Fleeing Melbourne for a village in the Yorkshire Dales had felt right. Sanctuary, I'd thought.
But nowhere is as straightforward as it first appears.
When Giselle escapes to the north Yorkshire village of Hollydale, she doesn't give much thought to what she might find there. She's more concerned with what she's leaving behind – a toxic marriage, the loss of her beloved sister, Lina, and the cloud of suspicion over the circumstances of Lina's death.
But in this small community she makes new and fascinating friends, chief among them Margaret, a wealthy elderly local who lives in Chatswood Hall, the mansion perched on a hill above the village, and Tom, the local handyman. Giselle hopes to start life over, but the past cannot be outrun and her husband will not be cut loose, threatening to arrive in Hollydale at any moment.
When a bomb explodes on the one road that leads to her cottage, Giselle realises that her Hollydale life is larger and more complicated than she'd understood.
A story about intergenerational friendship between women, coercive relationships and power, and the endless possibilities new connections can bring.
PRAISE FOR AFTER THE FALL
'Kirsten Alexander's writing is delicate and finely tuned, catching the rhythms beneath the everyday. With a rich sense of place After the Fall delivers the most surprising of outcomes.' – Kathryn Heyman, author of Fury
'I loved everything about this novel. A proper page-turning, keep-you-up-at-night plot, combined with beautiful writing and wonderful characterisation, leading to a very satisfying finale. A joyous spirit of mischief runs alongside a darker vein, each enhancing the other.' – Emily Hourican, author of The Glorious Guinness Girls