Mostly set in Portugal, this standalone novel tells the tale of the Temple family.  Max, a famous and outspoken scientist, his wife Celia, an old actress, their children and grandchildren.  Outwardly they appear or at least try to appear to be the successful and happy family, however, as the story unfolds they appear to be anything but.

Set in two different times 2002 and 2018 we see the family returning to the two villas they use for holidays set in a small complex in Portugal.  It's 2018 and Max has just died and they have come to scatter his ashes.  It is also the first time in some years that they have all returned together as a whole family with one daughter seemingly now estranged from the family unit so much so that she has changed her name.

We also meet Vince who owns the 3rd villa on the complex. Together with his new young wife Kirsten, their baby son and a 18 year old Canadian girl called Amanda.  Amanda's fathers  seem to have known Vince and has come over to be the baby's nanny for a short time in the hope of seeing a bit of the UK.  She however soon finds herself on a plane to Portugal for an intended holiday for Vince and Kirsten.  Vince a workaholic is running late for the airport, no change there, but as Kirsten and Amanda wait for the flight to be called they bump into Celia as they head out at exactly the same time, but she reports that they have just seen Vince in the shop, but Kirsten can not get hold of him.  Getting more and more annoyed she decides to head out without him.

I loved the way that straight from the beginning you know something bad's gonna happen...........  Full of little teasers and flashbacks to an accident at the villas back in 2002 these help build the suspense on what turns into a very engaging and multi layered thriller which gains nicely in pace as you read along.  There are a number of characters, particularly from the Temple family, but they are all introduced in a structured way, with their own story, which therefore doesn't allow for confusion.  The story builds, layer upon layer, as the story reveals more and more of the two family's involvement with each other and the alarming secrets they each hold.

The setting, although small, is well described and the intense and often uncomfortable feelings that each family member have for one another oozes out of every page.  A great page turner and compelling thriller for this coming summer!

Fallen Angel is out on April 25th.

Chris Brookmyre can always be relied on to deliver a gripping read, weather it's a thriller or a historical mystery, and Fallen Angel is no exception. It is quite complex psychological family drama, told from multiple POVs and in two different timelines. As always, the characters are interesting and realistic and there are plenty of twists as well as some shocking moments. I didn't find the story as captivating and original as some of his others, although the interwoven thread about conspiracy theories was fascinating.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown publishers for the ARC.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I will be looking out for more.
I wasnt sure about it ti begin with it is a bit of a slow burner. However, it really picked uo and I think the shorter chapter towards the end helped.

I have long been a fan of Chris Brookmyre and was delighted to read this stand alone novel. Much of the book is set in Portugal, where three holiday villas surround a pool. Max Temple, a famous, popular scientist, his wife, Celia, an almost forgotten actress, and their children use two of the villas. Businessman Vince has the other.

This novel takes part in two different periods – 2002 and 2018. In the present, Vince and his new wife, Kirsten, their small baby and new au pair, Canadian Amanda Coolidge, are to visit Portugal for a holiday. However, Vince, a workaholic, misses the plane and so the two women, plus baby, find themselves getting their first. The Temples are meeting up, after the death of Max; with Celia desperate to get her family back together again.

Amanda, who is an internet blogger, immediately recognises the family. Not only was Max Temple a well known personality, but, in 2002, an event took place at the villa, which is a popular discussion subject on the internet. In 2002, the Temples were staying in Portugal, when Max and Celia’s toddler granddaughter fell to her death into the sea, her body never found. Ironically, Max Temple was best known for de-bunking conspiracy theories, while they flourished around the events of that night.

As in all of Chris Brookmyre’s books, the joy lies in his characters. Gradually, he introduces us to the people who were in Portugal in both 2002 and 2018. Vince with his first wife, and then Kirsten. The Temple family as they were in 2002 and in the present; with all of their secrets, tragedies, motives and divisions. Little Niamh was the daughter of Sylvie Temple, who has re-named herself Ivy Roan, and is now a cool as ice businesswoman. However, in Amanda, Sylvie scents danger and fears the precarious new life she has built herself might shatter.

With its emphasis on the internet, blogging, conspiracy theories and endless, online discussions, in which people can gleefully discuss, comment and judge others, Brookmyre has created a modern, and relevant thriller. If you are on the beach this summer, this is the perfect read.

Fallen Angel is a psychological thriller focussing on two summers 16 years apart in the lives of the picture perfect Temple family. In the present day the family travel to their Portugal villa along with their recently appointed nanny, Amanda, to spend the summer holidays. This Portugal villa however was also the backdrop for a devastating loss 16 years previously when the family lost their 2 year old daughter, Niamh, who was swept out to sea and never seen again.
As is the way it is not long before events and secrets from 16 years ago resurface and the ugly truths of what happened that fateful day are exposed.
I hugely enjoyed this novel, particularly the characterisation, and the flashbacks to the fateful summer worked incredibly well in teasing out the various characters.
Highly recommended and many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the advance review copy.

You never know quite what to expect form the next Chris Brookmyre novel. Most recently it's been a science-fiction space adventure (Places in the Darkness) and an early 19th century medical mystery thriller (The Way of All Flesh as Ambrose Parry). With Fallen Angel, Brookmyre returns closer to his roots and the kind of crime thriller that made his name; not so much in the blistering comedy terror plots but closer (closer than you might at first think) to his Jack Parlabane books, where he rails against frauds, charlatans, conspiracy theorists, and not without some measure of flirting with controversy.

Fallen Angel is inspired to some extent it seems by the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, or perhaps not so much directly inspired by the case as much as picking up on the suspicion and conspiracy theories that still abound around the disappearance of the young child while on family holiday on the Algarve in Portugal. The case in Fallen Angel bears certain similarities in the mystery surrounding the investigation, if not concerned with the actual detail of what might have happened. In fact, Madeleine McCann is indeed referenced as taking place five years after the accidental death of Naimh Temple in the 2002 setting of Fallen Angel.

Accidental death is presumed at least, since the child's body was never recovered having believed to have fallen from a sharp cliff drop close to the Temple's family villa. It's perhaps the family name that attracts the attention, speculation and conspiracy theories, as the family of Max Temple, a noted academic who has become a popular TV figure because of his demolishing of unscientific theories, and his wife Celia, a former pin-up movie and TV star. The wider family situation however is, well ...you could say it's complicated. Brookmyre details all the peculiarities of the Temple children and grandchildren from a number of perspectives, splitting the narrative between the fateful holiday in 2002 when Niamh died and the present day in 2018, when the family have reunited for a holiday to pay respects to Max, who has just died, and presumably draw a line under the past and seek some kind of closure.

As well as presenting perspectives from the various members of the Temple family, we also get the first-person viewpoint of Amanda, a young Canadian girl, social media vlogger and budding journalist, who has been engaged by the Temple's holiday villa neighbours Vince and Kristen. There are issues there as well in that relationship, giving Amanda plenty to speculate about when she discovers who her neighbours are and starts to look into the rumours surrounding them. There is definitely something odd and suspicious about the behaviour of some members of the Temple family.

Initially it seems we are in welcome familiar Brookmyre territory of old here, coming down hard on fraudsters and conspiracy theorists. Dirt-digging journalists are one thing, suspicion of such activities finding a new lease of life on-line social media is another, but what Brookmyre seems to have reserved his very special and incendiary ire here for the monster of PR companies dressing up the truth, deflecting from the facts for a society fed up of experts, presenting narratives and 'talking points' to 'avoid misconceptions', but in reality muddying the waters with fake news.

Perception is everything however, whether when it comes to the truth or developing a conspiracy, and considering the real-life basis for controversy and conspiracy you expect Brookmyre to have a few things to throw at the reader to make them think about how easily they can be misled. He doesn't disappoint, but what is evident now is that while the Chris Brookmyre of old might have been content to just be clever, he seems now to have come out of the other side of his wide-ranging experiments with a number of styles and genres and presents a much more nuanced and experienced approach to the true subject he is dealing with here.

Fallen Angel isn't just a return to form from Brookmyre, it's one of his best books yet. Purely on the level of a murder-mystery, it's thrillingly plotted and developed, but characters that might have appeared as one-dimensional are actually strongly defined with complex underpinnings in their relationships with one another. The nature of those family relationships and tensions and how people behave is perceptive and realistic, and - being Brookmyre - it leads to explosive situations, heading to a conclusion that is shocking to the point of being almost devastating, but warmly and deeply moving. Welcome to the new old Chris Brookmyre.

https://www.thedigitalfix.com/life/content/5851/book-review-fallen-angel-by-chris-brookmyre/

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Fallen Angel by Chris Brookmyre is a masterclass in storytelling, it had everything you want to read in a psychological thriller. It was a very carefully constructed storyline, which had the reader guessing from the very beginning. The ending was also everything you want as a reader, all the loose ends tied up and sorted into a conclusion to satisfy the most discerning critic.
Highly recommended.

Thanks to Little, Brown via NetGalley for the ARC.

Christopher Brookmyre is one of my favourite authors so this review may be a little biased.

After his last 2 novels have taken us into space and then history, Brookmyre is back in the here and now.

A family saga, split over two timelines 16 years apart, reveals the secrets and tragedies of a dysfunctional family.
A seemingly normal family holiday to Portugal in 2002 unleashes events that will reverberate through the family for the next 16 years, until they all come together again in the same place.

It's only a matter of time until the truth comes out.

The storytelling is brilliant, as usual, and keeps you hooked all the way through to the final revelatory pages.

Brookmyre at his very best.

Following the death of psychologist, author and media talking head Max Temple, his fractured family reunite at the family villa in Portugal, which was the site of a high-profile tragedy 18 years previously. I have to admit to feeling lukewarm about this book until I was quite a way through it, but the final chapters - which show a sensitive side not heretofore seen from Chris Brookmyre - pushed it firmly into 4 star territory. Prior to that, I'd found some of the characters undeveloped but was still interested enough in the dysfunctional family relationships to carry on reading, and I'm really glad I did because the pay-off is well worth it. Long-time Brookmyre fans will appreciate a brief guest appearance from a much-loved character, and those new to his writing will be rewarded with a satisfying family drama and murder mystery that makes perfect holiday reading.

It is over 20 years since I read a couple of Chris Brookmyre’s early books and I had him pegged as a writer of edgy, blackly humorous crime fiction. He has certainly moved on since then. This is a murder mystery of sorts (and it keeps the reader guessing right to the end) but that element of the story is eclipsed by the psychological family drama that switches focus back and forth between 2002 and 2018. He gives some compelling insights into conspiracy theories and how they can be so seductive, and family mythologies, spinning events to maintain an illusion of harmony. All very interesting. One passage that struck me in particular:

‘Most powerfully, our fear of chaos leads us to crave narrative. We construct apparently coherent stories that tie things together, part of a greater scheme, an all-encompassing truth. These stories make sense according to the way we already understand the world, but that understanding is already a flawed attempt to impose a pattern upon chaos.’

Fast paced action, engaging characters and interaction, and some sharp dialogue - I enjoyed it all tremendously and have no hesitation in recommending.

Set over two summers, 16 years apart, we follow the seemingly perfect Temple family as they navigate one of the worst tragedies that could possibly befall a family – the loss of a young child. Niamh was only two when she was swept away to sea while on holiday in Portugal. Her teenage parents and famous grandparents coming under the scrutiny of the press and conspiracy theorists around the world. Years later, as the remaining family members gather in Portugal once more, the truth behind that fateful day is slowly revealed as the dark, twisted secrets that bind the family together are exposed.

I have to admit I started reading this book highly biased, as I am a huge Brookmyre fan, but just a couple of pages in I had completely forgotten who wrote it and was utterly caught up in the story. The dual time line is gripping, and the various points of view allow the reader to piece together the truth one clue at a time. Every character is so layered and complex that you might start out despising someone that you will be rooting for by the end, or vice-versa. And of course no good mystery would be complete without red herrings, red flags and a healthy dollop of misdirection that ensure you stay guessing to the final reveal.

Is this a satire or intended to be taken seriously?
I read a draft copy of "Fallen Angel" provided by Net Galley, with increasing disappointment.
Brookmyre draws an elaborate picture of a family, broken by the early loss of a child and more recently, the grandfather, a famous challenger of conspiracy theories, psychologist and author. His three children, now adults, holiday at their villa in Portugal with their ex-filmstar mother. Next door, the second wife of the fading executive, Vince, their child and the Canadian nanny are also on boliday.
Vince does not arrive, delayed it seems, by a lucrative business deal.
Amanda, the nanny, tries to unravel thd mystery of the baby who went missing years before.
We see the story from multiple perspectives and two periods of time, eighteen years apart.
Without giving away the plot, this has everything possible in terms of relationships and events. The characters feel paper-thin, despite the detail given about them. None generate empathy, some antipathy. The reader does not have to work at all in drawing deductions: everything is explained in detail, sometimes more than once. Even things that do not matter at all are explained as if we were colouring by numbers.
All is resolved neatly. No further questions are required.
I could not engage with either story or characters. Perhaps if I see the book as a parody of the genre, it might make sense, but as a serious study of human frailties, it is too obvious.

Chris Brookmyre is one of those authors you know will deliver, a safe pair of hands to entrust with your willing suspension of disbelief in the wildest of plots – because his storytelling is so entertaining and his characterisation spot on. This psychological thriller is a somewhat unconventional offering from what his fans are used to, but no less compelling – a family gathering from hell, with enough secrets, lies, twists and turns to beguile and baffle the reader to the very end. The cleverest trick that Brookmyre pulls off however, is that a story involving a debunker of conspiracy theories reveals the truth that our acceptance of the literary subterfuge involved in writing fiction requires an actual conspiracy between author and reader too!

I haven't read Brookymre since the early days and his latest offering is very different in tone, but no less brilliant for it. “Fallen Angel” offers an interesting perspective on the notion of conspiracy theories and provided much in the way of food for thought. “Tinfoil milliners” is my phrase of the year so far and one of the best I've ever heard. Brookymre's eloquence is breathtaking and this new novel feels fresh and painfully current.

Right from the very start we know that someone has been murdered. We’re told it’s a man and we understand the way he was killed too, but who is he, and whodunnit? The set-up here reminded me of Liane Moriarty’s brilliant Big Little Lies in that we’re then thrown into a claustrophobic mystery whereby we meet a group of characters and are henceforth doomed to search for the whys and wherefores for the majority of the next 350 pages. But what great fun it is!

Student and aspiring journalist Amanda has travelled to Scotland from her home in Canada to be a summer nanny for some family friends. Almost immediately she is whisked off to a holiday on the Algarve where they will stay in one of three villas situated around a communal pool. The other two villas are occupied by members of the Temple family who have descended en masse to commemorate the recent death a senior member of the clan. Amanda is soon to learn learn that sixteen years earlier Niamh, a young member of the Temple family, tragically died during a holiday here. Now, in alternating sections, we start to learn of happenings at the time of Niamh’s death as well as following the unfolding of events in the present day.

The characterisation is brilliantly done and as tension racks up (both in the present and in the past) a broad picture of the the relationship between the various players begins to develop. But it’s a slightly hazy picture as it does seem that there are secrets here untold. What is clear is that there is sibling rivalry, overbearing parenting, sly and manipulative behaviour and wanton lust – and that’s just the stuff that’s on the surface! And in amongst this Amanda is trying to keep her emotions intact whilst internally challenging what’s beginning to feel like a pretty flimsy story regarding Niamh’s death.

Brookmyre is great at telling a tale in which he’s able to inject humour and yet keep ratcheting up the tension. In fact, so wrapped up was I in the goings on in this small community that I suddenly realised that I was nearing the end of the book and yet was no closer to solving the double riddle of the murder that had been flagged at the beginning or of fully comprehending the detail surrounding Niamh’s death. But then the surprises started to drop and abruptly all became very clear. Wow! I had to stop and draw breath – I really hadn’t seen that coming!

A superb tale of intrigue and rivalry and family secrets that held me captive throughout. I’m not sure when I’ve read a better thriller or one so intelligently written with characters that felt real and with whom I became so significantly invested. The best book I’ve read this year – and ok, it’s still early doors but I’ll be surprised if it’s not in my top three by year end.

I adore anything that Chris Brookmyre writes and this psychological thriller, which moves in a slightly different direction from normal, is simply terrific. It has a dual narrative from 2002 and 2018, mostly set in the Algarve, Portugal, where the Temple family have villas for family holidays. In 2oo2, Niamh, a young child disappears, presumed dead during a party thrown by neighbour Vince, and his wife, Laurie for the Temples. This tragedy has sown deep divisions within the Temple family, and their daughter, Ivy has become estranged. Ivy works in PR, engaged in corporate reputational laundering, a woman who cannot help sabotaging any meaningful relationships in her life, more comfortable being hated and embracing her nickname as Poison Ivy. There have been no family reunion since 2002, but Max Temple, the famous psychology professor, notorious for debunking conspiracy theorists has died, so once again the dysfunctional family comes together to remember him. The scene is set for the emergence of dark secrets.

Lawyer Vince is now married to his much younger second wife, Kirsten, who has recently given birth to baby Arron. Amanda, a Canadian teenager, is the nanny, looking forward to spending time getting to know a new place, only she has literally been left to look after the baby solo, travelling to the Algarve too. Amanda is an aspiring journalist with her own YouTube channel. She is over the moon to discover the Temple family as neighbours, particularly as she was a huge fan of Max. She finds her curiosity aroused over the events that occurred in 2oo2, but the past can have a nasty habit of coming back to bite you as she underestimates the danger it puts her in. The parents, Max and Celia, are not people to admire, they are narcissistic, controlling, and snobs with big expectations of their offspring. The Catholic Celia, the once a famous actress, is pushing her energies into painting a picture of family unity and perfection that is far from the truth. The callous Max is a nasty piece of work that inspired nothing but revulsion in me. It is barely surprising that their children should have problems.

Brookmyre serves up a delicious storytelling with characters that are hard to like but so brilliantly compelling. This is a gripping novel of conspiracy, murder, vengeance, and chillingly dark family drama, narrated through the perspective of the various characters. There is plenty of suspense and tension, as the expertly plotted twists deliver their surprises and included is a small role for a well known Brookmyre character. As usual, I loved this latest Brookmyre book, it is entertaining and compulsive reading. Brookmyre fans and other crime fiction readers will enjoy this. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

first book by this author and it was excellent..sophisticated writing and story set in sunny Portugal..read it very quickly cos I just had to ..

My first words on finishing this book were ' Right, now I want to read that again.' And I will! I don't know how Chris Brookmyre does it but this is another fantastic tale from his brilliant mind. I really wasn't sure for quite some time where this tale was going but that is perhaps a hallmark of the author's style - it can not be categorised or boxed and he always keeps you guessing.
The plot concerns a family reunion, and commemoration of the recently deceased patriarch, in their Algarve villa. The narrative shifts between 2002 and 2018 and explores the effects on individual family members, and their subsequent lives, of the events of 2002. In 2018 the family are in Portugal at the same time as Karen (new, young wife of Vince), her baby son and Amanda, the Canadian teenage nanny. Vince was also around in 2002 but to Karen's irritation missed the plane this time round. The narrative point of view also shifts between the many family members. To Brookmyre's credit the plot hangs together very well despite all these time and protagonist shifts.
The deceased patriarch Max was a renowned scientist and also a putter down of conspiracy theories. Conspiracies, real and fictional, abound throughout the tale and quotes from Max about the nature of conspiracy theories, are interwoven with the story.
Every character is there for a reason and their story and actions will remain with me. I have already recommended this book to friends and family.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. There's nothing like a good dysfunctional family to make you feel superior. And this is one horrific family.

The story follows two timelines, present day and 2002 and is set mainly in Portugal. The Temples are a celebrity family. Celia, the matriarch, is a former actress having to come to terms with the fact that fewer and fewer people recognise her. Added to this insult in 2002 is the fact that her husband Max, a psychology professor is on the up as an author and debunker of conspiracy theories. In 2002, their children, Marion (with husband and two frightful children), Rory (with gangster moll, Svetlana) and Sylvie with her boyfriend and daughter Niamh. When Niamh goes missing, the family falls apart. Move forward to 2019 and Max has just died and Celia has managed to persuade the family to meet at their Algarve villa. Next door is Kirsten who is married to Vince who was also around in 2002. Their nanny, Amanda, a young Canadian girl is intrigued by the Temples and the tragedy of their lost child.

We are fed information about the past in drip feeds and gradually the truth emerges. It's pretty ludicrous but you know sometimes you are happy to suspend disbelief and go with the flow and this is one of those times. An intriguing set of characters, most of them awful (something I don't normally like) and a mystery with a satisfying if somewhat bonkers end. Another winner from Brookmyre.

Fairly sure I've never read a bad Brookmyre book,and I've read most of them.
This one was a little different being more a family drama on the face of things.
But the more you delve,the more secrets are revealed and crimes come to light.
Taking place over two time lines with multiple narrative, Brookmyre gets the tone right with each of them... something I wasn't sure he would when a main character was a teen.
I smiled when an old familiar face showed up,nice to have them along for the ride even if in the background.
The book threw a few punches I didn't see coming,and was brilliantly paced... I read it in two sittings.
Always a pleasure to see a new book by Mr B.