And Then She Fell By Dreena Collins

Engaging Emotional Intriguing

Family Drama/Contemporary Fiction/Mystery

'And Then She Fell' by Dreena Collins

To all intense and purposes, Catherine was a mother of two....had been a mother of two. But to the wider world, she only had one child. It was around a year since she had last seen her daughter alive. She often talked to Susie in her head. Telling her things that had happened, her feelings and memories. Catherine prided herself on how in tune she had always been with her off spring and how well she'd succeeded in sheltering them from issues within the family when they were young. She recalls spending quality time with her daughter, shopping or having pamper days. Now the bereaved mother feels it is time to uncover the truth as to what happened to her little girl. But how prepared is she to discover other truths closer to home?

I really got into this novel, and when I had put it down, I looked forward to my next opportunity for a read. It was for this reason, that I did take my time with it. The narrative really attracted me, as I love reading human interest stories. Catherine appears to be extremely self aware of the effect her own actions could potentially have on those around her. She exudes an observance and an intuition when it comes to those close to her or those who were close to Suzie. She also prides herself on how well she has known her children growing up, as every good mother should. However, I do feel a great deal of sympathy for her, if she were to ever discover that all those motherly instincts weren't entirely accurate.

I really enjoy a first person narrative, which the Author has given us with this book, in as much as the story largely unfolds by way of Catherine's thoughts, interspersed with dialogue between Catherine and other characters. To a large extent, it made me forget that I was reading a Fictional novel and in parts, felt like an account of a real person caught up in a real incident. I found that the writing made it very easy to pick up on dialects intended for certain characters, for example Sebastian, when he meets with Catherine at his place of work.

Similarly, descriptions and their facial expressions, popped into my mind without any difficulty.

The alternative scenarios given throughout the book as to how Suzie meets her untimely fate, very cleverly steer the reader to the various suspects who accompanied her on that last holiday and to think of the possible motives of each person, leading the reader away from the eventual outcome, which makes this sudden discovery and the finality of it, all the more heart breaking.

I do feel, although the reader discovers the truth, Catherine still seems to be very much in the dark, and therefore this book really requires a sequel. Not by any means a light read (a quote directly from the Author when I told her that I was reading it), but there are occasional moments that will raise a smile. The narration is suitably sorrowful for the subject matter. I very much look forward to reading more of Dreena's Writing.