Author: Christina McDonald
Genre: Suspense
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 368
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Gallery Books
First Published: February 5, 2019
Opening Lines: "You want the truth? I'm --" My admission was cut off by a streak of blazing hot pain as something exploded against the side of my head. My brain barely registered the blow, my vision a dusky blur of red, pain searing into my skull and down my jaw."
Book Description from GoodReads: In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.
A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.
In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.
When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?
Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you? In the vein of Big Little Lies and Reconstructing Amelia comes an emotionally charged domestic suspense novel about a mother unraveling the truth behind how her daughter became brain dead. And pregnant.
A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.
In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.
When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?
Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heart wrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you? Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heart wrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you? Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heart-wrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?
My Rating: 2.5 stars
My Review: The Night Olivia Fell has a wonderfully eerie cover and the story starts off with a bang but it just wasn't a good pick for this avid suspense reader. It's touted as a suspense novel but quickly veers into the family melodrama domain and generally lacked the tension I expect from a thriller.
The plot loses its initial momentum and gains inconsistencies while the culprit becomes obvious (for this suspense reader, anyway). When you add in one-dimensional characters and too much time spent on dialogue that felt amateurish and long-winded, I felt a little jilted not getting the edge-of-my-seat read I had expected.
This was a quick read and it held my interest enough for me to want to finish it (hoping for a suspenseful Hail Mary) but ultimately, I was disappointed. It lacked suspense, characters I could connect with and had too much of a Hallmark movie-of-the-week feel. With more depth to its characters, better dialogue and increased tension, this would have garnered a higher rating from me.
The plot loses its initial momentum and gains inconsistencies while the culprit becomes obvious (for this suspense reader, anyway). When you add in one-dimensional characters and too much time spent on dialogue that felt amateurish and long-winded, I felt a little jilted not getting the edge-of-my-seat read I had expected.
This was a quick read and it held my interest enough for me to want to finish it (hoping for a suspenseful Hail Mary) but ultimately, I was disappointed. It lacked suspense, characters I could connect with and had too much of a Hallmark movie-of-the-week feel. With more depth to its characters, better dialogue and increased tension, this would have garnered a higher rating from me.
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