Bea and her brother Sebastian, Helen, Sandra and John live with a foster mother as all of them come from families which have broken up for one reason or another. The misery that Miriam imposes on them is unimaginable and painful, degrading and horrible. The children however for one reason only did not complain to the authorities though they had ample opportunities to do so. Just because they did not want to be separated and they thought that the situation could be worse.



A freak accident which causes the death of Sebastian, paralyses Miriam sets them all free of her clutches in different ways. Some live in very nice homes after this, some dont. The driver of the truck Ronnie Moss shaken and drunk after the accident runs away to the Caribbean and is forgotton by the children, but not by the authorities.

Decades later, all grown up getting on with their lives, the bombshell that the truck driver has been found, is being sent back to England to trial and that Miriam may regain her memory of the incident is a ticking bomb for all of them. During the last few months of their stay with their foster carer, they came up with the brilliant idea of slowly poisoning Miriam with rat poison in order to weaken her and make her unable to physically abuse them the way she did. Will this secret hidden for so many years now come out and ruin all their lives

Once again anxious, worried and on edge the four of them come together to face this new calamity in their lives and how to handle the situation carefully, not bringing any of them into suspicion with the authorities who have started interrogating each of them individually about their stay with Miriam.

The story highlights how easy it is for abuse to be in a system and for it not to be noticed by either teachers or fellow students or friends. All of them were severely underweight, all of them carried bruises and no one was any the wiser as to what was happening.

It was a sad story but with redemption at the end.

This was interesting read though I wouldn’t classify it a thriller/mystery. It is told from multiple perspectives (though the transition from each is handled well) and that added to the depth of the tale and the characters. It is a sad story. The conclusion wasn’t extremely satisfying (or disappointing). I would try more by this author...

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Aria for a copy in exchange for a review.

As children Bea, Sebastian, John, Sandra and Helen are orphans, living in a home with a carer called Miriam. Miriam hates them. She beats them, berates them, and generally makes their lives a misery. When a car accident leaves her too badly injured to care for them they are separated and sent to live with other families. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident runs away. Many years later the driver is found, and police aim to prosecute him. This brings up memories of what happened, and threatens to expose a crime the children committed in the hope of escaping Miriam’s clutches.

I’d read some mixed reviews for this book before I started so I was looking forward to seeing which camp I fell into. Unfortunately once I started reading it quickly became clear that I would be in the dislike/don’t recommend camp.

Even from early on when we are learning about the horrors the children faced, I didn’t find the book evoked any emotion from me. Given the topic I was expecting to feel for some of the characters, to understand why they did what they did, the fear they had of being caught, and to empathise with them about their traumatic history. I didn’t feel any of those things. Even once I got to the end I still felt no connection with any of the characters.

I didn’t find the characters or storyline believable, everything just seemed very flat. Once I got to the end I was even more disappointed. It felt like the characters spent the whole book worrying about something, then in the last chapter they make a decision, do what they decided and then everyone lives happily ever after. I honestly wondered why I had bothered reading.

I’d been leaning towards a 2* rating for most of the book, but the ending ruined even that for me and so I’m only giving 1*. It’s a shame because I like the idea, I thought the storyline could’ve worked really well, but I just didn’t feel any of the things I was expecting to as the book went on. A miss for me on this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book..An intense thriller but yet not so twisted that it was hard to understand. Five children who had a horrible upbringing and have managed to continue on with life are suddenly confronted with their past in a way that threatens their whole life. The story was easy to follow which I was glad for because I’ve recently read some thrillers that were very confusing and hard to follow. I would definitely recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although quite harrowing and dark with the 5 children being physically and mentally abused by their foster carer and then dealing with a traumatic car crash which left one of them dead. The different POVs were enjoyable as you got all the background from many perspectives. How secrets/lies will out no matter how much time has past! Not my typical read which I think is why I really liked it. Definitely recommending it to friends/family.

Many thanks to Netgalley & Aria for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
Just couldn't get into this one. The twist seem to contrive, and then that the characters were really likable except for the man set up as the "bad guy ". I didn't feel very invested in the narrative, the plot or any of the protagonists. 2.5 rounded up

What do you do when deep buried secrets have the possibility to resurface after twenty eight years which could destroy the life you have striven so hard to create and how do you finally come to terms with events that have left deep psychological as well as physical scars? These are some of the questions that are raised in Cynthia Clark's suspenseful novel and thriller that looks at how someone's traumatic past will form an indelible part of their present no matter how much they try to conceal it. The story concerns five orphans Bea, her brother Sebastian, Helen, Sandra and John who live together at the foster home of the sadistic Miriam who performs a litany of mental and physical abuse on them. When being taken on their way to school there is a horrific road accident which although causing death and injury will free the children from Miriam's evil grasp. The driver of the lorry involved, Ronnie Moss who had been drinking alcohol just before the collision leaves the scene and flees the country to embark on a new life. But is he sorely to blame for the accident? or was there another contributory factor that must not be revealed? When the past finally catches up with Ronnie Moss it may also catch up with those also involved with the crash.

This is something of a slow burner and should not be misconstrued as a who done it or mystery but rather how four individuals will come together after twenty eight years to confront an existential threat and also their inner demons. Overall I quite liked the book and the way that the author gradually layer by layer built up the story from the perspective of Bea and Sandra showing that their childhood treatment would so detrimentally effect them that both will countenance the possibility of murder. Perhaps the groups final decision was the obvious one that could have been reached a lot earlier but to be taken through step by step how this was reached still made an intriguing if not quite a gripping read. Overall I would say this book is an interesting read that although is perhaps lacking that wow factor was certainly from my own perspective well worth a read.

Another one of those (and by those I mean female authored female centric thrillers that seem to be ubiquitous and oh so popular these days) reads. Oh sure, why not. It was meant to be a palate cleanser after a particularly dour Scandinavian collection from WWII era. And in all fairness this book is definitely mindless enough to serve as a palate cleanser. But that’s about it. Otherwise it can be kindly described as plain and honestly as inane. A Lifetime movie at best, with clichéd cardboards for characters pondering a dilemma so easily solvable, it boggles the mind how many chapters it’s dragged on over until they finally arrive at a cutesy resolution and wrap it all up with a pink bow in the end. My favorite adjectives to describe a thriller are dark, psychological, twisted. This book doesn’t even come close. It’s chicklit or women’s fiction at best, in a thriller disguise. The author uses some of the basic genre set ups, the book starts off with 5 foster kids and a crime (vehicular manslaughter) and fast forwards to 28 years later when the adult versions are notified that the original driver is finally found, bringing up a secret from back in the day. But the entire thing is much too quaint and not even remotely clever, there’s no suspense, no guesswork involved, outside of trying to figure out how long it’ll take the none too bright protagonists to figure out a solution. The driver is no Mensa material either. Not enough to figure out to hide out in a nonextradition zone anyway. Difficult to care about any of them. The book’s much too long for what it is too. It’s the thriller lite version, for those who want to read the genre, but with nothing too disturbing or challenging or complicated. So it’s readable and mildly entertaining in that intelligence insulting way, but really wouldn’t be able to hold its own among so many far superior books of this kind available out there. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a different read for me than I was expecting I think I was expecting it to be more of a mystery thriller than it was but it seemed to deal more with the emotions of the characters and the closeness that they had. It was well written and the character's described in a really good way. An interesting read and I would recommend it if you want a story that is a bit different.
My thanks to Aria and NetGalley for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Complex characters and an odd plot make for a compelling read. Different points of view draw the reader in and make you more invested in the outcome. I expected a mystery but this isn't really one. However, it's a story about ties that bind and last. I definitely recommend

We All Fall Down by Cynthia Clark. The premise was interesting. The chapters seemed to repeating themselves with each character's POV. None of the characters was likeable or reliable. The story seemed to drag and I had a hard time finishing it and ending was anticlimactic .

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I didn't particularly like this book.
From the beginning when it was telling the story of Bea (possible ten yrs old) being abused by her foster carer.
Nothing seemed particularly credible,that many years later they would find the driver who caused the accident,and prosecute.
Then out comes the children's secrets,and in two cases it turns them into near murderers???
By the time I got to the end of the book,I felt we were almost back where we started and not much had changed.

We All Fall Down by author Cynthia Clark is an intense and dark thriller! The characters are developed great and the plot itself is thick. I would absolutely recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of We All Fall Down in exchange for an honest review.