Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce is promoted as a psychological thriller. I enjoy reading thrillers and especially when the plot proves nothing is as it seems. In Ruby Falls, Eleanor 'Ruby' Russell is abandoned by her father at age six as they are watching the falls in an underground cave. When the lights are turned off a few seconds for drama inside the cave at beautiful Ruby Falls, Tennessee, Ruby's father lets go of her hand and disappears. She lives her life wondering what happened to her father. Little Ruby is traumatized by this and refuses to talk for six months. One of her first spoken commands is that she no longer wants to be called Ruby, she will only answer to the name of Elleanor.
The story picks up twenty years later and is narrated by Elleanor while she is on her honeymoon. I do not want to post spoilers, but I will say I was disappointed when I finished the book. While reading the book, I would need to go back and check if I had missed something. The reader is never given the true facts of Ellie's memories, life, and events in the correct sequence. The only villain or the reason for the psychological element is Ellie herself. I felt incredibly sad when I had finished reading the book.
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this. The 2 storylines made for compelling reading. An unreliable yet glamorous young woman tells her story of how she was abandoned as a child and of her new marriage to her whirlwind romance. As Ruby descended into chaos, I only felt more for her. She stayed with me long after the book was finished. A brilliant mystery and thriller with a satisfying but devastating ending.

This book was a quick read for me, but I felt unsettled the whole time. Which actually, I think, means that it was successful, as that was the same way the protagonist throughout the book. I really enjoyed it, and couldn't put it down because I was so anxious to see what would happen next, but was disappointed by the ending. I felt that it was somewhat predictable and a bit sloppy- I was expecting something along these lines, but I felt it could have been done with more finesse. I must also admit to the fact that I've never read Rebecca, which may have helped with my appreciation of this book.

*I was provided with an advance copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review*

A well written novel that will captivate many readers.

I was engaged from the very beginning and could not stop until I was finished. Although some reviewers thought the ending was predictable, I for one did not see it coming.
This was a great snowy day read that will keep you thinking during the entire novel with its complex characters, twists, and fast paced story.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

The premise of this book is interesting and the story quite original. I just found both the writing style and the charters somewhat difficult to relate to. The pace was meandering, and I felt that the story structure could have been tightened up a bit.

I could not get into this one at all, unfortunately. I would possibly consider returning to it after reading Rebecca.

My first 2 day read of 2021 and it was a great one!
When I started reading, I got confused a couple times as the POV switches up and I had to stop and say wait - is this now or previous time - but I got the hang of the flow and once I did I couldn't stop!
Meet Ruby, she was left by her dad in a cave when young and never really recovered from the abandonment. She changed her identity, and tried to carry on, but as the reader finds out, that was quite challenging.
The twists and turns in this one are unreal - and I daresay i did not see most coming which is always good.
This is one that will stay with you after you get through it and a great way to start my year!
Thankful for the ARC!

Cleverly constructed mystery about a young actress haunted by the disappearance of her father who vanished when she was just a child. Clues left for the reader in the chapter titles which give them the chance to be a detective. Tribute to Hollywood movies with a taste of Gothic tropes. Absorbing and atmospheric with a twist in its tale.

Readers have compared this novel to bestsellers like The Silent Patient; I'm afraid I have to disagree. The writing style was riveting, no doubt. But the plot definitely needed more than it offered. In the end, I felt like all the running around the infinite maze was for nothing.
The author did successfully keep my attention till the end through her creative writing style. It was easy to understand. The pace of the writing was leisurely. She kept the reader guessing as to what might be the truth and what might not be. Whom to trust and whom not to.
Eleanor Rusell, the central character, was portrayed very well. She evoked pity, sympathy, and tinge of sadness in the readers. Orlando was despicable, right from the start when he decided about canceling Thanksgiving with Ellie’s mom. Howard, Ellie’s agent, was just too sweet to be believable, and Mindy, hmm, I can’t really decide about her. She had that insignificant role to play, although she later turned out to be pivotal in the story.
Frankly, I feel like I have to re-read the book to fit in all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. But I won't because it's worth only one read. It’s too simple an ending for a well-spun tale. I expected something more, in terms of a final twist or maybe something about the secret code or even something other than pure madness. So I guess I have mixed feelings for the novel.
I feel a little dazed and discontent after finishing this book. I have some unanswered questions after having finished the book, and so I will rate it only three stars. You may read it just for a different take on the classic Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier. But there’s really no comparison.
Thrillers fans may give it a try. A forgettable book.

I just could not connect with this story... The premise intrigued me, and the opening held promise - but I very quickly found Eleanor/Ruby irritating rather than interesting, and I realized after a while that I just honestly didn't care what was going to happen to her or what had happened to her father, at which point I knew this just wasn't the book for me...

There was nothing I could point to as wrong with it, it just didn't resonate for me Other readers seem to like it though, so definitely read several reviews and give it your own look before deciding whether to pick this one up... But for me, it just wasn't a good fit.

Summary: On a brilliantly sunny July day, six-year-old Ruby is abandoned by her father in the suffocating dark of a Tennessee cave. Twenty years later, transformed into soap opera star Eleanor Russell, she is fired under dubious circumstances. Fleeing to Europe, she marries a glamorous stranger named Orlando Montague and keeps her past closely hidden.

From this I was expecting a much more twisty and creepy story. While the plot was slow, I didn't mind that so much as it fit the gothic themes of the book, but slowness is different from feeling like nothing was happening. For most of the book it just felt like Ruby/Eleanor was just living her life which so happened to have a terrible past. I wanted more mystery and intrigue.

It was a little difficult to read due to some formatting glitches in the way it uploaded to the kindle app. I was rooting for the heroine to grow a spine and stand up for herself, so the twist at the end made me feel a little better about her.

What a book!  It all begins when Ruby Eleanor is separated from her father.  Simple enough beginning, then we enter her life as an adult. From there, wow.  A suspenseful, intriguing plot that twists and turns when you least expect it.  What is real, what is imagined...is Ruby Eleanor the crazy one, or are you? (I really second-guessed myself when I couldn't predict events.) .Ruby Falls keeps you guessing until the end. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, Post Hill Press, for an ARC ebook version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

a hard pass. the synopsis was more interesting than the actual book. i'd recommend you not to waste your time on this one

Thanks to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for an ARC.

Ellie Russell is a soap star who has moved coasts, to get the lead in a movie that's billed as a take on the old classic Rebecca. She describes her new life, the people in it, and the increasingly strange things that are happening. Are they all related to the central tragedy of her life, when her dad abandoned her in the Falls of the title? Is she paranoid or are there people out to get her? Is she being gaslighted or is it something else entirely?

This is a psychological thriller, set in the Brat Pack eighties, with plenty of nods to classic suspense movies and plenty of drama.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't get swept up in it at all and couldn't suspend my disbelief at some of the hammier moments. The denouement didn't leave me gasping for air.

Review Copy

What did you read yesterday? I read RUBY FALLS by Deborah Goodrich Royce. Yes, the entire novel in one satisfying sitting. I was attracted to this book by its gorgeous cover. I couldn't help beginning my judgement there. And I was not disappointed. RUBY FALLS is a psychological thriller that is brilliantly plotted.

From the prologue of the 1960's written in an old fashioned gothic style to the present day story of Ruby which takes us from New York to Europe to California, this is one story worth keeping on your shelf for a re-read to pick up on the clues you must have missed. You did miss them, didn't you? I caught one, I think. But it didn't matter, I think I brushed it off.

Check it out. I loved it.

It took me a bit to get in to this book. I’m not sure if it’s just how it was downloaded for me to read or what but it was hard to follow who said what in many places. I nearly gave up on the book but I liked the ending so I’m glad I finished it

I began reading the novel knowing that it was closely related to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, which came to my eyes with the Alfred Hitchchock´s film adaptation.
Ruby Falls is hypnotic, gripping, and weird. The gothic atmosphere of David Lynch's films seems to have inspired this haunting tale that begins with the disappearance of Ruby's father in the caves that happen to have her name: Ruby Falls.
I think Eleanor, as she calls herself after the trauma of her past, is a character that is not meant to be nice but to be a puzzle.

The loose writing and in the first person were ruminating like going back over the steps of Eleanor and rewriting herself all the time, adding details and expanding the story, which has a highly addictive effect. The mystery catches you and you want to know many things such as What happened to Ruby / Ellie / Eleanor's father? What happened to her in the soap opera that she had to give it up? And many other things that will become clear only at the end when the atmosphere is truly rarefied and you distrust of everyone. Every single character is shady because we watch them thru Eleanor’s eyes.

I gave it five stars because it was a reading that shocked and surprised me. Set in the eighties, it has a lot of VC Andrews, (even the cover with flowers) and the timing is very cinematic.
Each chapter if I did not misunderstand has the title or represents a classic film. Which as a movie fan, I think it made it a very attractive characteristic.
I highly recommend this reading because the plot is impeccable and the parallels or recurrences in the plot are everything to give it that strange and terrible climate. So poetic it hurts.
I made many assumptions but the plot twists were up to what I expected, which was a good psychological thriller.
I really hope that people will comment on this novel a lot and that everyone gives it a try. It was one of my best reads of the year and I'm really going to wait for the release to buy myself a copy because it got me.
The arc edition that I received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review was a pdf and I must point out that in one of the chapters that is in Spanish there is a typo because it says Meurto instead of Muerto wich is the correct word.
My applause to Debrorah Goodrich Royce and I really hope to read more about her in the future if her trhillers are as effective and as compartmentalized as Ruby's secretary.

Ruby Falls is a ten.

Eleanor Russell is a glamorous actress whose whirlwind romance, to the charming Orland, appears to have been taken right out of a Hollywood film. Her life in LA seems a million miles away from the childhood trauma she experienced when she was abandoned by her father age six. In true motion picture fashion she shrugged off the pain as Ruby and became the successful Eleanor. However, when she is cast in an adaptation of ‘Rebecca’ she immerses herself in the Gothic role and begins to see a darker side to her perfect Orlando: after all how much does she really know her husband?
I really did not know where this book was going to go but I loved the nods to a cinema noir style of suspense entwined with Gothic themes. I feel like Royce handled a really linear story but with these dark undertones that builds up the suspense in true Hitchcock style. As a fan of this style of films I also appreciated that all of the chapter titles were film titles giving little hints along the way. I did get to the end of this novel and feel like I wanted to re-read it after the ending was revealed and to me that is a mark of a great thriller that truly draws you in.