The first pages of Hayley Scrivenor’s novel, Girl Falling, show us the worst thing that has ever happened to Finn Young. Within a matter of pages, Finn’s girlfriend, Magdu—the woman Finn was hoping to marry—is dead. It will take the rest of the book for us to learn exactly what led to Magdu’s fatal fall. Who tampered with the climbing gear? Was it the man who insisted on joining the climbing trip Finn arranged with her old school friend, Daphne? Was it Daphne? Or was it all just a terrible accident?
Finn lives a marginal kind of life. She didn’t do very well in school and the only place she truly feels comfortable is clambering in the Blue Mountains, near her home. She works part-time as a trail guide and barista to make ends meet. There are no plans to go to college. Finn doesn’t really have plans of any kind until she meets Magdu, a lively woman (except around her conservative family) who might be able to get Finn out of her existential rut. Only six months pass before Finn starts carrying around an engagement ring and starts waiting for the right moment. Everything is going swimmingly until Daphne comes back to town.
There are layers of flashbacks in Girl Falling; thankfully, Scrivenor makes it easy to follow what’s happening when. Some chapters take us back to Finn and Daphne’s girlhood. Daphne’s treatment of Finn had my hackles up from the jump. Daphne is the kind of person who needs to have someone completely devoted to them, who will do anything Daphne dreams up, and who never apologizes for anything. Other chapters take us back to Finn’s appointments with a therapist to reveal the bone-deep feelings of guilt Finn has carried ever since her sister’s death, shortly before Finn met Daphne. More than once, we also see the conversations Finn and Magdu had just before they left for the climb that took Magdu’s life.
I dutifully collected what I believed were clues about what happened but I was shocked out of my socks when Scrivenor dropped the climax of Girl Falling on me. I love a good twist. I regularly marvel at authors who can surprise me with something original even after leaving hints scattered throughout the narrative. The twist in the book is jarring and, I think, not supported by the characterization or plot of what came before. I was actually a bit pissed off, to be honest. The conclusion, coupled with some overwrought writing in the book, make it hard for me to recommend this book. The only reason I didn’t pan this book entirely was because I enjoyed the sinister tension of Finn and Daphne’s relationship and nursed a hope that Finn would finally manage to get out from under Daphne’s spell.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.