The Night She Fell

by Eileen Merriman

‘When I last saw Ashleigh, she was lying in a pool of blood . . . Her eyes were open, staring sightlessly into the sky. I’d like to think she saw the stars before she died; that in her last moments she flew, soaring on serotonin, dreamy with dopamine. I’d like to think she didn’t suffer . . .’

A beautiful young law student dies on the concrete below her third-storey window in chilly Dunedin.

It’s clear enough how she died. What isn’t is why — or who’s involved.

Plenty of people had a reason to hate Ashleigh, with her straight As and perfect looks. She’s fallen out with her flatmates, and her boyfriend Xander is having second thoughts about their future together. And then there are the weird messages.

The Night She Fell is a gripping psychological thriller from one of New Zealand's most multi-talented contemporary novelists.

'Pacy, clever and enthralling, The Night She Fell is a deliciously evil exploration of narcissism. A thriller that will keep you awake long into the night.' - Rose Carlyle, bestselling author of The Girl in the Mirror.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Relationships, Fiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2024

About the author

Eileen Merriman works full-time as a consultant haematologist at North Shore Hospital. Her writing has appeared in a number of national and international journals and anthologies, including Smokelong Quarterly, The Island Review, Literary Orphans, the Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2015, the Sunday Star-Times, F(r)iction, takahe, Headland and Flash Frontier. Her first novel was Pieces of You, with reviewers calling it 'compulsively readable' and 'compelling, challenging, and heartbreaking'. It was a 2018 Storylines Notable Book and, along with her second novel, it was shortlisted for the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Her other awards include runner-up in the 2018 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award, third for three consecutive years in the 2014-2016 Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards, second in the 2015 Bath Flash Fiction Award, commended in the 2015 Bath Short Story Competition, and first place in the 2015 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition.

Reviews

[Enya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the way this book had no plot twist and required absolutely no critical thinking skills

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty compelling, fast-paced story about an accidental death in a Dunedin University flat (or is it?) Merriman has all the classic components of a good mystery here, a cast of characters including the likeable and unlikeable, rich and poor, mysterious and seemingly transparent. A classic story where nothing is quite as simple as it seems on the surface and that reminds us that none of us are good all the time.

[Margaret Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the quick easy read, annoyed at predictable ending!

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my fav by this author but still a decent read

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not even mad at Ronnie for being a murderer, it’s the fact that she was SO down bad for that D that she literally threatened, drugged, choked her only friend and to top it all off, chucked her out a window… not very girls support girls of you Ronnie 😓

[Andriana Letsyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

- «Очевидно, передозування - це дурний спосіб спробувати вбити себе. Більшості людей це не вдається. Якщо ви дійсно хочете вбити себе, вам слід зробити щось незворотне, наприклад, застрелитися або стрибнути з великої висоти».

- «Моя бабуся вважає, що люди живуть семирічними циклами. Якщо ти озирнешся на те, ким ти був сім років тому, то, можливо, навіть не впізнаєш себе».

- Мені було цікаво, чи усвідомлюють люди, що білий порошок, який вони вдихають носом, міг нещодавно пройти через чиюсь товсту кишку.

- Минулого року мені сказали, що кокаїн дав їй найсильнішу ейфорію, яку вона коли-небудь відчувала. «Але що, якщо ти більше ніколи не відчуватимеш себе так добре? Що, якщо ти завжди будеш гнатися за цим відчуттям?»

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently plotted story following the before and after the death of Ashleigh from falling out the window of her Dunedin flat. The story is told through the dual POV of Ashleigh's boyfriend Xander and her flatmate, Ronnie.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in New Zealand, this is a fast-paced thriller about a young female law student who dies after falling from her third-storey window. The question remains: accident, murder or s*icide? This novel took me along for a great ride, and was packed with excitement and morally grey characters. If you’re looking for more kiwi authors to read, give this one a go!

[Casey Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh being an nz author I really really wanted to love this one. Sadly it just missed the mark. It was great being an old dunnerz girl having so many landmarks put me in the thick of the story, however, it just felt so repetitive and I got slightly bored at times. 😢

[Martinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the setting! As someone who has lived in Dunedin for 15 years, it was SO FUN to see Dunedin on the page!
How do I get more books set in Dunedin?!

The story itself was compelling and kept me guessing until the end. I had my suspicions but couldn't be sure.

I really enjoyed it.

MORE DUNEDIN BOOKS! 😂

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6
I didn’t like this book.

It’s easy to read, it has perspective changes, it has a death in suspicious circumstances, it’s playing some mind games - all ingredients for a good book.
You even get a decent idea of student life in Dunedin (I assume).

But the story leans heavily into a young adult style, featuring cheating and unpleasant characters - spoiled students whose quirks and issues are overly exaggerated, too stereotypical… it was just not a nice read.

And not too much happening, story-wise either, this really failed to come together in a satisfying way.

[Shanae Pool · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! Eileen is AHH. MAYYY. ZINGGGG!!
Never been disappointed in an Eileen novel, and THIS was especially good. 12/10 can’t stop thinking about it tbh and it’s been 10 days

[Kristen Wingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so cool to read a book that is set in my hometown. A really cool mystery and thriller book from a NZ author that I will be forever recommending-something different I’ve never read before! 🙌🏻

[Míša · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I loved Silence of snow. I found it very easy to read, wasn’t getting bored of the story. I liked how it jumped from last to present.

I hated the characters from the beginning. I think I internally yelled at both of the main characters at least 3 times during the book - for their behaviour and for the behaviour they were inadvertently condoning in the other person. That doesn’t make them bad characters, I just really hated them as people and what they did.

Unfortunately the twist was predictable. I was really hoping I would be wrong, that I would be lured into a false sense of belief and there would be a last minute twist.

In saying all of this, I read the book in one sitting on my one day off this week. It is a very easy to read book, not too challenging on the brain and the story is engaging.

3 stars because I felt that the twist was predictable and the characters are very hard to relate to but ultimately a very engaging book.

Thank you to Eileen!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is being advertised as the authors first adult book having previously written for children and YA. I felt that apart from the minor sex scenes this could fall into the category of young adult.
The story starts with Ashleigh jumping out a window to her death, as the police investigate, the story flicks back and forth before (the jump) and after. Alex and Ashleigh have been together for a while now, both are studying at university. We soon see that Ashleigh is not a very nice person, self centred and egotistical she often treats Alex like a servant. Coming from a wealthy background she doesn’t truly understand the struggles of her flatmates to pay for food, rent etc. in fact most of her flatmates don’t like her.
As the police investigate her death…..why did she jump? Was it suicide or was she pushed, the before part of the story becomes more interesting. Alex meets a kindred spirit in Ronnie, a flatmate of Ashleigh’s, but is everyone whom they appear to be.
Good page turning read.

[MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this one but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I’ve never read a book that was 99 per cent dialogue, and this made it sooo dull in parts I literally skipped whole chapters just to get to. the. point.

Also, I didn’t enjoy reading the POV of a cheating lowlife (Xander). He’s a med student; do you think this kid cares a flying f about the STI’s he could be getting and giving to the two girls he’s having unprotected sex with? 🤨

Also, he’s not a high schooler. He’s in his 20s. An adult. He should be able to use his grown up words and break up with Ashleigh. Am I meant to feel bad for him? Am I meant to dislike Ashleigh and think she got what was coming to her? Okay, she was a b***h. We’ve all met one. Just break up with her for Christ’s sake.

Look, sure it’s been a decade since I was at uni myself, but no one I knew talked or acted like such idiots.

I’d just LOVE a thriller that didn’t contain sex for sex’s sake and threw a spanner in the works rather than go for the predictable, easy ending.

[Becca Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this book- the mystery intrigued me and it’s set in my home city! I had the book on hold at the library but ended up purchasing it, I wanted to read it so bad.

I wish I’d just waited. It’s not a bad book, per se. It’s just…not great. None of the characters are even slightly likeable (and most of the side characters weren’t even slightly fleshed out) and the ‘twist’ is barely one at all since it’s so obvious what happened. There aren’t even really any true red herrings to distract which made it a bit boring.

The worst part was the language the students used. I assume the author studied at Otago 20+ years ago because that was the language the characters used (‘boarding’ in ‘hostels’ rather than living in colleges) and it just felt like she hadn’t stepped foot in Dunedin in a decade.

Overall disappointing and I’m only giving it three stars because I made it to the end and I like that she’s a kiwi author.

[Jordan Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not necessarily her greatest work, Eileen Merriman's The Night She Fell is an engaging thriller that keeps it's secrets through to the final pages.

As usual, Merriman's imagery brings the narrative to life for the reader. Almost each sentence has a simile, metaphor, or general description that helps to fill out the scene occurring. This was done especially well with the character of Ashleigh, whose narcissistic tendencies were brought to life expertly by Merriman.

Unfortunately, I felt The Night She Fell had pacing issues in the fact that little seems to have occurred between the start and end of the novel, despite 300 pages of narrative. Thankfully, this was largely made up for with interesting character exploration, a hallmark of Merriman's work. The explanations of Alex's dependence on Ashleigh, and Ronnie's knowledge of psychology paired with her history creates an interesting dynamic.

In all, a solid novel that is worth a read.

[Kerrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This appears to be the author's first adult crime fiction novel.

Set in Dunedin where Ashleigh and Xander are university students living in different flats. Xander is a medical student and Ashleigh a law student. They have been together for seven years but Ashleigh is dominating while her parents have been financially generous to Xander and his family. Xander's eye has been recently caught by Ronnie, a psychology student with a room in Ashleigh's house.

And then one night Ashleigh dies, jumping from a third floor window. It is just a week since she and Xander broke up.

The structure of book centres around Ashleigh's death. The main voices are Xander and Ronnie and the chapters are Before and After. The puzzle is what caused Ashleigh to jump. Is anyone or anything to blame?

Very engrossing.

[Jacki van de Schoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a fantastic book. I was hooked very quickly, I just couldn't put it down, I read it all in a day.
I've been a fan of Eileen's since Moonlight Sonata, and I've loved every book since, especially The Silence of Snow, which was my book of the year in 2022.

I loved that it was set in Dunedin. I recognized a lot of streets and areas, which I don't often in other books I've read.
The characters were interesting and complex, especially Ronnie and Alex/Xander.
I loved the dual timelines and the writing was superb.
The twist at the end was fantastic, I didn't see it coming.

Eileen creates stories with real emotional depth, the type that stay with you long after you've finished turning the pages.
Her books are an auto-buy for me now.

I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

5 well deserved stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kelly Blackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
A real page turner this story pulled me in from the beginning. Set in my hometown amongst the student area of North Dunedin I was so excited to dive into this story.

I really disliked the main characters in this, but due to the nature of the story, this was probably a good thing! They were bratty, selfish and morally questionable which added to unpredictability of the characters throughout the story.

I flew through the first 150 pages and then got annoyed by the changing viewpoints and timelines. I also feel like the pacing was a bit off. Without giving spoilers the plot twist was very disappointing!

I did really enjoy the writing and will definitely keep an eye out for future books by the author.

[Kirstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this novel by NZ author Eileen Merriman. It was insightful regarding different personalities that grow and develop in our young people. How those are initially formed (by a specific event or others' treatment of them) and what form they take as they age.

Not always easily identifiable, personality traits can be subjective. I think the other person's perspective must come into play as well. What may be visible to one may not be visible to others.

Well written and I'll keep my eyes out for another by her.

[Ness VDH · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was lovely to read a book where it is based where you live, so when reading about Union St or St Clair I could picture where this was.

The story alternated between Xander & Ronnie (before the incident & afterwards). It read well and the story was interesting. Xander being a medical student, there were aspects of medical terms which I understood, and ultimately contributed to the end story.

Kept me on my toes - wanting to read more.

~ Read on kindle ~

[Meredith Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars bc this was essentially soft porn where someone happened to die. you knew from like chapter 3 exactly what happened and there was no twist at the end of the book. it read like a high schooler trying to write something edgy but getting too caught up in the secondary romantic subplot.
i chose it bc i thought itd be cool to read a murder mystery set in a city i had lived in but it was unfortunately not great

[Charlotte Lobb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by Eileen, and this one was no different. It’s a gripping thriller about a young law student who dies after falling from her third-storey window, and the web of secrets surrounding what really happened. The story moves between past and present, slowly uncovering the truth and who might be lying. It’s tense, twisty, and hard to put down — and, best of all, it’s by a New Zealand author.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed previous teen reads by this author, and was looking forward to her first adult novel. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped. The characters were not very likeable, although I thought Merriman captured the university and student life vibe well. I got tired of the before and now chapter organisation.The ending was OK but not a total surprise.

[T.K. Roxborogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch crime/whodunnit writing. Loved that it was set in Dunedin, a place I knew so well.
Interesting and convincing characterisation.
All the clues are there.
I worked out who did it just two pages to the end (always the best way with a crime novel)
Every word earns its place.
A great book to buy for someone who loves this genre.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A definite 4 1/2 stars - definitely a book you couldn’t stop reading & it was clear that two of the characters were unlikeable which were developed well but there could have been some more development with a few others as it felt like there were gaps in places.

[K.V. Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this novel and its Aotearoa New Zealand (Dunedin) setting. Merriman did a good job with the plot and pacing. The POV and time jumps were done well. Was Ashleigh's death an accident or was it murder? You'll have to read to find out!

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 39. A NZ author, who I have not heard of. Very twisted and dark. Has Single White Female vibes, but you’re not sure who it is. A very compelling read, not for the faint hearted. 📚🤓 #tsreadinglist2024 #tsrecommendations