I really enjoyed getting to read this book, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. The characters were everything that I was looking for from reading this and in the genre. M. J. Slater was able to weave a strong tale and enjoyed getting to read this.

The book opens with Abigail Hardy in police custody, charged with murder. As Abby sits there, she wonders how this ever came to be……

Abigail was assigned to interview a college basketball star, Jim Hardy. All she knew about him was that he was athletic, talented and gorgeous. But Jim knew more about her than she could have believed. Abby was an average- looking girl, not particularly outgoing, but she came from old money, and her father and grandfather were successful lawyers and politicians. And Jim, coming from a broken family, and no money, was determined to climb to success however possible.

Abby and Jim dated, slept together with Jim flattering Abby but in a very back-handed way. They were together for years, but always at a price for Abby - putting Jim through law school, staying home alone while Jim worked late, and for some reason, playing second fiddle to Jim’s blonde, voluptuous cousin Lee, whom Jim supported financially, and emotionally. As years go by, finally Abby and Jim marry, but also along the way, Lee gives birth to a baby boy, but refuses to divulge the paternity. Again, Jim pays more attention to Lee and the baby than he does to his wife, who would love to be a mother. As Abby is left alone more and more, she develops a friendship with her next door neighbor, Jake, a very unpopular move in Jim’s eyes, but almost everything poor Abby did was unpopular with Jim.

Suddenly there is a tragedy that upends Abby’s life and everyone else’s. Many people rush to Abby’s aid, but it remains to be seen if any of them can help her extricate herself from the evidence against her. Not even her father’s influence and money can change the course of what is happening.

The character development is this book is outstanding. Not only the main characters - Abby, Jim, Lee and Jake, stand out, but so do the more minor characters, like Abby’s brothers and her parents. The flow of the book is excellent as well. I could not put it down, and read it in a day. I thought Falling on Southport was very well done for a first time author, and I look forward to more from M.J. Slater.
If you love a good mystery, if you enjoy figuring out whodunit, if you need a good read for the weekend, this is your book.
My thanks to Netgalley and to the author for sending an ARC, and this review is my unbiased opinion of the book.

I couldn't put this book down. I had so many theories to how the story would end, it kept me guessing and it just begged to be read in one sitting which I did!

This book was a fast-paced, gripping thriller that pulls you in and does not let go. It’s twisty, and it's oh so enjoyable as this story unfolds the suspense becomes nail-biting. A great psychological thriller with a great ending!