THEY ALL FALL DOWN by Rachel Howzell Hall keeps some secrets closely hidden, while others --- like the title --- are out there for everyone to see. And when Miriam Macy sails to a luxurious mansion on Mictlan, an isolated island in Mexico, she keeps her secrets hidden almost to the end. But what about the other six people on the island? And the fact that the pretense for sending her to the island was just that --- a pretense?

Miriam and some of the others were lured to Mictlan by someone who knew them, who was aware of the deepest darkest secrets each visitor was hiding. In fact, all too quickly, fatal accidents occur while the reader is observing the action through her eyes. Miriam is a fascinating main character. She is easy to dislike. She lies constantly --- to her ex-husband, to her now-estranged daughter, to her lawyer (who has not been returning her calls) and to the police. She even lies to herself.

"The ending is strangely satisfying and horrifying at the same time. Does a much-changed Miriam make it back to her family and a new life? Read the book. You won't regret it."

Miriam takes pills to control her anxiety and drinks to calm down. She is jealous of the younger woman at the mansion and greedily wants to collect money to improve her now-reduced lifestyle. But Miriam can also be charming. The first person narrative and the letters she composes to her daughter on her phone, which remain unsent because there is no internet on the island, offer insight into how she changes over the course of the short two-day visit to the beautiful mansion, Artemis. This name choice is interesting. Is it because Artemis is the goddess of chastity and purity, or because Artemis was also a goddess who believed strongly in revenge? It will be up to the reader to decide.

The reader travels with Miriam from sunny California to Mexico, and --- thanks to Hall's writing --- becomes immersed in what she is thinking and experiencing. While much of the book is a lovely murder mystery à la Agatha Christie, there are also some beautiful metaphors about the people and the situation and life. Traveling to the cliff atop which the mansion is perched, Miriam says, "I was a child of Southern California, land of fire, earthquakes, and bluffs carved by the Pacific Ocean. I knew cliffs and just how far to go."

The ending is strangely satisfying and horrifying at the same time. Does a much-changed Miriam make it back to her family and a new life? Read the book. You won't regret it.