‘RING A RING O’ ROSES
RING A RING O’ ROSES’
Tom Bale’s name kept popping up on my twitter feed from fellow book bloggers so I thought I would see if I could get to read one of his books.
As luck would have it, Tom Bale’s latest novel, All Fall Down, will be released on September 1st by Bookouture and I was fortunate to get my hands on a copy to read
I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for my review copy.
‘YOU TRIED TO SAVE A LIFE.
AND NOW YOU’RE FIGHTING TO SAVE YOUR OWN.
It should have been an idyllic day for the Turner family – until a dying man, beaten beyond all recognition, arrives at their home, uttering the words, HELP ME.
Rob and Wendy Turner and their children try to explain away the horrific scene as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but in the days that follow their lives are threatened in ways they could never imagine.
The family is unaware that they are being watched by someone with their own terrifying agenda, who will stop at nothing to fulfil their own twisted desires.
But when hidden secrets come rushing to the surface, it’s clear not everything is as it seems in this happy family.
Are the Turners a victim of circumstance – or does the key to their fate lie closer to home?
Forced to fight for everything they hold dear, can they save themselves before time runs out – or will their act of compassion see them paying the ultimate price…?’
(Via Goodreads)
All Fall Down is a novel that is perfect for people who love a psychological thriller that messes a bit with your head. The storyline is certainly one I have never encountered.
Rob and Wendy Turner are a normal family just trying to get through life. They’ve had many ups and downs in their marriage and are attempting to work their way through it. They have twin boys in college, Josh and Evan, and a younger daughter Georgia. Life has thrown many obstacles in their way.
But nothing prepares them for when a horrifically injured man turns up at their back gate one sunny Sunday afternoon. Beaten beyond recognition, the man has obviously been tortured and left to die.
Wendy and Rob, as any us of would do…(wouldn’t you?), open their gate to help the man. They bring him into their garden and unwittingly unleash a chain of events that will see them fighting for their lives.
Initially treated by the police as just a random, though extremely violent, occurrence, Rob and Wendy try their best to resume their everyday lives but a series of unsettling incidents causes them to question things.
Rob has some shady connections through his work.The business had run into financial difficulties and in his attempt to work through things, Rob had crossed paths with some very dangerous people. Rob attempts to take the situation into his own hands until events take a very dramatic turn.
The Turner family are exposed to some very dangerous and nasty individuals with an agenda that is rather sick and twisted.
These people will stop at nothing to achieve their objective.
With one perceived random act of kindness, a family is exposed to a chain of events linked with horror and depravity. For Rob and Wendy, they must try to survive a living nightmare and keep their family safe.
As with many psychological thrillers, it is very hard to review without giving away too much of the plot. Suffice to say, this is not a pleasant book.
It is unsettling, to the extreme.
What I found very interesting was the development of the characters personalities. Their strengths and weaknesses were exposed throughout all the chaos and the trauma.
This is what makes Tom Bale’s writing so intriguing for me. I didn’t particularly like certain characters within the family. I found some of their actions frustrating and at times found myself shouting at the pages!!
As the book approached the end, there were a few endings I feel could have been tightened up a bit more, but overall Tom Bale has written a book that you will find hard to put down.
It’s up to you now to pick up a copy of All Fall Down to see what you think.
In the meantime, all that remains to say is….
Beware of opening your doors to strangers as you don’t know what horrors lurk behind…
Who is Tom Bale?
Tom Bale has had a variety of jobs including retail assistant, claims negotiator and project manager, but none was as exhausting as the several years he spent as a househusband with two pre-school children. Tom has been writing since the age of seven, and completed his first novel at fifteen. After twenty years and hundreds of rejection slips, his first novel SINS OF THE FATHER was published under his real name, David Harrison. With his next book, SKIN AND BONES, he acquired an agent, a pseudonym and a book deal that enabled him to write full-time. His last novel, the thriller SEE HOW THEY RUN, was published by Bookouture in May 2016.
