Review: It All Falls Down - Sheena Kamal

It All Falls Down by Sheena Kamal, published by Bonnier Zaffre on 28th June 2018

Goodreads synopsis:
When Nora Watts is approached by a man claiming to know her late father, she is thrown into turmoil. Struggling with the imminent death, from cancer, of her friend and mentor Sebastian Crow, she is unprepared for the memories that this encounter brings back. What happened to her father that made him kill himself and abandon Nora and her sister?

Heading to Detroit to try and find some answers about his life there, Nora expects to discover a reason behind his suicide. Instead, she finds more questions than answers.

But trouble always follows Nora, and it's found her in Detroit, a city that is as broken as she is.

 

 

Review:
Firstly, my fault I know, but I had no idea that this was the second book in a series. Yes, it can be read as a standalone but I think it would have made a lot more sense if read in the right order. Previous events were often referred to which I found confusing.

I was also under the impression that this was going to be a tense, exhilarating and fast paced thriller. Possibly in the same vein as a Simon Kernick book - unputdownable. Unfortunately I found it incredibly slow, very un-thriller-like and extremely forgettable. It seemed so drawn out that by the end I wasn't sure I even cared about the eventual outcome.

The series is based around a female character called Nora Watts who is trying to find out the truth about her father's suicide which happened 30 years ago, as well as her mother's disappearance. The main plot is interspersed with a side story about an investigator called Brazuca who is tracking a trail of drugs. I didn't connect with Nora at all and I suppose that didn't help in terms of my interest in the story.

Overall, I thought it was extremely slow and the story didn't seem to really go anywhere at times. This is a series that I definitely won't be continuing with.