder and everyone but Aiden want her put to death. He takes on the defense of Brandy like he does all his cases. Soon the town hates him and his wife wants him to give up. A great story.

I really enjoyed this book and the fact that I finished it one day shows what a well paced and well written thriller this is. I had to go back to the authors bio as I couldn't believe that this tale of a Chicago based lawyer was written by someone living in Shropshire. I will be reviewing this book for ,my blog and website and would love to interview her. What I enjoyed was that this book was not predictable in any way and I look forward to reading more from Cary

I received this book from the Author Carys Jones in exchange for an honest review.

Lawyer Aiden Connelly has traded the frenzy of Chicago for a slower pace in sleepy Avalon – and his first case appears to be as open-and-shut as he could hope for. Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her football hero husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…

Suddenly, a quiet backwater has transformed into a dangerous pressure cooker. In a town where everyone knows everyone, gathering evidence should be easy… but the harder Aiden searches, the more he appreciates how tangled this net of loyalties is. And as he digs deeper, Aiden begins to realise that his very first case in Avalon could be the beginning of his undoing.

Then throw into the mixture Aiden's wife - a city girl transplanted to small town America and struggling to cope. She is lonely, anxious, jealous and resentful of any time Aiden spends apart from her; a town sheriff who has his own agenda; an attractive caring priest; a father, protective of the reputation of his only son; and a town who collectively thinks of the murdered man as it's hero.

I found this book an interesting and quick read. I did find the numerous typo's a bit annoying, but they did not distract me from the story (which is unusual for me!).

The twist at the end of the book was unexpected...I had come up with all sorts of scenarios in my mind as I was reading, but not that one! Well done Carys. I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

And at the end is an extract from her novel Prime Deception...to tempt us!

Lawyer Aiden escapes the stress of Chicago to give his wife and children a small town life in Avalon. His first case seems to be an open and shut murder case. Brandy has admitted murdering her husband- a town hero who played football.

His boss isn't keen when Aiden says that he wants to investigate further. He isn't convinced that Brandy is guilty. But has Brandy woven him into her web- as the town seems to think she's capable of.

When his wife is threatened by the grieving father- Aiden wonders what he has got them all into. By this stage he is convinced of her innocence and does not want to see her face the gas chamber.

It was a great book- keeping me reading almost in one sitting. I will definately look out for more by this author.

With many thanks to the publisher Carina Uk and Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

Reviewed on Good Reads and Amazon

I really enjoyed reading First to Fall, happily devouring it over a few hours in one sitting. I had read Prime Deception by Carys Jones and have to say I think her writing skills have gone up another level! This book really stood out as a very well written novel with a lot going for it.

Lawyer Aiden Connelly has traded the frenzy of Chicago for a slower pace in sleepy Avalon – and his first case appears to be as open-and-shut as he could hope for. Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…

Aiden, his wife Isla and young daughter Meeghan relocate to Avalon, small town USA from the big city action of Chicago. Aiden is looking for a slower pace and better lifestyle for his family. Whilst Aiden settles in well to the new small town, his wife Isla struggles a lot more, missing the perks that her cosmopolitan lifestlye used to give her.

Aiden's fist case is a young woman who confessed to murdering her husband, she's locked up in the local prison and if convicted of first degree murder will face the death penalty. Aiden quickly embraces the case with a passion and zeal and begins his research into the background.

The plot is great in this book, the pace of the book is steady, peaking slightly in the last third of the book as many crime/thriller/courtroom novels do (and should). It's a book that held my interest easily, not a minute of boredom or distraction. Hallelujah!

Aiden as a character is very likeable, he's passionate, loyal, committed, sensible but is also not a push over, he's got an ideal mix of character and personality traits to fit his role in this book really well. Isla, his wife on the other hand is the character I loved to hate, in fact she just annoyed me. She's moody, mean, childish, surly, petulant and angry for most of the book. I wanted to give her a good talking to. Get it together woman!

My favourite character in the book was Brandy, our murderess who is sitting in a jail cell awaiting to hear her fate via the court case. She was such an interesting character, initially seeming all sweetness and light but she has a tough, strong side to her to that shone through and I grew to really like her. Liking the villain? Surely not!

Aiden begins to ruffle some small town feathers as he starts digging into the case on behalf of his client and turning over every rock and stone in Avalon, USA. He's not very popular with a lot of the locals, bringing his "big city" ways to their sleepy little town. He doesn't care, that's what I really liked about him.

So I really liked the book yeah? But I have a few minor criticisms.

Firstly, the book needs some proofing again, every time the word "OK" was written, the word next to it blended into it, it needs spacing inserted.

Secondly, some of the styles of speaking and words used did not come across at all American, or small town USA to me at all. At one point the words "ta love" are used, now maybe I am wrong (it happens) but I am pretty sure the word "ta" which is short for thank you is a very British used word, but if you are American and know different let me know. There was a few other example of speech that didn't come off as American to me also.

Thirdly, the setting. I did not feel we were in America, especially not in a small town. Again, I kept seeing rolling green fields and thinking of England, the name Avalon, USA - every time I read it I was in Britain (think Merlin and King Arthur), and I didn't get that super all-American imagery from the book.

Right, back to the good stuff!

I really liked the book, I was happily reading away until the very last word. The ending is brilliant and the court room scenes leading up to it had me holding my breath at times, fantastically done. I did not see the ending coming at all so that one got me. Love it when that happens.

There is one scene in this book where I was shouting "No! Aidan! No!" to him (he didn't listen to me), see if you can pick that same scene and let me know (just for fun).

So, a great read, thrilled to see the author growing with her writing and super excited to read the next book in this series to see what Aiden is tackling in his next legal case in Avalon, USA. 4 stars from me.