Ithaca Falls

by Steve Thayer

In Ithaca, New York, in 1929 , John Alden tells a gathering of academics that he is a visitor from the twenty first century―that he washed up on their campus after tumbling over a waterfall in the year 2010. He further claims to be a retired New York City detective who went over Ithaca Falls in pursuit of a serial killer. The revelation sets off weeks of trepidation in the storied hills of Cornell University as the strange visitor tells of an attempt to alter the course of history by assassinating Franklin Roosevelt.

Genres: Book Club, Historical Fiction

344 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2015

About the author

STEVE THAYER is the New York Times best-selling author of Saint Mudd, Silent Snow, and The Wheat Field. He lives in Edina, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Ryan Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish Steve Thayer would write more books and that more people would read the ones that he has written. This one took me a little while to get into but once I got my bearings, I finished it in two nights.

The book is hard to describe--murder mystery, time travel (maybe?), local ghost stories and some romance. John Alden is an ex-detective turned professor at Cornell University and is on the trail of a serial killer. On Halloween night 2010, he believes that he has found his man and chases him onto a rickety bridge over the river that feeds Ithaca Falls. There is a struggle and both men fall and plummet down over the falls to certain death...only Alden wakes up in 1929.

As I type this, it sounds somewhat ridiculous and a big departure from Thayer's earlier works but he pulls it off. There is less focus on the mechanics of the time travel and more focus on characters and place. The descriptions were vivid--I felt like I was there. Slow starter but stick with it--well worth your time.

[Jeffrey Cosen · Rating 1 out of 5]

As soon as I finished this book, I immediately filed it into the trash can where it belongs. I usually would give it to the Library Book Sale, but I don't want to be responsible for some other poor sap accidentally reading it. Everything about it is simply atrocious. The writing asks the reader how the book was ever anything but a self-published vanity project, and makes one promise to never crack the spine of either a Thayer work or a Conquill Press imprint ever again. The plotting is nonsensical, even for a book that purports to deal with time travel. And almost worst of all, it is readily apparent that the author is completely and totally ignorant of the geography of Ithaca, where he pretends to set his scene. How hard is it to do some minimal, basic research? Apparently too hard for Steve Thayer. And the world is a worse place because of it.

[John Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Thayer is one of my favorite local (Minnesota) authors. His previous stories have been well written and extremely entertaining and often even educationial. However, the first time I picked this up I just couldn't get into it and so, for that, it gets 2 Stars. But the story was different and entertaining, so for that I'll give it 4 Stars. But it's harder to follow at times than I think it really needs to be for the story to work and, for that, I have to give it 2 Stars again. So I think when all is said and done, I'll just give it 3 Stars.
It's been seven years now since Ithaca Falls was published. It was seven years before Ithaca Falls that The Leper came out. Wikipedia says about Thayer, "Publishing-industry turmoil led him to take a break from publishing after 2008's The Leper until 2015's Ithaca Falls...." I sure hope he hasn't quit writing.

[Lori Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Ithaca Falls, Thayer asks the reader to question everything. First you meet a professor at Cornell University. He teaches profiling and criminal science. He is on the trail of a serial killer who has killed his wife and lover. Seems simple enough.

Then, he finds his man just before he kills again. He and the killer fight on a bridge over Ithaca Falls. Both men fall in.

When the professor wakes up, he is in an another time. He is still at Cornell, but now it is 1929. Or is this whole story the imaginings of an insane mind.

I love the twists and turns of this book. The question of who is the killer. Is the professor from another time? Is he crazy? Is he reliving a past life? I can't say any more or I will ruin the book. But I would recommend it.

[Rebecca Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever been to Ithaca, New York and visited Cornell, this is a must-read. I honestly don't know why Steve Thayer hasn't become a bigger name. He's masterful, and his characters are rich.
Maybe the time travel/magic realism imbued into this book is what kept it from hitting the top charts. That's the only thing I can think of. I think it was a wonderful read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! It would be a great book club book.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Steve Thayer is one of my favorite authors. I can't believe he wrote this one. I could hardly get into it at all.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might have given this 4 stars, but the guy-from-the-future thread was wearing thin by the end. Fun, though, and pretty well done. Makes me want to visit that campus.

[Bill Schiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find Steve Thayer to be an excellent author. He never disappoints. So very thoughtful, with deep, likable, characters. I'd love it if he would write a long series of books.