I found this an odd book to read I wanted to like it, it sounded interesting, and had some diverse characters, and I liked that. However I just didn't connect with the characters or the book, I wonder if it is just me. I hope other readers enjoy it more.

Firstly a big thank you to Lydia for my copy to review and having me on the tour. I did a blogger mistake and didnt read on time…lockdown ,kids ,uni …

I am a big fan of this author as a author and a person, shes lovely and always so complimentary on social media. I also had the pleasure to meet her at capital crime (book events remember those) .

This is her second novel which sees us reunited with Carla and Nell ready to crack a new case . This book is packed with suspense amd intrigue as we race to discover whos the killer and whats the truth?

Secrets are revealed and wow it is unecpected! Unpredictable and hooks you in and turning the pages.

Fantastic charactars and an original storyline that will no doubt have this book flying off the shelves.

I really emjoyed this and highly recommend if you like psychological crime thrillers.

Published 4th march in paperback and do check out the other blogs taking part.

I read and loved Merilyn’s first book called ‘When I Lost You’ which was released in 2019. ‘When I Lost You’ was the first book in the series featuring Carla Brown, a Crime Analyst, and Detective Sergeant Nell Jackson. When I heard that the second book in the series (‘If I Fall) was due for release I just knew that I had to read it as soon as I could manage to grab hold of a copy. Officially ‘If I Fall’ isn’t due to be released until 1st March 2021, but I was lucky enough to be able to take a sneaky read of an early review copy. Oh my word, ‘If I Fall’ is a fantastic addition to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long at all to get into this book. In fact as soon as I started to read, I knew that I was going to be in for one hell of a read and then some. To say that reading ‘If I Fall’ became addictive is a mahoosive understatement. I was intrigued by the apparent suicide of one of the characters and the reasons behind it. As more of the story unfolded, my interest grew and I had to keep reading to see how the story panned out for the characters. The pages turned over increasingly quickly as I worked my way through the story. The more of the book I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to be turning. All too quickly I reached the end of the book and I had to bid farewell to Brown and Jackson.
‘If I Fall’ is superbly written. The fact that the author herself used to be a Crime Analyst for the Metropolitan Police makes the story seem that bit more authentic with details and procedures etc. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draws you into what proves to be a complex story. I won’t go into too much more details because I would hate to spoil the book for anybody. Reading ‘If I fall’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to it than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. For me, ‘If I Fall’ is an unputdownable, page turner of a read, that kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘If I Fall’ and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Merilyn’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I’ve literally just finished this book and my head is reeling. I found this novel intense, heart breaking and dark. But, it wasn’t really the murders and violence that made me feel this way; the themes explored throughout this book were chilling and raw and have left me bereft and exhausted (I mean all this as a positive from a book perspective).
What initially looks like a suicide sends DS Nell Jackson and her team down a rabbit hole of murder, revenge and suppression.
The plot of this novel is fast paced, intense and has more surprises than a Kinder Egg. To begin with, everything seems routine and I was lulled into a false sense of this being a simple ‘Who dun it and why?’ scenario but I soon realised it was so much more than that. I enjoyed how clues and information was given slowly – allowing the reader to digest, process and think about before forming opinions – which are then blown wide open again with the next piece. Just when I thought I had an idea what was happening, something came along to add in a whole new dimension.
Without going into spoiler mode, the plot delves into the realms of control and how much of it people can exert. It’s a study of human nature and how far we can be pushed before we cannot take anymore and is very clever and chilling. Told mainly from the perspectives of Carla and Nell with the occasional chapter from Rachel (a victim’s wife), the reader gets to see different viewpoints and slowly watch the answers come into focus.
I loved DS Nell Jackson – she’s smart and intelligent but also passionate and human. Her impulsiveness is both her best friend and her worst enemy. Carla Brown (civilian crime analysts) also has her own issues to manage but is a calmer and insightful member of the team, thinking a little more out of the box and less like an officer. Together they are a formidable duo and with their supportive and dynamic team – they work through the pieces of this puzzle relentlessly until reaching a solution.
The first novel in the Nell Jackson series, When I Lost You, is high on my TBR and I cannot wait to read more about her.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the arc of If I Fall by Merilyn Davies.

4 star read- This was a great thrilling compelling and gripping read this follows 4 friends which are bound by a secret that's haunting them... then witnessed a woman who fell from the edge of a rooftop.. they think its suicide so does the police but is it or was it something else??

Recommend a great one my first by this author but doesn't disappoint!! 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book has been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been completely gripped, suspicious of all the characters involved and completely unable to predict where this book was going. This is well-written, completely addictive and all round a wonderful gem. I absolutely recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was everything. I picked it up on a Saturday and finished it on Sunday. It’s just that type of book, that you start and won’t be able to put down until you finish it.
I’m a sucker for police procedurals and in my opinion this stands next to one of my favourite series of all time, Harry Hole and DI Callannach series by Helen Fields.
If you enjoyed Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series or Helen Fields DI Callannach series this is just for you. Merilyn Davies is definitely a must read author now that I’ve read If I Fall.

Plot:
The premise of the plot was intriguing. I originally thought that the concept had been done before so I was nervous it wouldn’t be original; however, the inclusion of the conversion therapy was interesting and something I do not have much knowledge around. This gave the novel an extra layer and I gained sympathy for a lot of the characters. I also enjoyed the debate surrounding coercion and how this can affect police procedure, although I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to give away spoilers.

I could not predict the ending and I enjoyed the fact that the author did not reveal the murderer until the last few pages, which meant I had as long as possible to organise my thoughts and theories. In all honesty, I feel conflicted in my opinion of the ending, as I had issues with the character’s motives and therefore could not envision how the plot would play out. The plot seemed a bit confused, almost like it was trying to be too many things at once. In conclusion, however, I did feel that the ending was apt and gave the character’s justice for what they had personally suffered throughout.

Characters:
Before reading this book, I was unaware that it was the second part in a series from this particular author. I do believe it was stand-alone enough that I could read it without knowing what happened in the first of the series, but I did not feel any attachment to the reoccurring characters (perhaps the groundwork of those characters was included in the first book). This meant that I struggled to root for any particular member of the police team.
Additionally, the characters in this book seemed so evil that It was almost unbelievable (maybe I am naïve). The character’s motives seemed slightly strange and some of them just seemed to be bad, without a backstory or any redeeming factors, which seemed rather implausible. I would have enjoyed understanding these characters more, particularly Hannah and Simon: getting to understand why they had such little regard for anyone else.

Ending comment:
I was gripped by the beginning of the book; it was fast-paced, and the premise was fascinating. However, the pace dropped off during the middle of the book and the storyline became slightly too jumbled for my liking. I did enjoy reading the book and would recommend It to other readers but due to the above issues, I cannot rate it higher than a 3/5.


*Sidenote: The copy of the book I received on my kindle had some formatting issues. For example: some speech would begin on one line and jump to the line underneath without any need. Additionally, the authors name and the name of the novel would randomly appear throughout the book. This may be a personal issue with my kindle or an error with the copy I was sent, but it meant the book was quite difficult to read at times.

I was blown away by Merilyn Davies' debut When I Lost You so have been eagerly awaiting her follow up novel featuring the partnership of Crime Analyst Carla Brown and DS Nell Jackson. If I Fall picks up a few months after the events in When I Lost You and Carla is on an awkward date with her boyfriend, their relationship teetering after the secrets unearthed in the first book. The pair are on a trendy rooftop terrace bar when Carla notices a woman lurking behind a plant, her clothes marking her out as potentially homeless. A couple of minutes later the woman has jumped, an apparent case of suicide. But Carla overhears a conversation between three people that makes her wonder if the verdict is that simple. What is the Reunion? What did the dead woman have to do with the trio and why are they hiding that they knew her? But suspicious as Carla is, it's another thing to persuade her colleagues that the case merits another look-until another of the reunion turns up dead and this time there's no doubt about the cause of death.

Just like When I Lost You, If I Fall combines a twisty crime thriller with a unique take on a police procedural and uses the two to examine the underbelly of modern society. Here, the plight of the homeless in one of the UK's most famous and affluent cities, the evils of conversion therapy and toxic bullying combine in an unsettling, riveting narrative. Carla and Nell's partnership continues to evolve and mature in a case that affects them both, leading to some questionable decisions and wrong turns. Highly enjoyable and fast paced I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended -and bring on book 3!

Torn on this one
The premise was good, a reunion ( I know, I know another one ) but the blurb sounded different re this one and without giving too much away it really was, what happened at the reunion is unique to any book have read and certainly had you sitting up and taking note...
The book, after that big beginning then slowed down its pace and instead of me feeling I was involved it felt I was watching from the sidelines and although parts of it were very interesting to me ( there were gay characters although in no way a ‘gay’ book and also conversion therapy/fundamentalism featured ) but it never really won me round to it fully, however I did want to carry on and find out what happened, want rather than need
A fantastic premise and start that waned and never really caught itself back up and maybe got a bit confused with all that was trying to be packed into it

6/10
3 Stars

A thriller full of twists. CW for rape.

It was a fast and quite plain novel but it did have it’s creepy moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this book early.

This is a very twisty thriller. I enjoyed the experience of reading it. Some aspects were hard to believe could happen. Yet some aspects were extremely realistic. CW Rape, Murder.

What a fascinating thriller, starting with a group of friends watching a woman fall of a rooftop, but that is only the beginning. Someone knows them very well, and watches their every move. A good solid read!

Unfortunately I wasn't enjoying this book and I couldn't get on with the characters and I had to stop reading.

Sorry it just wasn't for me but thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

#IfIHall #NetGalley
A good read.
We were told to meet at a rooftop bar.
Four friends, bound by one terrible secret.
No one knew why we were there.
Then we saw a woman, watched as she fell from the edge and plunged to her death.
The police think it’s suicide, but I know better.
Someone is sending a message.Now they’re coming for us.
Thanks to NetGalley and Cornerstone for giving me an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I couldn’t get into this book at all. Gave up fairly quickly.