We All Fall Down,

by Cynthia Clark

Publication: Aria; December 4, 2018

About the book

Many years ago orphans Bea, her brother Sebastian, Helen, Sandra, and John lived together in a home, with their carer Miriam. But Miriam didn’t care at all. If you asked the children, they would have said that Miriam hated them. And it’s no fun living with someone who hates you, so the children decided to do something about it… Then a terrible accident changed everything, and the children were ripped apart from each other.

Many years ago Ronnie Moss made a mistake he can never take back, no matter how much he wishes he could, so instead he runs for his life. But he can’t run forever.

Many years later the secrets of the past are finally being revealed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Cynthia Clark has written a breathtaking suspense novel for all fans of B. A. Paris and Sophie Hannah.

My Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Cynthia Clark’s latest novel, We All Fall Down! This suspense thriller centers around five children: Bea, Sebastian, Sandra, Helen, and John living in foster care with an abusive woman named Miriam. After reaching their mental and physical limits of Miriam’s daily abuse, the group of children devised a plan in hopes of saving themselves and each other. But the outcome is never truly realized because of an accident involving a young man who had been awake and driving for days, Ronnie Moss. Everything quickly falls apart in their lives, resulting in huge changes and years of difficult memories of the past. Then one day, each of the children, now adults, receives a phone call bringing everything back to the surface.

It all started with seeing this cover! I couldn’t help but be intrigued after seeing the haunting cover image, the use of colors, and the creepy description.

We All Fall Down started out with a bang and quickly reeled me into the lives of the five children, as well as, Ronnie Moss. Just as she did in her previous novel, If Only You Knew, Cynthia Clark developed each of her characters in a beautifully detailed and thoughtful way very early on, building an enormous amount of anticipation regarding what the future held for everyone. The first part of the novel, based on events in 1989, was heartbreaking, to say the least. Having a parent that was in the foster system and horribly mistreated for a good portion of his childhood, the situation in Miriam’s home infuriated me and made me hopeful as I read on and learned about their lives almost 30 years later.

With the exception of flashbacks, the majority of the novel is based in the present after Ronnie Moss is discovered. The reader learns about each character’s life, how things turned out personally and professionally, and so on. Along with this comes a great deal of tension and suspense as Bea, Sandra, John, and Helen fear that someone will discover their plan from those many years ago and fear that their current lives will be destroyed because of it.

Unfortunately, for me personally, I felt that some of the excitement and suspense diminished as the novel progressed. I was still intrigued and felt compelled to continue reading, but it didn’t have that same “wow factor” that I felt in the opening of the novel. There continued to be ups and downs regarding suspenseful moments where I wondered what would happen next, but when I reached the ending, it seemed rather anti-climatic compared to the earlier development of the plot. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed this novel, but it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat as I had hoped.

I know I’ve already discussed the characterization and Clark’s incredible talent for it, but one of the most interesting elements of this novel for me was watching the characters almost revert back to childlike thoughts, actions, and behaviors as they worried about their plan from childhood being discovered. Especially Sandra, whose life seemed so smooth-running and organized. This normally confident woman became obsessed with the fear of something happening to upset her world, often having somewhat ridiculous thoughts about Miriam and her capacity to still destroy their lives. Bea also reverted to immature thoughts and actions, as did John. Helen seemed the calmest, although the author didn’t really allow us into her head as much as she did with Bea and Sandra.

I’m noticing that I’m rambling so I will wrap this up. Although I don’t think the novel was executed as well as it could have been, this was an intriguing novel with a wonderfully varied cast of characters. We All Fall Down serves as a reminder of the power of secrets, how quickly things can change, and also the freedom that comes with letting go of the past.

*Thanks to Aria and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Buy links

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2z1tg10
iBooks: https://apple.co/2z0RyrJ

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yYWHAG
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2SnTVOq

About the author

Cynthia Clark was born and brought up in Malta, where she graduated in Communications and went to work for a daily newspaper. She has since lived in the US, where she worked as a writer in online business journals. She and her husband now live in the States with their twin daughters.