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  • Published: 30 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9781926428253
  • Imprint: Hamish Hamilton
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $37.00

All Fall Down




‘Austin writes a captivating story, surprising and intriguing, in prose that’s spare but vivid.’ Rosalie Ham, author of The Dressmaker

When a bridge in the small outback town of Mululuk mysteriously collapses, the town is cut off from the world, and its citizens from each other. As the locals try to work out why the bridge fell and what it will take to replace it, old rivalries, forgotten romances and primitive drives come to the fore.

Teenaged Rachel has come from ‘the city’ to stay with her uncle after her home life has fallen apart, and she quickly becomes involved in the quest for the truth about the bridge. Father Nott, the local Franciscan priest, is trying to get the hysterical townsfolk to see sense, particularly his gossip-mongering friend Gussy. Shane, Janice and Craig find themselves at the heart of a devastating love triangle, with deadly ramifications that will reverberate far beyond the three of them. And the mysterious Charlie, a scruffy, charismatic alcoholic with a dark past, has a terrifying idea about what it takes to keep a bridge standing.

In a town that keeps its secrets like it builds its houses – underground – Charlie’s is the most dangerous of all.

Wry, rich and unsettling, All Fall Down is a starkly Australian gothic novel about a community divided, and a chilling, archaic belief about what must be done to reunite it.

'Cassandra Austin beautifully evokes the feel of the outback, the heat and that red dirt.' Herald Sun

'Strange and spooky, this work is not so much a thriller as a small human drama brushed up with red dirt mysticism.’ Weekly Review

‘Affairs, past insults, tested friendships and bad habits are all laid bare as Austin weaves her complex plot between shifting perspectives in sleek, elegant prose.’ Australian Book Review

  • Published: 30 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9781926428253
  • Imprint: Hamish Hamilton
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $37.00

About the author

Cassandra Austin

Cassandra Austin is a homesick Australian who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. The author of two previous novels with Penguin Random House Australia, she worked as a criminologist and documentary film-maker, before deciding to pursue a career in writing. She is currently working with her husband, Adam Simon, co-creator of the TV show Salem, on a new TV pitch. She can be found at www.cassandraaustin.com, on Twitter @ casaustinauthor and Instagram at casaustin1

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Praise for All Fall Down

Poignant and unnerving

Sunday Age

Cassandra Austin beautifully evokes the feel of the outback, the heat and that red dirt

Herald Sun

Strange and spooky, this work is not so much a thriller as a small human drama brushed up with red dirt mysticism

Weekly Review

All Fall Down is engaging and well-realised. It’s couched in the gothic sensibilities of writers such as Barbara Baynton and, more recently, Evie Wyld and Charlotte Wood.

Weekend Australian

The novel has a strong sense of place and a cast of complex, vividly realised characters.

Saturday Age

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Article
Unearthing gothic

Cassandra Austin kicks up Australian dust in her novel All Fall Down.