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After The Fall: A Compelling Domestic Thriller
She can’t remember the fall... But remembering the truth is the only way to survive it.
Emma Caldwell wakes up in the hospital with a fractured skull and no memory of the night she fell. Her husband says it was an accident. Her best friend insists he’s been devoted throughout her recovery. The doctors tell her to expect confusion, paranoia, and even delusions.
But when Emma finds a silver earring hidden in her husband’s drawer, one that isn’t hers, it triggers a flicker of memory. A flash of perfume. A woman’s laugh. A fight.
And the growing fear that the man she married is not the man she’s healing beside.
Her beautiful, high-tech home now feels like a cage. The staircase she once designed now haunts her dreams. The people closest to her seem too perfect. Too careful.
And Emma? She’s done playing the fragile wife.
Because remembering the truth is the only way to survive it.
📚 Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, and Sarah Pekkanen
Emma Caldwell wakes up in the hospital with a fractured skull and no memory of the night she fell. Her husband says it was an accident. Her best friend insists he’s been devoted throughout her recovery. The doctors tell her to expect confusion, paranoia, and even delusions.
But when Emma finds a silver earring hidden in her husband’s drawer, one that isn’t hers, it triggers a flicker of memory. A flash of perfume. A woman’s laugh. A fight.
And the growing fear that the man she married is not the man she’s healing beside.
Her beautiful, high-tech home now feels like a cage. The staircase she once designed now haunts her dreams. The people closest to her seem too perfect. Too careful.
And Emma? She’s done playing the fragile wife.
Because remembering the truth is the only way to survive it.
📚 Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, and Sarah Pekkanen
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 10, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2025
I read this book in one day while lounging around my pool. It’s the poolside-read-equivalent of a Lifetime movie involving gaslighting and a love triangle. I found it both enjoyable and frustrating.
There were enough chapter hooks to keep me flipping to the next one wanting to see what happened. The roster of characters is small which made the story arcs easy to track. I also found it interesting how the author used changes in the summer weather (at the start of each chapter) to set the mood/tone for what was to happen in the pages that follow...oppressive heat, brooding skies, downpours and thunderstorms, all very cleverly done.
There are a few printing errors and some mistakes, but (with the exception of one scene glitch) they were easy to overlook. We spend a lot of time in the MC's head, and a good bit of that becomes repetitious.
The plot requires a stretch of the imagination, especially around the middle of the book when everything comes to a head before starting up again. I felt some details where overlooked, and there are a few inconsistencies. I also thought the big climatic scene near the end was a bit of a letdown in reference to one of the characters. It’s hard to say more without giving away plot details.
If you’re looking for a quick, escapist-type read, this is an easy book to breeze through. I would definitely give this author another chance.
There were enough chapter hooks to keep me flipping to the next one wanting to see what happened. The roster of characters is small which made the story arcs easy to track. I also found it interesting how the author used changes in the summer weather (at the start of each chapter) to set the mood/tone for what was to happen in the pages that follow...oppressive heat, brooding skies, downpours and thunderstorms, all very cleverly done.
There are a few printing errors and some mistakes, but (with the exception of one scene glitch) they were easy to overlook. We spend a lot of time in the MC's head, and a good bit of that becomes repetitious.
The plot requires a stretch of the imagination, especially around the middle of the book when everything comes to a head before starting up again. I felt some details where overlooked, and there are a few inconsistencies. I also thought the big climatic scene near the end was a bit of a letdown in reference to one of the characters. It’s hard to say more without giving away plot details.
If you’re looking for a quick, escapist-type read, this is an easy book to breeze through. I would definitely give this author another chance.
July 28, 2025
The story itself was riveting and compelled me to read until the end. The characters and details were finely drawn and the premise of the story was interesting.
The part that drove me crazy, and prompted me to knock my review down to three stars, was the way the author wrote. First of all there was a LOT of repetition in the details. If the author said “prison” and “cage” once, they said it a hundred times. There were also an excessive amount of metaphors, nearly ever chapter started with an ominous metaphors about the weather. Seriously, what location has that much bad weather? The author also described every emotion as the character wearing a “mask of __________”. It was weary and repetitive. While I liked the main character and was impressed with her ingenuity, she had to remind us MULTIPLE times that she was playing a part, and playing it to perfection.
I would recommend this book, if you don’t have anything else on your TBR and you’re willing to skim through all the dreary, redundant descriptions.
The part that drove me crazy, and prompted me to knock my review down to three stars, was the way the author wrote. First of all there was a LOT of repetition in the details. If the author said “prison” and “cage” once, they said it a hundred times. There were also an excessive amount of metaphors, nearly ever chapter started with an ominous metaphors about the weather. Seriously, what location has that much bad weather? The author also described every emotion as the character wearing a “mask of __________”. It was weary and repetitive. While I liked the main character and was impressed with her ingenuity, she had to remind us MULTIPLE times that she was playing a part, and playing it to perfection.
I would recommend this book, if you don’t have anything else on your TBR and you’re willing to skim through all the dreary, redundant descriptions.
July 19, 2025
This story presented an intriguing, if not be, premise with psychological intrigue, but it left this reader feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
Emma's memory loss and the tension between her perceptions of her husband and best friend create initial engagement. However, it was clear to me from the first few pages exactly how it would end.
The discovery of a silver earring effectively reignites Emma's memories, but the exploration of these memories could be more nuanced. While the theme of reclaiming identity is powerful, it is overshadowed by its predictability.
Emma's internal struggle and evolving relationships are interesting, but all character motivations seem predictable.
Overall, while the story has potential, it was a nice read on a rainy Saturday, but no better or worse than all the others like it.
Emma's memory loss and the tension between her perceptions of her husband and best friend create initial engagement. However, it was clear to me from the first few pages exactly how it would end.
The discovery of a silver earring effectively reignites Emma's memories, but the exploration of these memories could be more nuanced. While the theme of reclaiming identity is powerful, it is overshadowed by its predictability.
Emma's internal struggle and evolving relationships are interesting, but all character motivations seem predictable.
Overall, while the story has potential, it was a nice read on a rainy Saturday, but no better or worse than all the others like it.
July 25, 2025
I came into this book with a great deal of expectations from the premise and synopsis but the buildup was far better than the conclusion.
The story in itself was quite well written but the pure speed of the ending without going into any details of the case and the capture really left much to be desired for me.
The book was also littered with grammatical and grammar issues and even had multiple instances of the same sentence being used twice in a row without spacing. Overall this was a fairly short and fun read but there was a lot of filler chapters that could have been illuminated all together to have wrapped this up tighter.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The story in itself was quite well written but the pure speed of the ending without going into any details of the case and the capture really left much to be desired for me.
The book was also littered with grammatical and grammar issues and even had multiple instances of the same sentence being used twice in a row without spacing. Overall this was a fairly short and fun read but there was a lot of filler chapters that could have been illuminated all together to have wrapped this up tighter.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 23, 2025
The book was very good. It is written in a way that makes you really route for the main character. I found myself yelling outloud when something would happen. It was a page turner from the beginning through to the very end. The only problem I had was some areas of the book were too slow for my liking, but there weren't many. If you like thrillers and suspense that keeps you at the edge of your seat this is definitely for you!
July 25, 2025
A new author to me and I liked the way she told this story even though it was a quick read. I came away thinking "who needs a husband and a best friend like that?".
I was kept wondering if Emma was going to be able to off her plan. This story is a page turner for me.
I received a free advance review copy and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
I was kept wondering if Emma was going to be able to off her plan. This story is a page turner for me.
I received a free advance review copy and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
October 24, 2025
Another great story by A.M. Sinclair, unfortunately, poorly edited. It was very enjoyable, despite the errors, but could have been so much better given a proper edit.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews