I Dreamed of Falling

By: Julia Dahl

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This book was different than what I expected. In this novel, we meet Roman, Ashley, and their son Mason. Ashley and Roman have been together for a long time but aren’t married. Roman is a reporter for a small town newspaper and finds himself investigating Ashley’s death. What he finds is that he never really knew her at all. What he doesn’t expect is who killed her.

This is described as a gripping thriller. But I didn’t find it gripping, and I didn’t find it thrilling. It was more mystery than anything else – a whodunit. Were there secrets? Tons of them! It seemed like everyone in the book was keeping secrets. Was I shocked at the end when it was revealed who actually killed Ashley? You betcha! I had not a clue in the world.

So then why, you may ask, did I not particularly love this book? There’s a few reasons. First, it gets to be VERY repetitive. Ashley was pregnant and gave birth during covid. There were complications with her labor and delivery and they didn’t know if she was doing to make it. That is absolutely important to the storyline, especially the post partum depression. I just don’t need to be reminded of it 3-4 times. I was also pregnant and gave birth during covid, and I know every hospital everywhere was different, but my husband was able to come in (I gave birth in June 2020). Second, the middle just got to be so drawn out and boring. I was falling asleep reading it; reading the middle felt like a chore.

This author is described as acclaimed, but maybe she’s just not for me. There was so much that could have been done with this book with the PPD and childhood grief. Felt like a lost opportunity.

Anyway, there are those that loved it and will love it. Just not for me.

If you’re interested in checking it out, it will be available Sept. 17, 2024. You can find it here.