The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald – a Review

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Description:
A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?

Review:

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald was a very well written mystery thriller.  The story starts off with an emotional impact, and has your attention all the way through to the end.   Abi Knight wakes up suddenly in the wee hours as her phone is ringing; she worries as usually a call in the middle of the night is not good.   Abi is told that she needs to come to the hospital, as there has been a tragic accident involving her daughter, Olivia.  Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor tells her that her daughter, having fallen off a bridge, is brain dead.  To her shock, they plan to keep her alive, as Olivia is pregnant. 

From this emotional and shocking beginning, the story starts the narratives between Abi (in present time) and Olivia (in the past). Abi wants the police to investigate the accident, as Olivia has bruises on her wrists, but the police do not push to find more information.  Why?

As Abi continues to insist this was not an accident, she does her own investigation, with the help of some others, and Olivia’s friends.  Olivia’s narrative goes back a few months prior to the accident, as we watch her becoming upset at her mother hiding secrets about the father she never knew, and  the events leading up to trouble with her friends and boyfriend.

What follows is an emotional, suspenseful story of hidden secrets and lies, which brings about heartaches as truths are revealed. Olivia’s flashbacks revolve around her discovery of her mother’s lies about who her father really is, and wanting to know more about him and his daughter who is the splitting image of her.  She also finds herself falling for another boy, and hurting her current boyfriend. Who is the father of Olivia’s baby?  We also learn during Olivia’s flashbacks how protective Abi was of Olivia, and why she kept those secrets.

I enjoyed the characters created by McDonald; Abi was a devoted and loving mother, bringing up Olivia on her own; Olivia was a great character who wanted to know the truths, as well as falling in love with someone else, which created many tense moments. The other secondary characters either being Abi’s friends or Olivia’s, were all very dimensional.  Throughout the whole book, there were many surprises and twists that had us second guessing who was behind Olivia’s death.

Christina McDonald kept us on the edge from start to finish in a suspenseful, heart wrenching and emotional story line that was so very well written.  I suggest you read The Night Olivia Fell, as it was a wonderful tense thriller.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher