What do you think?
Rate this book
Fall Out
International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, 2011.
The dust has barely settled on the banking crisis when two letters arrive in the offices of German Commercial Bank DKB.
Kate O’Brien joined the bank one month earlier after a short break to have her children. Kate doesn’t want stress or drama, she just wants to do her job and go home. But Kate might not be the only one with an agenda.
Mary Lawlor has worked at DKB long enough to be able to see that it’s happening again, and this time she won’t stand for it. She is sick of being taken advantage of and it’s got to stop.
Leona Blake has a job to do and is going to do it no matter what the cost. Only now, as her whole world starts to implode does she finally realise that the price just might have been too high.
Olivia Sharpe is finally writing things down. Now is her chance to take control of her life again and get closure for both herself and her children. What happened to her was wrong and someone needs to pay. Don’t they?
Two Letters
Four lives.
It’s time to take sides.
The dust has barely settled on the banking crisis when two letters arrive in the offices of German Commercial Bank DKB.
Kate O’Brien joined the bank one month earlier after a short break to have her children. Kate doesn’t want stress or drama, she just wants to do her job and go home. But Kate might not be the only one with an agenda.
Mary Lawlor has worked at DKB long enough to be able to see that it’s happening again, and this time she won’t stand for it. She is sick of being taken advantage of and it’s got to stop.
Leona Blake has a job to do and is going to do it no matter what the cost. Only now, as her whole world starts to implode does she finally realise that the price just might have been too high.
Olivia Sharpe is finally writing things down. Now is her chance to take control of her life again and get closure for both herself and her children. What happened to her was wrong and someone needs to pay. Don’t they?
Two Letters
Four lives.
It’s time to take sides.
- GenresIrish Literature
Paperback
30 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Scott
2 books7 followersMargaret Scott is a thirty-something mother of two small girls, who is an accountant by day and a writer by night. Margaret lives in Kildare.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 29, 2016
4.5 stars
In the Celtic Tiger Era, Dublin's International Financial Services Centre is the place to be. Lavish parties balance the long hours, corporate junkets are the norm and a hard shell is required. But for the staff at DKB, times are about to get tougher. The bubble has burst and expectations have soared. To top it all, one of their top-ranked staff members has quit in an unprecedented way and questions are being asked. Just what is the fallout for these hard-working bankers?
The recession is not a new topic in fiction, by any means. We have read stories of all classes, all walks of life and all with different endings. But this novel, from Kildare author, Margaret Scott, shows how women were treated during this difficult time. As the pressure built to boiling point, throughout the country, just who was expected to deal with all the extra hours? Women, nationwide, fought to balance their careers with their family lives and often something had to give. Sure, there were men sitting in darkened office blocks, trying to balance books, but did they worry about bath time for their children? Wonder what time the supermarket closed at? Drop everything to collect a sick child from childcare? Yet, we supposedly live in a modern world, where women are afforded equal rights. This is a novel that shows this is not always the case.
Kate is returning to work after a long break and is as nervous as hell. Even getting the Luas gives her the shivers. She is replacing Olivia, who recently walked out on her hard-earned job, without notice. Why? Mary is a forty something singleton who cannot understand why she is not appreciated more, in her work, her love life or by her sister. Just because she has no kids does not make her a walkover, right? Leona is the proverbial Queen Bee. Top of her game, hard as nails and determined to be the best in her field. But what must she sacrifice to maintain this? Along with their male colleagues, these ladies all have one thing in common; a level of frustration, well hidden from each other.
Short, sharp chapters, told from different character perspectives and broken up by investigative reports, make for an easy read. A few too many characters at the beginning, but this settles as soon as you get to know each one. Margaret Scott uses her relaxed writing style, injected with humour, to bring these ladies to life. Yes, they are working women, but they are walking on the fine tightrope that is a largely female problem. Despite our brave declarations of our feminist independence, we still rely heavily on our partners, families and friends when it comes to the great balancing act. This book shows that it's ok to have a dire day, a miserable week or indeed just throw the towel in altogether. There are only so many hours in the day, afterall...
In the Celtic Tiger Era, Dublin's International Financial Services Centre is the place to be. Lavish parties balance the long hours, corporate junkets are the norm and a hard shell is required. But for the staff at DKB, times are about to get tougher. The bubble has burst and expectations have soared. To top it all, one of their top-ranked staff members has quit in an unprecedented way and questions are being asked. Just what is the fallout for these hard-working bankers?
The recession is not a new topic in fiction, by any means. We have read stories of all classes, all walks of life and all with different endings. But this novel, from Kildare author, Margaret Scott, shows how women were treated during this difficult time. As the pressure built to boiling point, throughout the country, just who was expected to deal with all the extra hours? Women, nationwide, fought to balance their careers with their family lives and often something had to give. Sure, there were men sitting in darkened office blocks, trying to balance books, but did they worry about bath time for their children? Wonder what time the supermarket closed at? Drop everything to collect a sick child from childcare? Yet, we supposedly live in a modern world, where women are afforded equal rights. This is a novel that shows this is not always the case.
Kate is returning to work after a long break and is as nervous as hell. Even getting the Luas gives her the shivers. She is replacing Olivia, who recently walked out on her hard-earned job, without notice. Why? Mary is a forty something singleton who cannot understand why she is not appreciated more, in her work, her love life or by her sister. Just because she has no kids does not make her a walkover, right? Leona is the proverbial Queen Bee. Top of her game, hard as nails and determined to be the best in her field. But what must she sacrifice to maintain this? Along with their male colleagues, these ladies all have one thing in common; a level of frustration, well hidden from each other.
Short, sharp chapters, told from different character perspectives and broken up by investigative reports, make for an easy read. A few too many characters at the beginning, but this settles as soon as you get to know each one. Margaret Scott uses her relaxed writing style, injected with humour, to bring these ladies to life. Yes, they are working women, but they are walking on the fine tightrope that is a largely female problem. Despite our brave declarations of our feminist independence, we still rely heavily on our partners, families and friends when it comes to the great balancing act. This book shows that it's ok to have a dire day, a miserable week or indeed just throw the towel in altogether. There are only so many hours in the day, afterall...
March 13, 2016
Set in fictional DKB bank during the early years of the global financial meltdown, this is a book about the lives of ordinary people affected by the economic crisis. The story is told through reporter style which I thought worked very well and kept you turning the pages to hear the next person's version of events. The characterisation is superb as we learn their different motivations that lead ultimately to 'The Fallout'. A great read from Margaret Scott.
April 23, 2016
This is the second novel of a local author and I've just finished it. Given the fact I'm meant to be reading college textbooks and I finished this in a week is a testament to the story.
It's written in my favourite narrative style of multiple viewpoints. It opens in a climactic moment and then works back to show you how each character arrived at this particular point.
The struggles of working parents, particularly mothers, are often discussed on social media with a variety of opinions shared. This novel allows the reader to experience the issue from varying viewpoints.
It's also an interesting look into the Irish banking world and what working in this high pressured environment is like. Us non bankers apportioned blame quickly to those working in that sector when it came to the recent recession. The novel gives a human dimension to the people involved.
The wry humour that was evident in the author's first novel can be seen in this book and again the characters are both human and dimensional.
A definite recommendation from this book lover
It's written in my favourite narrative style of multiple viewpoints. It opens in a climactic moment and then works back to show you how each character arrived at this particular point.
The struggles of working parents, particularly mothers, are often discussed on social media with a variety of opinions shared. This novel allows the reader to experience the issue from varying viewpoints.
It's also an interesting look into the Irish banking world and what working in this high pressured environment is like. Us non bankers apportioned blame quickly to those working in that sector when it came to the recent recession. The novel gives a human dimension to the people involved.
The wry humour that was evident in the author's first novel can be seen in this book and again the characters are both human and dimensional.
A definite recommendation from this book lover
May 4, 2016
Great read - compelling, and an excellent account of a toxic work environment. Really enjoyed it.
July 26, 2016
Loved this book. It was very typical of the dynamics of the office environment.
April 4, 2016
A wonderful, fast-paced account of women working in a bank in the Dublin financial district immediately after the recession. I loved every minute of this, especially the incisive humour embodied in the ghastly CEO Declan and his endless neologisms ("Can you inbox me...we need a come to Jesus moment") to bitchy SAHMs trying to undercut Kate as she returns to work and endlessly monologuing about their tedious children.) The main thrust of the plot, its central mystery is why corporate banker Olivia Sharpe left her job in such a hurry one fateful month in November 2011. The timelines move back and forth around that as every female worker in DKB (Deutsche Kommerzielle Bank) comes under the spotlight, whether it be newcomer Kate, head of department Leona, or the sidelined and frustrated Mary.
I feel as if I don't have any need to read a book like The Mark and the Void after reading this. Literary writers are praised to the skies for the rare occasions they bother to offer realism in the working world, yet when genre writers do it far better, it's ignored or underestimated ::climbs off soapbox:: Anyway, Margaret Scott writes about the world of work very well. Because she is an accountant herself, the procedures she describes are believable and there is no handwaving of the actual work done or what it might consist of - but neither is so much detail expended on it that it becomes dull. The pacing is excellent and we manage to care about all the characters. Male privilege is dealt with in a light but sure hand. We see it in the assumed confidence with which Rob and Cian, the male colleagues, negotiate their way around the office. They never apologise for their presence, or fail to assume equality with female superiors. Scott does not overly draw attention to this, she allows dialogue and description to do the job for her. The reader gets the message.
There is a political undercurrent to this book, as we really see the emotional violence of the workplace and how it seems to demand inhuman hours and allow men to abdicate parenting in its favour and then stigmatise women who are left with the unpaid work men have outsourced and abandoned.
Error-handling: Leona's surname is Blake, yet on the first e-mail exchange (and the first mention of her surname) she is called Sharpe, the same surname as Olivia. I was then wondering were they related, or been married to the same man. This should have been caught during edits.
I heartily recommend this read, it's a standout in its genre. Really enjoyed it.
I feel as if I don't have any need to read a book like The Mark and the Void after reading this. Literary writers are praised to the skies for the rare occasions they bother to offer realism in the working world, yet when genre writers do it far better, it's ignored or underestimated ::climbs off soapbox:: Anyway, Margaret Scott writes about the world of work very well. Because she is an accountant herself, the procedures she describes are believable and there is no handwaving of the actual work done or what it might consist of - but neither is so much detail expended on it that it becomes dull. The pacing is excellent and we manage to care about all the characters. Male privilege is dealt with in a light but sure hand. We see it in the assumed confidence with which Rob and Cian, the male colleagues, negotiate their way around the office. They never apologise for their presence, or fail to assume equality with female superiors. Scott does not overly draw attention to this, she allows dialogue and description to do the job for her. The reader gets the message.
There is a political undercurrent to this book, as we really see the emotional violence of the workplace and how it seems to demand inhuman hours and allow men to abdicate parenting in its favour and then stigmatise women who are left with the unpaid work men have outsourced and abandoned.
Error-handling: Leona's surname is Blake, yet on the first e-mail exchange (and the first mention of her surname) she is called Sharpe, the same surname as Olivia. I was then wondering were they related, or been married to the same man. This should have been caught during edits.
I heartily recommend this read, it's a standout in its genre. Really enjoyed it.
March 29, 2016
At one point in Margaret Scott’s second novel, The Fallout, a character asks his boss this question: “I come to work on time, I never leave early, I do my job very, very well, isn’t that enough?” (I’m paraphrasing) To which she replies “No, I need more.”
This interaction is at the heart of the book, a searing examination of the toxic work lifestyles that we allowed to thrive (and, indeed, were told to admire) in Celtic Tiger Ireland, and the damage that it has wreaked in our society, our culture and our personal lives.
The book is extremely clever, written in an open and engaging style. There are a multitude of voices, each well-flagged and distinct enough to avoid confusion. Each character peels another layer from the rotten onion that is the fictional private bank, DKB, based in the Irish Financial Centre, that Cathedral of broken dreams on Dublin’s docklands. Chapter by chapter we build up a better picture of the lives of the employees and how they teeter on an increasingly wobbly tightrope of work-life-family balance.
While there are many strong, important male roles in the novel, it is the women around whom the plot thickens. Why has Olivia, a successful team member of many years’ standing abruptly left without notice? Why would Leona, a competent, happy worker turn down a promotion and, upon finally accepting it, turn into the boss from hell? If this isn’t a “toxic” bank, do we even understand what that term means? Kate O’Brien joins the staff and through her curiosity is revealed to us, bit by bit, what the heck has been happening in those shiny offices overlooking the Liffey.
I felt the tension rise throughout the book, and I couldn’t wait to see if my suspicions were realised (they weren’t, of course, because I am useless at suspense.) The book unfolded rationally, at no point did it feel contrived and when I belatedly worked out what was up, I didn’t feel foolish, or tricked, which I sometimes do.
There was plenty of drama, without any melodrama, and every situation and character felt credible and real. I can whole-heartedly recommend this novel for an interesting look at the fallout of our recent financial crisis.
I was delighted to be given an advance copy of the novel for proof-reading purposes and I can’t wait to get my hands on the finished item when it is launched on March 30.
This interaction is at the heart of the book, a searing examination of the toxic work lifestyles that we allowed to thrive (and, indeed, were told to admire) in Celtic Tiger Ireland, and the damage that it has wreaked in our society, our culture and our personal lives.
The book is extremely clever, written in an open and engaging style. There are a multitude of voices, each well-flagged and distinct enough to avoid confusion. Each character peels another layer from the rotten onion that is the fictional private bank, DKB, based in the Irish Financial Centre, that Cathedral of broken dreams on Dublin’s docklands. Chapter by chapter we build up a better picture of the lives of the employees and how they teeter on an increasingly wobbly tightrope of work-life-family balance.
While there are many strong, important male roles in the novel, it is the women around whom the plot thickens. Why has Olivia, a successful team member of many years’ standing abruptly left without notice? Why would Leona, a competent, happy worker turn down a promotion and, upon finally accepting it, turn into the boss from hell? If this isn’t a “toxic” bank, do we even understand what that term means? Kate O’Brien joins the staff and through her curiosity is revealed to us, bit by bit, what the heck has been happening in those shiny offices overlooking the Liffey.
I felt the tension rise throughout the book, and I couldn’t wait to see if my suspicions were realised (they weren’t, of course, because I am useless at suspense.) The book unfolded rationally, at no point did it feel contrived and when I belatedly worked out what was up, I didn’t feel foolish, or tricked, which I sometimes do.
There was plenty of drama, without any melodrama, and every situation and character felt credible and real. I can whole-heartedly recommend this novel for an interesting look at the fallout of our recent financial crisis.
I was delighted to be given an advance copy of the novel for proof-reading purposes and I can’t wait to get my hands on the finished item when it is launched on March 30.
March 23, 2016
This is a book for every woman who has ever worked with other women and tried to balance it all, be it work and kids, work and romance or work and family commitments.
Set in the wake of the Irish banking crisis in the offices of the fictional DKB, it follows a number of characters and what led to a major incident between workers.
The novel is wonderfully paced and, as a working mother, it really resonated with me.
Margaret Scott writes with style, flair and wit. I can't recommend this book, and this writer, enough.
Set in the wake of the Irish banking crisis in the offices of the fictional DKB, it follows a number of characters and what led to a major incident between workers.
The novel is wonderfully paced and, as a working mother, it really resonated with me.
Margaret Scott writes with style, flair and wit. I can't recommend this book, and this writer, enough.
May 18, 2016
A great read. Really enjoyed it.
April 2, 2016
Super book, couldn't put it down!
May 23, 2016
Excellent book, found it hard to put it down!
July 14, 2016
'It’s time to take sides’
The Fallout is the latest book from Margaret Scott. Published by Poolbeg Press earlier this year, I was lucky enough to receive my copy from the author in return for my honest review.
‘International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, 2011.
The dust has barely settled on the banking crisis when two letters arrive in the offices of German Commercial Bank DKB.
Kate O’Brien joined the bank one month earlier after a short break to have her children. Kate doesn’t want stress or drama, she just wants to do her job and go home. But Kate might not be the only one with an agenda.
Mary Lawlor has worked at DKB long enough to be able to see that it’s happening again, and this time she won’t stand for it. She is sick of being taken advantage of and it’s got to stop.
Leona Blake has a job to do and is going to do it no matter what the cost. Only now, as her whole world starts to implode does she finally realise that the price just might have been too high.
Olivia Sharpe is finally writing things down. Now is her chance to take control of her life again and get closure for both herself and her children. What happened to her was wrong and someone needs to pay. Don’t they?
Two Letters
Four lives.
It’s time to take sides.’
The Fallout is a very unique novel, in that it is not just a book about the banking crisis but it is also a book about women.
Set in a fictional bank in Dublin’s Financial Services Centre, we are introduced into the lives of four women, all trying to balance their work/life relationships. All very ambitious women, Mary, Kate, Leona and Olivia, all with very different agendas in life.
The book opens with the arrival of two letters which shake everything up in the bank.
‘Bad news still always arrives by post’
Nervous tension sweeps through all departments and Margaret Scott introduces us to all the people involved, We are taken on a journey through the previous actions taken in the bank as the stress & pressure to survive increased daily through a period of banking history that shook up the whole financial industry.
The story is told through the eyes of the four main characters of the book and what makes it so interesting is the perspective that each person has on the same situation.
Human nature has a strange way of displaying right and wrong. The frustrations and anxieties of people distort how messages are relayed and put into practice.
With every action that is taken, there is a reaction….and with this reaction there is a Fallout…
Having worked in business with women through my own career, I can identify with all these women. They have been my friends.
Leona, is represented as the tough boss, the one who will walk over anyone and anything to achieve her ultimate goal. With Leona it is a question of the ‘Survival of the Fittest’. But Leona is a duck in a pond. What’s going on beneath the surface is a very different story and Leona has her own secrets to keep.
Mary is the single girl. Ambitious, with an element of jealousy, Mary is quite bitter. She is sick of covering for the ‘mothers’ in her department and feels she is being overlooked, overworked and stuck in her position. She has given everything to the bank but yet she is never content in her life.
Kate is the mother returning to the workplace. Kate is looking to prove that she still has what it takes to survive in the cutthroat world of banking and business. As time proves though, Kate soon realises that all is not as she imagined it would be.
Olivia has left the bank under rather mysterious circumstances. As the story unfolds, we learn of the stress and emotional trauma that Olivia endured during her time with the bank. Also a mother, Olivia decides to finally regain control of her life and deals with her departure in the best way she knows how.
The Fallout gives the reader an insight into the daily pressures of the working mother in an industry that looks for all or nothing. An industry that doesn’t take kindly to sick children or tired mothers.
Is it possible for women to have it all??
There is a sacrifice to be paid.
Family
Relationships
Love
Mental Health
Something has to give and as Margaret Scott portrays so well in this book, no one person can truly have it all.
The Fallout is a great read told from a perspective we rarely hear about.
I would highly recommend it if you are looking for something a bit different. It is not a psychological thriller nor is it an obvious crime novel.
What it is though is a book that shows the effect, both mentally and physically, of a demanding job in the banking industry, in a time fraught with scandal and regrets.
The victims in The Fallout are the women, trying to prove they can have it all in an industry where family is not recognised and money means everything.
Meet Margaret:
Margaret Scott lives in Kildare with her husband Keith Darcy, two little girls, Isabelle and Emily, one-year-old Michael and an assortment of pets.
An accountant by day, her first book Between you and Me was published by Poolbeg Press in 2013 and enjoyed several weeks in the ROI top ten Bestsellers list.
The Fallout is the latest book from Margaret Scott. Published by Poolbeg Press earlier this year, I was lucky enough to receive my copy from the author in return for my honest review.
‘International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, 2011.
The dust has barely settled on the banking crisis when two letters arrive in the offices of German Commercial Bank DKB.
Kate O’Brien joined the bank one month earlier after a short break to have her children. Kate doesn’t want stress or drama, she just wants to do her job and go home. But Kate might not be the only one with an agenda.
Mary Lawlor has worked at DKB long enough to be able to see that it’s happening again, and this time she won’t stand for it. She is sick of being taken advantage of and it’s got to stop.
Leona Blake has a job to do and is going to do it no matter what the cost. Only now, as her whole world starts to implode does she finally realise that the price just might have been too high.
Olivia Sharpe is finally writing things down. Now is her chance to take control of her life again and get closure for both herself and her children. What happened to her was wrong and someone needs to pay. Don’t they?
Two Letters
Four lives.
It’s time to take sides.’
The Fallout is a very unique novel, in that it is not just a book about the banking crisis but it is also a book about women.
Set in a fictional bank in Dublin’s Financial Services Centre, we are introduced into the lives of four women, all trying to balance their work/life relationships. All very ambitious women, Mary, Kate, Leona and Olivia, all with very different agendas in life.
The book opens with the arrival of two letters which shake everything up in the bank.
‘Bad news still always arrives by post’
Nervous tension sweeps through all departments and Margaret Scott introduces us to all the people involved, We are taken on a journey through the previous actions taken in the bank as the stress & pressure to survive increased daily through a period of banking history that shook up the whole financial industry.
The story is told through the eyes of the four main characters of the book and what makes it so interesting is the perspective that each person has on the same situation.
Human nature has a strange way of displaying right and wrong. The frustrations and anxieties of people distort how messages are relayed and put into practice.
With every action that is taken, there is a reaction….and with this reaction there is a Fallout…
Having worked in business with women through my own career, I can identify with all these women. They have been my friends.
Leona, is represented as the tough boss, the one who will walk over anyone and anything to achieve her ultimate goal. With Leona it is a question of the ‘Survival of the Fittest’. But Leona is a duck in a pond. What’s going on beneath the surface is a very different story and Leona has her own secrets to keep.
Mary is the single girl. Ambitious, with an element of jealousy, Mary is quite bitter. She is sick of covering for the ‘mothers’ in her department and feels she is being overlooked, overworked and stuck in her position. She has given everything to the bank but yet she is never content in her life.
Kate is the mother returning to the workplace. Kate is looking to prove that she still has what it takes to survive in the cutthroat world of banking and business. As time proves though, Kate soon realises that all is not as she imagined it would be.
Olivia has left the bank under rather mysterious circumstances. As the story unfolds, we learn of the stress and emotional trauma that Olivia endured during her time with the bank. Also a mother, Olivia decides to finally regain control of her life and deals with her departure in the best way she knows how.
The Fallout gives the reader an insight into the daily pressures of the working mother in an industry that looks for all or nothing. An industry that doesn’t take kindly to sick children or tired mothers.
Is it possible for women to have it all??
There is a sacrifice to be paid.
Family
Relationships
Love
Mental Health
Something has to give and as Margaret Scott portrays so well in this book, no one person can truly have it all.
The Fallout is a great read told from a perspective we rarely hear about.
I would highly recommend it if you are looking for something a bit different. It is not a psychological thriller nor is it an obvious crime novel.
What it is though is a book that shows the effect, both mentally and physically, of a demanding job in the banking industry, in a time fraught with scandal and regrets.
The victims in The Fallout are the women, trying to prove they can have it all in an industry where family is not recognised and money means everything.
Meet Margaret:
Margaret Scott lives in Kildare with her husband Keith Darcy, two little girls, Isabelle and Emily, one-year-old Michael and an assortment of pets.
An accountant by day, her first book Between you and Me was published by Poolbeg Press in 2013 and enjoyed several weeks in the ROI top ten Bestsellers list.
September 7, 2016
3.5/5
Thanks to Poolbeg, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review......
Set in The International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, where the offices of the German Commercial Bank DKB are based but the dust of the banking crisis has barely set when two letters arrive and it tells the story of 4 women, Kate O'Brien, Mary Lawlor, Leona Blake and Olivia Sharpe and their daily struggles both inside the job and in their home lives.
Kate has recently comeback to work in the bank after taking a short career break to have her children. She want's to just come in and do her job and go home with as little stress or drama as possible but is she going to get her wish or has she her own agenda??
Mary has worked at DKB for so long that she can see things that aren't going right, she's been here before and could the same things be about to happen again?? She is tired of been taken advantage of by everyone and it's got to stop.
Leona is in charge and has a job to do and will get it done no matter how and what the cost. She's not a very nice or popular person at times and to be honest she doesn't quite care. But as her whole life starts to collapse around her, will she finally realise that she might loose everything.
Olivia is a very timid person and has started to write things down. She has been treated very badly in her time with the bank and now she has a chance to take control on things and get the justice she deserves but what has happened to her and will she get it??
I enjoyed The Fallout, it was very well researched, constructed and written. I could relate to nearly every persons story in The Fallout as I worked in the Financial Services for years and I worked with every single one of these characters and at times I felt I was right there with them. I could feel the pressure of the financial services all over again as I was reading it, from thinking about the banking crisis, been on high alert as soon as you were told the "Bigwigs" were coming down from Head Office, the early starts and the late finishing, the way the staff were treated by customers and high ranked staff and management to the bullying, it was all there.
This is Margaret Scott's second novel and would be an ideal beach read for any upcoming holidays.
Thanks to Poolbeg, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review......
Set in The International Financial Services Centre, Dublin, where the offices of the German Commercial Bank DKB are based but the dust of the banking crisis has barely set when two letters arrive and it tells the story of 4 women, Kate O'Brien, Mary Lawlor, Leona Blake and Olivia Sharpe and their daily struggles both inside the job and in their home lives.
Kate has recently comeback to work in the bank after taking a short career break to have her children. She want's to just come in and do her job and go home with as little stress or drama as possible but is she going to get her wish or has she her own agenda??
Mary has worked at DKB for so long that she can see things that aren't going right, she's been here before and could the same things be about to happen again?? She is tired of been taken advantage of by everyone and it's got to stop.
Leona is in charge and has a job to do and will get it done no matter how and what the cost. She's not a very nice or popular person at times and to be honest she doesn't quite care. But as her whole life starts to collapse around her, will she finally realise that she might loose everything.
Olivia is a very timid person and has started to write things down. She has been treated very badly in her time with the bank and now she has a chance to take control on things and get the justice she deserves but what has happened to her and will she get it??
I enjoyed The Fallout, it was very well researched, constructed and written. I could relate to nearly every persons story in The Fallout as I worked in the Financial Services for years and I worked with every single one of these characters and at times I felt I was right there with them. I could feel the pressure of the financial services all over again as I was reading it, from thinking about the banking crisis, been on high alert as soon as you were told the "Bigwigs" were coming down from Head Office, the early starts and the late finishing, the way the staff were treated by customers and high ranked staff and management to the bullying, it was all there.
This is Margaret Scott's second novel and would be an ideal beach read for any upcoming holidays.
August 14, 2016
The Fallout
Firstly I want to make you aware that I was invited to the book launch of The Fallout but because of work I couldn’t actually make it. I met Margaret Scott at another launch soon after where I was verbally abused about my absence and quite literally frog marched down the end of the bookshop and forced to buy a copy (I was lucky it was only 1). Margaret then gave out to me in the dedication that she insisted upon writing on the inside cover!!
The Fallout isn’t normally my genre of reading material but fearful of Margaret’s wrath I read it anyway and I was pleasantly surprised.
The novel is based around the office politics in the Irish branch of a Commercial German bank operating out of the IFSC post the banking sector crash. The storyline follows a number of characters as the German head office take a renewed interest in it and the office morale effectively implodes. The book largely centres on 4 women at various levels as they struggle with their day to day duties. However it’s partially self inflicted as the constant backstabbing is not making their job any easier. Those women that are married seem to be coping with unsupportive husbands as well.
The chapters jump around as Margaret writes many of the developments from the perspective of the various characters. This is similar to Liz Nugent’s writing style. As I think that Ms. Nugent is an extremely accomplished writer, this is a compliment.
The book asks a more important social question of it readers than might be immediately obvious – can a woman maintain the same career level after having children or are working mums placing unrealistic expectations upon themselves? Being a man I can’t answer this but I feel that all businesses benefit from a woman’s involvement at every level.
The only complaint I have about the novel is that the female protagonists attended a hen’s night and there were no plastic willy’s!! The author obviously didn’t do her homework for this scene! Despite this not being a genre I normally consider, I really enjoyed this book. I’m only giving it 4 out of 5 though as there were no car chases or explosions.
So that’s the review – can I get my son back now Margaret? Please ...you promised...
Firstly I want to make you aware that I was invited to the book launch of The Fallout but because of work I couldn’t actually make it. I met Margaret Scott at another launch soon after where I was verbally abused about my absence and quite literally frog marched down the end of the bookshop and forced to buy a copy (I was lucky it was only 1). Margaret then gave out to me in the dedication that she insisted upon writing on the inside cover!!
The Fallout isn’t normally my genre of reading material but fearful of Margaret’s wrath I read it anyway and I was pleasantly surprised.
The novel is based around the office politics in the Irish branch of a Commercial German bank operating out of the IFSC post the banking sector crash. The storyline follows a number of characters as the German head office take a renewed interest in it and the office morale effectively implodes. The book largely centres on 4 women at various levels as they struggle with their day to day duties. However it’s partially self inflicted as the constant backstabbing is not making their job any easier. Those women that are married seem to be coping with unsupportive husbands as well.
The chapters jump around as Margaret writes many of the developments from the perspective of the various characters. This is similar to Liz Nugent’s writing style. As I think that Ms. Nugent is an extremely accomplished writer, this is a compliment.
The book asks a more important social question of it readers than might be immediately obvious – can a woman maintain the same career level after having children or are working mums placing unrealistic expectations upon themselves? Being a man I can’t answer this but I feel that all businesses benefit from a woman’s involvement at every level.
The only complaint I have about the novel is that the female protagonists attended a hen’s night and there were no plastic willy’s!! The author obviously didn’t do her homework for this scene! Despite this not being a genre I normally consider, I really enjoyed this book. I’m only giving it 4 out of 5 though as there were no car chases or explosions.
So that’s the review – can I get my son back now Margaret? Please ...you promised...
May 9, 2016
I really enjoyed this (and yes, when having a tough week on the farm, it was kind of nice to think that highly paid executives probably don't have it all that easy!). Life for women at different stages of marriage, children, relationships while working in a competitive corporate environment was the main theme and dealt with from various angles. I liked the multi-character perspective on it too (I often find if there are 3 or 4 main characters as narrators, the secondary characters seem silenced and it's irritating as it would be nice to know their take on things). In this novel, we see the perspectives of various characters - male and female so it's quite balanced. One reviewers commented on how some readers might find that confusing but I thought it was very clear who was who as they had different tones and voices throughout. A good read.
August 8, 2016
Set in a fictional bank in Dublin’s Financial Services Centre, the story centres around four women - Mary, Kate, Leona and Olivia.
As Scott takes us on a fast paced journey, we begin to understand the pressures and stresses that each woman is under. Each character has their own perspective on what it's like to juggle work and home.
I've worked for many years in the corporate world and I have met capable, professional, hardworking women just like Mary, Kate, Leona and Olivia. I could identify with parts of each of their struggles. I sympathised with each of them. I understood.
The Fallout asks difficult questions about women in the workplace, in particular placing a spotlight on working mothers. their guilt, their struggle to balance work and home. Struck several chords with me.
Intriguing, compelling, topical. Highly recommend for fans of Liane Moriarty. I loved it.
As Scott takes us on a fast paced journey, we begin to understand the pressures and stresses that each woman is under. Each character has their own perspective on what it's like to juggle work and home.
I've worked for many years in the corporate world and I have met capable, professional, hardworking women just like Mary, Kate, Leona and Olivia. I could identify with parts of each of their struggles. I sympathised with each of them. I understood.
The Fallout asks difficult questions about women in the workplace, in particular placing a spotlight on working mothers. their guilt, their struggle to balance work and home. Struck several chords with me.
Intriguing, compelling, topical. Highly recommend for fans of Liane Moriarty. I loved it.
April 7, 2016
Excellent read, great characters, several I could relate to at different times throughout the book. Deals with a tough topic really well, work life balance and how its differs for everyone.
Love the Irish element and love the writers style. Compelling read, highly recommend this book.
Looking forward to more by this up and coming author.
Love the Irish element and love the writers style. Compelling read, highly recommend this book.
Looking forward to more by this up and coming author.
December 31, 2016
Sharp, funny, fast-moving and angry book about a toxic work culture that most of us have been encouraged to think of as normal. This is a novel that manages to explore issues while still keeping things very entertaining. And I did not see that ending coming.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews