All her fault
Marissa Irvine's worst fear becomes a chilling reality when she arrives to pick up her son, Milo, from a playdate. The woman who answers the door at 14 Tudor Grove isn't a familiar face, nor is she the nanny. And Milo? He's gone.
The quiet Dublin suburb erupts in panic. As the search for Milo intensifies, an unexpected suspect is named, igniting a firestorm of speculation. Four women are intrinsically linked to the disappearance. While only one may have taken the boy, suspicion casts a long shadow over them all.
In a community fractured by secrets and unspoken truths, the line between victim and villain blurs. Who holds the key to Milo's fate, and who is truly to blame?
- Marissa - Solicitor, Peter’s wife
- Peter - Investment broker, Marissa’s husband
- Milo - Peter and Marissa’s son, 4
- Ana - Marissa’s au pair
- Jenny - Investment banker, Richie’s wife
- Richie - Jenny’s husband
- Jacob - Richie and Jenny’s son
- Carrie - Jacob’s nanny, 25
- Adeline - Richie’s mother
- Mark - Jenny’s work colleague
- McConville - Detective sergeant
- Breen - Detective garda
- Esther - Lives at 14 Tudor Grove
- Mr. Williams - Milo’s teacher
- May - Mr. Williams’ fiancee
- Irene - Frank’s wife, Caroline’s mother
- Frank - Irene’s husband, 60
- Rob - Caroline’s father
- Kathy - Rob’s sister
- Kyle Byrde (Alias Danny) - Carrie’s ex-boyfriend
- Colin - Solicitor, Marissa’s work partner
- Brian - Peter’s brother
- Alex Fenelon - Colin’s former client, owner of Shamrock Sports
- Joe Downey - Colin’s former client
- Part 1: November 2018
- Milo has synaesthesia.
- When Marissa goes to pick up Milo from a play date, Esther answers the door and tells her the people she is looking for don’t live there.
- Police discover that it was Carrie who picked Milo up from school and speculate that Kyle is involved in the kidnapping as well.
- Police speak with Irene, who says she hasn’t spoken to Carrie in nine years.
- Ana admits to the police that she and Carrie used to take Milo and Jacob to the park after school, so Milo was familiar with Carrie.
- Carrie used to ask Ana a lot of questions about Marissa and Peter’s lives, finances, and Milo’s likes and routines.
- Irene gives an interview to a journalist about Carrie, hoping it will result in a large payday.
- Danny is found dead in his house.
- Part 2
- A week after he goes missing, police locate Milo in a locked car in a park. He is unharmed.
- Milo says he was sleeping in Carrie’s house when a bad man put him in a car and said they were going to meet someone.
- Marissa sees a recent photo on Facebook of Colin and Carrie sitting together at a bar.
- Police discover that Danny was really Kyle Byrde.
- Part 3
- Carrie’s body is found in the house where she had been keeping Milo. She was smothered to death.
- Marissa discovers that Colin stole €360,000 from the Fenelon estate, as well as €200,000 from the Downey estate.
- Police find Colin and Rob dead. They believe the men shot each other.
- Richie tells Jenny that he received anonymous messages warning him to watch what she was doing behind his back, and now he thinks she’s been having an affair with Mark.
- Police find a passport with Carrie’s picture under the name Sienna and another with Milo’s picture under the name Robin, listing the gender as female.
- Milo tells Marissa that once the bad man called him Milo-Mouse like Peter does when Milo is hurt.
- Marissa confronts Peter, who explains: One day at the park, Carrie approached him and he realized she was the driver of the other car in the accident Marissa was involved in just after Milo was born.
- Carrie believed her four-day-old son had died in the accident.
- Peter found Milo after discovering a letter in Colin and Marissa’s office showing that Carrie had used their company letterhead to forge a reference for the house she was renting to keep Milo.
- Peter murdered Carrie and left Milo in the park to be found.
- After the car accident, Carrie connected with Rob.
- Rob tried blackmailing Peter when he found out Carrie was dead.
- Peter sent Colin to give Rob the blackmail money.
- Peter followed Colin to the drop-off, and when Rob shot Colin, Peter shot Rob.
- Peter admits to Marissa that it was their child who died in the car accident, and when he saw Carrie’s baby was still alive, he swapped the babies.
- Milo is Carrie and Kyle’s biological son.
- Rob killed Kyle after Kyle threatened to go to the police about the kidnapping.
- Adeline is the one who was sending Richie notes about Jenny.
- Six months later: Peter dies from eating shellfish while on holiday.
Andrea Mara sets a chilling scene from the very first page of All Her Fault, plunging straight into a chaotic and terrifying disappearance. The narrative operates on a deliberate timeline, with a slow burn in part one that gradually picks up to a steady medium pace through parts two and three. Even with the slower start, the short chapters keep the momentum moving. I liked how the story jumps between several points of view, keeping the focus mostly in the present day with just a few well-placed, brief flashbacks to provide context.
There is a vast cast of characters to keep track of, and while no single perspective steals the spotlight, the shifting viewpoints create a surplus of suspects. Almost everyone acts suspiciously at some point, and the author uses this to scatter a variety of red herrings throughout the plot. Rather than feeling cheap or misleading, every single false lead gets a logical, satisfying explanation by the time the truth comes out. The core twist caught me off guard and shifted the entire perspective of the crime in a clever way.
The conclusion is brief but highly effective, avoiding massive information dumps while tying up the necessary loose ends. It provides the right amount of closure without dragging out the aftermath. If you like multiple points of view, suburban paranoia, and vanishing child mysteries, then you will enjoy this book.
- Kyle - Dead - Killed by Rob
- Carrie - Dead - Smothered with a pillow by Peter
- Colin - Dead - Shot by Rob
- Rob - Dead - Shot by Peter
- Peter - Dead - Dies from anaphylactic shock caused by shellfish
- Kidnapping
- Grooming
- Car accident
- Blackmail
- Murder
ISBN: 9781473589445
Publication Date: November 2, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
