A great thriller as per usual from this author Great cast of characters and lots of twists that you do not see coming

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I have loved Chris Brookmyre's books for years and Fallen Angel demonstrates his writing skills perfectly. The multiple viewpoints, and back-and-forth-in-time dual narration, showcases plotting so clever it genuinely took my breath away. Each line of text is meticulously crafted, creating pinpoint characterisations and acerbic writing so sharp it hurts, with never a word wasted.

Fallen Angel is perhaps more overtly in psychological thriller territory than some of Brookmyre's previous books but it is still full of his satirical humour, intelligent writing, gift for smokescreens and misdirection and very memorable characters. There are points therein where Brookmyre really does shock his readers and I was caught hook, line and sinker. It was, for me, perhaps his cleverest book since Black Widow.

I  bought Fallen Angel on Audible so I could do a buddy read with my husband, who also thoroughly enjoyed it. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a smart and complex psychological thriller, shot through with humour and full of twists.

Huge thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book.

I hadn't read anything by this author before, and while his name was familiar, I didn't know what to expect.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to find a gripping, all-engrossing thriller where I was completely committed to the characters and setting.

A family returns to their holiday home years after a tragic event which changed their lives for ever. We learn the details little by little through different voices and in the past and present events.

It's an intriguing, well drawn drama which would have been just as compelling as an account of a dysfunctional family, even without the mysterious death. Though, of course, the all-pervading impact of such an event is explored through the story.

Layers upon layers of secrets and lies are unpeeled as the story progresses, with various twists and turns, leaving the reader guessing at every point.

It's a great read, and I look forward to reading more from this author!

You can, with a fair amount of certainty, pick up a Chris Brookmyre book and know that you are going to be kept entertained. He is a master of drawing readers into the story, and Fallen Angel is no exception. Perhaps much like Black Widow, there is an air of unease about this book from the very start, a sense that not everything is as you think and you go into those first few chapters knowing that a raft of secrets are likely to be unveiled in what will prove to be quite uncomfortable circumstances.

This is a story about family, or should I say families, as it is not one, but two families whose worlds we inhabit throughout the course of the book. One family, the Temples, are taking one final family holiday, in honour of the father and husband who recently died. The second family, the Reid's, are the Temple's villa neighbours, set to take their young son and new nanny, Amanda, away for a lovely summer break. Only not everyone in the family makes it to Portugal, and, as readers find out in the very opening pages of the book, keeping secrets can be deadly.

The book is full of mystery and suspense, the storyline challenging in terms of subject matter but very carefully handled. The tale moves between the past and the present, one informing the other quite clearly and yet subtly, the impacts of what happened all those years ago when young Niamh died, not fully revealed until the crucial time. I won't lie - I had guessed one of the connections between the characters, past and present, pretty early on - it probably wouldn't come as much of a surprise to most readers if they were being honest. But how it comes to pass, the implications of what is revealed, still had the ability to shock me, and the cold way in which secrets of the past are handled certainly create a sense of outrage on behalf of some of the characters.

Speaking of the characters - Chris Brookmyre has once more created a very diverse and believable cast of characters who i struggled to like in many cases and yet became one hundred percent invested in. I needed to know why there was such great tension within the Temple family, to understand the very twisted and somewhat dangerous dynamic between them all. I wanted to understand how something so obvious to me as a reader could be so simply missed, the reality of that almost as shocking as what happened. And I wanted to understand what had really happened to Niamh and why, the answer as I expected and yet still uncomfortable to hear.

The book really examines the idea of status - of fame - and how far people would go to protect their reputations. It also examines how easily a person can hide their true nature behind a facade when they need to, exploring how easy it is for one person to manipulate another, to use their power and that very same reputation, to get what they want. It is not always an easy read. Although the worst of what happens to the characters is kept off the page, the implications are still clear and it made my skin crawl, rightfully so. It is not all dark - there are moments that made me smile in spite of myself, but it is a thought and emotion provoking piece of writing that stayed with me even after I pressed stop on the audio for the last time.

I haven't read the author's early Jack Parlabane books, but if you are a fan of his most recent novels, especially the likes of Black Widow, I think you will definitely want to read this. A fascinating study of the toxic nature of family life that will make you think and challenge your perceptions from start to finish - it's definitely recommended.

Lots of secrets revealed here, which creates a lot of tension and constant guessing. I didn't guess the perpetrator until it was revealed. An explosive read and highly recommended!

Fallen Angel is told in an extremely intriguing way. Beginning with a murder – a man slumped over his desk, a nearly invisible needle mark nodding towards the cause of his death – it’s pretty obvious that the body belongs to recently deceased world famous professor Max Temple.

The Temple family gather together at their villa for the first time in almost two decades, summoned at the behest of their mother Celia. The matriarch of the family, Celia is determined that her family are going to honour their dead father properly, scattering his ashes near the bench that he loved and putting all of the drama from their last couple of visits far, far behind them.

At their neighbour’s villa, Canadian nanny Amanda is watching the events unfold. A huge fan of Max Temple and his ability to demolish the arguments of conspiracy theorists, Amanda can’t believe it when she stumbles upon a conspiracy involving the Temples themselves. Because Max’s granddaughter, Niamh, died the last time the family were all together, but the internet is convinced that of the Temples is responsible for her death – and that the rest of the family have all been covering it up.

When the police arrive at the villa and another death is announced, Amanda knows there is something fishy going on with the Temples, and she’s determined to use her talents as an investigative journalist to uncover the buried truth.

Chris Brookmyre has chosen an interesting way to tell the story of the Temple family, as it jumps between multiple perspectives but Amanda’s is the only one told in first person. This choice was hard to adjust to at first, but it ended up making me feel far more invested in the story: a little splash of kinship with Amanda made me care a lot more about the mystery.

The Temples are very difficult to empathise with. All of them are rather selfish – although most of them have extremely good reasons for their behaviour – but if it hadn’t been for the down-to-earth attitude of Amanda I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book as much.

There are two stories running alongside each other throughout Fallen Angel, with the story periodically jumping back to that fateful visit to the villa sixteen years before. I did find the conclusion of the present day story predictable, however I was impressed by the resolution of the mystery of Niamh’s death – I was guessing up until the big reveal and I was so close yet so painfully far.

If, like me, you haven’t read any of Chris Brookmyre’s novels yet, I think Fallen Angel is a great place to start. With similarities to the case of Madeleine McCann, Fallen Angel is the perfect book to pick up if you’re always interested in unsolved mysteries and can’t wait to get to the bottom of the unknown.

A twisty complex modern thriller. Using past and present (2002 & 2018) we learn of the tragic Temple family saga. An ideal holiday read.

Great book. Fab storyline and great characters. This book really surprised me and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I will defo be checking out more books by the author.

In Fallen Angel we are introduced to the Temple family through Ivy; a young woman so traumatised by her past that she has changed her identity. She is pretty hard to like at the beginning of the story – what could possibly have made her like this? As we get to know the rest of the family, and the layers are peeled back and the secrets are revealed, it becomes clear that Ivy had good reason to do what she did. Told from multiple viewpoints, and with a dual timeline, the truth slowly comes to light in this expertly plotted, chilling and compelling drama; you won’t be able to put it down. I’m a big fan of Chris Brookmyre’s witty series of novels featuring Jack Parlabane (look out for a cameo), but this character-driven thriller takes his writing to a whole new level. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

Well-deserved five stars. Absolutely brilliant book.
Amanda only has moments to grab her breath from her journey from Canada to Scotland (where she is to embark on the role as a nanny for Arron for the summer) before she is whisked off to the Algarve for a family holiday. Amanda is concerned that, Arron’s parents, Vince and his new, much younger wife, Kirsten, seem to be more interested in working and packing their own things, than sorting out what Arron will need for his holiday.
Their neighbours will be three generations of the Temple family. Celia, the mother of the family who is coming terms with the loss of her husband, Max, Rory, the son who was always a bit of a disappointment to his father. Marion, so happy with her life, husband and children. Finally Ivy, ‘Poison Ivy’, cold-hearted and yet I could not help but really like her!
Both families have a long and sad past at their respective villas, Vince, has memories of being there with his ex-wife, a woman who drank far too much. The Temples particularly remember the fateful day back in 2002 when Ivy’s daughter, who was just a toddler, died.
Having just lost the patriarch of the Temple family, their holiday is meant to be a chance to reunite the family and say goodbye to Max. But will they all be able do so without airing the painful problems of the past?
Such a well written book. I had absolutely no idea where the plot was heading and was fully satisfied with the outcome.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've been reading Mr. Brookmyre's books for longer than I can to admit to and I particularly like his Jack Parlabane series. I was understandably intrigued when I first heard about Fallen Angel as it didn't sound like a Brookmyre story and I have to say that I was hooked from page one, despite the fact that it touches on some rather disturbing themes.

From the very start of the novel, we know someone has died, but how is his death connected to the motley crew of characters assembled in Portugal? The story centres around Amanda, a Canadian girl, brought over by family friends to nanny for them, and their young son, Arron. No sooner has she arrived then they're off to Portugal for a family holiday.

Having arrived at the villa Amanda discovers that the owners of the other two neighboring villas are none other than Max Temple, famous debunker, and his wife Celia, an actress who is most well known for starring in a dodgy science-fiction television series. Max has recently died and Celia has gathered the entire family together, for a celebration of Max's life, and this includes Sylvie, their youngest daughter, who has changed her name and is estranged from the rest of the family after the tragedy of losing her baby daughter at this very location.

Things are tense from the get-go. Brookmyre certainly knows how to ratchet up the tension, and as anyone who has been on holiday with extended family knows, there's plenty of tension to start with. Amanda soon realizes that she has been dropped into the middle of an explosive situation and her naturally curious manner is not likely to win her any friends amongst the Temple clan.

News of another death rocks the villas and this is the trigger needed to start a rollercoaster of revelations to start tumbling out, which is not necessarily going to end well for all. Fallen Angel is a masterpiece in character writing, and as a thriller, it works so well. It's a refreshing change to read a thriller driven mostly by character rather than events, except for the original tragedy. The story is told in two strands, one from 2002 and one from the present, which I'm not always a fan of but in the case of Fallen Angel it's a plus point and only adds to the disquiet and increases the mounting pressure on all involved.

Combine toxic family relationships, tragedy, greed, vanity, strangely appealing unlikeable characters, and a sense of desperation into a gripping, page-turning mystery and the end result is Fallen Angel, one of the most original thrillers I've read in some time. I really hope Chris Brookmyre writes more like this because I loved it! Oh, and for fans of his Parlabane series, there's a wee cameo you might enjoy...

Fallen Angel is told in the dual timeframes of 2002 and 2018, mostly all taking place in a set of villas in Portugal, populated by the Temple family and in another one Vince and the respective wife of each year. Not only are the characters pretty much all very unlikable, but also I just didn't think any of them held their own in the story.

The mystery at the centre of the book is the disappearance of teenage-mum Sylvie's daughter which fractured the family beyond what it already was becoming. There are numerous family members - watched over by matriarch Celia who is incredibly jealous of how her husband's fame overtook her own - and I have to admit I lost track countless times of who everyone was due to there being three generations, in-laws, neighbours, an inexperienced teenage nanny… The list goes on!

In regards to the switching of timeframes so frequently, it felt disjointed as when we went back to 2002 it wasn't quite linear. Towards the end I could see where it was going and it was as lucklustre as expected when it was revealed.

This was my first go at a Christopher Brookmyre novel and although I've been quite negative here, his writing style and language used had not put me of trying with another.

ARC received from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I've been familiar with the name Chris Brookmyre for a little while as one of my good friends has been doggedly persuading me to try some of his fiction for months. With previous works entitled: Quite Ugly One Morning and All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses An Eye I really don't know why I've waited so long to read the author's work - who could resist with intriguing titles like that? Yet still I wavered until the lovely people at Little Brown publishers asked if I'd like to be on the blog tour for Chris's new stand-alone novel, Fallen Angel. Of course I thought it was a perfect opportunity to sample his work so I jumped at the chance. Thank you so much to Caolinn Douglas and Grace Vincent for inviting me onto this tour and providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well I'm so happy to report that my friend was absolutely right when it came to Chris Brookmyre. He is a fantastic author with such a talent for characterisation and timing that this novel was truly a delight to read. Being Scottish myself, I loved the subtle Scottish references throughout, especially to certain words familiar to the Scots language i.e. "wean," and for me, this brought an extra something special to the entire reading experience as I instantly felt so comforted by the writing style. I have to admit at the beginning, I wasn't sure where the author was going to be taking the story. It's very much a slow burner that initially sets the scene following the lives of multiple characters both within and close to a specific family.I've mentioned in recent reviews how much I love intricate character development in crime fiction and although I may have hesitated for a chapter or so at the start, unsure of how the crime element related to the narrative, I soon realised that this is part of the beauty of Fallen Angel. This is one of the reasons why I love crime so much that focuses specifically on individuals rather than plot. We learn so much about each our protagonists, in fact we get to know some of them incredibly intimately and this only bodes for a more explosive release as the tension begins to build and the secrets are finally unearthed.

This is a work of crime fiction so as a result, I don't want to tell you very much at all about the plot. This is the kind of book you need to savour and discover all the shocks and surprises yourself without it being spoiled. All I can say is that if you're a fan of family drama, deceit and scandalous events, you're in for a treat with Fallen Angel. There are not many likeable characters to be found and occasionally there are some where you can't understand their motives or thought processes at all, but to be honest, that's my favourite kind of characters. It felt like Chris Brookmyre was writing very candidly about a family where many of the members have multiple, very difficult emotional issues or skeletons in their closets just waiting to burst out. It was a pleasure to be a reader along on the journey, eagerly awaiting the next dramatic event or twist in the tail. As a result, ALL of Chris Brookmyre's books have now gone on my wish-list and I hope I'll be reviewing another one for you very soon.

An esteemed university lecturer has died and his wife, aging tv personality, Celia, is returning to Portugal to spread his ashes with her family. Portugal holds bittersweet memories as her daughter, Sylvie, now estranged from the family, tragically lost her own daughter there years previously. The villa neighbour, Vince, has disappeared and the nanny, Amanda, begins to investigate the conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of the toddler and the family.

The story itself was interesting but something felt out of place for me. There was a lot of characters and probably similar names were the issue but I struggled with it. The last 30% was great but didn’t blow me away. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Been a Brookmyre fan for a while now, and especially love the Parlabane series, so went into this with high hopes. Totally loved up to expectations. The dual timeline works a treat, and the more we peel back the layers of dysfunctional family life, the more hooked I got. Dark in all the right places.

‘It wasn’t the case that what was said at the villas stayed at the villas. Things said here could not be unsaid. Just as things done here could not be undone.’

Other people’s families fascinate us, all the more so when they behave appallingly. Meet the Temple clan and their friend Vince, stick them in a villa complex in Portugal and watch the disasters unfold. Chris Brookmyre’s new novel is a wonderful exploration of a family matriarch trying to keep the illusions alive while all around her things fall apart. For fans of Brookmyre, who dabbles in various genres nowadays, this isn’t quite a return to his old self after forays into sci-fi, but the trademark sardonic wit and character dissection is well and truly on show.

Max Temple, a renowned psychologist, has died of a heart attack and his wife Celia – herself a former actress – takes her family to their villas in Portugal just after the funeral for one last family reunion. Joining them at the same time should be the owner of the 3rd villa in the complex, Vince and his wife Kirsten, along with baby Arron and ‘nanny’ Amanda, a Canadian teenager. The villa was the setting, 16 years ago, of a family tragedy when the child of Max’s daughter Sylvie went missing and was never found. The narrative switches back and forward between 2002 and 2018, and in doing so slowly reveals the secrets and lies behind the façade of the family. There are clues and red-herrings aplenty as we try to figure out what happened to baby Niamh in 2002, and how it relates to why Vince never actually turned up at the villa, leaving Kirsten to fly out with her child and nanny in tow.

There are twists and some (rather unpleasant) family secrets that just keep coming at you, and Brookmyre relentlessly keeps the pace up to the very end. You might guess at what is unravelling, but then again you might not, and the revealing of what exactly has happened is neatly done. The various viewpoints are played out with each section or chapter focussing on a different character, and the chapters from Amanda’s point of view are written in 1st-person which gives an immediacy from an outsider’s perspective. Indeed, Amanda becomes the focus of the story as her investigations – in an amateurish, bumbling sort of way – turn her into some sort of PI/detective, in the absence of such a figure of authority. Followers of Chris Brookmyre will be happy to hear, however, that a certain you-know-who does make a very small cameo appearance!

Nothing is as it seems in this, well, what? Psychological thriller? Whodunnit? Murder mystery? Family drama? Call it what you will, this is perfect page-turning fun, not overly serious, and it reads like Brookmyre himself had a blast writing the very worst of human traits into some of the characters. Another sure-fire hit for this pretty prolific writer, and one I definitely enjoyed.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

Max Temple is a famous professor, he and his wife Celia, a former actress have three children who have all grown up to be successful. They’re the family that seem to have it all. When Max dies, Celia invites the family for a reunion at their holiday Villas in Portugal where 16 years earlier little Niamh Temple disappeared, thought to have drowned.
Across the way is Vince, his wife Kirsten and their nanny Amanda. Amanda becomes close to the Temple family and soon discovers all may not be quite as rosey as it seems.
Set in a duel timeline and with different characters narrating, Fallen Angel is a compelling read. I can’t say any of the characters are really that likeable but from the prologue right to the very last page I was gripped as dark secrets are revealed and I was desperate to find out what happened to little Niamh.
I love a good story with a dysfunctional family, I love finding out the family secrets and I have to say that the Temple family do have some utterly dark and shocking secrets to hide.
Chris Brookmyre has written a story that is totally absorbing, it draws you in and I was sat open mouthed various times throughout. With plenty of red herrings thrown into the mix it’s a hard book to set down.
This is my first Chris Brookmyre book and I can certainly say it won’t be my last. Fallen Angel is a compulsive read that’s filled to the brim with brilliance. A suspenseful story with a dysfunctional family, conspiracy, vengeance and I can definitely say a sleep stealer, I think Fallen Angel will appeal to the masses and fly off the shelves and deservedly so.
Totally fantastic and one I will definitely be recommending.

Chris Brookmyre has been all over the place of late. He's written SF, historical murder mysteries and now this, a novel with at least one toe in actual events. It's basically a story about unpleasant people being unpleasant to one another, but Brookmyre is a good enough writer to keep you reading and turning the pages long after you should have switched the light out. He handles the multiple viewpoints and different time periods smartly, drip feeding enough information that none of the twists and turns feel unearned. It's clearly a book informed by the Madeleine McCann tragedy, which has inspired Brookmyre to launch a jeremiad against conspiracy theorists and truthers. Personally, while I'm all for that, I did think that this stance was slightly undermined by the revelations at the end, but your mileage might vary. Not quite top tier Chris Brookymre in the end, but still very very readable and enjoyable.

Fallen Angel attracted my attention for all sorts of reasons. I love the idea of the family holiday – it could go either way, couldn’t it? It could be fabulous or it could be a complete and utter nightmare. Then there’s the death of Niamh Temple, little more than a baby at the time.

The family at the heart of the story are the Temple family. Faded actress, Celia and her husband, Max. He’s on the up in 2002 and eclipsing her in every way, something she finds very difficult to deal with. There’s also their three children: Marion, her husband, Ken and their two young children; Rory, the middle child; and Sylvie, newly single mum to Niamh. They all decamp for a holiday at the family villas in the Algarve and this is when the tragedy takes place.

Sixteen years later, Max is dead and the family come together once more at the villas. There’s actually another villa in the complex which is Vince’s. He’s due to be there with his young wife, Kirsten, their baby and their nanny, Amanda. However, things don’t exactly go to plan and Amanda finds herself becoming interested at first in the Temple family, and then delving deeper into their secrets.

This is a fascinating story of family dynamics. The Temples are completely dysfunctional and I’m extremely glad they’re not my family. The action shifts chapter by chapter between 2002 and 2018, and takes in different characters’ viewpoints. I thought this worked really well to keep up the tension for the reader and to see the story from all angles.

There are many revelations throughout the book. It’s a slow unravelling, not only of the story but also of the Temples, and it’s perfectly plotted. There’s a fair amount of information about conspiracy theories because this is Max’s specialist subject, and this adds an extra dimension to the story when you consider the disappearance of Niamh.

I did find that this is a book that required a bit more concentration from me, sometimes a second read of certain bits, to really take it in, but it’s a very intelligent and clever story. And the ending…….well I never saw that coming!

This is my first book by Chris Brookmyre and I really enjoyed it. It kept me guessing throughout and I do like that about a novel.

This was my first time reading work from this author. I quite enjoyed it...
It's a dark, intoxicating thriller. You need to have your wits about you to follow the two timelines.
The novel follows two families owning three villas in Portugal..
Max Temple and his family have two while the third is owned by businessman Vince & his now wife Kirsten...
In present day Max has died and his family have arranged to meet in their villa each with their own thoughts & grievances but for Max's wife Celia, her main being to reunite her family once more.
Businessman Vince has missed his flight to Portugal much to the annoyance of his wife Kirsten who is travelling with their son and his nanny.
In 2002 while on holidays at the villas, a tragedy happened resulting in the death of Max & Celia's granddaughter Niamh.....
What happened to her?
So the author explores both timelines with great depth.
The suspense is palpable trying to work out who is who and how each tragedy effected them all.
Each character is so well crafted and incredibly woven into the storyline..
You can almost feel the tension in the family...
And there on the sideline is the nanny Amanda watching it all, observing the family of the great Max Temple at great length....
Certainly one to watch out for and a new author firmly on my list of must reads......