This book was a decent read but it did not capture my attention. The first half of the book was very slow starting and was lacking a lot of dialogue which is why it did not hold my interest that well. The last 25% of the book was very interesting.

Enjoyed it and would give the book 3.5 stars. I have to say when I started reading it and the location came up with Wind Gap and then Stroudsburg, I was so excited. I love when a book takes place in an area I'm extremely familiar with. The story was interesting but I didn't love any of the characters. How could Micah not know what was going on with her best friend? Everyone in the school knew, Emily's brother and Ryan knew. Somehow Micah was oblivious. She was the only one who couldn't see what was going on. Was Emily really a friend to Micah? Why would she do this to her best friend? Then there was Micah. Micah did the exact opposite of what every sane person would do. Normal people would go to the police when they receive threatening text messages or someone breaks into their house. Not Micah. She doesn't report anything to the police or tell her boyfriend. She breaks into people's houses and keeps her coffee shop closed. Micah definitely had mental issues and should have talked to someone. She was extremely paranoid. I couldn't wait until the truth was revealed about what really happened to Emily. I was suspicious of everyone, including Ryan, Joshua and Micah. It was sort of a let down, when I found out what really happened during the party. I was expecting something completely different. The ending made me sad. I don't think Micah will ever find happiness and will constantly run away from anything/anyone who could help her. I hated when it ended because I wanted to keep reading about Micah and see what she does next. Overall it was a good book, with an interesting concept. Micah and her school friends just weren't very likeable.

Definitely recommend the book. It was an interesting story. I couldn't put it down because I needed to know what happened. It was a great mystery. At times the story felt a little choppy. I look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An entertaining whodunnit. Micah was a unique and interesting character who descends down a rabbit hole, becoming more mentally unbalanced as the pages turned.

Perfect for fans of true crime blogs and web sleuthing forums, this book centers on a 10-year old murder and conviction in a small town. Because of the blog, Micah, whose best friend was murdered, is forced to look back at the incident that broke her heart for two distinct reasons. Her friend Emily died, and worse, her boyfriend Alex is found guilty of killing Emily. It comes out during the trial that Emily and Alex were dating behind Micah’s back, so she felt wronged on so many levels.
Micah has tried to move on, opening a coffee shop and starting a new relationship with another old high school friend. In light of all the new attention to the case, and questions about Alex’s innocence, Micah reluctantly starts picking people’s memories. The more she learns, the more she’s confused, which leads to irrational behavior, the loss of her boyfriend, and possibly the loss of her coffee shop. But she refuses to stop until she’s forced herself to look back at what actually happened.
With twists and turns, I got a little dizzy trying to figure out the true killer, but the writing style and plot kept me captivated to the very end.
Sincere thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is February 1, 2022.

To me, Micah Wilkes, the main character in Catch Her When She Falls, is the type of person who the reader starts out with a lot of sympathy towards. As the pages continue to turn you realize Micah is her own worst enemy. Allison Buccola does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing as to "who did it". I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for an early copy to review.

Richly Atmospheric. Twisty. Chilling!

Wow! CATCH HER WHEN SHE FALLS is a knockout riveting debut thriller from Allison Buccola, and looking forward to many more to come.

The twists, turns, and unpredictable ending makes for an irresistible winter read.

Delighted to see another attorney turned novelist! Some of my favorite authors started as lawyers; (Wendy Walker, Michelle Campbell, Aime Austin, Lisa Scottoline, Emily Giffin, Allen Eskens, John Hart, John Grisham, etc.) and continue to be on my top books list each year.

The author draws you in immediately with the opening line:
"Ten years ago, my boyfriend killed my best friend."

Someone is driving alone: 7:15 am just woods, road, snow.
From Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. 350 miles remaining.
Destination: Massachusetts

Meet the protagonist, Micah Wilkes.

Ten years ago, Micah was dating Alex Swift and was best friends with Emily Winters. Currently, Alex is in prison, and Emily is dead.

Yes, you can guess, there is a complex, multi-layered mysterious back story here, and you will be on the edge of your seat from the first page to the explosive ending! The author carefully unravels the events leading up to the present from the recent past, ten years ago, and the present.

At the beginning of each chapter, in bold, we see Micah is driving from Pennsylvania (time and remaining mileage to reach the final destination).

She desperately needs to speak with Joshua (Emily's brother) to answer questions about the murder, which has resurfaced due to a popular crime blog.

What if Alex was not the killer? What if she got it all wrong. Micah is trying to fix things, and she wants to make them right. Her testimony was what sent Alex, her boyfriend, to prison.

Each chapter is a countdown to the destination. Do not let this confuse you as you read into each chapter. It is a teaser only.

Included in the body of each chapter the author provides a clear picture of what Micah is thinking and feeling each step of the way. She is emotional, guilt-ridden, and determined to figure out what really happened to her friend and if Alex possibly is not guilty.

He has spent the last ten years in prison. He should have been at Penn State. Emily could have had a budding career as a ballerina. SO MANY SECRETS.

SCENE OF THE CRIME: TEN YEARS EARLIER
“The stone pillars marking the entrance to the campsite were visible from the street for someone who knew where to look, moss-covered and misshapen, but still standing.“ An abandoned resort/sanatorium. Why didn't you help me?

Micah has moved back to her small rural hometown from Chicago, where it all happened. She had to come back to take care of her mom, that has now passed and used the money to buy Stomping Grounds a coffee cafe.

She swore she would never come back as there are too many bad memories, but here she is. Reliving the night she wanted to forget.

In addition, she is living with Ryan (2 years), her present boyfriend (who made up their foursome back when he was best friends with Alex). It was always Alex, Micah, Emily, and Ryan.

Her coffee house is near the college campus, and kids flock there to hang out. Also, there is much gossip. It is the tenth anniversary of the murder, and Alex may get out of prison.

There is a true-crime blog, "NO STONE UNTURNED" that is gaining attention pretty much run by Julia, their former classmate who claims she is a girlfriend of Alex.

People are re-visiting the crime, and Micah is second-guessing herself. She is bordering on obsession, reading everything she can online, doubting her current boyfriend, and hearing things at the cafe. She does not trust anyone.

It all happened at an old campsite in the creepy forest in the summer. The group and others all went camping that night ten years ago. Alex went missing, and so did Emily. Everyone assumed Alex was the killer but was it someone else?

Micah's obsession about the night of the crime is getting in the way of operating her business and her current relationship with Ryan. She is spinning out of control. Micah is looking at every person as the killer. Everyone is looking at her.

Emily was a star. She had returned from a ballet summer intensive in upstate New York. Emily had it all but was she truly happy? Was Micah jealous of her? What happened that night ten years ago?

Joshua seems to be living off the grid, and Micah has no way to contact him. He will not answer calls or texts, so she must drive to find him.

Does she really know Ryan? Will Josh have the answers she desperately needs, or could it be something more sinister?

The author cleverly keeps you guessing in a high-stakes cat and mouse game of suspense with many red herrings. I was holding my breath when Micah and Joshua were in the car. OMG! Nothing is as it appears.

Now, as you are reading, you may wish you could hear from Emily and Alex's POV. Wouldn't it be great to hear from them? However, when you reach the final chapter, you can see why it was written this way. Micah may find herself having to go off the grid herself.

All will be revealed with a twist where you will learn more about Emily. This part reminded me a bit of John Hart's The Unwilling from last February.

A smart thriller— addictively suspenseful. A propulsive journey through a winding maze of secrets and the true-crime blog entries added more fuel to the fire.

I read this one in two sittings and difficult to put down. Everyone seems to be a suspect. You begin to think Micah is going nuts. Ryan is also a dark horse, among others, but my favorite part was with Joshua. Do you really know your best friend and those closest to you? What secrets do they carry?

Fans of true-crime stories and authors: Wendy Walker, Robyn Harding, Megan Miranda, Laura McHugh, Lisa Unger, Mary Kubica, Randall Silvis, and Heather Gudenkauf will enjoy this one!

In addition, you will be thinking about the Brian Laundrie/Gabby Petito mystery (since I am a Floridan, we are obsessed with this case).

I am delighted to discover this newfound thriller author. I wonder if we will see any legal/crime/literary thrillers in the future? (my favorite genre)

On a side note: I have enjoyed the @22debuts Debut Countdown to 2022 with Allison's interesting IG posts. A brilliant idea. I love behind the scenes and inspiration for novels. Highly recommend you check out the posts, videos, photos, and stories, as well as her quaint and fabulous writing studio.

I hope to snag an Elevator Ride interview with Allison, which would be a lot of fun! I cannot wait to see what is next.

I am very grateful that the Random House marketing team reached out to me months ago about this novel since I enjoyed WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS by Laura McHugh and recommended Allison's CATCH HER WHEN SHE FALLS. Yes, indeed, they know my top reading preferences.

A special thank you to #RandomHouse and #Netgalley for an advanced reading copy. I also pre-ordered the audiobook narrated by @frankie.corzo and the hardcover.

Blog Review:
@JudithDCollins
#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 1, 2022
Top Books of 2022
Must-Read Books Feb 2022

#thriller #crimethriller #suspense #domestic #psychologicalthriller

“Ten years ago my boyfriend killed my best friend”. This sentence hooked me. I enjoyed the writing style and the unpredictability of the story. Just when I thought I knew what was gonna happen I was proved wrong.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Micah is on a journey. As part of her journey, she is recounting the death of her friend Emily and more recent events that have occurred since she has moved back to her hometown and opened her own business. Every few miles the reader is able to get more of the story. It moved slowly at first. The second half of the book made more sense as pieces the readers get in the first half finally start to come together. This book is a murder mystery. Micah is trying to put together information in her mind about what really happened to Emily, her best friend (who incidentally was fooling around with her boyfriend) on an unsupervised wild camping trip they went on in high school. After coming up missing on the trip her best friend Emily was found dead and appears to have been murdered. The story will reveal multiple potential suspects on the journey as the story continues to twist and turn.
This is the first novel for author Allison Buccola and her creative style is different but worth reading. I didn't like the novel at first and almost gave up on it a time or two but I am glad I stayed with it. It was an enjoyable read. I hope that Ms. Buccola will keep writing. I look forward to seeing more from this writer. The book was creative and unique in a world full of the same twists and turn. Thanks to #NetGalley#CatchHerWhenSheFalls for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love reading debut novels and discovering really fresh stories, and this book did that. The story told from the perspective of a narrator on a road trip as she remembers a night from 10 years ago and moments in her life since.
Where it fell a bit short for me was this bread-crumbing of all other characters through this narrative structure. It made it hard to get into the book and get attached to the other players.

The denouement was really great and unexpected, which can be hard to do in a whodunnit thriller like this one. I wish it had been a longer ending because that felt like what we readers earned, but it was satisfactory nonetheless!

(Thank you to NetGalley and Random Houde for the ARC)

Ten years ago, Micah Wilkes' boyfriend killed her best friend Emily...or at least that's what everyone thought. But now questions raised on a true crime blog have Micah wondering.

There were so many other suspects Micah didn't even consider...Emily's intense ballet instructor, an obsessive friend, her strange brother. Micah finds herself obsessed with the case and the haunting realization that the wrong person may be behind bars.

I wanted so much to love this book as it had all the ingredients I usually love, but after a strong start, this one just meandered and had so many instances of just nothing happening. The character development was lackluster, and by the time I got to the ending, I just wasn't invested enough to truly care about the resolution. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Random House for the arc of this book. The last half of the book was great. The story started to move along quickly and I got used to the strange timeline/chapter titles. (I started to ignore the titles, and the timeline was mainly Micah recounting/reminiscing about the past. The story was great and so was the writing! I liked getting to know the characters, even though I didn't really connect to any of them.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and Allison. Buccola. This book was for sure a slow burn. I like the book, I did not like the length of the chapters as they all read long but I do understand that there was a lot to say but I guess she would have to break it up with an alternative timeline. I like how it was as she was driving. It was a good read. I would not rate it low because I do not like longer chapters but when they are too long the interest in the mundane storytelling seems to drag even when the story may have a reason to be there. Other than that, it was good.

Allison Buccola does a stand up job with job revisiting a ten year old crime in a small town and the after effects it has on those that were touched by it. A propulsive and scary read!

Ten years ago, Micah’s best friend was killed, and her boyfriend was convicted and jailed. Upon her return to her hometown, things start to occur that makes Micah question if her boyfriend may be innocent. Catch Her When She Falls moves along slowly as we learn of the events a decade ago through Micah’s narrative. The story bounces around through different timelines, but the format was confusing, since it jumps those timelines within each chapter but without a clear delineation of the timeframe, so it takes the reader a moment to get orientated. That format takes away from the story and slows things down too much, until the story picks up steam towards the end. By then most of the suspense has waned, losing the reader’s interest. While the premise was interesting, it just doesn’t deliver. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an impressive and suspenseful debut! Not even halfway through I was thinking, "There's so much left to go, where is this going?!" You might see that as a negative reaction but I promise you it was quite the opposite. There was already so much tension building at that point, I was desperate to know where it was all leading. I finished Catch Her When She Falls within two days so that's surefire proof I was thoroughly invested in Micah's story.

The alternating timelines were woven together seamlessly. Micah is driving towards someone, telling them in her mind all about the past and her recent present. She's never really dealt with the fact her high school boyfriend Alex probably killed her best friend Emily and oh yeah, boyfriend and best friend were messing around behind her back. She's tried to make a life for herself. But maybe she shouldn't be living in her hometown and in a relationship with Alex's friend? Just a thought..

Micah starts to unravel once a true crime blog has people speculating on whether Alex is really guilty and from there she starts to become obsessed with finding out the truth. It doesn't help that someone is intent on messing with her, blaming her for what happened. That's where all of the tension comes in, just like Micah, you don't know what's going on or who can be trusted.

As for the ending, I have some questions. But they are questions that reveal spoilers so I will keep them to myself. Of all the possible outcomes, the ending was one I hadn't even thought about. I love being surprised and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I definitely recommend that everyone reads Catch Her When She Falls. I was impressed and can't wait to see more from Allison Buccola.

Expected Publication Date: February 1st, 2022

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Interesting premise. The plot seemed to lag in certain spots. I didn’t care for any of the main characters. The ending was true to Micah’s character. Overall, the book was not for me.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52422232-catch-her-when-she-falls" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Catch Her When She Falls" src="https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/111x148-bcc042a9c91a29c1d680899eff700a03.png" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52422232-catch-her-when-she-falls">Catch Her When She Falls</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20129628.Allison_Buccola">Allison Buccola</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4394947871">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received an advanced copy from Netgalley for review. I really enjoyed this story about Micah and her highschool ex Alex. Alex has been accused of the murder of her high school best friend Emily who was found dead below a window in an old building. Alex is doing his time when a true crime podcast takes a new look at the crime and those associated with the crime. Micah starts getting customers in her coffee shop discussing the crime and she starts receiveing veiled threats. I really enjoyed this who done it and would highly recommend.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5483119-sherry">View all my reviews</a>

I never want to give a so-so review to a debut novel, because, yay to the author! You did it!! This one just wasn’t at a four-star level for me, but my review seems to be a rare three-star rating, so it may be a great one for you.

The way it’s written threw me at first, which initially made me want to give up on this, but I’m the type to always stick it out. I’m glad I did, because later on, I saw it as a fresh way of making the story. The format is pretty original, but I just couldn’t get into the beginning. For the first third of the book, we are introduced to the other characters, but in disjointed snippets. Our protagonist, Micah, is on a road trip. The chapters count down the miles to her destination, and her story of the present mingles in with stories of the past as she ponders and drives. This made it hard for me to immediately get invested in any one person.

I never got invested in any of them actually, but eventually the story started to click and it was decent. Micah’s ex-boyfriend from high school, Alex, is in prison for killing her best friend, Emily, ten years prior. Some armchair detectives online and his current girlfriend, Julia, are fighting to get him released, insisting he is innocent. This leads Micah to start questioning the events of that high school party in the woods, and to start investigating on her own. Her other close friend from high school, Ryan, is now her boyfriend (see how this was all confusing at first?) and he’s not on board with her messing around with the past. As things escalate with people online, she decides to ignore him and go find their friend Josh, Emily’s half-brother.

Whew. So that’s the cast of characters, and about all of the plot I want to talk about for spoiler reasons. Once we get into the meaty part of the story based in the past, this became a page-turner. The story was clever and decently written, and I was interested to see what, if anything, Micah would find out on her journey … then we get to the ending. While I didn’t guess it (not even a bit), I didn’t really care for it, but that’s a personal preference.

As I always want to repeat, a three star rating from me isn’t a bad rating, it’s an average one. I had some issues with the beginning and the end, but I still enjoyed the story once I got past the first 20-30 percent. I see a really creative author here, whose next book may blow me away, but this wasn’t it.

(Thank you to Random House, Allison Buccola, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I love a good debut author and I love one that can write a twisty thriller! I overall enjoyed this one and I'm excited to see what the author writes next. Definitely pick this one up if you are a thriller lover! Thanks for the opportunity to read early!

Ten years ago in highschool Micah's best friend Emily was murdered by her boyfriend, Alex, Alex cheated on Micah with Emily. Try as she might, Micah cannot escape her past. That becomes an especially harder thing to do when Micah discovers a true crime blog discussing Emily's murder.
A lot of the internet sleuths just don't believe that Alex could have done it and that it could have been Emily's strange younger brother or even Micah. Micah becomes obsessed with the blog and her life quickly begins to unravel in her pursuit of answers. She questions everything and trusts no one.
I loved this book and it was such a great thriller. The author takes you through a rollercoaster of twists and turns and the reader becomes completely immersed in Micah's crazed and erratic behavior as she seeks out answers. Micah can trust no one and the reader even begins to wonder if Micah be trusted.
This is a definite must read and I cannot thank NetGalley and Random House enough for providing me a digital ARC of Catch Her when She Falls for an honest review.