What a book! I could feel the agony and anger and confusion and the secrets. Oh, the secrets. It was a great read!

Thanks to Net Galley for providing this ARC to me for my honest review. I enjoyed reading this book and also thought it was well written especially by a debut author. I wanted to give it 4 stars, but ended up giving it 3 stars mainly because the ending wasn’t quite worthy of the build-up. I was let down by the way Matthew died, esp after we found out about all the secrets he was keeping. And then how the story kept flashing back to Sarah in the past and making it seem like she was keeping even bigger secrets that would affect the (hopefully) dramatic conclusion. Sarah’s sister, Izzy, and Boychuk, main investigator, were crucial side characters and their POV helped provide more suspense to the book. Overall, great read that kept me coming back, but I just wanted a little more thrilling conclusion.

#Thomas&Mercer #ARC #NetGalley #IntoTheFall

I really enjoyed this book and didnt think it was a debut novel. The writing really got me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what happened. I loved that it was set in the woodsy outback of canada and it just made the atmospheric thriller of it all even more. The ending twists and turns really had me shaking my head because Im usually the one that can figure it out beor the end of the book but not this time. i really enjoyed how the writer weaved her own home experiences with nature into this story I kept feeling like i was there with her trying to help find her husband.

Interesting domestic thriller. Great use of scenery in the Canadian wilderness, it is very unpredictable and leads to a conclusion that is very different than expected.

This was a fascinating book about a family that goes on a camping trip in the Canadian woods and, in the middle of the night the husband goes missing. The story is then told from two different timelines, the search for Matthew, the husband, and the events that led up to his going missing. Although this book was filled with many twists and turns, the ending felt a bit anti-climatic and I was a little disappointed with it. This was Tamara L. Miller's debut and she did a great job with it. I'd like to read more by her.
Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.

My interest was initially piqued by Tamara L. Miller’s “Into the Fall” because she’s Canadian, and there’s something to be said for supporting local talent but this did not disappoint and is in no way Can-Con filler! Miller’s debut novel is a tightly woven tale that she expertly and finely unravels until the very end. Based out of Ottawa, Miller is the President of Ottawa Independent writers and her website can be found at By Tamara Miller.

“Into the Fall” is a suspenseful psychological thriller about a family broken apart overnight by the disappearance of husband and father, Matthew in the wilds of northern Ontario. The family has traveled north of Ottawa into a part of the country that is undeniably beautiful, but also incredibly dangerous. We are constantly reminded of this by Officer Rob Boychuk, a veteran of the force and though reserved with our title character, he consistently shows Sarah and her children kindness. I laughed out loud at the name of Boychuk’s partner - Chantal Dubé, Miller couldn’t have possibly used a more French-Canadian name and in a world of books written by Americans, it was like a secret joke for the Canadians (truth be told, I think I know a Boychuk. Canada is small).

In a former life, Miller was a policy writer and it is evident in the complexity of this story and the background she is able to create for each character. The world she builds for each scene and interaction is complete and well-thought; we feel the growing tension and begrudging respect between Boychuk and Sarah with each subsequent meeting. 

Entertaining and well written, “Into the Fall” is an elevated thriller, perfect for readers looking for a complex story that draws you in and holds you captive until the end. “Into the Fall” hits bookstores 21 January 2025.

Thank you so much for a copy of Into The Fall!

Into The Falls Sarah and her family after her husband disappears on a camping trip and she the investigation into her his disappearance makes her realize maybe she didn’t know who here husband really was after all.

This was a very solid debut. I really enjoyed the writing and the beautiful description/setting. I really enjoyed the lead up, but if I’m being honest the ending/last half of the book felt a little anticlimactic and i wasn’t a huge fan of the way it all ended up wrapping up. I also don’t think I’d categorize this as a thriller. More of just a mystery.

Still, overall a solid book and I’d still recommend checking it out if the premise intrigues you!

First, I want to thank both NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with the ARC of “Into The Fall” by debut novelist Tamara L. Miller. An overall success for Miller’s first work, the novel is a simple, captivating read with beautiful descriptions and believable characters.

Perhaps my favorite element of the book was the setting and descriptions of the serene and peaceful lake environment that paradoxically can be equally harsh and unforgiving. The author certainly takes the reader to the banks of the river and along with the family on their mysterious and life altering camping trip.

Sarah, the MC of Miller’s novel is one the reader can attach to and sympathize with. Forced to navigate and finally accept devastating circumstances, Sarah remains stoic for her children and family, but teasingly curt.

As a critic, I was left wanting a little more than the Occams Razor like conclusion to the disappearance of the husband/father. If I am reading fiction, let there be fiction, not a simple answer to an end one might read about in the daily news.

Well written and gripping for the majority of the book.

I’m going to have to temporarily DNF this one.. I’m interested in it, just not enough to keep me reading it right now.

A family goes on a camping trip in an attempt to bond and heal, but one of them goes missing. In the process of the investigation, more questions arise than answers, leading to even more mysteries to unravel. This book kept me guessing until the end. I had several working theories but I was never fully settled on any one, and each time I thought I was close, another clue would be revealed that had me second guessing everything. It held my intrigue the entire time, and I really enjoyed the story all the way through to it's conclusion. It's a heavy read and deals with themes such as trauma and the consequences of buried emotions and secrets.

I would like to thank Netgalley. Tamara L. Miller and the publishers for letting me read this in advance. The main Character Sarah Anderson is someone who is relatable. She seems like a normal person in a normal relationship. However how wrong could you be. This story is one that takes many twists and turns. The change in dual timeline helps to build this story. Yes a little slow going but what an ending. Definitely worth staying with. I really enjoyed finding out more and more of the characters and how they fit into the life of the main character. The ending of this book was not what I was expecting but it really tied everything together. Hope to see more from this author.

Wow, this book blew me away, especially for a debut novel!! There was so much intrigue, I just had to keep turning the pages.. Plus I love anything that takes place in the wilderness/woods.

When Sarah’s husband Matthew disappears on a family camping trip without a trace, she is left wondering what could have possibly happened to him. Months pass and we are no closer to the truth.As the book progresses, we get a glimpse into their marriage and Matthew’s past.

This book will have you relentlessly turning the pages as you’re compelled to find out what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Impressed with this debut suspense thriller. Sometimes I am not keen on timelines going back-and-forth, but it worked well in this book. There were twists and turns to the plot with clues provided along the way. I couldn’t put it down. It kept my attention and I binge read it in a day. Looking forward to other books by this new author. Into the Fall releases January 2025.

I knew I instantly wanted to read this when I saw this was a debut novel. The back and forth suspense, ambiguity, twists and turns made this book a wonderful read!
The ending though fell a little short for all the suspense and how great the build up was, still a pretty solid read!

[Arc Review] thanks to Netgally & Thomas & Mercer for the chance to review this book ahead of release! Into the Fall comes out in January of 2025 and is perfect if you want a quick, easy read.

As a Canadian, I enjoyed that this book was set in my home province. I could relate to the places the characters were going as I have been there myself.

I felt that the author wrote very relatable characters and scenes. I did find some plot holes that I couldn't fully get past (why didn’t sarah try to call him despite no cell service to start).

I enjoyed this book and felt it was a great debut novel!

A wonderful literary thriller set in Canada. The story pairs beautiful descriptions of the wilderness with a family in crisis. Great debut.

The author possesses a beautiful style of writing, offering powerful, relatable, and real qualities throughout the story. Working with words in this way felt comforting and inviting, yet suspenseful simultaneously. ‘Into the Fall’ carries a true ‘grab a cuppa, get cozy, and read to your heart’s content’ aesthetic.

All the way through I thought I could see where the story would go, but I was quite surprised to find the ending was nothing like I had anticipated. I did not want to “put the book down”, so “just one more chapter” became my mantra right up until I finished it.

I appreciated the author’s knack for drawing the reader into a space where they felt like they were part of the story, as a character themselves or sitting on the sidelines watching this situation unfold and forming assumptions about everything. I struggle with aphantasia, so the author’s ability to provide me the opportunity to “imagine” beyond what I am normally capable of is a respectful and aspirational art in itself. The animation of scenery and the development of characters into such relatability was so exciting for me. I felt emotionally attached throughout the story. I also enjoyed the differing perspectives of multiple characters across time and place.

One of my favourite aspects was the author’s ability to fill space with deep, meaningful, and intricately descriptive sentiments which always felt perfectly placed, avoiding the potential to become superficial entirely. For example, "It was like that, grief. Dormant, but always ravenous, waking in its own time to steal away moments of contentment” – there were so many of these moments which each felt relevant and important. This added another layer of comfort and offered numerous qualifiers for ‘favourite quotes’ – often difficult to stumble across in thriller/mystery books.

What felt most thrilling, anxiety-inducing, and nerve-racking, is the potential for this story to become anyone’s story. The fact that it’s not so unrealistic adds an atmosphere of eeriness to the story. The author’s careful navigation at the intersections of ‘grieving or guilty wife’ and ‘sympathetic or suspicious law enforcement’ was an added novelty that is rare to find executed with such articulation and balance. Aspects like this will, for sure, leave a lasting impression.

About 75% through, the book became more about the journey through the story than the final outcome. The past and present intricately woven together to envelope the reader in a sense of reality and relatability in which they feel as though they have more insight than the characters and for which they can be wholly present is desirable. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s ability to draw the reader in so deeply. Most certainly, the journey became much more outstanding and impressionable than the ending, and the tidbits of wisdom shared throughout the story will surely remain impressionable for time to come.

***SPOILERS HERE:***
The only downfall for me was that the last 3 or 4 chapters felt at times unnecessarily drawn out, however, I do appreciate the author’s consistency here in remaining to draw the reader into their explicable descriptions and developments of scenery and characters all the way up to the end. The outcome or finality of the story, i.e., what happened to Matthew, did fall a little flat for me. I did expect a little more of a plot twist toward the end, although I still appreciated the consistency in remaining realistic, leaning more toward the butterfly effect in action (a series of unfortunate events) leading up to Matthew’s final moments rather than something more sinister and unbelievable. And so although there was no satisfaction in terms of Matthew being murdered in some fantastical way, I believe I am happier with this ending rather than some alternate, far-out, and unrealistic ending. Sarah was an interesting character throughout and I, at times, questioned whether she was grieving, guilty, or both, only to find her experiences ran so much deeper than the reader could have ever anticipated. I found it quite thought-provoking in terms of assuming one would/should act some way in such a situation, yet realising that 99% of the time we only ever see the surface and cannot anticipate, assume, or generate our own beliefs about how they should act nor speculate based off the way they do act. It was an articulate and just demonstration of how complex and textured people are and how they act and carry themselves are dependent upon so much more than a situation, rather a lifetime of entire experiences. Sarah felt complicated and at times I wasn’t sure if I should feel any sympathy for her until it all hit and we learnt all the inner turmoil, anger, and overwhelm she was suppressing within while trying to remain a "good mother" and do what was required of her regardless of how she was struggling to cope emotionally, mentally, and physically, thus finding that, at least to some degree, her actions and reactions were innocent all along. That was quite mind-blowing for me and made this feel much more like a psychological thriller.

I did notice quite a few spelling/grammar issues throughout the book which I’m happy to share with the author if they welcome this kind of engagement, though I also understand this was the un-proofed version and those issues may have been straightened out by the time of my posting.

I would 100% recommend this book to anyone interested in mystery/thriller stories and actually look forward to buying a copy and re-reading it myself when it is released.

Kindest and most genuine thanks to all those who made it possible for me to partake in an advanced reading of this story. It was a hugely honourable experience to read and offer a review for this story, particularly as the author's first novel. The author absolutely smashed it, this being their debut is exciting. I absolutely cannot wait to read more from them! Thank you!

This book was really well written and it made it so easy and enjoyable to read. The setting and the mystery of a missing husband meant I was hooked almost from the beginning, I enjoyed all the characters in this, it's a really good debut novel.

Little lies lead to big lies and big lies lead to serious problems for Sarah Anderson. On one of the many attempts to save their shaky marriage, Matthew plans an early Fall canoe and camping trip for Sarah and their children, Bella and Charlie. The first morning of their campout, Sarah awakes to find her tent empty. Matthew and the canoe are missing. The police are involved and a futile search for Matthew turns to the realization that he has left, walking away from his family. For the next few years, Sarah meets with the police. She is sometimes believed and sometimes challenged but, changed though it may be, life goes on.

Sarah and Matthew’s relationship was troubled from the start by Matthew’s unexplained disappearances that he explains as getting away by camping by his favorite lake. She becomes convinced that he is having an affair. What is wrong with their marriage was there from the start. Sarah will eventually discover the truth but not before the trajectory of their lives turns into tragedy.

Tamara L. Miller delivers a pitch perfect novel combined with mystery in Into the Fall. Vivid characterization propels the story. Each time Sarah is ready to break off the relationship, Matthew arrives with gifts, begging forgiveness. She always gives in to him but her anger simmers just below the surface. Her children are so visibly frightened and hurt that you want to protect them. Izzy, Sarah’s sister, arrives just in time to do that. The final chapters of Into the Fall are heartbreaking and show the horrible results of a lack of communication between the couple. 5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Tamara L. Miller for this ARC.

Sarah Anderson seems to have a typical family life but things aren’t always what they seem. From the beginning of the book I loved how descriptive the author was. I could picture Sarah and her husband, Matthew in my head with ease. They do have 2 small children, it took me a few chapters to really understand the plot. I wouldn’t say that I had a hard time connecting with the main character initially (which is what I was thinking) but the more I read the more the story drew me in because I wanted to know so bad what secrets were being kept. This is definitely a thriller and one I wouldn’t mind rereading. The plot took time to build up but by the end I did not see the ending coming and I doubt anyone that reads this book will either. Talk about shocked, I was shocked!