First To Fall

First To Fall
Carys Jones

Aiden Connelly’s first case…Lawyer Aiden Connelly has traded the frenzy of Chicago for a slower pace in sleepy Avalon – and his first case appears to be as open-and-shut as he could hope for. Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…Will be one he’ll never forget.Suddenly, a quiet backwater has transformed into a dangerous pressure cooker. In a town where everyone knows everyone, gathering evidence should be easy… but the harder Aiden searches, the more he appreciates how tangled this net of loyalties is. And as he digs deeper, Aiden begins to realise that his very first case in Avalon could be the beginning of his undoing…Don't miss a single book in the thrilling new Avalon series:First to FallSecond to CryThird to DieFourth to Run - out now!

Aiden Connelly’s first case…

Lawyer Aiden Connelly has traded the frenzy of Chicago for a slower pace in sleepy Avalon – and his first case appears to be as open-and-shut as he could hope for. Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…

Will be one he’ll never forget.

Suddenly, a quiet backwater has transformed into a dangerous pressure cooker. In a town where everyone knows everyone, gathering evidence should be easy… but the harder Aiden searches, the more he appreciates how tangled this net of loyalties is. And as he digs deeper, Aiden begins to realise that his very first case in Avalon could be the beginning of his undoing…

First to Fall

Carys Jones

Copyright (#ulink_d8ed34e9-5cab-5175-9f96-334f4267ad1c)

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2014

Copyright © Carys Jones 2014

Carys Jones asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © June 2014 ISBN: 9781474006422

Version date: 2018-09-20

CARYS JONES loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader’s imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo. When she’s not writing, Carys likes to indulge her inner geek by watching science fiction films or playing video games. She lists John Green, Jodi Picoult and Virginia Andrews as her favourite authors and draws inspiration for her own work from anything and everything. To Carys, there is no greater feeling than when you lose yourself in a great story and it is that feeling of ultimate escapism which she tries to bring to her books.

For my number one fan; my Dad

Contents

Cover (#ua4cb0537-2ee5-535d-9299-b387e0d9690b)

Blurb (#uba117c52-7289-567e-9122-2cb91f37dc56)

Title Page (#u941440cf-b8fb-5559-9b30-78e2c5f18a65)

Copyright (#u8e27b59b-eca1-5da5-85f7-cbdee0a26fb0)

Author Bio (#u7dcfd85d-7bd7-5ee4-8f10-ceace242a95e)

Dedication (#u6ac10b5e-2739-5237-bc88-a5c5dc9aca07)

Chapter One: Welcome to Avalon (#u546b9d7c-ae27-5d6c-80dc-1bcdf6a14203)

Chapter Two: First Encounters (#u3db70e30-a2e5-5134-a5b3-3fc948c80d60)

Chapter Three: Little Miss Southern Star (#u25a49ebf-a9ad-5e3d-a826-6b5c4e38aa65)

Chapter Four: He’s Our Hero (#u3c57355d-42a1-5d3a-a693-64c6563c2219)

Chapter Five: It Will Be All White (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six: Superhuman? (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven: Shattered Glass (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight: Unhappy Families (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine: Don’t Be Fooled (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten: Father, Can You Hear Me? (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven: People in Glass Houses (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve: Let God Be the Judge (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen: Unlucky for Some (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Endpages (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One: Welcome to Avalon (#ulink_f209bb4a-76a4-53a9-b051-4ef99447b9a7)

The dusty road lay empty before him in the fading light. Aiden Connelly rubbed his eyes wearily wondering just how much of his journey was left. Behind him, his little angel, Meegan, slept soundly, oblivious to the dramatic change her life was currently undergoing. His wife stirred in her sleep and Aiden could not help but smile at her tangle of mahogany curls splayed widely around her head. She was usually so immaculate, yet in the throes of sleep she had wrestled around on the uncomfortable seat of the rented car and now resembled a wild woman. This was how Aiden liked his wife, Isla, best. Relaxed, carefree. For so long they had both been so consumed by everything. Even the birth of Meegan had felt like yet another chore, something else to be responsible for, rather than the joy that it should have brought them.

That was why they were here, now. Travelling down an old highway that seemed to be leading them into the middle of nowhere. In reality it was taking them away from it all: the stress, the chaos, the ridiculous pace of the city to a new, quieter life. It was what they needed. Aiden could feel himself becoming a stranger to his family; the hours he needed to spend at the office were increasing daily and he had begun to question his motives in life and the choices he had made. Initially he got into law for the money, but as he progressed through the course he developed a passion for it. Two years working for one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago was slowly sucking any positive feeling he had had towards his job out of him. He dealt with high-profile cases, they lived in a beautiful penthouse, but Aiden was in serious danger of having no soul.

‘The rat race isn’t for everyone,’ his late father had advised him. ‘Happiness is true wealth.’ It was rather cliché but Aiden could not help but be inspired by the old man’s words. He had grown up in the country, on a farm, and had only happy memories of his childhood. He wanted the same for Meegan. Finding another job was easy considering his previous experience; convincing Isla was the hard part. She loved living in the city, she was always shopping and lunching with friends. As Aiden had pointed out to her, her first love, art, had taken a back seat over the past few years. She had not painted a thing since three summers ago. Admittedly, she had been preoccupied with the arrival of Meegan, but still… Aiden helped her realise that a clean break was what they all needed, surrounded by nature she would undoubtedly be inspired and start painting again in no time.