Since We Fell audiobook

4.5 Stars* (rounded up).“Since We Fell” by Dennis Lehane is the story of Rachel Childs. Though her life seems ordinary at first, it is anything but. She is complicated and smart. At times she may seem frail, though she is stronger than even she realizes. Her life experience has caused her to hide from the world, until one day, when hiding is no longer an option. Rachel was raised by a single mother, Elizabeth, who kept the “mother” of all secrets from her daughter: she refused to tell Rachel who her father was. Elizabeth Childs was a tough woman to love, she appeared cold, unemotional and angry one minute, and mental the next. Their relationship was a tumultuous one and that relationship shaped Rachel’s entire life, as she struggled to find herself, felt a need to find the father she never knew and continued to seek out a love she never had. After years of a successful career in Broadcast Journalism, and a so-so marriage to Sebastian, a man who cared more about himself and his career than Rachel, things fell apart and Rachel became almost reclusive. Then she met Brian, a man from her past, and he became her future. Her safety net. They married and their relationship consumed her. He took care of her, brought her out of her shell and helped her conquer her fears. Then one day, Rachel discovered that things were not as they seemed. Her life changed on a dime and she was caught in a web so tangled that there appeared to be no way out. It became a life of terror, deceit and insane intrigue – all of which made my breath catch in my throat and caused my chest to get tight.For me, none of this was surprising, for Rachel Childs was a woman who grew up in a house of lies, experiencing familial dysfunction. Therefore, it was only natural that, that was what she gravitated towards. In realizing all of this, somehow, Rachel was able to dig deep and finds something inside of herself that she thought was lost forever. Rachel is an interesting, multi-faceted character. I liked her from the get-go. She is not perfect, far from it actually, but she is real and that is what made her so likeable. Dennis Lehane did a great job creating masterful characters whose pain and suffering I felt in my core. The drama and intrigue that was in play towards the last half of the book was first rate and kept me glued to the story. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Julia Whelan did a particularly spectacular job. In my opinion, “Since We Fell” is a book that you immediately invest in. The reason? Rachel Childs. Her personal journey is the reason for this book. Her life becomes an unexpected psychological thriller. It was a rollercoaster I didn’t expect to take, but it is one, whose genesis I understood. It was fascinating. I hope you explore it my friends and I hope you find it as interesting as I did. Published on Goodreads and Amazon on 5.26.17.

Rachel Child's mother, Elizabeth, was a famous writer, known best for her book on relationships and spent the rest of her career trying to recapture the success from her first book. Even more ironically Elizabeth spent her whole life unable to be in any healthy relationship, spending all of Rachel's life emotionally manipulating her and with holding any information about her birth father. Eventually after her mothers death Rachel sets out to search for her birth father. She decides to hire a PI to help her look and meets Brian, who tries to aid her in finding her father. Might be spoilers from this point on, even though it's a general summary skip reading from here if you don't want to know anything. Rachel struggles with questions about her identity and her constant feeling of loneliness and isolation as she continues the endless search for her father. Meanwhile she puts herself through school and starts a career on broadcast news. Eventually she figures out her father's identity, only to be left with more questions and loose ends, which only make her pervasive issues with anxiety worse. Though she gets married to Sebastian, their relationship comes second for both, so that when Rachel is send on assignment to Haiti to cover the earthquake and devastation leading to an eventual breakdown on live television, he is quick to leave. Rachel's disastrous breakdown not only ends her marriage but her career as well; she becomes viral and secludes herself inside for good. On the day of her divorce finalizing Rachel takes a rare outing to go to the bar. At the bar she reconnects with Brian, who she has been in touch with on and off for years. The two eventually get into a relationship, making Rachel think for once things are going her way and will be okay. Then when Brian begins to do small things that don't quite add up, Rachel can't help but begin to question their whole life together, leading her to confront her own issues and anxieties, especially her fear of abandonment. I really enjoyed this one. I didn't want to put it down even when I went to pee. I really got pulled into the story and the writing was wonderful. I even loved the ending which doesn't happen often. Brian and Rachel were really adorable and when Rachel begins to look into Brian I was really rooting for them. I honestly had no clue where the plot was going and I was pretty invested all the way through. Definitely one of my favorites and I'd say 4.5 stars. I would have given it 5 but the two parts of the story didn't mesh together that smoothly and also the whole thing where Brian was shot and had planned the whole thing just felt a little bit too much of a stretch.

My first question when I finished the last page was...."has a movie already been made"? What stands out more than anything to me is the creation of "Rachel Childs". In the same way that Lisbeth Salander is synonymous with the Steig Larsson's Millennium Series ....Rachel Childs is with "Since We Fall".NOT that these two women are alike - or behave the same -but she's one hell of a fascinating female protagonist. When Paul asked me what I was reading.... I replied Dennis Lehane's new book -"Rachel Childs". I kept forgetting the books name "Since We Fell".... but it's clear once finishing this thriller. What made this story thrilling were the jolting twisted shifting paths it took. Especially the first surprise .... One minute I was Sunday driving -the next I was race car driving. The momentum and complexity moved into high gear a little past half way through the novel. Through it all -- with unique supporting characters - is Rachel Childs!!! She is sensitive, often contemplating her own issues.....( fears, pessimism, loss, trust, and love)....As we take a journey with Rachel..... she discovers some insights about herself....but 'not' before troubling excitement. It's not "Mystic River", but it's good. I'd go see the film. Suspenseful - sensitive -psychological thriller!!!! 3.5

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane is a 2017 Little, Brown Book Group publication. Rachel has been through some pretty hard times in her life. She started suffering panic attacks early on, but while covering the Haitian earthquake, she has an on air meltdown, which leads to agoraphobia, the end of her career, and finally a divorce. But when she miraculously encounters Brian, an old acquaintance, the couple begins a sweet relationship that eventually leads to marriage. Although Brian’s work requires him to travel often, he is so patient and their marriage is so solid, Rachel begins to slowly venture out again. It is on one such rare outing, that Rachel’s entire life turns on a dime, prompting her to take a closer look at the man she married. Soon the rock solid trust she had with her husband is shaken to the core. Should she be suspicious of Brian? Rachel won’t rest until she knows the answer to that question. Her investigation soon lures her into an incredible, and clever, cat and mouse game she is ill equipped to handle, but which could give her confidence and courage she didn’t know she was capable of. Throw out all preconceived notions you have about this book. If you go into it expecting Mystic River, or a Kenzie & Gennaro type novel, you will rob yourself of the unique genius this story offers. This book is one part character study and one part literary thriller/ psychological suspense. The story gets off to a bit of a sluggish start, but if you just sit back and allow yourself to be taken along where ever the author leads, before you know it, you will find yourself totally immersed in an absorbingly complex tale, with smart twists and turns, that keep those pages turning and your mind racing to keep up. For those seeking a smart crime thriller, once the stage is set, you will love the atmosphere, and all the intrigue, action and suspense. For those looking for the literary side of the story, you will love the deep and surprising characterizations, which spotlights the amazing and surprising parts of themselves that people keep hidden from sight. Rachel’s character is central, as we watch a woman coping with intense, paralyzing fear, who has such a sensitive nature, go through an unbelievable metamorphosis. Combining the character study with the literary prose, wrapping it up inside a dark and twisty, yet very stylish and polished caper -like thriller, is quite a unique experience. I thought it turned out quite nicely. If you like crime drama, or smart literary thrillers, you can't go wrong with Dennis Lehane. 4 stars

Rachel hasn’t had the best life: her dad left when she was a baby and her manipulative, cruel mother took his identity with her to the grave. Her cold husband divorced her after she had a mental breakdown covering the Haiti earthquake, the trauma causing her to lose her job as a journalist as well as turning her into a shut-in. By chance she meets her future second husband and the love of her life, Brian, who slowly helps turn things around for her. Until she realises he’s been lying to her since Day 1 about who he is and what he does. So who is “Brian” really and what does he do? Deadly consequences await Rachel as she begins to look into her beloved husband’s secret life…! I love me some Dennis Lehane. Shutter Island is an insanely brilliant mystery thriller and up there with anything Agatha Christie ever wrote (the undisputed master of the genre) and Moonlight Mile was a great crime story too. While The Drop put me off Lehane for a couple years, I’m pleased to say he’s found inspiration again with a new high quality novel: Since We Fell. Here’s the biggest problem with the book, which might be a deal-breaker for some: the novel is a smidge over 400 pages and roughly the first 200 pages is irrelevant build-up. Yeah. That’s a lotta build-up! You know what it is? I think it’s Lehane trying to have his cake and eat it too. The first half is a literary character portrait of a troubled woman: we follow her quest to find her long-lost dad, the scenes of devastation in Haiti, becoming agoraphobic and slowly overcoming it. Then the second half is gloriously pure trashy airport thriller as Rachel gets caught up in the mystery of the husband she never knew. Lehane's playing to both the arty and populist crowds in the same book.That’s not to say I hated the first half. The entire book is well-written and Lehane finds the raw emotional humanity in the Haiti scenes which were very powerfully realised. I wasn’t caught up in the missing father story or her first marriage but I wasn’t totally bored either – Lehane did just enough to keep me turning the page. But it’s also not the book I wanted to read. And comparing the first half to the second? It’s like night and day, the contrast is so sharp. I mean, Lehane’s in second gear for 200 pages and then suddenly he finds fifth gear! I read the first 200 pages in a week and a half and the second 200 in less than 24 hours. Lehane knows exactly how to hook the reader and take them on a breathlessly thrilling ride, executing the second half of this book in the genre style flawlessly. I think I understand why he wrote the book like this. Firstly it invests you in Rachel’s character more so that when things kick up exponentially you care about what happens to her. But that structure also plays into the duality theme of the story: Rachel is looking for a man she didn’t know, her father, and then she’s doing the same in the second half with her husband. Unfortunately that doesn’t make the first half any less sluggish to read though and I’d have been happier with the literary pretensions excised completely, leaving us with a white-hot 200/250-page read instead. Aside from an abrupt ending, which was the only part of the book that could’ve used more pages, the second half of the book was so good that it mostly made up for the slow, meandering first half. It’s asking a lot for mystery/thriller fans to endure 200 pages of build-up but, if you’re willing, you get an awesome payoff. I definitely fell for Since We Fell – Dennis Lehane is BACK!

★★★½Since We Fell encompasses two parts. They aren't labeled but you'll know immediately when the switch occurs. I had to investigate my library-rented audiobook to ensure there hadn't been a mistake. It's that kind of switch. Part one is well-written character, family, and culture/class development. It's slow but good. The second part breaks into a mysterious barrel-roll of a thriller. It's also good. It just doesn't flow well from part one to part two...not at all in my opinion. It's like they're two different books. It was confusing but once I invested myself in the latter, it ended up being a fun ride. After all is said and done, I can see how the two parts compliment each other but I felt at a disadvantage during my reading experience. But I guess sometimes it's the retrospect that makes it all worth while. I literally cannot say anything about this plot line without fear of giving away a spoiler, so I'll casually stop here. I can say that the thriller portion of this book was my favorite. Although I have watched many adaptations of this author's work, Since We Fell was my first Dennis Lehane book that I have read. I plan to play a bit of catch-up in the near future. Check it out.My favorite quote:“The only people who ask questions like, ‘Did he want to be something besides a bartender,’ are people who can become whatever they want. The rest of us are just Americans.”

Video review will be up soon :D

To the best of my recollection, the only other book by this author I've ever read was Mystic River, released in 2009 - and it pretty much blew me away. Since then, I've bumped around the edges of others, but for whatever reason, they went by the boards. When this one hit the New York Times bestseller list, though, I vowed to give it a go.And once again I'm blown away. For the most part, it's not a whirlwind of spine-tingling action, although there's plenty of that as the story clears the mid-point. Rather, it centers on the complexities of the characters - one of the author's creative strengths - in particular those of the flawed Rachel Childs. Surviving (as best she can) a traumatic childhood (her mother, for instance, refused to the day she died to speak the name of Rachel's totally absent father) ends up making a good name herself as an on-air journalist. That comes after she marries a co-worker named Sebastian and finally learns who her father is. But she's been plagued by panic attacks, and she ends up losing her cool (to put it mildly) while doing a remote broadcast from storm-torn Haiti that brings her promising career track to a screeching halt.After the breakdown, Sebastian distances himself (figuratively and mentally); eventually, she finds yet another soulmate, this one a flash out of her past named Brian. All seems to go swimmingly - until it doesn't; something just isn't as it should be. Now, Rachel's mind goes into overdrive: What if what's really going on could put both of their lives in danger? More to the point, given her fragile psychological history, can Rachel finally trust her own instincts? Even if that's possible, can she muster the courage to once and for all take charge of her life? The answers take shape by way of getting to know the ins and outs of the minds of several characters - primarily Rachel and Brian - and are revealed through many twists, turns and outright surprises that kept me intrigued enough to not want to put the book down till I'd reached the last page.An afterword: After I finish any book and my own review, I usually check reviews from other readers (that doesn't apply, of course, to the advance copies I get in exchange for a review). In this case, I was a bit dumbfounded; at the time of this writing, the average was just 3.5 stars from 269 customers. That, in turn, piqued my curiosity as to why; what I learned is that apparently, this book veers from the author's "standard" approach to writing - a diversion not appreciated by a number of his faithful readers. I point this out why? Simply as a heads-up to regular fans to be prepared for something a bit different. I, on the other hand, went in with no expectations other than that because I thoroughly enjoying the one, it was likely I'd enjoy this one too. I was in no way disappointed - the writing is nothing short of brilliant.

You know that metaphor about killing a frog by placing it in tepid water and then slowly increasing the temperature until it comes to a boil? That's what this book felt like. Dennis Lehane builds the tension and the twists so slowly and then all of a sudden it is past your bedtime and you can't believe the ride this book has taken you on

This is a definite 4.5, just a little short of 5 stars! You can find all my reviews at www.itsbooktalk.comI went into this novel having no preconceived notions and really no idea what it was about, but I've loved every single book of Dennis Lehane's I've read as well as the movies that have been made based on them. I didn't care what it was about I just wanted to read it! So here's where it gets interesting...I've been on bad terms lately with psychological thrillers...we're just not getting along for many reasons. I just don't enjoy unlikeable, unreliable narrators, gimmicky plot lines, twists that come out of nowhere just for the sake of being a big "twist,"etc and that's what the genre has seemed to me to be a lot of lately. So, I was a little worried going into THIS psychological thriller but let me tell you, all my worry vanished when I started reading!I'll start with the prologue...fantastic!! If you've read Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard, it reminded me a little of that which is to say, it starts off with things going very wrong for certain characters and as the reader I knew I needed to find out what led to that and why. Then we get to know Rachel Childs, a journalist who has not had the greatest relationship with her mother, ends up working her way up at the Boston Globe, falls in love (kind of), and goes in search of her long lost biological father. The entire first half of the book centers around Rachel as well as her immediate friends and family. I had no problem with this per se because Dennis Lehane's writing is phenomenal...it's astute, engaging, lyrical...and I was rapt to find out more about Rachel as I LIKED her and there was this faint voice in my head whispering the whole time...is she for real?...what are we not seeing/hearing accurately about her? But doubts started to creep in and at the 50% mark on my kindle, I said to myself...Oh no, this is going to end up being my first Lehane book that's just going to be good but not great...he's wrote a really good character driven study but that's not what I expected from him....I mean is this story going anywhere? Then, literally, by 51%, the tide turned and boy did it ever! Lehane went from 0-90 and never looked back with the next half of the book and I couldn't have been happier! I read the rest like a speed demon, having absolutely no idea where it was going but what a fun ride it was.I won't say anything more about the remainder of the plot but what I WILL say is thank you to Dennis Lehane for restoring my faith in psychological thrillers. I knew I could still love them. In my opinion, this is what a psych thriller is all about...and he did it without jumping back and forth between multiple narrators or timelines. Amazing!

This book is like no other I've read before. First, it is not similar to the author's previous books, specially if compared to Gone, Baby, Gone or Mystic River I feel that the book tells two separate stories related only by the main character. The first half of the book explores the relationship of the main character Rachel Childs with her mother and her quest to find the identity of her father. As she is going through this there is a deep look into her life, feelings of isolation, abandonment and other valid emotions. This part is mostly character-driven. On the second part of the book Rachel meets her second husband and something happens that makes her question the foundation of her relationship and livelihood. This second part becomes mostly plot-driven and a thriller. Overall it's a great book. I liked it but did not love is as much as the author's previous works. I recommend it to those fans of thrillers and surprising twists. Oh and that mother... She wrote a bestselling book about how to succeed in marriage but she was never married or had a solid long-term relationship... the irony... About the author:TwitterWebsiteReview also posted on blog

I am in awe of LeHane's skills. I went into this story totally blind. I didn't even read the plot summary. So at first, I was unsure what genre I was even reading. My only clue was the opening line. One of the lines that gives you insight into a major event that happens much later in the story and then the author leaves that there and goes back to the beginning--to tell the story that leads up to that major event.Typically, this would be boring in other books but of course, we're talking about LeHane here and I think he could write about paint drying and I'd hang on every word.Our protagonist's name is Rachel. We are learning a lot about her through master storytelling and backstory. And this will prove important later on when she is tried and tested--we get to watch her, our Rachel, surprise us and dazzle us with her development.Right around the page 200 mark, our lessons in getting to know Rachel and her interactions with several key players, the real story LeHane wants to tell begins to unfold.This is where the genre: Thriller rises it's head and I became VERY excited because thrillers, if done well, can be the most exciting reading one can experience.And this one was. Expertly thrilling and enjoyable.I never knew what was going to happen. I never figured things out until LeHane allowed it.It was believable. It was shocking.I loved it. I loved it SO MUCH!!! If you like thrilling stories like Shutter Island and Gone Girl, then this book is a slowburn to an amazing finish. I highly recommend it.