After wrapping up his historical trilogy featuring Joe Coughlin, Dennis Lehane returns to modern times with a new protagonist in the engrossing psychological thriller Since We Fell.
TV news reporter Rachel Childs is striving to establish her identity in the shadow of her famous-author mother, while attempting to track down her absent father. The paucity of information about his identity makes her search difficult enough, but her quest becomes almost impossible when her mother dies.
After a disastrous on-air incident sets her career back, Rachel becomes a near shut-in, suffering from panic attacks. The one bright note is her incredibly supportive husband. She can't believe her luck, having such an understanding spouse. Until one day, she sees something that throws into question everything she knows about him, and her reporter's instincts start buzzing. But how can she start investigating her own husband without his knowledge--and without leaving the house?
The action kicks into high gear as Rachel gets caught up in life-threatening situations while she tries to find out who her husband really is and what dangerous game he's playing. There's also the possibility her fragile mind is playing tricks on her. Since We Fell (a riff on the title of the classic song "Since I Fell for You" originally recorded by Lenny Welch) is like having two books for the price of one: the first part is a lyrical character study, the second an amped-up action thriller.
While love does bring misery and pain, as the song says, Rachel also finds light in unexpected places. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis