What they didn’t understand – what nobody understood – was that the higher you flew, the farther you had to fall.” Just when I thought that thriller couldn’t surprise me any more – along comes Erin Kelly’s latest book WATCH HER FALL. Set in the world of professional ballet (who knew that behind the beauty of dance hides such brutality?) it seemed very different from any of Kelly’s previous books and I remember thinking: “Is this really a mystery?” Well, eat humble pie you distrusting reader, because once the stage was set, the first unexpected plot development sent me tumbling head over heels over the edge of the stage like a drunken ballerina in a death twirl. Wow, I did not see that coming! The story is told from several viewpoints and pulls no punches when describing the rigours and sacrifices needed to reach the required perfection of first ballerina. Ava’s character is easily sympathetic, she is trapped under the Svengali hold of her father. He calls all the shots including her access to money. Whilst Ava is sympathetic, she has no problem treating company dancers in a rather dismissive way and that behaviour is at odds with the readers’ instinct to care. 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?

While this book is full of surprising twists and turns, it moves very slowly. Each chapter is a character study. The reader is inside the character’s heads, experiencing the events through their eyes only. Immerse yourself in the claustrophobic, competitive world of ballet. Beautifully dark and complex. So good! - Jane Fallon That said, we do have to accept some glaring implausibilities: that a young ballerina in a famous London company about to go on international tour doesn't have a phone or understand what data is, doesn't have a bank account and so on. There's a sort of sop to the idea of financial fraud at the end but how is an entire company with a corps of 60 not paying tax or NI if everyone's paid in cash? Ava Kirilova has reached the very top of her profession. After years and years of hard graft, pain and sacrifice as part of the London Russian Ballet Company, allowing nothing else to distract her, she is finally the poster girl for Swan Lake. Even Mr K - her father, and the intense, terrifying director of the company - can find no fault. Ava has pushed herself ahead of countless other talented, hardworking girls, and they are all watching her now. Watch Her Fall is a psychological thriller about a ballerina who is the star of an elite ballet company. Having scored the dual role of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, she is under great pressure to dance to perfection. Not only is she battling her controlling father, who is also the company's artistic director, but she is also battling the other ballerinas who would kill for her role.

Books Multibuys

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. 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. I've read several thrillers that involve ballet this year, and I always find myself both intrigued and disgusted by the world of ballet and its cutthroat competitiveness and its odd sexual undertones. This book is no different, but I must say that is my favorite of the ballet thrillers that I have read to date. Kelly perfectly captured the toxic air that seems to surround ballet while constructing a multi-layered, twisty plot with more than a few surprises! Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration

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. Set in the intense, emotional world of ballet, the dancers living in a bubble of professional artistry, a world of complete focus and competition, Ava is about to hit the pinnacle of her career. However there are those in her life who would see her fail..

A reader doesn’t have to know much about ballet to like the book. It’s a mystery/thriller at the core. However, if you’re drawn to reading about passion - an inner calling, then this may appeal to you the way it did me. Erin Kelly is another author whose work I wait impatiently for. Her style of writing always grips me, and I have to keep reading to know what happens next. 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. What they didn't understand - what nobody understood - was that the higher you flew, the farther you had to fall.' Overall, this is certainly not your run of the mill psychological thriller. Kelly certainly knows how to weave a dark, mesmerizing, edge of your seat tale of suspense!

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. I had no preconceived notions when I started reading this book. I have read some of this author’s work in the past, I liked her work- but I was not prepared for such a strangely hypnotic mind trip. 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. Kelly's writing is always so beautiful; I have always said her books read like a literary thriller because her prose is gorgeous. In this case, it can be compared to the beauty of ballet with the way that her writing is both lyrical and provoking, as well as disturbing at times. This is not only my favorite book by Kelly but easily one of my favorite books this year. Brava!! Glitters with dark brilliance and portrays the complex, painful world of ballet with great authenticity. I loved it! - Kate Rhodes

About Erin Kelly

Psychological crime is the speciality of Erin Kelly, and Watch Her Fall is a prime example of her work … bravura fare’ Barry Forshaw, Financial Times Superbly dark, gloriously twisted and utterly seductive – this is Erin Kelly at her mind-bending best’ RUTH WARE Watch Her Fall takes you pirouetting into the harsh and cruel world of the artistic and classical world of ballet. It takes its inspiration from the famous ballet Swan Lake. I knew nothing of this world and even less about the story of Swan Lake but I am now fascinated by both.