They All Fall Down by Tammy Cohen

They All Fall Down
By Tammy Cohen
Published by Transworld (13 July 2017)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

Publisher's description

Hannah had a normal life – a loving husband, a good job. Until she did something shocking.

Now she’s in a psychiatric clinic. It should be a safe place. But patients keep dying.

The doctors say it’s suicide. Hannah knows they’re lying.  

Can she make anyone believe her before the killer strikes again?

My verdict
Tammy Cohen has done it again with this twisty psychological thriller. They All Fall Down is a brilliant read and I highly recommend it.

Set in a private psychiatric clinic, the book has the perfect claustrophobic setting and a whole host of unreliable fragile characters who all have something to hide. It's clear that you probably can't trust the patients, who suffer from a range of mental health problems and emotional traumas, but can you trust anyone else in the book either?

The story is told from several points of view - all potentially unreliable and very convincing. It's an emotional read and highly thought-provoking, looking into the often-taboo topic of severe depression and hospitalisation. A brave decision to use this setting, I thought when I first saw the blurb, as there's the potential to get it wrong. Yet Tammy Cohen has handled her characters' mental health issues with sensitivity and compassion, carefully weaving them into her plot and raising awareness of some difficult psychiatric issues. She has an amazing ability of getting right inside her characters' heads.

The book is cleverly plotted, unpredictable and different from the current psychological thriller trend. So many layers to peel back, and so many twists, turns and surprises that kept me guessing - and they kept on coming right until the very end. I ignored the rest of the world while I read the book, unable to put it down. This wasn't always an easy read in terms of subject matter, but the gentle dark humour helped to break up the tension.

Tammy Cohen's books get better and better. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.