I Dreamed of Falling

Starred review from July 15, 2024
After suffering severe postpartum depression, yoga instructor Ashley Lillian has just gotten back on her feet when she’s found dead, plunging her already-dysfunctional family into a maelstrom of grief, guilt, and recriminations, in this moving psychological thriller from Dahl (The Missing Hours). As police in the tiny Hudson Valley town of Adamsville, N.Y., investigate how Ashley’s body ended up on the slope below the home where she’d been partying with her estranged ex-lover, Bella Abernathy, Ashley’s current partner, Roman Grady—the sole reporter for the local newspaper—can’t help but start asking questions of his own. Roman, who spent the fateful night in Manhattan, wonders when Ashley reconnected with Bella, what happened to her phone, and what accounts for a bizarre discrepancy in the cash-strapped couple’s finances. As Roman takes a fresh look at the people in his orbit—including his domineering mother, Tara, with whom he and Ashley had been living—he begins to fear he may not have known them at all. Dahl’s gift for suspense will keep readers flipping pages, but in the end, it’s her finely wrought characters they’ll remember. It’s an impressive leap forward from the author’s previous, more plot-driven efforts. (Sept.)This review has been updated to remove a spoiler.

July 1, 2024

Former reporter and Edgar finalist Dahl (The Missing Hours) returns with a story about painful secrets in a small Hudson Valley town. As newspaper reporter Roman Grady starts asking questions about the death of Ashley, his girlfriend and the mother of his son, he uncovers dangerous answers. With a 75K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2024
Long-term partners Roman and Ashley never pretended to have the perfect life or relationship, especially while living in their small New York hometown full of reminders of their tumultuous upbringings. After the birth of their now four-year-old son, the emotional distance between them became a part of their day-to-day. Both kept secrets from each other, but it is not until Ashley is found dead that Roman discovers just how disconnected the two really were. Hoping to find what led to her death, Roman sets out to uncover the hidden life Ashley was living, with help from his mother, his mother's fianc�, and estranged friends. The definition of gut-wrenching, Dahl's fifth novel centers around an authentic portrayal of people trying their best to survive and redeem themselves from past mistakes. I Dreamed of Falling is a perfectly crafted thriller that goes beyond a classic whodunit. Layered with complicated character arcs, unforeseen twists, and well-thought-out details, this novel--and the circumstances surrounding Ashley's death--will be on the minds of readers well after they've finished.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.