‘Falling Suns’ by J.A. Corrigan

Published by Accent Press,
14 July 2016.
ISBN: 978-1-78165-249-7

Ex Detective Inspector Rachel Dune and her husband Liam are consumed by grief after their seven-year-old son, Joe, is abducted and later found dead. Rachel's mentally disturbed cousin Michael Hemmings is convicted of Joe's murder and is incarcerated in a secure psychiatric unit. Four years later, divorced and back in the police force, Rachel hears the news that Michael is being released to a less secure unit with the possibility of his eventual release.

Rachel cannot accept that the man who murdered her son might be set free and begins to plot her revenge. As a police officer, she is in a better position than most to carry out her plans, with her in-depth knowledge of the criminal side of life and the underworld contacts she has made during her career.

But as she gets close to Michael, her journalist friend Jonathan uncovers some disturbing information about her family, and begins to think that Rachel's perception of the truth might not be as accurate as she thinks, and that in her search for the truth she could make a devastating mistake.

J.A. Corrigan's debut thriller, Falling Suns, is a sympathetic and believable treatment of the rawness of a mother's grief at losing a child. It is also a disturbing look at some of the dark - very dark - areas of human behaviour and the horror that can lurk within families. Every character in the book is flawed in some way, makes mistakes and misjudges events, all of which makes for rounded characters in a novel - we may not like some of those characters but we can certainly empathise with them. Dysfunctional relationships abound.

Falling Suns is without doubt a dark tale, and is interesting and different from many of the psychological thrillers that are out there at the moment. There are some lovely descriptions and great writing. It will be interesting to see what J.A. Corrigan writes next.

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Reviewer: Mary-Jane Riley

J.A. Corrigan now lives in Berkshire, but was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Her maternal grandad was a miner, her paternal, a baker. Her gran worked on a fruit and veg store in Mansfield’s market square. After A Levels she completed a Humanities degree in London, majoring in History and English Literature. She then went on to train and work as a physiotherapist. She loves to run, cook, and drink good wine. She likes to read great novels, autobiographies and a diverse range of non-fiction. Adoring travel, JA seems to be at her most creative, and most relaxed, sitting in a very narrow airline seat, going somewhere. She has been writing seriously since 2010 and her short stories have been published in various anthologies. Her debut novel, Falling Suns published by Accent Press,  is a compelling psychological thriller that explores the darker side of human nature.

www.jacorrigan.com

Mary-Jane Riley wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter. She was eight. It was about a gang of children who had adventures on mysterious islands, but she soon realised Enid Blyton had cornered that particular market. So she wrote about the Wild West instead. When she grew up she had to earn a living, and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the darkest events of the past two decades.
Then, in true journalistic style, she decided not to let the facts get in the way of a good story and got creative. She wrote for women's magazines and small presses. She formed WriteOutLoud with two writer friends to help charities get their message across using their life stories. Now she is writing psychological suspense, drawing on her experiences in journalism. The Bad Things by Mary-Jane Riley was published by Harper Collins/Killer Reads. Her second book, After She Fell, also published by Killer Reads, is out on April 28th. In her spare time Mary-Jane likes to walk the dog and eat a lot. Good job she likes walking.