Since We Fell

by Dennis Lehane
418 pgs

Since We Fell is a great example of why I’m such a big fan of Dennis Lehane’s books. It’s got great characters and a plot that continually compels you to turn the page.

At the beginning of the story Lehane introduces us to Rachel Childs, a woman searching for the identity of her father. She was raised by her mother, an author who emotionally abused Rachel throughout her life and who kept the identity of Rachel’s father a mystery till she died.

Over time, Rachel establishes herself as a respected news reporter. But when she experiences a panic attack while on live tv covering a deadly earthquake in Haiti, she becomes famous as the “drunk reporter,” loses her job, and spends virtually all of the next 18 months secluded in her apartment.

When she finally starts venturing out into public again, she runs into Brian Delacroix, a private investigator she met briefly while she was trying to find her father. They fall in love and get married, and for me, this is when the story undergoes a paradigm shift and really takes off. Rachel, emotionally scarred from her mother’s influence and still feeling vulnerable from the panic attacks she suffers, begins to experience deep-seeded doubts about Brian’s honesty and fidelity.

It’s this sense of psychological uncertainty that Lehane is a master at and that sucked me in completely. When I started the it, I had no idea what direction the book was going to go. Had I known, it wouldn’t have sat on my shelf unread as long as it did.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆