'Second book syndrome' is a phenomenon which occurs when writers achieve success with their first novel and then struggle with their second. The author is plagued by self-doubt and writers block, when they eventually publish, the book is seen as a shadow of the first. Hayley Scrivenor's second novel, Girl Falling (2024), definitely feels like a case of this syndrome.
Set in the Blue Mountains, Girl Falling is narrated by Finn Young, a bisexual woman in her late twenties. She has lived her whole life in a town called Indra, surrounded by spectacular scenery. She grew up poor, had a hard time at school, missed an opportunity to see the world, and now works in a cafe and as a tour guide. Her best friend since childhood is perky blond Daphne, who grew up in more affluent circumstances and has gone off to university in Sydney. While in school, both lost their younger sisters to suicide, and this bonded them together as best friends forever.
Finn meets Magdu, an Indian foreign student, and they fall in love. Magdu has not come out to her family and struggles to figure out how to introduce them to Finn, the woman she wants to marry. When Daphne returns home, the three are caught in an awkward triangle. To smooth relations, Finn takes Daphne and Magdu rock climbing with devastating results. Magdu falls to her death. Was it an accident, murder or suicide?
The death occurs in the opening chapter. The novel then alternates between the current timeline in which an investigation into Magdu's death unfolds, and the past when Finn looks back on her relationships with both women. In doing so we learn more about Finn's life, the hold that Daphne has over her and the freedom that Magdu represents.
I appreciated Scrivenor's ability to build the tension and land a nice twist at the end. I also liked that queer characters take centre stage, and feel like she captured the beauty of the Blue Mountains well. However, the characters are not fully formed. Daphne is shallow, narcissistic and one dimensional. Finn herself comes across as a bit of a bumbling loser. Magdu serves as a moral compass in this trio. The mothers of the three also make an appearance and I would have been interested to have more interaction between them. The actual death is a bit complicated too. I think you need to understand rock climbing to fully get what is happening here (if I never hear the word 'belay' again it will be too soon).
Ultimately, I enjoyed this novel but would not rave about it. While it was no Dirt Town, Scrivenor has talent and I look forward to reading whatever comes next from this Australian author.