This Is How You Fall

by Keith Dixon

Jacob Cameron Asprey, Jr., is the charming son of a charming crook who’s currently residing in the state pen. Strangled by family ties, Jake is barely scraping by, working as a lifeguard at the tony country club on the other side of town. He’s marking time, treading water, haunted by Sally Godstreet, the woman he’s loved all his life—the woman he should have made a life with, now orbiting just out his reach.

When a local crime boss offers him a deal he’d be a fool to take and a chump to pass up, Jake sees a way out of his troubles—until his options begin to close down, and he finds himself at the heart of a dark plot that will place those he loves in harm’s way.

This is How You Fall is a story of old flames, old debts, and a new twist on an old con. Part-heist, part-love story, and part-literary noir thriller, it’s a moody rumination on identity and loyalty, with dazzing plot twists that lead to an inevitable, destructive conclusion.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

Audio CD

First published July 9, 2013

About the author

Keith Dixon is the author of three novels -- 'This Is How You Fall,' 'The Art of Losing,' and 'Ghostfires' -- and 'Cooking With Gracie,' a memoir that recounts a year in the life of a parent learning to cook for three.

Reviews

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://openbooksociety.com/article/th...

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Jake has had a rough life ever since his dad went to prison. He struggles to find work because credit checks pull up his dad’s felonies since he’s unfortunate enough to share his name. And, he was kicked out of college when the account he used to pay his tuition was seized, leaving the school expecting him to repay the funds that were already paid in addition to charges for any future classes; leaving bettering himself through education out of his grasp.

Jake finds himself in a dead-end job as a lifeguard at the local country club thanks to a good word from his Uncle Rolly. He lives in the spare room in his uncle’s house. And, the girl he loves gave him eight great weeks when they were teenagers before cutting him loose. She works at the club to, but makes it clear that they will only be friends. Ultimately Jake just gets by living his dead end life with no hope of ever improving things. That’s what happens when you’re the son of a convicted thief.

But when his dad’s former associates come a calling to drag Jake into their world, could it be his way out? Or will it just bury him deeper?

I read the synopsis of this book and thought it sounded really good! And, I really wanted to like this novel, but it just fell short for me somewhere along the way. It could be because I do read so much that I’m just hard to please, in general.

I really enjoyed Jake as a lead character. I felt for him with his plight of having everything go to shit because of his father going to prison and having the misfortune of having the same name. I also appreciated the internal struggles he had with loving his father and still feeling obligated to uphold his loyalty to him, when it’s truly the last thing he wants to do. There are many layers to Jake, and I truly enjoyed discovering every one. But I was yelling NOOOOO at him when he made that one phone call that changed everything … the one we all knew was a mistake, even Jake himself realized what an idiot he was being!

I did find the constant flashbacks to get a bit confusing at times, especially in the beginning. I understand the depth they brought to the story, but feel there was probably a few that could have been taken out, or the information delivered in a different way.

I liked where the author was going with his story as a whole, but something just missed the mark for me on the execution. I thought parts of this story were predictable, like Jake participating in this con. And, overall there just weren’t enough climatic scenes to hold my interest. I just wanted to see more, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some tense moments between Jake and his father’s former associates, but they seemed to fall a bit flat for me on the excitement scale. But I did find his last meeting with the Magician to be entertaining.

Overall, I did find this story to be interesting. A nice look at how the sins of the father, truly effect the son and other loved ones. It shows how easily a child in Jake’s situation that wants to do good can so quickly be turned around and placed on the wrong path.

[Hester · Rating 2 out of 5]

Want to read a good thriller that's a fun crime caper and full of double crossing, triple crossing and quadruple crossing that includes fast cars gruesome murders sexy women and hot hot sex?

What's that you say?

You do?

Well, then... find another book because this book doesn't have any of the above.

Jake Aspery is the son of a two bit con artist who can't return to college because of his father, something about the government taking Jake's tuition as some kind of restitution or something like that.

So follow me on this plot.... Jake can't go back to college, so his uncle somehow gets him a job life guarding for the summer at a snooty country club, some low life associates of his father's wrangle his assistance for a heist at said country club. As it turns out another one of his father's shady associates got him the life guarding job so that he could land the open executive position at the club. And why???

***********************SPOILER ALERT CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK*************************************

Crystal meth. Sweet sweet trendy crystal meth. The country club uses some kind of chemical needed to make it and they can steal it in large quantities while Jake just sits in a corner office. I don't get it and here's why. The thieves stole the keys needed to get into the storage area to get the product they need, so why do they need Jake as an executive, they could deal that shit for years and if caught they could still pin some of the crime on Jake long after the scam started. And if I understood correctly they already have another corrupt executive under their thumb.

Since the whole point of the book, at least I think, is that Jake is better man than his father and once he figures it out he's not having it. He wont have the death of children broken homes and poisoned communities on his conscience, no way in hell. So he has to stop it. Stop it he does and his poor dog suffers for it.

Dixon why did you have to let the dog die? Why? Why not one of the girls? Why the dog? WHYYYYYYY?

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get used to the diction and style of this story and the lead character but once I did I really enjoyed it. Still pondering the ending a bit - not sure if it was too clever or a nice twist. But Dixon does a good job of allowing us to see the world through the eyes of his characters. In typical fashion it deals with issues of family and fate and the choices we make the the ongoing repercussions of those choices.

[Shalagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. His Best yet.

[Judy Mann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This such a lousy book –you have no idea. The writing is so bad- I mean SO BAD.
As to the plot- who the fuck knows??This guy Dixon is so busy glamming it up for the cameras that I have no idea what the bloody plot is. It’s like he’s jamming his head in front of the camera so that all You can see is his bloody face- you can’t even see past him to see the story.
This is how bad the writing is, watch this; (from pg 28)
The slate walk leading up to the gate was a cindery gray in the moonlight, the heat of the day radiating up from the warm stone against the descending chill of night.
Now what’s he saying: it was raining out.
Here’s another( page 31)
A clattering rain pounded the backyard just after sunrise, fat flooding torrents from the gutter just outside my window. I blinked and stretched and considered the gushing sluice (GUSHING SLUICE?????) of the drainpipe-
What’s he saying? It was still raining out.
How in God’s name does this guy call himself a writer? Gushing sluice- Gimme a break.
Okay Page 43 and I cannot stomach it anymore. That’s how bad the writing is.JM

[Marianne K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up quickly at the library before the virus lockdown and was a bit leary after I noticed the Thomas & Mercer imprint, but went ahead and read it. I really liked it. Jake has a father in prison for many crimes involving fraud, witness tampering, unpaid taxes. The IRS seizes money paid to his college for tuition, so Jake is forced to return to his Uncle's house and accepts a lifeguarding job at a local country club. When presented with the chance to make a lot of money by doing an illegal act, and resume his education, Jake is torn.
I thought the book had many though provoking moments. What would you do under similar circumstances? How painful must it be to share a name with a criminal, and how much more painful must it be if that criminal is your father? An interesting story. My only complaint being I thought Sally wanting an office job inconsistant with her job as chef. Why trade something you love and are good at with a desk job?

[Gene Pollastro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likable hero. Complicated and enjoyable plot.
Ending is ruined by skipping the actual climax and victory by the hero. We are only given allusions to the climax. This common literary device robs the reader of the sense of vicarious victory which should have been shared between the reader and hero.

[Anita · Rating 1 out of 5]

So bad, I only finished it so I can update my reading goal.

[Alyssa Millspaugh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thriller where? Heist was boring. Love story fell flat. AND THE DAMN DOG??? Really. Bye

[Karen M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it possible that anyone can cross the line between right and wrong? Is it in anyone of us to be someone we thought we would never be? Under the right circumstances would you cross that line? If your future had suddenly disappeared along with your dreams and you were resigned to a life you had not planned on and one day you are offered a glimmer of hope, would you take that chance? This is a story of a twenty-five year old, Jake, who was offered a chance to to change his life back to what he had once had, a future.

There is another question here . Is deceit hereditary? You see Jake's father is in prison for dreaming big and crossing the line between right and wrong to achieve his dreams. Someone seems to be counting on deceit being hereditary.

Jake has been in love with Sally since they were both sixteen and now nine years later she's a successful chef at the local country club while he has a summer job as a lifeguard at the country club pool. She left culinary school when her parents died to keep a roof over her and her younger sister's heads and Jake was forced out of school when the government seized his college funds as part of his father's illegal profits. There's going to be a job opening, a promotion at the country club and Sally is sure it is her's and so is Jake until it is offered to him. Pressure has been placed on the manager but by whom? Jake's Uncle Rolly has made some phone calls but does it go beyond that?

We watch Jake slowly fall into a dark place and we're not sure he's ever getting out again. It's a very slow fall.

I won this book in a FirstReads giveaway.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i appreciate what Dixon has accomplished with this novel. The story is pretty solid, and the characters are developed nicely, if not a little hidden in all the things that are happening around them. Take Jake for example... he was a swimmer, but as much as that little tidbit is mentioned it is more important for the reader to know that he was at one time, and now isn't, so therefore, it doesn't have to be explained, just mentioned a lot. Not a terrible literary faux pas, but I always felt like Dixon really wanted to explain how Jake's swimming career really impacted him and made him who he is, but instead he relied on his father (a con), his uncle (a car dealership owner, who took him in), his aunt, Sally (his first lay, but somehow played down a little too much, I felt a huge missed opportunity with her), Kimber (Sally's sexy sister), and a litany of criminals who con Jake into doing a job for them. The story was engrossing, and I thought there were some really solid points, but the biggest crime was not giving Jake his due. He was kicked out of school for not paying (daddy issue), he was lifeguarding at a country club, he wanted Sally, etc., but these little character developments were just never really seen as a bigger picture. In essence, this didn't really hurt the novel, but it could have been so much more, character wise. Plot wise... very nice. Good story, motive, purposes, cops asking questions, and so on. No qualms there... Just give Jake his due. Overall, a pretty solid novel, with a little character injustice, but well worth the read.

[Corinna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was truly excited when I got the book in the mail because I just couldn't wait to read it. However when I did begin to read it I didn't think I was going to like it so much. It certainly wasn't a style that I was used to reading. But by the time I was almost halfway through with the book it was to the point where I didn't quite want to put the book back down. It was descriptive and I could feel some of the emotions. For instance, when you wrote about Coop I literally was on the verge of tears and had to put the book down for a moment so I could gather myself. The ending was very enjoyable, it was a nice twist. Overall I did end up liking the book and would read another one like it if given the chance.

[Lew Serviss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous read, with writing that makes you pause here and there to stand back and admire the artistry. As with a great meal, you're eager to see what's ahead, but at the same time, you don't want the experience to end. Dixon gives us well-drawn, intriguing (and sexy!) characters who live with a special kind of dread. He creates a strong sense of a small Pennsylvania community with a sinister tinge. As the plot kicks in, it's difficult to put "This Is How You Fall" down and turn out the light. Call it a sophisticated mystery, or noir drawn in pastels instead of charcoal. I'd put Keith Dixon somewhere between Thomas Berger and Pete Dexter as a storyteller with a touch of elegance.

[Michael Dittman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rough slog of a read

This Is How You Fall took me forever to get through. Dixon's character's are right out of a :-/movie, but there's no irony here. The author expects us to believe in this two dimensional portrayals. As a Pittsburgh resident, even after finishing the novel, I don't understand why he would use a setting with such a particular name as Slippery Rock (a college town about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh) and yet create a town with no resemblance to the actual location. That said, it was free and you could do worse for an airport novel.

[Cledimar Rivero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected ending

Unexpected ending

This kind of storytelling engages you from the beginning, and you start rooting for the main character, though deep down you feel that if things go wrong with his life, it's basically because there wasn't a single wrong choice he hasn't taken. It's more of a story a guy can relate to, but in no way is it less interesting because of that.

[Kamila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this for free from the Kindle lending library after seeing an ad on my Kindle, and read it in just a few evenings. It was the first time I'd approached a novel as I would a TV show, and it was a pleasant experience, something the Kindle is perfect for. Entertaining but not thought-provoking, it is written in a conversational style that makes for quick reading.

[S.M. Yair-Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing book, jake is the son of a con artist who gets sucked into one of his fathers debts while trying to make his own life and get the girl. I really like jakes character, and the way Dixon writes. I've read a lot of books where the author elaborates like word vomit and Dixon gets to the point without all the fluff, its refreshing. Definitely recommend :)

[Sillylittlefishey]

I liked where the author was headed with this plot, but if fell short on the execution for me somewhere. I found it read kind of flat with no true highs and lows.... nothing left me on the edge of my seat. But it was an interesting read all the same.

[Redkon Wole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it to chapter six but that's as far as I can go. I don't like the author's writing style and I can't sympathize with any of the main characters. there's too many other books on my wish list to labor through this one. maybe I'll give it another try in a few years.

[Mark Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful writing in a tough thriller

A curious and disturbing tale of destiny and disaster. A young man finds himself being pulled into the dark world of crime, where his father was before him.

[Jerry Grahs · Rating 1 out of 5]

blech. dnf