Usually I'm not terribly fond of books that change points of view multiple times but in this case, it worked really well. Joy tells the story of well, Joy Stephens and the events leading up to her fall from a higher floor after giving a big work speech. Told from the point of view of her co-workers, her husband, and herself, the author did a great job switching characters from chapter to chapter. It was almost as if you were watching each person on television retelling their version of the events to someone. I wasn't expecting a HEA with this book given the subject matter but I certainly wasn't expecting the ending we were given. I look forward to more from this author. ( )

(Audiobook - narrated by Mandy Weston and Rupert Farley)

The Joy of the title is Joy Stevens, a brilliant and beautiful newly made partner at a prestigious law firm. The story opens a short time after she has fallen - or jumped - from a high balcony at said law firm. The story of what led her to the moment of falling is explored throughout the book.

The chapters alternate from Joy's point of view (albeit told in the third person) where the day that she fell is narrated bit by bit, while Joy's history, marriage and the tragedy in her past is also exploited; and the point of view of various people in Joy's life - Dennis, her husband; Samir, who works in the gym at the law firm; Barbara, her irascible PA; and Peter, husband of Joy's friend and also Joy's on-off lover. Their chapters are told in one-sided conversation with a counsellor who has obviously been brought in to help them deal with the shock of seeing their work colleague plummet from the balcony and the fact that she now lies in hospital, clinging to life by the thinnest of threads.

Audiobooks are never my favourite medium for consuming a book but I did enjoy this one in the most part, mainly because of the two narrators. It's a rare book where none of the characters are likeable, but this book comes quite close to the mark. Although I could empathise to an extent with Joy's sorrow, I still found her self-centred and in many ways unkind. However, she herself recognised these qualities in herself and at least felt some regret for them. Dennis and Peter were pretty unbearable, but that's okay because I'm sure they were meant to be. Dennis was one of those crushing bores who nobody wants to get stuck with at a party - full of his own self-importance and in love with the sound of his own voice. Peter was an egotistical chauvinist, who treated his wife and most other people like rubbish. Possibly the most sympathetic character was the obsessive compulsive Samir.

The story unfolded fairly slowly after a somewhat eye-popping start. It's a drama for sure, if not altogether exactly dramatic. The truth behind Joy's fall is drip-fed and the ending of the book takes a more surprising turn altogether.

Overall despite disliking all of the characters, I did enjoy the book and found it an interesting read. It did leave me on something of a downer though, and a craving for something light-hearted and upbeat to follow up! ( )

A novel set in a law firm, where no one actually appears to do any work and where everyone is consumed by the past. From its first page we learn of Joy's discontentment. The reasons why this beautiful young woman is so unhappy and whether this is connected with her fall, form the backbone of this novel, told from the various viewpoints of its characters. The reason for Joy’s fall is answered, although not until the end of the novel. However, it's the last few pages of the novel which come as a real shock, and which I had to read twice.
A moving read, which engages the emotions, and which, despite its subject matter, still manages to be funny in parts.

Nina Jon is the author of the newly released Magpie Murders, a series of short murder mysteries with a Cluedo-esque element.
She is also the author of the Jane Hetherington's Adventures in Detection crime and mystery series, about private detective Jane Hetherington. ( )