REVIEW:
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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This book was okay for me, I had some problems with it. I think that it's the kind of book, you'll come to love after reading the rest of the book. But, as a stand-alone, I was not satisfied
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However, I loved that the author partnered an amateur sleuth and an experienced journalist, it was realistic.
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I also felt like the whole of this book was more about Millie's personal life than the crime at hand so I wouldn't really call it a thriller.
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I'd still like to read another book in the series to get a feel of the characters, this first one was enough to interest me. Although, I was kinda annoyed at Millie she committed an act that I hate, and while I understood why she did it, I still don't like it. But, I liked Guy, he was okay.

When the book started off with the main character having a debate about cheese I had my doubts. After that bizarre opening scene the book unraveled into a multi-faceted delight. The book takes the reader on Millie's journey to discover truth behind what Ingrid believed she saw. As she investigates several other mysteries are unveiled. Each path that Millie followed led to yet another engaging aspect of the town and the people residing in it. The characters were complex without being obtuse. Wilkinson wrote a fast paced easy read. It will be interesting to see how Wilkinson expands on this first book in upcoming additions to the Whitecliff Bay mystery series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

A brand new series from Kerry Wilkinson, The Whitecliff Bay Mysteries. This first book is set in this typical seaside town whose inhabitants know everything about everyone or at least think they do. In winter having nothing better to do than gossip and spread rumours it can have devastating effects on the victims of such mindless chatter. Knowing quite a bit about such places having lived in two seaside towns and a village during most of my life, I enjoyed the observations that tourists simply don’t see. The characters were a wonderful mixture of good, bad and those in between. In this first story we are introduced to Millie whose parents died recently in tragic circumstances and many in the town believe she was involved in their deaths. With few friends and also recently divorced she cuts a lonely figure spending her life avoiding the town’s gossips. An unlikely meeting with the man she feels is responsible for much of the gossip leads to an uneasy and unexpected truce. Millie volunteers at a local care home and while chatting to one of the residents who possibly has dementia, she mentions seeing a girl fall from a nearby roof. Something about the determined way she tells her story, makes Millie wonder if there is any truth in it. With nothing better to do, she visits the house in question and then begins a chain of events that could potentially endanger her own life. With plenty of revelations and back stories this series has great potential and I’m really looking forward to reading the next in the series.

The biggest draw to this story is Millie and her relationships with the other characters. I wasn't really invested in the mystery of what Ingrid saw. I am however chomping at the bit for the truth about what happened with Alex and Millie's parents. A lot is established in this book and it slowed the pacing. But I'm invested now and have to see where things go.

Starting a new series means getting the protagonist established, developed, the support characters introduced and the setting created in the mind of the reader. The process can be a slow one.

For me, it meant that this one is a sluggish read. The main character Millie is hiding in plain sight, volunteering at the local nursing home.

Ingrid relates witnessing from her upper story window a young girl being pushed from the roof a house or two away. Ingrid, of course, is known to get confused sometimes but Millie finds her story plausible and having a credibility gap herself, believes her.

Millie has an upward battle in finding an ear that will listen as her parents died suspiciously recently and she is suspected of providing their push into the hereafter.

I couldn’t warm up to Millie and the story wove in and out of my interest. Too many questions not resolved in Book 1 because it is so obviously intended to lead into Book 2.

No doubt there are Wilkinson fans who’ll enjoy picking through the breadcrumbs, but for me this is a one off.

A chilling in parts mystery with short snappy chapters that make it an easy read. Only a few characters which I prefer, but they are well written and believable, well described mystery on the whole. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

Warning! This publisher is renown for back filling books with ads etc. The copy I read ended VERY early. So you don't get caught out, I would really recommend that you find out where the story ends in the version you are reading before you start!
Also, this author has a passion for cliffhangers. I hate them, I see them as nothing but unnecessary blackmail and totally avoidable. But I also like his books so I guess I have to suck it up!
Right, that's that done.
As I said I am a bit of a fan of this author and so I was quite excited to see that he has started another series and that I could be "in at the start" rather than play catch-up. (Note to author, I know I bang on, but please, more Andrew). This time, the MC is Millie who volunteers at a care home and also does dog grooming. It is at the care home where this story starts when she is told of a strange occurrence by one of the residents - Ingrid - who claims she saw a young girl fall from a neighbouring roof.
Is this just old age and senility? Or did Ingrid really see what she claims? Millie believes the latter and dons her very inexperienced detective hat... And, as you would expect, her meddling puts her in peril herself...
And so continues a rather cosy tale which is short in nature, only really a novella but which contains exactly what the story needs to be fully told. I am not sure what I think of Millie quite yet but I have the next two to read so I am about to find out.
The story was OK, pacing was good, characters well described, but it is the banter and observations that I really love about this author and which I believe really brings everything he writes to life. And this was just as excellent as expected. And to be honest, what kept me going.
All in all, an interesting series opener - I'm on to book two...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Struggled at first to get into the storyline of this book, then suddenly it started to fall into place.
Then a hurried ending, with all sorts of loose ends. I believe this is the first in the series, but I’m not sure if I’m intrigued enough to carry on with the rest of the series.

Main character, Millie, hasn’t had an easy life. Her marriage falls apart and she was accused of murdering her parents.
Millie works as a volunteer at a local nursing home. When a shocking story arises, Millie doesn’t really believe what she is hearing. But, Millie can’t stop thinking about what she’s been told. As she investigates, she gets the feeling she is being followed and watched.
I am looking forward to reading more in this new series.
A cozy mystery that kept me intrigued and interested throughout the story.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my ho est review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The One Who Fell is book 1 in the Whitecliff Bay Mystery series and it's a great start. I found it to be a quick page turner of a book with plenty of twists and turns and characters I actually cared about. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

DNF at 10% so giving five stars here for fairness. There were a few errors that I couldn't get passed and the best example I can give to try help is at LOC 295. Millie says to Jack (mindful he knows none of the story from Ingrid): "Ingrid says she saw someone on that house's roof last night".
Jack says "if someone was PUSHED off the roof..." - no one said to Jack she was pushed, Millie hadn't said that. Then the following dialogue makes it worse.
Millie replied: "... And she said the girl was pushed".

I really enjoyed the beginning of this mystery, it pulled me in and it continued to keep me turning the pages. I would never describe this as fast-paced - I feel like this is more of a slow unraveling. We get bits and pieces of what has brought Millie to this timeframe, her background, and her struggles. We never get a full picture of what has happened in the past, and it’s clear we may get more as the books go on. The main mystery is a very odd one, though gives us the opportunity to meet some of the characters throughout the town of Whitecliff. There are some loose threads left at the end, which leads me to believe some characters might end up resurfacing. Overall an engaging and entertaining book. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other. Everyone knows your name. And everyone knows your secrets...

Kerry Wilkinson has long been a favourite author of mine who I auto-request without even reading the description. When I learnt he was publishing a new series, with the first three books on the same day, I didn't think twice. But the Whitecliff mystery series is far removed from his usual psychological thrillers that I have come to know and love...but it still didn't disappoint. Despite its slow start I was pleasantly surprised at how adept Kerry is at trying his hand at a slightly different genre. Last year it was a rom-com; this year its a cosy mystery series. While the rom-com wasn't my thing it did highlight his skillful storytelling. And now THE ONE WHO FELL deftly moves into the cosy niche with its main character, Millie Westlake, at the forefront of the story.

Millie is a woman with a past and not an altogether happy one, if slightly colourful. A year ago she was outed as having an affair with a high profile Member of Parliament which thus was the end of her marriage and seeing her back in her childhood home with her parents, who did not hide their disappointment in her from her. But Millie had no time to make amends with her parents for she'd barely been back home when they were found dead and she was taken in for questioning. And Whitecliff being the small town (with small minds) that it is, gossip was rife. And despite her not being charged or even being a suspect, there are some folk in town who still think she murdered her parents.

And now, she lives in the house that was her childhood home which now belongs to her alone. Some people still think she killed her parents; others don't even care. But there are always those who are quick to frown and judge and point their fingers with a quick word to say. But Millie no longer cares what people think of her. All she cares about is moving on with her life, such as it is, and to spend as much time as she can with her seven year old son Eric...or rather when ex-husband Alex allows. When Millie had her affair, Alex was humiliated he says. But it seems what's good for the goose is not always what's also good for the gander. And that really stuck in my craw. The man is a two-faced lying hypocrite and I wanted to smack his condescension off his smirking face. Why Millie didn't is a mystery.

Anyway, I digress...

Millie works as a dog groomer and obedience trainer (which Alex continually sneers at not being "a real job") and volunteers at the local nursing home. There she spends time with the old folk, talking with them, playing games and basically keeping them company. One day, one of the residents Ingrid tells her she saw a girl being pushed from a roof of a house outside her window a short distance away. Millie doesn't know whether to believe Ingrid or not because one day she's lucid and the next she's foggy. Though Ingrid was adamant in her assertion of what she saw. When someone else says they saw a woman fall from a roof on the same night, Millie knows that this is not a coincidence. Ingrid HAD seen something that night. And Millie set out to find out exactly what that was.

Her investigations lead her to Dean Parris, the owner of the house from which the girl was seen falling from. But he is not forthcoming. If anything he is intimidating and when Millie sees him outside her house, she begins to wonder if he is a threat. But why is he following her? What does he want from her?

Along the way, Millie teams up with retired reporter Guy Rushden who had been a long-friend of her father's. He has the contacts and the resources, not to mention the four decades of archives nestled about in his house that can help Millie get to the bottom of this mystery. Did a girl really fall from the rooftop? Or was she pushed? There was no sign of someone having fallen, no emergency services, ambulance or police...so was there even a girl at all? And what of Millie's parents? Did she kill them? Or did they really commit suicide? What is Alex's deep dark secret that, if made known, could ruin him? And what secrets is Millie hiding?

THE ONE WHO FELL is a compelling tale that, while it is did start of a little slow, it did pick up around 40% and I found myself swiping the pages to find out what really happened. I did figure it out as the pieces slowly came together...a lot quicker than Millie did, but maybe she'll be quicker on the uptake in the following books with Guy at her side. They make a great team and I hope to see more of Guy. I like his wit and his fatherly nature. I think they are the perfect crime fighting duo for this series.

I love that the chapters are fairly short and snappy. They kept the pace moving once it picked up. There aren't a whole lot of characters but the handful there are are a mixed bag of either loving or hating them. I look forward to the reading the next two subsequent installments and the fourth one publishing next month.

A compelling start to a new series, it is perfect for fans of cosy mysteries.

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheOneWhoFell in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

3.5 stars rounded down.

A Whitecliff Bay Mystery Book 1

In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other, Everyone knows your name and everyone knows your secrets.

Moonlight falls on the figure of the girl standing on the red-tiled roof. Her white dress and blonde hair flutter in the freezing night wind. And suddenly - she is gone. Volunteering at the local nursing home is Millie Westlake's one escape from the rumours that swirl around Whitecliff about her past. But speaking with an elderly resident, Ingrid, as they play board games, Millie gets chills at her strange story about a young girl being pushed from a roof, somewhere across the valley. Everybody thinks Ingrid is confused, but Millie knows how it feels not to be believed. Her parents died a year ago, and the residents of Whitecliff - such a quiet place, other than the crashing waves and cawing seagulls - are convinced Mille killed them.

When one of the elderly residents tells Millie that she saw a girl jump off a roof, Millie doesn't know whether to believe her or not. She decides to look into it, and this begins the mystery about what really happened. The pace is on the slow side. The characters are well developed. There's plenty of twists and red herrings trying to keep us from the correct thread. This is a quick and easy book to read, the chapters are short. There is quite a lot going on in the book, but I was enjoying trying to decipher the outcome. I was asking myself so many questions and not all of them were good ones - but my main question was if someone did fall from the roof, why wasn't the police or an ambulance called? Now I'm off to read the next Whitecliff Bay mystery - The One Who Was Taken.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #KerryWilkinson for my ARC of #TheOneWhoFell in exchange for an honest review.

Volunteering at the local nursing home is Millie Westlake’s one escape from the rumours that swirl around Whitecliff about her past. But speaking with elderly resident, Ingrid, as they play board games, Millie gets chills at her strange story about a young girl being pushed from a roof, somewhere across the valley. Everybody thinks Ingrid is confused: but Millie knows how it feels to not be believed. Her parents died a year ago, and the residents of Whitecliff – such a quiet place, other than crashing waves and cawing seagulls – are convinced Millie killed them. Desperately searching for evidence to find the girl Ingrid saw, a broken roof tile could prove Ingrid was telling the truth.
I started this series starter a couple of weeks ago & reached about a third of the way through & nearly gave up, then I listened to the audiobook & found the more I listened the more I wanted. The narration of the audiobook hits the tone of the book really well & Helen Keeley brought Millie to life. I’m glad I continued & now look forward to the next two books. I found Millie grew on me & I ended by liking her & found her to be one strong woman. I also liked that I could either listen or read depending where I was
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The One Who Fell by Kerry Wilkinson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

In the seaside town of Whitecliff, everyone looks out for each other. Everyone knows your name. And everyone knows your secrets…

Moonlight falls on the figure of the girl standing on the red-tiled roof. Her white dress and blonde hair flutter in the freezing night wind. And suddenly – she is gone.

Volunteering at the local nursing home is Millie Westlake’s one escape from the rumours that swirl around Whitecliff about her past. But speaking with elderly resident, Ingrid, as they play board games, Millie gets chills at her strange story about a young girl being pushed from a roof, somewhere across the valley…

Everybody thinks Ingrid is confused: but Millie knows how it feels to not be believed. Her parents died a year ago, and the residents of Whitecliff – such a quiet place, other than crashing waves and cawing seagulls – are convinced Millie killed them.

Desperately searching for evidence to find the girl Ingrid saw, a broken roof tile could prove Ingrid was telling the truth. But when strange footprints appear in Millie’s garden, she’s certain someone out there is watching.

My Opinion

This was a nice, quick mystery. When a resident in the nursing home announces that she had seen a girl fall from the roof across the way, Millie wonders how she could possibly have survived the fall. Is Millie's digging into who jumped from the roof going to get her in trouble? Will we ever find out what happened to Millie's parents? You will have to read the book to find out.

This is the fist book in the Whitecliffe Bay series and I already have the next book lined up.

Rating 4/5

The One Who Fell by Kerry Wilkinson

Published: April 17, 2023
Bookouture
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 357
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Kerry Wilkinson is originally from the county of Somerset; Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel.' When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

“And then someone started screaming.”

Millie is pretty reclusive, not by choice but by necessity. If it weren’t for visits with her her son, Eric, and her best friend Jack, she would most likely not see many people. Volunteering at the retirement home helped ease some of the loneliness. Until one of the residents tells Millie, she witnessed someone being pushed off a roof. Now, Millie is curious and in search of the truth.

I enjoyed this book. It opened with a scene discussing cheese, which was fantastic. I love how the groundwork has been laid for this series.

Millie is an interesting character. I like her, and I think she will be a good character. I like Guy, too. He uses comedic elements excellently in the story, and I like the balance between him and Millie. I also found Jack endearing, and I look forward to getting to know him more as the series continues.

The way this story unfolded, I had my assumptions and was wrong. I love how Kerry tells a story. He can bring so many elements into bringing the narrative to life, and his characters are always excellent.

I am invested in this story, and I love that it’s a story within a story. I have so many questions, so I must jump into the next book immediately.

I have read a few of the authors books before, but as this is the first book in a new series I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I shouldn’t have worried as I read it in one sitting. Millie is someone with a tragic past, and she seems to have a lot of people against her. However she finds herself an ally in trying to solve a mystery and together they delve deep to find out the truth.

The start of a great series and I can’t wait to go on to book 2.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The One Who Fell’, the first in the Whitecliff Bay Mystery series written by Kerry Wilkinson, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

At the nursing home where Millie Westlake volunteers, a resident confides to her that from her window she’s seen a young woman in a white dress pushed off the roof of a house nearby. This arouses Millie’s interest so she asks Guy, who before retirement was a reporter for the local newspaper, and who’s keen to get Millie involved in local stories such as the rumour that a black panther has been seen in the Whitecliff area.

Kerry Wilkinson is one of those authors that when you open one of their books you never know what you’re going to get so when I saw ‘The One Who Fell’ I was keen to read it. I’ve not been disappointed as although it was slow to start it didn’t take long before Millie was in the thick of things and while researching the owner of the house where the woman was seen to fall her own private story and why people think she killed her parents is revealed. This is a promising start to what could be an exciting mystery series and I’m looking forward to reading book two and learning more about Millie.

I really enjoyed this book, felt hooked from the very first page. Feels like a good start to a new series of books.
Found it well written and fast paced