Watch Her Fall: An utterly gripping and twisty edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller from the bestselling author

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For fear of spoilers, I will not give any more away. Let’s just say that the story took a turn I had not expected, and it was around the 80% mark that I knew I had been totally blindsided. And if that wasn’t enough, the surprises just kept coming until the very end, and I still had no idea where Kelly was leading me. It’s been a while since a thriller managed to totally wow and surprise me, and I loved it! There was absolutely nothing predictable in this novel, nor did it follow any of the popular (and often overused) thriller tropes that mark a lot of contemporary novels out there today. I applaud the author for giving us one of a kind, a book that will take you out of your own world into the unknown. It was all so brilliantly carried out! Watch Her Fall is a psychological thriller that takes readers into the passionate, prestigious and hyper competitive world of ballet, where betrayal materialises in many forms: from fellow dancers and oppressive parents, to broken bodies and fragile minds. It is without doubt Erin Kelly’s best novel yet. The plot focuses on the ballet, Swan Lake, and Ava Kirilova, its star who has been training her whole life for the much-coveted dual role of Odette and Odile. Since a young age, her father, the Russian ballet master, Nikolai, has been guiding her and molding her to become his masterpiece. As opening night nears and her father's criticism increases, Ava grows more and more paranoid that someone is plotting against her and will cause her father to replace her with one of her understudies. Coincidences begin building up that seem to validate Ava's paranoia. Then an opening night injury and its aftermath changes Ava's life forever. Watch Her Fall dances with artistic passion and intrigue, beauty and pain; the plot pirouettes in ways that leave you breathless. More than an exciting read - it is a dazzling performance. Brava, Erin Kelly! - Rachel Edwards Most ambitious and captivating book to date . . . so thrilling and unexpected that it made my head spin’ LISA JEWELL

Ana will play the dual role of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake- but the pressure is intense. Her own father runs the London Russian Ballet Company and is nearly tyrannical with his control over Ana and her techniques. Meanwhile, it would appear she has some severe and ruthless competition. It’s Ava’s desire to be the best that sees company dancer, Juliet, take a career ending fall. Ava’s guilt, over the incident, is assuaged by allowing the youngster to recuperate in her minimalist yet palatial home as she embarks on the world tour of Swan Lake.Kelly’s depiction of this claustrophobic and ambitious world is brutally convincing … You don’t have to be a dance expert to enjoy it’ Daily Mail Swan Lake: the eternal story of doomed love reflects the dark side of each innocent souls and it’s also about appearance can be deceiving! Nothing as it seems! The book starts too slow and firstly I thought why my favorite goodreads reviewers gave five stars to this book. But after reading acts and focusing on interludes, I thought “okay this is well constructed, multi POVed, truly impressive four starred story” and… yes the bomb exploded! That twist… that freaking twist was game changer!

And as we slowly witness Ava’s inner fears about getting old, being lonely at the top, to be replaced by younger and more talented version of herself, we start to think maybe she’s self sabotaging herself because of too much pressure she’s dealing with and she may envy the new second ballet who will Odette for a few moments gives her shark vibe who smells her blood. But there’s something more ominous lurking around those competitive corridors of theaters. Let’s not forget how Ava’s father plays narcissistic mind games like a puppeteer with his students by pulling their strings! This is a tense, twisty, and just plain crazy read! If you are not a fan of ballet and/or don’t enjoy slow-paced character studies, this book is not for you. For those who make it through to the end, the payoff is grand! Kelly is already known as one of the best, most original writers of psychological fiction. I have read all of her previous novels and enjoyed every one of them. This novel, Watch Her Fall, catapults her to the next level, it is a thrilling and cinematic story of control, deceit and passion. It's a story that the reader must invest heavily in, filled to the brim with layers of intrigue, told with a precision that is quite stunning and populated by characters who are never quite who they seem to be. Welcome to London Russian Ballet Theater with its perfectionist, strict director, founder of Nikolai Kirilov, such an ambitious, dedicated soul who performed nearly 60 years and he’s still directing the phenomenal Swan Lake, even though he’s dealing with his health issues, walking with a cane.

The writing here is simply superb, an immersive, descriptive joy to read that sets you in a place like no other. It is part mystery, part character study, all drama, an extremely complex and intelligent tale that subtly dances in the mind much like a ballet itself. The story was all over the place, there were different POVs rehashing from another perspective the same scenes we had already read about, what made it a bit repetitive. There was a whole plot line that, imo, was completely expendable and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it centered on the ballet plot line. A reader doesn’t have to know much about ballet to like the book. It’s a mystery/thriller at the core. However, if you’re drawn to reading about passion - an inner calling, then this may appeal to you the way it did me. Excuse me but we’re talking about one of the brilliant authors of Broadchurch ( of course I also enjoyed series: they casted freaking brilliant Tennant and Colman as duo) But this book is something so different, so complex, so enigmatic, so clever than my latest thriller readings. This is something refreshing, thrilling, mind bending, extra intelligent! The book does play with the double identity of Swan Lake and our main characters. However the story was more based on a really slow paced exploration of characters than anything else. I did not find this book thrilling, intense or engaging. For a book advertised as a thriller it had no tension and no real mystery that you would expect of such a book.

There's a glamour and intrigue about the arts, not just ballet, but theatre, cinema, music and writing, all have a glossy exterior and seem to be filled with beautiful people creating wonderful imagery with graceful ease. In Watch Her Fall, Erin Kelly uncovers the reality of life for a dancer. The cult-like standing of Mr K, his controlling behaviour, the bitterness, the jealousy. The anguish of being passed over for a part, the bleeding feet, the constant rehearsal, and in the case of the London Russian Ballet members, the total control over their lives. No phones, no bank accounts, no take out food, no friends from outside .... no life, other than ballet. Watch Her Fall is a terrifically absorbing novel, rich in atmosphere, style and surprises - Erin Kelly once again leads her readers on a dark and merry dance, and they'll love her for it - Sarah Perry Even though a small fragment of the book does talk about the competitive and hard world of ballet, contrary to what the synopsis implies, there's a large portion of the story that has almost nothing to do with it and, honestly, I found that a bit disappointing. Suddenly, it all comes crashing down. Injuries, and death cast a huge shadow over the ballet and both Juliet and Ava find themselves on the outside. Floundering, no longer able to do what they love and struggling to discover who they are, and who they may go on to be.

I’m not spilling any beans! I have no intention to ruin your reading experience! But i’m telling you my friends, don’t you ever dare to add this book to your tbr to get lost in the crowd! Just grab it and start reading and send me thank you notes ( I also accept Magnolia bakery banana pudding or Sprinkles cupcakes as well) Glitters with dark brilliance and portrays the complex, painful world of ballet with great authenticity. I loved it! - Kate Rhodes Ava Kirilova is at the height of her career. As a principal dancer with the London Russian Ballet she has finally been named for the iconic dual role of Odile and Odette in Swan Lake. She’s determined, focused, and aware of her position.