All Fall Down: The Gripping D.I. Helen Grace Thriller (Di Helen Grace)

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isabel's voice seems very authentic to me. shaped by her times, her religion, and her responsibilities to her family and "their" land, she responds to all of life's challenges with a very practical attitude. and when those challenges become unimaginable horrors, she has that peasant practicality and resoluteness that doesn't permit her to become overly sentimental or hysterical. death is no stranger to her, even before the plague. she had already lost her mother, and even under a good lowercase-l lord, the life of a peasant was difficult, with food shortages and disease, and inadequate medical care. isabel is strong without being *shudder* spunky, she is goodhearted without being treacly. she comes across as much older than her fourteen years, which considering the average life-span of an individual in the 1300's, even before the plague, should come as no surprise; most children were necessarily having to do the work of adults, working the fields, getting married and breeding earlier, just to ensure that the family and life would go on. Tom Bale delivers once again with All Fall Down. I read his first offering, See How They Run, that contained such taut tension that I ate an entire bag of pretzels in one sitting. All Fall Down enters the room slowly with a buildup that is gradual and with fixed steps. The storyline simmers and teases. You know that the full boil is coming. And there are going to be some scorching blisters at the end. Unfortunately for the majority of this book I just didn't feel connected with the story, or the characters and or even when it was clear there is a huge amount of danger, I found myself not being worried, or scared, more oh well, never mind.

Grace Blakely is a sixteen-year-old American who grew up between her native country and the fictional Mediterranean nation of Adria, located in the Balkan Peninsula, which she has roots in. Grace's mother Caroline was killed in what she believes was a murder, but is told by her family was a fire. Grace remembers the face of a man with a large scar who was on the scene of Caroline's death, and believes he was responsible for the murder.No not like an actual wheel for a wagon… um… no, I mean the biscuit. The delicious, delicious biscuit.

Having previously enjoyed the author's See How They Run, my expectations may have been too high. I wanted an intense thriller. I wanted to be frightened. I wanted feelings. But it wasn't to be. The deaths are brutal, unexpected, and frequent. Besides her father and stepmother, Isabel also loses Robin, who dies at a moment when the family seems safe. Grieving by his makeshift grave, Isabel contemplates the loss of a future married to Robin, comparing herself to the millions of people grieving those they love in the same way as she is. T0m Bale is a fabulous storyteller. He gives the 'view' of what's happening without letting the reader know what's coming next. Jennifer takes readers on a journey through one woman’s struggle with addiction, and during this time she connects with other women who find themselves in the same situation, with different circumstances. They may be different; however, they all arrive at this point out of a desperate need. A tight mortgage, the husband is working harder and earning less and seems to be remote, he also isn't the model husband one would want if they had an addiction to prescription pills.

The author tells us a story centered around a mature family which are easy to relate to, rather than a younger one like in his previous book. And also the fact that this family is far from perfect which makes them interesting. Thank you to Net Galley, Bookouture, and Mr. Tom Bale for an advanced copy of All Fall Down in exchange for an unbiased review. A Sunday afternoon enjoying a family barbecue an unexpected noise comes from behind the fence, a man injured and dying speaks two words Help me People often have entire lists of things they fear, but one of those fears usually stands out, stronger than all the others. For me, that’s fear of germs and infectious diseases. Deciding to read All Fall Down was a way for me to face my worst fear, and although it took me a while to get through it, in the end, I’m very glad I did. As a teenager, I was fascinated by apocalypse novels. I was born at the end of the Cold War, and – morbid child

Verdict: A must-read book for every parent in this universe which is heart-breaking yet entertaining. Wow! And then some more Wow! It has actually taken me a whole 24 hours since finishing this book to be able to form some sort of thought process about it! And I haven’t even been able to start another book which is rather unheard of for me! Yes, I have had a MAJOR book hangover! Clinton’s illusions are slowly being dispelled when he goes to rescue Berry-berry from his most recent legal problems and try to invest in a most likely non-existent shrimping business. Through much of All Fall Down, I could not let go of how much tension, and worry I had for Allison. Allison is a woman that many mother's can relate to. She's trying to make sure her family stays afloat. She begins only using to make it through the difficult times, to escape her daughter's tantrums, or to forget her husband hasn't touched her in months. But her spiral downhill kept me on edge as one pill turns into ten per day. Isabel lives in the small village of Ingleforn in a close and loving family: her father, Amabel, her beloved stepmother, Alice, nine-year-old brother, Ned, toddler sister, Margaret, and baby brother, Edmund. Not living with them are Isabel’s older brothers: Richard, who is married and lives at his own farm, and Geoffrey, Isabel’s favorite sibling, who has joined a monastery.I don't think there's one negative thing I could say about All Fall Down. I simply could not put it down. If I had to choose one thing to dislike, it would have to be how snarky, or above it all, Allison could be at times. But then again, denial is a beautiful thing, not just the river. I like stories that expose the fragility of human nature, that implies we are all vulnerable to suggestion, are all capable of almost anything when it comes to survival or protecting our family. This story winds around those loops with precision, exposing the darkest corner of the human psyche, proving we may all have a trigger that turns us into someone we wouldn’t be under normal circumstances, and also proves the power of familial ties, and even the power of love, despite the turbulent and unorthodox way it presents itself. Not quite as good as his last novel "See How They Run", but still a great book, and I am pleased for the success for this author. TL;DR: I was bored, I didn't care for the characters, and I thought the plot was predictable. Would not recommend. The reason I gave this novel only two stars was not because of the heavier story line or the way Jennifer Weiner touched on some grittier topics, such as addiction, marriage conflict and aging parents. No one would argue this book delves a bit deeper that the usual summer easy read concept that she has tried to toy with and fight against equally in the past. However I found this particular book very hard to keep my interest.

Well, Mr Bale has done it again! He's produced a breathtaking psychological thriller that is completely terrifying, but at the same time riveting.If reading a book about the plague is off-putting, and it is a bit grim in places, I would still wholeheartedly recommend reading this one. The characters, their relationships, the setting, the era would really take your mind off things if you’re feeling a bit squeamish. and the plague changes her. it changes her position in her family, it changes her religious beliefs, and as more and more men begin to die, and women are forced to fill those positions, it changes her expectations and possibilities. Allison is also quite beholden to a mother who can't do anything for herself, and a father she loves in the early stages of alzheimers. These factors add to the already over boiling pot. We already get to see a bunch of side characters, many of whom will probably be getting their own book. At the same time, the introduction of all these characters doesn't seem awkward or forced. And while I did like Claire and Rafe just fine, I felt like they were fairly standard as a main couple for a romance novel; though, to be clear, that doesn't take away from the fact that both are great characters. They just don't really stand out.