A good story about grief, with the typical happy ending. It was a nice, easy read, while upsetting at some points it was heartwarming in others. ( )

Nicola Moriarty has an impressive pedigree, her sisters are well known Australian authors Liane Moriarty (What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist's Love Story) and Jaclyn Moriarty (Feeling Sorry for Celia, I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes).
Free Falling is Nicola's debut novel and it is a wonderful story of love, family, grief and moving on. It begins when Andy is killed and his mother blames his grief stricken fiance, Belinda. While Evelyn rages, alienating her surviving son, refusing to return to work and taking up sky diving with a young man named Bazza, Belinda is falling apart. She is drinking too much, blaming herself and wakes each morning forgetting he is gone. When strange things begin to happen - a delivery of flowers, a repaired letter box hinge, Belinda thinks Andy may still be with her, and he is in a way. It is weeks before she discovers he has left her with a surprising parting gift. Both women must learn to let go of their anger, their sadness and their grief to create a new future in honour of the man they have lost.

I admit I was a little nervous accepting Free-Falling for review, as a fan of both Liane and Jacyln, I felt Nicola had a lot to live up to. Thankfully I was captivated by this novel from the first when we are introduced to Belinda in the rawness of her grief. Moriarty is not only able to capture Belinda's immediate grief, as the novel develops, she realistically portrays the range of emotions Belinda experiences. Her sadness, fear and courage create a well developed protagonist that I cared about.
Moriarty takes equal care in developing Evelyn who is not immediately sympathetic, especially after the events at the funeral, but as her character is revealed I began to understand her better, even though her behaviour continued to be unpleasant.
Moriarty slowly reveals the the circumstances of Andy's death, initially the event that led to his death is barely mentioned and it isn't until the near the end of the novel that we learn the truth. While we never meet Andy we get to know him a little through the people he left behind, Belinda and Evelyn of course, but also Andy's twin brother, James. Naturally enough James struggles with his brother's death especially given that James is the less responsible of the two, more likely to take risks.
Bazza, a sky diving instructor, becomes an unlikely confidante for Evelyn. I found him very likeable but I would have liked to have learnt a little more about him as he plays such a surprisingly pivotal role in the novel.
While Free-Falling is a character driven story, well grounded in human drama, it does have it's lighter moments and a touch of magical realism. I found the story well written and was quickly engrossed, reading it straight through, from beginning to end.

Free-Falling is both a delightful and heart breaking story, described as a tragic - romantic comedy it is light women's fiction at its best. Free - Falling should be on your reading list and I am eagerly looking forward to her next book. ( )