Watch Her Fall: An utterly gripping and twisty edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller from the bestselling author

Product Information

I could have never predicted where this book would go or how it would end. There are several WTF moments; however, to get there, you will have to make it through part I, which is a character study told through the eyes of the main character Ava Kirilova. Watch Her Fall is a psychological thriller that takes readers into the passionate, prestigious and hyper competitive world of ballet, where betrayal materialises in many forms: from fellow dancers and oppressive parents, to broken bodies and fragile minds. It is without doubt Erin Kelly’s best novel yet. There's some clunkiness which seems to go with the melodrama of the genre Ukrainian criminals (groan), way too many switched identities, murders, not one but two ballerinas with almost the same injury facing off on crutches, changing narrators and repeating the same events from an alternative PoV. There's also some grating writing: bleeding scratches are described as 'my thighs shooting out red liquid threads... red snakes [that] swim through the water then die' - yeurgh! Swan Lake: the eternal story of doomed love reflects the dark side of each innocent souls and it’s also about appearance can be deceiving! Nothing as it seems!

Ava Kirilov is the principal dancer of the London Russian Ballet Theater and daughter of Nikolai Kirilov, the founder and director of the company. She'll be dancing both Odette and Odille in the upcoming performance of the ballet company's world tour of Swan Lake, the height of her career. It's a role that is coveted by the other ballerinas since it's a career-making (or breaking role), and there are always other dancers, younger dancers, ready to step into the spotlight, to take the place of another, which is Ava's fear since she's 30 and not getting any younger. Is she paranoid in her fears of being replaced? Or is there really someone trying to take her role? Is her father, a brutal perfectionist who pits his dancers against each other with mind games trying to set her to fail for some reason? And as we slowly witness Ava’s inner fears about getting old, being lonely at the top, to be replaced by younger and more talented version of herself, we start to think maybe she’s self sabotaging herself because of too much pressure she’s dealing with and she may envy the new second ballet who will Odette for a few moments gives her shark vibe who smells her blood. But there’s something more ominous lurking around those competitive corridors of theaters. Let’s not forget how Ava’s father plays narcissistic mind games like a puppeteer with his students by pulling their strings! Superbly dark, gloriously twisted and utterly seductive – this is Erin Kelly at her mind-bending best’ RUTH WARE

About Erin Kelly

This is a tense, twisty, and just plain crazy read! If you are not a fan of ballet and/or don’t enjoy slow-paced character studies, this book is not for you. For those who make it through to the end, the payoff is grand! This book was so good! Tense from start to finish, with a great set-up and some psychological twists and turns that had me rooted to my chair! This is one of those books where the less you know the better- and I doubt anything else I might add would really do it justice anyway. The writing here is simply superb, an immersive, descriptive joy to read that sets you in a place like no other. It is part mystery, part character study, all drama, an extremely complex and intelligent tale that subtly dances in the mind much like a ballet itself. Watch Her Fall is Erin Kelly's most ambitious and captivating book to date, an absolutely enthralling look at the dark underbelly of the ballet world, built into a shifting narrative of time and place that was so thrilling and unexpected that it made my head spin - Lisa Jewell

Kelly is already known as one of the best, most original writers of psychological fiction. I have read all of her previous novels and enjoyed every one of them. This novel, Watch Her Fall, catapults her to the next level, it is a thrilling and cinematic story of control, deceit and passion. It's a story that the reader must invest heavily in, filled to the brim with layers of intrigue, told with a precision that is quite stunning and populated by characters who are never quite who they seem to be. This isn’t an easy book to review. I’m weighing up every word I type because I constantly feel like I’m on the verge of spoiler territory so this might end up being insanely vague. Welcome to London Russian Ballet Theater with its perfectionist, strict director, founder of Nikolai Kirilov, such an ambitious, dedicated soul who performed nearly 60 years and he’s still directing the phenomenal Swan Lake, even though he’s dealing with his health issues, walking with a cane.This story is not just set on stage. The author intricately weaves another thread into this tale. That of the dangers faced by those people who are forced to live undercover. Those who have left everything that they love to find a new life, but have only discovered more pain and heartache. Watch Her Fall is a terrifically absorbing novel, rich in atmosphere, style and surprises - Erin Kelly once again leads her readers on a dark and merry dance, and they'll love her for it - Sarah Perry Erin Kelly plunges readers into the highly competitive world of ballet in Watch Her Fall - Sunday Express S Magazine This is one of the most imaginative novels I’ve read so far this year. The story begins with the focus centered around the drama and competition of a ballet company.

Ava is one of the ballerinas who trains hard to the point of torture and exhaustion. Her father is right there behind her pushing her forwards and wanting her to be perfect. The pressures of this get too much and she lashes out at other dancers. She’s hardly the most popular dancer in the class. To say more about the plot might risk spoilers. Like some of Kelly’s previous books ( The Burning Air, Stone Mothers), Watch Her Fall is split into chunks told from the perspectives of different characters, some of whom initially seem obscurely connected to the others (or not connected at all). By Act II, it appears we are very far from the story’s glamorous beginnings. Yet I continued to be just as gripped as I had been at the start. And eventually, the narratives slot together beautifully and ingeniously. After years of blood, sweat and tears, ballet dancer Ava Kirilova has finally reached the top of her profession. As the poster girl for Swan Lake and the daughter of the London Russian Ballet Company’s intense and uncompromising director, Ava is both revered and feared by her fellow dancers. She might have been born to play the dual lead of Odette/Odile in her father’s hotly anticipated ballet, but Ava can’t afford to get complacent. Becoming a principal dancer is hard enough. It’s keeping your place at the top that’s the real battle – and Ava has plenty of young, hopeful and ambitious girls nipping at her heels, ready to steal her spot should she fall. Anyway, the first act set things for what I expected would be a story of ballerina's rivalries, fighting for the role of Odette/Odile, but the second act darted off in a completely unexpected direction, and that's where it went downhill for me. First things first. Do you require any knowledge whatsoever about the art of ballet or indeed Swan Lake? No, you do not. Will you end up wanting to watch a ballet performance? Probably, yes.Obviously, Swan Lake plays a big part in ‘Watch Her Fall’. It’s not just due to the performance the London Russian Ballet Company is preparing itself for. There is a rather more subtle thread about this coveted ballet that runs throughout the entire story but I’m going to leave that for you to discover on your own. It is incredibly well done, though. Truly impressive. Watch Her Fall takes the reader deep into the world of classical ballet, a mostly alien territory, for me. I’ve always admired the strength and talent of ballet dancers, alas I was moved to the Morris Dancing class as considered to tall and clumsy for the finer discipline that is associated with this genre! However, her controlling father stifles any individual artistic expression in favor of the Russian way - his way. It’s his vision and his company, and he’s masterful with psychological maneuvers to control his dancers. Including Ava. Immerse yourself in the claustrophobic, competitive world of ballet. Beautifully dark and complex. So good! - Jane Fallon