Cover Image: Watch Her Fall

Watch Her Fall

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Member Reviews

I purchased this book for sale in my online store. This author is very popular and the book was great! Thanks for the early copy!

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This gave me anxiety. Who knew ballet was so cut throat? I got confused a few times on the POV and it had some dull moments. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

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This is one of those books best approached blindly. Read with a friend simultaneously, and we reached every WTF moment at the same time. A strong psychological thriller with depth.

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A wonderfully captivating psychological thriller with great characters and lots of secrets and twists and turns that keeps misleading the reader . Highly recommend !

I would like to thank Mobius Books, Hodder & Stoughton & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

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Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly is a Mobius- Hodder & Stoughton publication.

A strangely absorbing thriller…

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.

Ana will play the dual role of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake- but the pressure is intense. Her own father runs the London Russian Ballet Company and is nearly tyrannical with his control over Ana and her techniques. Meanwhile, it would appear she has some severe and ruthless competition.

The tone grows darker and even more intense as the ‘Swans’ behave more like Vultures as they plot to get the upper hand- ready to effortlessly step into Ana’s position. But it seems as though someone has decided to take the competition to a whole new, and deadly level…

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 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.

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!

4.5 stars

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a bit hard to follow. I love ballet dramas so I was looking forward to this one for a while, but it fell short and din't quite give me any of the aesthetic I was hoping to see.

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I understand "setting the stage" but it should not take up 2/3 of the book. I hung in and got to the end but was not impressed. Thank to the author, publisher and NetGalley

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Erin Kelly is consistently excellent. A recommended purchase for collections where thrillers and her previous titles are popular.

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Watch Her Fall was difficult to read when the point of view abruptly shifted from one character to another, and even to their different personas, which slowed the flow of the book. Some characters important to the ending were not introduced until late in the story.

Storyline twists are intriguing, but not when they are awkward and do not transition smoothly. The story seemed to be divided into thirds; the middle was the most interesting. The plot became increasingly unbelievable in the final chapters, and went rapidly downhill after a last minute twist in the final pages.

I rated Watch Her Fall a "3" because I enjoyed reading about the inside perspective of the ballet world, appreciated the incredible passion of the dancers, and liked the middle section.. However, I found it difficult to relate to most of the characters and really did not like the ending.

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I recommend. Keep me engaged and interested, thank you for the advance chance to read this. I’ve already told family and friends about it

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Clever, clever, clever!!!!

Ballet is a cut throat world and Erin Kelly shows us just that with her latest novel, Watch Her Fall. This book will keep you en pointe! 🩰

Ava Kirilova is at the top of her *ballet* game and is playing the part of Odette and Odile in the upcoming production of Swan Lake in which her father is the director.

Someone dies, someone is injured, and nothing is what it seems. As my friend Meredith said beautifully in her review "What a mindfuck!"

I can't go into details of the plot because it's that tricksy, twisty, jaw dropping type of book that could so easily be spoiled and I don't want to do that to you.

My suggestion to you is to just go out and get copy and then sit back and savor the drama as there is plenty of it to be had here. Erin Kelly knocked this one out of the park as far as I'm concerned and for that I am thankful. ALL THE STARS!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mobius Books for my complimentary copy.

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What a mind f*ck!

4.5 stars

“Our Swan Lake is a thriller.”

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.

That is all I am going to say about the plot.It is best to go in blind.

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.

Ava makes for an intriguing narrator. She is cold and calculating, but she is also fascinating.

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.

Swan Lake serves as the backdrop to the events of the story. One will not realize who closely elements of the plot mirror Swan Lake until the end.

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!

I received an ARC of this book from Mobius Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Fascinating look into the ballet world. I loved how that intersected with the mystery at the heart of the novel. However, I did feel the writing needed a little polishing - the changes in POV were a bit jarring, and at times the book was not as tightly written as the plot called for. Overall, I still enjoyed this book, and I found the inside look behind the scenes of ballet - the cattiness, the devotion to their art, the constant drive to push oneself to the point of breaking in order to be a star for those precious moments onstage - to be a very unusual and exciting backdrop for a thriller.

Thank you to the publisher at to NetGalley for the ARC.

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What a ride!

I was hoping there was more in the ballet parts. The synopsis was a bit misleading.

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Every time you think you know what's going on, the perspective change and well, don't. This is a well crafted and twisty thriller that pulled me in and kept me guessing- and gasping- til the end. Ava, a young ballerina is about to star as Odette/Odile in her father Nikolai's production of Swan Lake. Nikolai has been a demanding perfectionist task master for his "creatures" and this will be the acme of his career. Ava's been sheltered, cosseted, kept from the world. Then there's the young ballerina who rips her MCL in rehearsal. And Maxim, a Ukrainian security guard. I don't want to say too much- too easy to spoil this. As implausible as this might seem in spots, it's also incredibly atmospheric and creative. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read and a real page turner.

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My first book from Netgalley! Thank you Mobius Books and Erin Kelly!

My take: Macbeth meets Black Swan. Such as fun, dark, and exciting read!!

Erin Kelly really touches on the psychological side of ballet. The dark, competitive, and sometimes self-consuming side. Love the multiple POVs, since books with unreliable narrators are my favorite. Great character development, a lot of characters you love to hate.. The author really draws you into the world of ballet (whether you like it or not). This will having you guessing until the end!

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The beginning of this mystery/thriller hooked me as we dove into the cut-throat world of professional ballet. The costumes, rehearsals, the complicated relationships between dancers and coaches…all so good! Unfortunately, the storyline deviated significantly from the ballet world and into something completely different. I found much of it implausible and far-fetched and struggled to stay invested in the story. Just an okay read for me. (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!)

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This wasn’t my fav book, but I also did finish, which means I liked it. I think it was well written, but a bit slow and confusing. Erin Kelley is definitely quite unique in her style of writing, some may love, some may not, or like me they might be somewhere in middle. I think that had it not be so confusing I would have enjoyed more, but overall I would still recommend!

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Erin Kelly has been one of my favorite thriller authors since I read He Said/She Said back in 2017, and she has yet to disappoint me. I love, love, love the world of ballet after taking it for years until my love for competitive horseback riding took over, and now I'm a "dance mom" to a young ballerina who just started pointe work this fall, so I was immediately drawn to the synopsis of Watch Her Fall since it takes place in the world of ballet, with Swan Lake, the characters of innocent Odette and dark Odille, as the backdrop.

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?

Like Kelly's previous books, and what I think she really excels at like no other, is writing a slow-burn thriller that is perfectly paced. I expected the novel to unfold slowly then build with dramatic intensity and have climatic twists because I've read and loved Kelly's other books but if you have never read her books, then just be aware that it is a slow-burn, but it's more than worth it! I also loved how unexpected the twist was since I had no idea it was coming; anytime I can't guess what's coming is always a plus for me since it so rarely happens when I read a thriller/suspense/mystery anymore!

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!!

Thank you NetGalley and Mobius Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-Review posted to NetGalley, Goodreads, Twitter, and Amazon on 9/19/21

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Watch Her Fall
by: Erin Kelly

Many thanks to NetGalley & Mobius Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Can I just start by saying Wow?! Watch Her Fall is a Fabulous psychological thriller that felt like a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. I couldn’t put this book down, I just had to know what was going to happen next!
Having been a part of the ballet scene for many years of my life, I can honestly say, Erin Kelly hit the nail on the head when she describes the competitive aspects of being a ballerina & wanting a role so desperately you’d be willing to do whatever it took to get it.
It became a bit confusing when being told from different pov’s but was overall an excellent read. I gave Watch Her Fall 4 stars only because I felt the story could have been told a little less confusingly.
#WatchHerFall #NetGalley

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