Reviews with content warning for Murder - They All Fall Down

The writing is extremely “tell-not-show“. It was hard to get an idea of the surroundings because they weren’t descriptive or immersive. It was visual and very basic like the red room, the waiting area with high humidity, the island, the dock, the jungle... The main character moves all over a yacht, for example, but no scene is set other than it being luxurious, rich, near a pool and so on. The dialogue doesn’t naturally flow, it’s disconnected and flat. Almost like “oh no, ___ Is dead, what is happening?” People standing by like “Oh no, you shouldn’t do ___ (some dangerous thing)”, but not doing anything…no sense of panic, just being told the characters are scared or confused. I don’t mind books where I have to rely primarily on my imagination, but it’s an art form to write that style and keep that freedom for the reader to maintain the world they are creating with guidance from the author, and this author did not achieve that at all. When having to rely primarily on our imaginations for every setting it becomes frustrating to find halfway through the book that we imagined something so incorrectly. Far too often I found myself wondering where a character even was! Very close to being a DNF.

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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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ticktock's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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janeycanuck's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A modern twist on And Then They Were None but with a grittiness I didn't expect. I found the beginning a bit confusing but quickly settled in and needed to know how everything came together. Howzell Hall doesn't give you room to draw a breath between twists & reveals!

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lauconn's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I've actually been considering reading an Agatha Christie novel, but I haven't gotten around to reading any yet. However, this book is apparently based on And Then There Were None.

Miriam and six others are brought to a private island off the coast of Mexico to be on a reality show, and for Miriam, the invitation has come just in the nick of time. Things in her life seem to be falling apart at an alarming rate, and she can use the money from winning this show to start picking up the pieces. But of course, nothing goes according to plan.

They find out that the reality show doesn't exist - it was just a ruse to get them to this isolated island where they are cut off from the outside world. As they get to know each other a little, they discover that each character has their own dark secrets. It comes as a surprise when the first character dies in a horrible accident, but when the next character dies, it's clear that there's something fishy going on in paradise.

But none of the characters are really likable. I found myself empathizing with Miriam, but I found myself suspecting that she wasn't the most reliable narrator. I had my suspicions about who was behind the killings, even though everyone potentially had motive. I wasn't as surprised about the plot twists as I thought I would have been though, some of them were a little predictable, but I did enjoy the story. The narrator was especially good, and made Miriam come to life in a way that felt very true to the character and her story.

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