🌑 The Night Olivia Fell 🌑 (2019) - Book Review

MY REVIEW

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: Gallery Books (February 5, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1501184008

ISBN-13: 978-1501184000

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“A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?.”

With the author’s second book, “Behind Every Lie” coming out next year … and already seeing people with ARCs of it … I decided to try to win this book and an ARC on multiple channels.

Having given up, I resorted to my local library to get a copy.

The premise was interesting, and I wondered if the two books were connected. They don’t seem to be as none of the characters from either book appear in the other.  

["The Night Olivia Fell" - Olivia McDonald]

“The Night Olivia Fell” by Christina McDonald is a suspense novel that starts with Abigail “Abi” Knight getting a middle of the night call. Her daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge.

Olivia is brain-dead, but even more shocking – she is pregnant. She has to remain on life-support to keep her baby alive.

The incident is ruled an accident, but Abi is convinced there was foul play, especially with the bruises on her daughter’s wrists. Abi decides to look into what happened on the bridge.

The story is told from two POVs –

* Olivia – from the past six (6) months and leading up to the accident

* Abi – from the accident forward

Single mom Abi and her daughter are close. But, despite their closeness, they’re both hiding secrets.

Olivia grew up thinking her father had been killed. But, while visiting a college she runs into someone who looks enough like her to be her twin – Kendall Montgomery. Olivia sends the girl a friend request on Facebook and the two began talking. The problem? Kendall’s dad is an up and coming politician – Gavin Montgomery.

In the months leading up to her accident, Olivia is desperately seeking the truth about her father who it turns out is very much alive. Did seeking the truth cause her accident?

That’s what Abi wants to know.

The police are told to stop investigating the incident and refer to it as solely an accident. The investigation stalls until she gets help from someone working in the Seattle Police Department.

Abi has to confront a past she wanted to remain hidden.  

But, the truth about her daughter’s accident is one that she didn’t expect.

For those who are thinking that there are not mothers and daughters that are this close – my mother and I are very close indeed, and like Abi, my mother was a single parent (not by choice though). Perhaps not for the same reasons as Abi and Olivia are in this story, but we are close. I have no secrets from her and she hasn’t kept any secrets from me. While rare, it does happen. While some find that part unrealistic, I can relate to the relationship.

“The Night Olivia Fell” is a disturbing, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching story of love, lies, deceit, secrets, and jealousy. It makes you consider the impact of a lie, but it also highlights the fact that the truth can be just as hurtful if not dangerous.

This is the first novel I’ve read by the author and was quite impressed by it. It is not normally the type of story I would read only because it dealt with a child’s death, particularly a pregnant teen. The premise was interesting and I wanted to see how it played out. The title was definitely eye-catching.

I was somewhat surprised and yet not surprised by who the killer was. After I read the book, it was apparent that there were subtle clues all along.

Some have remarked this was more for the YA (young adult) genre than a serious adult thriller. I believe it could be marketed for both adults with the mother’s perspective, and also the YA market with the daughter’s perspective.

It is an easy to read book with short chapters. The author’s history as a journalist gives the story life with the vivid descriptions and sensory words.

It is hard to LOVE a book with such a sad premise, but it wasn’t a disappointment to read either.

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina McDonald is a USA TODAY bestselling author. The Night Olivia Fell has been optioned for television by a major Hollywood studio and her second book, Behind Every Lie, is available now. Her writing has been featured in The Sunday Times (London), Dublin, USA TODAY, and Expedia. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she has an MA in Journalism from the National University of Ireland Galway, and now lives in London, England with her husband, two sons, and their dog, Tango. She’s currently working on her next novel.

You can follow her on the following social media accounts:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinamcdonaldauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinamac79/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Christinamac79

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