Corporate lawyer turned author Rachel Paris, who has hit the big time with her debut novel See How They Fall. Photo / Jason Dorday
Corporate lawyer turned author Rachel Paris, who has hit the big time with her debut novel See How They Fall. Photo / Jason Dorday
To celebrate the 2025 Auckland Writers Festival, we’ve teamed up with New Zealand publishers to showcase some of the authors who will be on stage over the festival weekend.
This extract is from "See How They Fall" by Rachel Paris, the debut book from the Auckland lawyer turned author.
Pariswill appear at the festival alongside Rose Carlyle, Megan Nicol Reed and Dervla McTiernan in The Ranks of the Rich on Friday May 16, 1pm.
I couldn’t face another fight. Duncan had been irritable for weeks now – ever since his dad’s funeral – so I was silent on the drive north from Sydney, picking ceramic clay out from under my fingernails while dusty paddocks and straggly trees flicked by. Despite the throbbing bass, somehow Tilly had fallen asleep in the back seat, one arm gripping her beloved Mouse, and the other cuddling our labrador, Bo.
Fog was still rising when we rolled through Yallambee’s ornate iron gates. Those gates were the only hint of what lay beyond the forest of gum trees ahead. From the ridge line, manicured gardens sloped towards crystal water and white sand. Ten years ago, when Duncan and I first visited his family’s private bay, I’d thought I was entering paradise.
The main residence wasn’t visible until the road carved eastwards. Then the vast collision of concrete, steel and glass swooped into view. Duncan called it his dad’s Taj Mahal – a monument to the wife who died too young, leaving him with three school-aged sons. But really, Yallambee was a monument to Sir Campbell, by Sir Campbell. It was my father-in- law’s announcement to the world that the poor Turner kid from Gawler had made it big, as well as an enclave where he could entertain powerful friends.
We usually only visited Yallambee in midsummer, when the light was golden and guests arrived by superyacht and helicopter to join Campbell’s glittering beach parties, so the estate looked strange under a charred autumn sky. The watchhouse stood empty, and the entranceway was coated in a sludge of brown leaves, as though it were already in decline.
Duncan’s older brother, Jamie, had suggested the family meet at Yallambee for the Easter break. It would be the first gathering of the Turner family since Campbell’s funeral. No security, no chefs, no nannies, just family, Jamie had insisted – though his definition of family hadn’t included Cody. That was partly why Duncan was on edge, and for good reason. This weekend would be his son Cody’s first introduction to the rest of the Turners.
At the sound of the engine, our niece, Arabella, bounded out of the house, her pigtails flying. She darted across the cobbled courtyard and accosted me when I opened the car door.
Corporate lawyer turned author Rachel Paris will be appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival. Photo / Jason Dorday
‘Aunty Skye, guess what?’ She grinned, gap-toothed, and placed a ball of crumpled tissue into my palm. It weighed no more than a cotton ball.
Tilly, suddenly awake, lunged forward to see. ‘Careful, Mumma,’ she whispered over my shoulder.
I unwrapped the delicate paper to reveal her cousin’s tiny front tooth. Tilly’s own teeth were wiggly, and she was desperate for her first visit from the Tooth Fairy.
Jamie and Nina emerged arm in arm, like the lord and lady of the manor. As usual, Jamie was smart in a bespoke suede jacket and cashmere pullover, while my sister-in-law was dressed like the love child of a nun and a Stepford wife in an absurdly prim white silk pantsuit, her icy blonde hair pulled back in a chignon. She air-kissed me on both cheeks and complimented my dog hair-covered sweater. Jamie gave me a warm hug and shook Duncan’s hand.
‘We choppered up last night,’ Jamie said. ‘You’re in the largest guest house. Now, can I help with your bags?’
Duncan was furious that Jamie had claimed the main house. As we unpacked, he grumbled that Jamie had always been an entitled p****.
Here we go, I thought.
Extract from See How They Fall by Rachel Paris. Published by Moa Press. Out now. Rachel Paris will be appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival May 13-18. For more information and tickets, visit writersfestival.co.nz.
