He had done so much to shape her mind that he could wander its corridors without her permission.
Watch Her Fall
by Erin Kelly
Genre: Psychological Thriller
About: The London Russian Ballet company is finally doing a production of Swan Lake and Nikolai Kirilov has promised his daughter the infamous dual role. For him, it will be another masterstroke in his legacy, and for Ava it will be her shinning crown, long awaited and long sacrificed over. In the ballet world, they've leaped to its greatest heights. Now comes the fall.
The Good
This is a well researched and immersive book about the pressures of ballet, of dance. There are three main characters; two dancers and one who can do a mean waltz. The way the narrative is told, gives us their stories in an unusual way and is structured like a ballet performance. It's a big picture, long game kind of story. A slow build with unsettlingly clues sprinkled into small moments. There are plenty of twists and deceptions of course, but you have to wait patiently in your seats for them. What makes this book stand out, is the way characters mirror the story of Swan Lake, which is both glaring and subtle. You see the comparisons throughout the story but, by the end, you marvel at the connections you didn't see. Just as it does for Prince Seigfried in the last act, reality shifts and you realise your mistake.
The Bad
There is one character who I honestly did not believe the actions of. They do add to the story and are a necessary 'villain' of sorts, but I didn't understand why they instigated as much as they did. The motivation was there, but when they are given their solution and a clear way out, it leads to even more villainy for... unknown reasons I guess. Jealousy, at least to me, felt too weak an answer. Also I was expecting more of a villain in the shadows with a master plan so I was a little disappointed at the series of unfortunate accidents, with accidents I suppose being a loose term.
The Somewhat Iffy
We're given an eighteen months later epilogue and this I really liked and was happy with, but I have rewritten it in my head to be three to five years later. For all characters involved, there is no way they should be in the responsibilities they are in after just eighteen months have passed. For one character, I question the physicality of it and the encouragement of their delusions being made real. For another, they can't possibly be in a mentally strong enough position for all that responsibility both career wise and family wise. And for the third character, it would be a re-opening of trauma that they absolutely need to share with their partner.
Overall
I loved the atmosphere of this novel, the twists were great and the characters were interesting enough that I didn't mind the slow burn of the story. It definitely has a pay off, though I would say the climax doesn't have the impact it should do and that was simply due to one character just not making sense to me.
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