Falling for Lehane's "Since We Fell"

Dennis Lehane has written some well-regarded novels, including Mystic River and The Given Day. I first became aware of Lehane when I read his terrific mystery series featuring Massachusetts based private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, which began with 1994's A Drink Before The War. I was a huge fan of those books, and was delighted when the fourth entry, Gone, Baby, Gone, was adapted into a film directed by Ben Affleck. Other Lehane novels, including Mystic River and Shutter Island, have also been turned into movies. Lehane was also  a writer for the third season of the acclaimed HBO series The Wire. I recently caught up with one of Lehane’s 2017 thriller Since We Fell. It’s a fast-paced tale of love, lies, larceny and murder.

The story centers on Rachel Childs, a reporter who goes through a very public on-air meltdown while covering the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Not only does she sideline a once-promising career, but Rachel becomes agoraphobic, and literally shuts her self off from the outside world. Despite her marriage to one of her colleagues at her former network, Rachel can't seem to straighten out her life. She has other issues as well. Rachel was brought up by an emotionally distant mother, and never really knew her father, who left when she was a young child. Her mother refuses to divulge his identity, and finding him becomes something of an obsession for Rachel.

While searching for her father, Rachel meets Brian Delacroix, a private investigator, who initially warns her that because of the lack of evidence, her search may never bear fruit. He declines to take her case. Rachel and Brian end up crossing paths again over the years, and eventually begin a tentative romance, as Rachel's first marriage is spiraling towards its end. The pair eventually marry, and Brian helps Rachel come out of her carefully shielded world, and live her life to the fullest once again. At this point, he's supposedly working for his family's successful business. Rachel is happier than she's ever been.

 

But she begins to suspect Brian may not be all he says he is, and that he has a secret life. He claims to be traveling the world for business, but Rachel catches him misleading her and lying about his whereabouts. As Rachel digs deeper into his background, she discovers there may be a lot of other things that Brian is hiding. As the novel shifts into high gear in its last third, the twists come fast and furious, and Rachel has to keep one step ahead of an ever-widening series of dangerous situations related to Brian's real identity.

 

As Michael Connelly (the creator of Harry Bosch) did with his novel Chasing The Dime, this is Lehane working in popcorn thriller territory. Since We Fell is a fun and engaging read that feels like Lehane's version of a summer action movie. While it doesn’t quite achieve the noir-ish heights of some of his other works, Lehane is a talented storyteller, and knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and turning the pages to see what happens next. The novel actually takes its time to bring in its thriller elements, charting Rachel's fall from grace, and eventual rebirth, as a resilient heroine who's determined to find out the truth about her husband. 

Since We Fell is a riveting thriller. Rachel is a well-rounded character, and her journey is fascinating and compelling. You'll find yourself rooting for her to succeed in figuring out the truth, and coming out on top. It's interesting to see Lehane writing from a female point of view, and the Hitchcock style twists that occur in the last portion of the novel will keep you guessing. It's no surprise that the screen rights for Since We Fell (the title comes from the Lenny Welch hit "Since I Fell For You") have been sold to DreamWorks Pictures, and Lehane's novel is going to be adapted for the big screen. Catch up with it now, and put it on your summer reading list, before the eventual big budget movie shows up at your local cinema!