See how they fall by Rachel Paris

Who can you trust? What happens when you marry into a family where you are (perhaps?) out of your depth - blinded by their wealth and fabulous lifestyle? What happens when the attention of your handsome husband becomes rather too attentive? What happens when you are trapped in a gilded cage? The message readers is - make sure you never lose your independence, mental and physical fitness and contacts. Be ready to pivot in your life. Be smart.
Debut author Rachel Paris (Master of Laws and Creative Writing) sets the tone for See how they fall with an entirely appropriate quote by Honore De Balzac as an epigraph..." Behind every great fortune there is a great crime." The narrative unfolds through the first person points of view of the two female protagonists: Skye (who has married into the Turner family and is trying to keep life normal for her daughter Tilly, hiding a secret of her own and navigating chaos after a tragedy) and Mei (the detective who takes on the homicide investigation while her own life is unravelling). The chapters alternate between Skye and Mei as the parallel steams of the story unfold; the police investigation progresses alongside the escalation of danger in Skye's life. In the first chapter, through the first hand view of Skye (our female protagonist), we are introduced to the carefully curated image of the Turner family who are meeting at the dead patriarch's monument to himself "... a vast collision of concrete, steel and glass...", a house with its own private beach, somewhere north of Sydney, to discuss the estate. Arsenic poisoning happens and the New South Wales police become involved. Mei begins her investigation which widens into an international situation gradually revealing shady dealings behind the facade. A thrilling narrative evolves.
The all important major setting for Skye's ordeal is her own home - the setting having the significance of a major player. "Thornfield" in Bellevue Hill as Mei described it (as the police in their Toyota Camry tracked the Turners in their Aston Martin DBX) is set in a neighbourhood with leafy avenues and manicured lawns amongst imperious and solemn homes behind glossy hedges and inclined towards the harbour. The house was concealed behind steel entrance gates fitted with high-tech camera systems. Later in the story surveillance becomes hugely significant. Approached by a winding clipped topiary lined driveway, a helipad and a gazebo, the enormous three story house flanked by a pool, pool house and sprawling formal garden appeared along with a cavernous garage complete with a McLaren, a Pagani, a Bugatti Tourbillon etc. The interior of the house is equally opulent but cameras are everywhere. Everywhere is monitored.
Why are the police obstructing Mei's investigation? Why is Skye's freedom being curtailed? Are we seeing gas-lighting, leveraging, threats, blackmail - an escalating litany of danger and wrongdoing?
See how they fall is quite tightly written. Suspense is maintained. The reader is concerned for the highly likeable characters' well-being and the controlled story structure takes the reader through nightmare situations to a satisfying resolution which is also a surprise.
Compelling, unputdownable, dark romance gone wrong, murder by arsenic... Who did it?
Themes: Domestic abuse, Entrapment, Russian mafia (Bratva), Family wealth succession, Women sleuths, International crime,Police procedural, Psychological thriller.
Wendy Jeffrey