The Fall Girl

By: Marcia Clark

Narrated by: Marcia Clark, Cathy Lepard

Lives and lies are inextricably linked by a high-profile murder trial in The Fall Girl, the latest exhilarating legal thriller from best-selling author Marcia Clark.

When Charlie Blair left Chicago behind—and her old life as Lauren Claybourne—for a gig in the Santa Cruz DA's office, things were supposed to be easier. Or at least nothing that a couple of Xanax and a tumbler of vodka couldn't handle. The plan had been working, until the murder of a local bail bondsman Shelly Hansen.

Enter: hotshot prosecutor Erika Lorman, she of the stellar record and unfailing touch with juries, a veritable legend in her own right. Fresh off the prosecution of celebrity chef Blake Steers, the newest resident of California's penitentiary system and perhaps its most high-profile, she's thrust back into action alongside her new co-chair from the Windy City and ready to do anything to put criminals behind bars.

But as the fevered search for answers intensifies and the hunt for a killer continues, secrets from the past threaten to undo not just the case—but Erika and Charlie, too.

Expertly plotted and relentlessly paced, The Fall Girl will keep listeners guessing until the very end.

©2022 Marcia Clark (P)2022 Recorded Books

Distracting narration

I was expecting a much better book. I normally really enjoy legal dramas. While the suspense was good with many unexpected twists, the narration was distracting to the point of putting a damper on the whole book. There were so many instances of unusual inflection, especially with Erica’s character. I’ve listened to over 200 audiobooks as of early September this year. I’ve never previously commented negatively on the narration. Such a disappointment with an otherwise entertaining story.

Great read! Couldn’t stop listening

Very well written and narrated. Kept me guessing and interested. Good character development, but not overdone either. Unpredictable, and not far fetched or sappy either. I look forward to reading more from Marcia!

Good read

The read itself is fairly good. The plot is twisty and definitely easy to follow. I had a hard time with the two main characters with their traumatic backgrounds. At times that took away from the main storyline. All in all it was worth the read.

Not Marcia’s best

Not a great story. Just seemed to plod along. Not enough character or back story development

Awful Narration

Story is good. But the narration is choppy and hard to listen to. Not sure if it's because of how it is written or how it was being read. But just not good at all.

First Time Author for Me

First time author for me. Honestly, I think the book would have been better without the author also acting as one of the narrators...but that is just me. I wasn't at a place where I could read the published version and had to listen to the entire book on audio - hence the narrator comment.

The book revolves around a couple of women attorneys (makes sense, right?) I wasn't sure what to expect because I had not read anything by Ms. Clark before, but I was, of course, aware of her history. I did like several parts of the story. The problem that I had was that I never really felt like the storyline was connected enough. It felt very choppy to me - almost like the two separate storylines were fighting for prominence.

The two main female characters are both strong women, but the way they are written made me feel like we caught them both at the weakest times of their lives. They were both acting in ways that seemed to be opposite of their normal inclinations and they were both drowning in feelings of inadequacy. I get that strong characters can go through experiences that help them to grow and develop into a smarter, stronger version of themselves, but this one missed the mark with that.

The case - or cases - were interesting, but felt like we we were only swimming on the top line and never really got to delve deeper into the circumstances. If I were to narrow down what I had the biggest problem with, it would be that I really didn't like either character - Charlie or Erika - and that made it really hard for me to care about them, much less root for them. Then, after so much build up, it felt like the ending was rushed and then...boom...the end.

Granted, this was my first attempt with this author and there WERE enough good things that it made it interesting. I would be willing to give her another try.

Very good, engaging book

Complex characters. Interesting plot, sub-plot. Too easy to dismiss and dislike Erica without understanding her rather short-sighted motivation. My first book by this author, bought on Daily Deal (nice one, Audible!). I'll def check out others. Narration also VG.

Decent thriller

Decent thriller/suspense book. It was a bit slow at times but overall would recommend.

Just ok

There was too much going on with with all the characters. The main women were both traumatized by their past and were struggling with crazy psychotic men in their lives. After a while that got really old. If she had stuck to the story without all the drama, it would have been a better read.

Well written, entertaining, fast paced!

I became a Marcia Clark fan in the 90’s by watching her every day during the OJ trial. I was obsessed with the trial and she made me want to be a prosecuting attorney (I am not) because she was so good! I knew she had written some books but never took the time to see what they were - I finally downloaded this one on a whim. I had no expectation one way of the other….just because you were a good attorney does not necessarily constitute a great author - but OMG…I LOVED this book. It was a great story and so well written. I liked the narrators (both Marcia and Cathy Lepard) and really connected to both of the main attorneys (even though they were so different) on many levels. Once again - i wish I were a prosecutor! I am now going to go download a few more that Marcia has written!