Be careful what you wish for…
Nicole and Tom’s lives are changed overnight by a ten-million-pound lottery win.
Before they know it they’ve moved into a state-of-the-art Glass Barn conversion in the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire.
But their dream quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool, with a wound on his head.
Someone close to home must be responsible. But other than the young couple who live in the Manor, and their housekeeper in the Coach House next door, there’s no one around for miles.
Who among them is capable of murder?
This is my first read of a Gilly Macmillan novel.
The book starts with us jointing Nicole, the wife of Tom, returning to their hugely modern and newly built home, only to find Opera music blaring and no sign of Tom. On investigation she finds him …. Dead….
Tom and Nicole recently won the lottery and had their home, The Glass Barn built on a beautiful setting overlooking the River Wye, they’ve not stinted on anything, and everything is controlled from lights, to music, to blinds, by voice. An idyllic and lucky life you would think.
But after Toms body is found and the Police start investigating what looks like a suspicious death, things start to take a dark twist. Nicole finds solace in her neighbours Sasha and Olly, but all is not what it seems in their mansion, the nearest house to The Glass Barn.
This is a slow building novel of super tension and gripping fear, the way that Gilly MacMillan has written about how people can so easily become controlled, coercively, is absolutely excellent. I really don’t want to give any of the plot away, but suffice to say there were several shocks along the way in The Fall. The cast of characters are well written, although I didn’t like any of them! But that’s not to say that they don’t make the story, because they do! This is a close study of human nature and how having or not having money and status can drive people to do things that maybe the rest of us would never do!
A gripping read, full of tension and surprises. A 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating from me.
A former art historian and photographer, Gilly studied at Bristol University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She lives in Bristol, UK, with her husband and three children.
Her first novel, WHAT SHE KNEW, was a Target pick, a LibraryReads pick, an Indie Next pick, an Edgar award nominee, and an International Thriller Writers award finalist. THE NANNY was a Spring 2020 Richard & Judy WHSmith Book Club pick and TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH was named one of the best thrillers of 2020 by the New York Times.
Gilly’s novels have appeared on the New York Times, Sunday Times, Globe & Mail and Der Spiegel bestseller lists and have been translated into over 20 languages. She’s been described as ‘one heck of a good writer’ (Wall Street Journal) and her novels have been praised as ‘nuanced, completely addictive’ (People), ‘riveting’ (Publishers Weekly), and ‘visceral, emotionally charged…heart-wrenchingly well told’ (The Daily Mail).
You can buy The Fall HERE
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