Deadfall

by David Lennon

Thirteen years after a serial killer stalked the streets and forests of a small Massachusetts town, the last near-victim returns hoping to rebuild his life after recovering from a coma. As Danny Tyler pieces together fragments of lost memory, however, he begins to realize that not only was his childhood very different than he thought at the time, but the wrong man might be in jail for the murders.

Part mystery and part meditation on the nature of perception and memory, DEADFALL explores the dynamics of family and relationships in the aftermath of tragedy.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

Boston-area native David Lennon is the author of nine books, including the seven-book (and counting) series featuring New Orleans-based detectives Michel Doucette and Alexandra "Sassy" Jones. His books have been nominated for five Lambda Literary awards, and he was the recipient of the 2010 Lammy for Best Gay Mystery for his second book, ECHOES.

He now lives in Kennebunk, Maine, with his husband and their dog.

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was falling, his heart banging, and then...blackness.

That was the last memories Danny had when he awakened from his coma twelve years later. 9 months of Reba followed, during which he learned again how to sit, to speak and to go. And though mainly his memories came back, little by little, there was still a big memory gap relating to events of the last days before the accident and that day when his best friend was killed and he fell. After 13 years Danny returned to his hometown in the house where he lived with his mother before his falling, to start a new old life and to get his memories back.

There were many unanswered questions and a deeply hidden truth that Danny had to uncover.

I didn't know what to expect from a mystery with such an intriguing beginning, but for sure not THIS quantity of disturbing family secrets and as a result so MANY damaged fates and ruined human lives, so MUCH unfairness and injustice per capita for this small town.

Monsters became more evil, and the characters that were supposed to play good guys shocked with their naivety and indifference toward human lives. I had no compassion for them and no understanding of their situation, doesn't matter how hard the author tried to convince otherwise to justify their absence of responsibility. My own issues.

I don't want to give a lot of away. It was my first David Lennon, and for sure not the last one. In spite of the fact that I didn't find even a single character TO LOVE in this story- but too many to feel pity with (the reason I explained above) - I stayed awake all night long, not able to put the book aside.

A mystery with a poor police work and a sloppy job of the justice system, that I'd like to believe is a pure work of fiction!

But David Lennon set the focus not on the mystery itself but on the nature of perception and memory exploring the dynamics of family and relationships in the aftermath of tragedy, and he , as a talented mystery author, knows exactly how to entertain his readers and to keep them on the edge of their seats!

[Aussie54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a first-rate story! I haven’t read anything like this before, and really enjoyed it.

The premise is compelling – a young man awakens from a 13 year long coma. He’s lost some of the memories of his earlier life, particularly the time around his accident, and returns home, hoping to regain those memories. He discovers that the things he imagined to be true aren’t what they seemed at all. His memories start returning, cleverly written as flash-backs. Just who really was the paedophile child killer, and how did Danny end up at the bottom of the cliff? How will his relationship with his earlier boyfriend evolve?

Learning about what really happened at the same time as Danny does makes for absorbing reading. This was a five star read for me. Highly recommended.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Lennon is one fine storyteller! Deadfall is a stand-alone psychological thriller completely different than his Quarter Boys series (I'm a huge fan!) and a novel I highly recommend. The story is unique, the psychological tension within the novel engages the reader and it's hard to put down! Highly recommended!

[Curt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! David Lennon did it again... Deadfall is an amazing and well told story. A twisted mystery as the main character tries to unravel his memories the led up to and during a twelve year coma. Excellent!

[Mark McNease · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon David Lennon’s The Quarter Boys a couple years ago, a thoroughly engrossing and entertaining story set in New Orleans and populated with colorful, multidimensional characters. The moment I began reading his new book, DeadFall, I found myself transported instantly into the story. The main character, Danny Tyler, has woken up after being comatose for thirteen years. He got that way through a mysterious series of events involving a fall, a serial killer, a (possibly) innocent man imprisoned for the crimes and for Danny's attempted murder, a gay father, a cold mother, and a small group of other lost boys who aren't so young anymore. The book explores the fading nature of memories. What is real, and what imagined? Who is the killer, and what secrets are keeping the truth from being known?

As someone who used to look up my high school boyfriend's name in the phone book (before the internet) every time I went to Indiana to see my parents, I was quickly drawn into the emotions of the story, the boys who had sex and might have had more had things not taken a terrible turn. The story is richly layered and expertly told, with an underlying melancholy that seeps from the pores of the central mystery. A must read for lovers of the well-written mystery.

[Angel Pedroza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book.