⭐️⭐️.5

I’ll admit when I requested this off Netgalley, I thought it was going to be an Alice In Wonderland retelling. Nope. After Alice Fell is the story of Marion figuring out what happened after her sister Alice dies after falling off the roof of the asylum. Was it suicide? Murder? Marion is determined to find out.

Yawn. This didn’t get interesting until about 75% into the story so I can’t recommend. It was an interesting premise, but it took too long to get a satisfying conclusion.

#Netgalley #AfterAliceFell

An historical fiction novel who's joy is in the details.
Marion returns home from her duty as a civil war nurse to claim the body of her mentally challenged sister, Alice, from the asylum she was committed to. Did alice fall as was thought? Was it an accident or a suicide? Or are Marion's hunches correct that she was murdered, pushed from the roof.
Although slow at times, I found the writing to be in keeping with the period it portrays and rich in the finer details that make for an engrossing, atmospheric read. The mystery deepens and the suspense builds as the story moves along. There were a couple things in the story I could have used more information on, that left me with questions but nothing major that truly affected my enjoyment of the novel. If you enjoy period pieces that take place in the mid 1800's that aren't rushed and give you a sense of time and place, then I highly recommend this one.

After Alice Fell was my second book read by this author, although I didn't connect to this book as much as I did the first one that isn't to say it wasn't a good book just a little harder for me to get into than the other. The book is very well written, and the concept of the book was very good it just sort of dragged at places for me. The ending of it came about quickly which felt odd after the slowness of other parts. I would suggest that those that enjoy this time period read the book and make your own opinion of the book.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Major gothic vibes, mystery, a bit of suspense and whodunnit that keeps you turning pages. From my perspective, Kim Taylor Blackmore hit the perfect combination here to keep me engaged as a reader and flipping pages.

Well written, and for me it provided to be true escapism. From the first page when Marion Abbott returns from being a nurse in the war to learn of the death of her sister at an asylum, she senses something isn’t right, and sets out to prove what that is – while bound by the reality of a women’s constricted movement and options in the 1860s. Gulity over leaving her sister behind and letting this happen, I felt for Marion throughout as she sought the truth, even knowing it might cause her more pain.

Then, as we get into the second half, the author keeps upping the volume and making things worse and worse for Marion, in true skilled writing style.

This book is so atmospheric with vivid and thoughtful descriptions. I’ll admit that normally I’m not a huge historical fiction fan, but this book has me converted!

I received a complimentary ARC copy of After Alice Fell, A Novel by Kim Taylor Blakemore from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in order to read and give an honest review. 

"...exquisitely written, atmospheric and rife with edge of your seat suspense that kept me captivated... " 

Author, Kim Taylor Blakemore gives us a beautifully written, suspenseful, American gothic tale brimming with family drama, secrets and lies. Set in 1865, Post Civil War New Hampshire, former army nurse and newly widowed Marion Abbott is forced to move in with her newly remarried brother, Lionel and his second wife, Cathy into their old family home filled with memories. Cathy who was best friends with Lionel's first wife Lydia is trying to establish herself as matriarch of her new family and tries hard to create a home for Marion. 

While Marion was working during the war Lionel in her absence was forced to put their mute and disturbed sister Alice in the Brawders House Asylum after he catches Alice hanging his son out of the top floor window by his ankles. When Lionel and Marion are summoned to the Asylum on scorching summer day, they learn that a despondent Alice has jumped to her death from the roof.  

Upon preparing for Alice's funeral Marion cannot bear the condition her sister's body is in; bruises and evidence of restraints do not sit right with Marion. Reeling from guilt and haunted by memories, Marion struggles to believe that her sister committed suicide. Marion's thoughts are justified when she is contacted by a witness to the incident who paints a vastly different picture that the one her family had been given. 

Marion is convinced more than ever that Alice's death was not of her own doing. Driven by sisterly love and overwhelming regret Marion is determined to get to the bottom of what happened even if it puts her in danger of a similar fate.  

I have been a fan of Kim Taylor Blakemore since I read and reviewed her novel the "The Companion" and true to form she has not disappointed with "After Alice Fell".  Both books have been exquisitely written, atmospheric and rife with edge of your seat suspense that kept me captivated to the very last page.

Alice fell. Or did she? Her sister, Marion, has returned home to claim her body at the asylum and lay her to rest in the family plot. Marion won't rest until she has answers about her sister's death. Was it an accident, suicide, or something more sinister? Rich and detailed language transports you back in time to share Marion's journey to find truth and peace,