Book Review: She Fell Away

She Fell Away is a debut thriller by Lenore Nash and will be released on March 10, 2026 in the United States.

The novel is set in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand. The main character Lake Harlowe is an American diplomat and liaison to American citizens who find themselves needing help while in foreign countries. She Fell Away was a unique take on destination thrillers, because I had not read a mystery or thriller with the amateur detective working for an American embassy.

One of Lake’s first calls in New Zealand is to identify the dead body of an American football player, and later, a mom from Las Vegas calls about her missing daughter, an exchange student. Both have ties to Las Vegas and the seedy Trophy Casino. Could these two cases be related? Even though it is far outside of her job description, Lake can’t stop searching for the missing girl, Bowie.

The story moves between the present plot line, with hints of Lake’s past growing up in remote Alaska, where it seems her family escaped a weird cult, but her past is mostly just hinted at (it seems as Lake’s motivation for why she becomes so obsessed with finding missing student Bowie).

My Thoughts

 Personally, I believe it would have been more interesting to know more about Lake’s past and get to know her character better, overall. However, this book also seemed like maybe it was the first in a potential series? Like some details were being saved for later?

 The plot moved along at a fairly brisk pace, yet also shared vivid setting details of New Zealand, including the views of mountains, beach, and flora and fauna, so you might feel like you’re there.

POV and Bowie’s Character

While much of the book is from Lake’s POV, some chapters are from Bowie’s perspective. Bowie is an 18-year-old exchange student visiting Wellington, New Zealand when she goes missing. She’s happy to escape her life in Vegas, with her overbearing stage mom, who works at Trophy casino but she is trying to live vicariously through her daughter after a failed music career in her youth. While Bowie wants to be more of a moody singer-songwriter, her mom wants her to be a sexy pop star. When Bowie starts keeping secrets from her mom and host family, will her new life in New Zealand be what puts her in danger? Or will her past in Las Vegas past, that she’s trying to escape, makes its way across the world to haunt her?

Characterization

As I mentioned earlier, I felt some of the character development could have been more detailed, but this could be building toward a series. Suzie, Bowie’s mom, seemed a bit cliché as a character, and that came through in some of her dialogue (that often seemed like a paragraph or speech rather than dialogue). Bowie was more well-developed and her creativity and song lyrics made her character more realistic.

 Should You Read It?

I predicted some of the plot twists, but not all, and the American embassy intrigue and unique setting made this an interesting thriller for me. All in all, if this is a series, I would read the next book to see how it progresses.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.