Watch Her Fall (Paperback)
  • Watch Her Fall (Paperback)
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Watch Her Fall (Paperback)

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£7.99
Paperback 416 Pages
Published: 03/03/2022
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Waterstones Says

Another electrifying psychological thriller from the author of We Know You Know focusing on the deadly rivalry at the heart of an elite production of Swan Lake.

Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022

Longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library 2021

Swan Lake is divided into the black acts and the white acts. The Prince is on stage for most of the ballet, but it's the swans audiences flock to see. In early productions, Odette and Odile were performed by two different dancers. These days, it is usual for the same dancer to play both roles. Because of the faultless ballet technique required to master the steps, and the emotional range needed to perform both the virginal Odette and the dark, seductive Odile, this challenging dual role is one of the most coveted in all ballet.

Dancers would kill for the part.

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.

But there is someone who really wants to see Ava fall...

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781473680852
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 290 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 28 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

Watch Her Fall is a triumph of storytelling, full of swooping passion and explosive twists that will take your breath away. I was entranced from the first page, losing my heart to the characters and swept up in their stories which were seamlessly intertwined in the way only a writer at the height of her powers can achieve. An absolute joy of a book - Sarah Hilary

In what I believe is her best book to date, Erin Kelly leaps into the dark and enchanting world of Russian ballet with a dancer's precision. The mesmeric tale of Ava Kirilova unfolds like the darkest and most delicious fairytale. I read it in two sittings and found myself enraptured, transported, spun around and left dizzy by the final page - Charlotte Philby, bestselling author of Part of the Family and A Double Life

An immersive, addictive thriller set in the high-stakes world of ballet, with a jolting twist you absolutely won't see coming - Claire McGowan, author of The Other Wife

Just finished Watch Her Fall - an elegant thriller set around the secretive world of elite Russian ballet. Powerful, ingenious and EXCITING. Loved peeking behind the curtain and learning about Swan Lake. Memorable characters and gasp-out-loud twists. SUPERB! - Will Dean

Kelly's characters could walk into a room and take a seat next to you and you'd know who they were, and her plots are the smartest in the industry, but with this one she somehow captured the intense, constrained, sinister world of ballet. I absolutely loved it - Gillian McAllister, author of Sunday Times bestseller How to Disappear

A captivating hall of mirrors of a novel, where nothing and no one is as they seem - Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

I would read a shopping list from Erin Kelly, if it were set in the same rarified, cut-throat world in which she has set her latest novel. Watch Her Fall is not only a cleverly plotted, beautifully written thriller; it is also a mesmerising glimpse behind the curtain into a world few of us will ever see - Clare Mackintosh

Think Black Swan meets Killing Eve, with the most brilliant twist - Grazia Online

Superbly dark, gloriously twisted and utterly seductive - this is Erin Kelly at her mind-bending best - Ruth Ware

Kelly's pirouetting plot is up there with her best - Daily Express

Erin Kelly plunges readers into the highly competitive world of ballet in Watch Her Fall - Sunday Express S Magazine

Thriller queen Kelly is back with a new novel about a dancer at the London Ballet Company . . . Think Black Swan but in book form - Cosmopolitan

Bestselling crime novelist Kelly returns with a dark tale of obsession and ambition set in a prestigious ballet company and based around the story of Swan Lake - ipaper

Immerse yourself in the claustrophobic, competitive world of ballet. Beautifully dark and complex. So good! - Jane Fallon

The new addictive thriller of 2021 . . . Gripping with a devilish twist - Alice O’Keeffe

This was a wild ride! Erin Kelly's new book Watch Her Fall is a thrilling high-wire of twists and switchbacks! Brilliant - Marian Keyes

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

Glitters with dark brilliance and portrays the complex, painful world of ballet with great authenticity. I loved it! - Kate Rhodes

This thriller is being described as Killing Eve meets Black Swan - how amazing does that sound? Set in the world of ballet, it's about two rival dancers and the lengths they go to to get to the top - Good Housekeeping ‘Books to Watch in 2021’

Watch Her Fall is an absolute masterclass in misdirection, the kind of book that you finish and then turn straight back to the beginning to see how on earth she did it . . . A central twist so ingenious that this reader gasped out loud . . . The pressured, high-stakes world of professional ballet is brilliantly evoked . . . The brilliant Watch Her Fall will take some beating - Alice O'Keeffe, The Bookseller

Watch Her Fall dances with artistic passion and intrigue, beauty and pain; the plot pirouettes in ways that leave you breathless. More than an exciting read - it is a dazzling performance. Brava, Erin Kelly! - Rachel Edwards

Twisty and brilliant and completely absorbing - not only a masterclass of a thriller but also sneakily profound about identity, ambition and greed - Bridget Collins

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

It's awfully gripping and beautifully written - Marian Keyes for OK! Magazine

set in the cut-throat world of ballet - the perfect backdrop for a twisty thriller that's sure to leave you breathless - Woman & Home

With its compelling arena, this dark thriller executes a fouetté turn half way through that will leave you breathless - Heat

This multi-layered, deftly written thriller set in the cut-throat world of ballet has all the ingredients of a must-read . . . Expect deceit and duplicity and one hell of a twist! - Red

With major Black Swan vibes, this thriller is one of the best books we've read this year - Claire Frost for Sun on Sunday Fabulous

Full of intrigue and secrets, this is set in the dazzling and claustrophobic ballet world - Nina Pottell for Prima

Kelly offers a nuanced account of the lengths to which dancers will go - or are driven to - when ambition is transmuted into obsession . . . Ava is a fascinating blend of control, power, and precision in the public sphere, but who is privately plagued by neuroses . . . A noir pas-de-deux that overflows with femmes fetales, but one written with a compassionate understanding of the intolerable pressures ballerinas must learn to live with - Irish Times

I was utterly immersed in this rarefied but cut-throat world. From the first page I was wrapped up in Ava's swooping, all-consuming passion and totally gripped by the explosive twists which held me to the very last page - Adele Parks for Platinum

A clever and brilliant thriller - Bella

Kelly's best yet . . . Genius twists and turns - Good Housekeeping

A dark, brilliant read with the most amazing twist - Closer

Twist follows twist, like The Red Shoes rewritten by Patricia Highsmith - Mail On Sunday

It seems so effortless . . . it's brilliant and you really do not guess what's coming - Virgin Radio Graham Norton

This dark and enticing thriller transports you on a journey filled with ingenious twists and turns at every corner. Just when you think you know what's happening, you realise everything is perhaps not quite as it seems, and you really won't predict what's coming. Packed with secrets, lies and mistaken identities, Watch Her Fall is a real crowd-pleaser that keeps you on your toes - Peterborough Evening Telegraph

The dark side of Swan Lake has inspired many books and films but this one will probably rate as one of the most original . . . Kelly's depiction of this claustrophobic and ambitious world is brutally convincing and her silky prose makes this an easy read. You don't have to be a dance expert to enjoy it - Daily Mail

The author is known for her twisty, turny tales and this one showcases her great storytelling brilliantly - The Sun

Set in a world of ambition and rivalry where someone is watching from the wings, the most shocking twists and secrets are revealed - Crime Monthly

Kelly's shapeshifting novel is by turns a social comedy, heist caper and whodunnit while remaining a dazzling psychological thriller - The Times

This is a twisty, emotional, intriguing account of minds and bodies under supreme stress - Literary Review

Watch Her Fall is Kelly's most ambitious novel yet, with one of her trademark clever, twisty plots, rendered twistier than ever - Sunday Independent (Ireland)

A new psychological thriller by Erin Kelly is always cause for celebration. And thankfully her trademarks - murky domestic setups, morally ambiguous protagonists on the verge of cracking, and a strong sense of place - are all present and correct in Watch Her Fall - Buzz Magazine

Kelly paints a picture of a claustrophobic, rarefied, piercingly lonely world . . . Deliciously sinister and obsessive . . . with one hell of a twist - Review by Alison Flood as one of her Thrillers of the Month, Observer

Cleverly constructed . . . a curtain call and bouquets all round - James Owen, The Times

A whipsmart novel set in the world of top-flight ballet . . . The plot twists are abundant, the prose eloquent and vivid, but it's the relationship between Juliet and Max that gives the novel its beating heart. Your hope that the pair can find some form of happiness will keep you glued to this classy thriller - Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express

Psychological crime is the speciality of British writer Erin Kelly, and Watch Her Fall is a prime example of her work . . . this is bravura fare, with the ballet company depicted as a toxic world akin to that in the 2010 film Black Swan - Financial Times

Another chilling read from best-selling writer Erin Kelly - Hello!

Impressive and beguiling psychological thriller - The Big Issue

Told from several viewpoints in acts and interludes, the plot cleverly mirrors the story of the ballet. With some surprising twists and unexpected turns, it's a good psychological thriller - Choice Magazine

Erin Kelly brings the claustrophobic atmosphere of a ballet company brilliantly to life in a well-paced thriller with a killer twist - Irish Independent

A stunner of a twist that's so unexpected that it will change the whole way you view the plot and its damaged characters . . . With suspense and intensity, Kelly explores the dark internal battles that ballerinas go through behind the curtain, but don't be fooled into thinking this is your typical Black Swan copycat rivalry-thriller. Watch Her Fall has hidden layers and a surprising emotional depth too . . . It is without doubt Erin Kelly's best novel yet - CultureFly

Addictive . . . switches skilfully between perspectives, and there's a clever twist that'll make you gasp - Cosmopolitan

A shout from the rooftops type of book, and this is so special, I may be there for some time! - LoveReading

A brilliant character study as a young woman's ambition gradually transforms into a lethal obsession - Irish Times, Books of the Year

A twisty psychological thriller set at a ballet company; shades of Black Swan - Irish Examiner, picked by Louise O'Neill as one of her Books of the Year

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Stu Cummins

“A gripping tale of ambition, greed, privilege & loss...against a backdrop of dance”

Erin Kelly continues her reign as the queen of narrative curveball with the fantastically dark and twisty “Watch Her Fall”. Set in the unforgiving and intense world of a professional ballet company, this is both a... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 32
Stu Cummins

“A gripping tale of ambition, greed, privilege & loss...against a backdrop of dance”

Erin Kelly continues her reign as the queen of narrative curveball with the fantastically dark and twisty “Watch Her Fall”. Set in the unforgiving and intense world of a professional ballet company, this is both a... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 31

“An intense, dramatic and highly emotive experience”

This is a fabulous book. A tour de force. Erin Kelly’s book caught me up in the ballet dancers’ world and never let go once. The precision and expertise of her writing brought me inside the London Russian Ballet... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 27

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