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Family Drama

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What to expect

Susan Bliss is torn between two lives.

Her husband Alcott has decided only one will be remembered.

'A magnificent debut' CLARE LESLIE HALL

'Bruisingly gorgeous' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE

'A truly sublime novel' HANNAH BEER

'Delivers heartache, euphoria and the unfathomable puzzle of family' SIERRA GREER

It’s the 1990s.

Susan Bliss is trying to make it all work. In L.A., she’s a burgeoning star with big hair and tight jeans, smouldering on the nation’s favourite TV drama. But in quiet New England, she’s wife to a history professor and raising two young twins, trying to keep the family on track. What she doesn't know is that there isn't enough time to do it all.

It’s the 2000s.

Viola and Sebastian can barely remember the woman who raised them, and their father has told them little of her fame.

But the past can’t stay hidden forever, and as the teenaged twins pursue the secrets Susan left behind, they spin off in different directions. Sebastian plunges down an investigative rabbit hole. And Viola falls for the movie star Orson Grey, who was once her mother's co-star.

A novel about obsession and ambition, about love and the myths we create for each other.

Everyone has their family secrets, but what happens when you aren't there to tell your story?

What early readers are saying about Family Drama…

‘EXQUISITE! … I can’t wait to read this again and discuss it with my book clubs’

‘A soap star mom living a double life … This book is fully of messy families, complicated women and just enough drama to keep things juicy!’

‘A love story that has so many obstacles’

‘Nostalgic, poetic … each storyline came back around in a circle’

‘This book was written like a work of art’

‘Wow. That was a hell of a debut … Her commentary on life, love and legacy felt thought-provoking and impactful’

‘The writing in this novel pulls you in and the characters keep you there’

‘Weaves together moments of heartbreak with scenes of high drama’

‘A family drama that will pull you in from the beginning’

Why booksellers love this book…

‘One of the most moving books I’ve read in a long time … It’s extraordinary when a debut novel is this good about family drama!’

‘I cried for the lost childhoods, the struggle to find a middle ground. Please read this so we can talk’

‘A story of sibling love, loss, and the cost of following your dreams … and all the drama that the title promises, this novel is a must-add for book club calendars’

Critics Review

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'Family Drama is a magnificent debut. It has everything I love – gorgeous writing, complicated love affairs, a gripping storyline and so many pitch-perfect observations, I often had to read a sentence twice' Clare Leslie Hall, author of Broken Country

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'Sweeping and intimate, Family Drama is a bruisingly gorgeous debut' Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

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‘Sweeping and precise, Fallon’s Family Drama delivers heartache, euphoria, and the unfathomable puzzle of family with singular brilliance. I devoured every word’ Sierra Greer, author of Annie Bot

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'A truly sublime novel about families, fame, ambition, and all the things they inspire – love, rage, grief, joy. I could’ve read on and on about the Blisses, and can’t wait for whatever Rebecca Fallon writes next' Hannah Beer, author of I Make My Own Fun

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'I was transported by this magical novel and its characters – full of their big, messy dreams and the pain of sacrifice and lost love … The book brims with life and powerful emotional truths: about family' Rosie Price, author of What Red Was

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'An absorbing story of love, loss and the price of fame' Heat

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’A beautiful portrait of a woman living a double life … Fans of Ann Patchett and Claire Lombardo will love this emotional story' Good Housekeeping, book of the month, January 2026

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'If you're a fan of family sagas, Rebecca Fallon's stunning debut is the book for you' Daily Express & Mirror

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'Assured in her craftsmanship, radiant in her compassionate characterizations, Fallon invites comparisons to Ann Patchett, Ann Napolitano, and Anne Tyler' Booklist (starred)

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'In the end, like the soap opera Susan stars in, this drama allows readers to dissolve; feel your own problems grow trivial against the melodrama, against the height of what a human can feel. The author’s emotional intelligence shines through in this affecting novel’s quirky, evolving characters' Kirkus

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