Returning to her family home to stay with her brother and his second wife, the recently widowed Marion is expected to quiet her feelings of guilt and grief—to let go of the dead and embrace the living. But that’s not easy in this house full of haunting memories.

Just when the search for the truth seems hopeless, a stranger approaches Marion with chilling words: I saw her fall.

Now Marion is more determined than ever to find out what happened that night at Brawders, and why. With no one she can trust, Marion may risk her own life to uncover the secrets buried with Alice in the family plot.

The premise of After Alice Fell is simple, but oh so intriguing!  I love a mystery, especially one with a Gothic feel that centers on a creepy old asylum.  Considering all this, I expected to like the book more.  Problem is, the story moves along at a glacial pace, so slowly that I almost put it down several times.  The pace picks up in the second half of the novel, but it's still a bit of a slog.  In addition, the characters are off-putting and unlikable.  Add in a predictable plot that isn't nearly as twisty as I wanted it to be and you've got a tale that I wanted to love and just...didn't.  Although I had high expectations for this one, in the end it turned out to be an average read for me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  A little like Woman 99 by Greer McAllister)

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