Fall from Grace

A Novel

By: Richard North Patterson

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

The mysterious, violent death of a prominent New England patriarch exposes a nest of dark family secrets in bestselling author Richard North Patterson’s twentieth compelling novel. Adam Blaine arrives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard to attend the funeral of his estranged father, Ben Blaine, a famous and charismatic writer who has served as patriarch of his clan for many years. A man fond of sailboats, good wine, and women other than his wife, Ben Blaine has left behind a string of secrets in addition to an emotionally distraught widow and his strangely aloof mistress, Carla Pacelli, a beautiful television actress who once had a drug problem.

As soon as Adam arrives, he discovers that Ben has disinherited his mother, uncle, and brother in favor of his lover, and begins to wonder if his father’s death - caused by an inexplicable fall from a cliff - might be murder. Using his training as a CIA operative, Adam skillfully seeks to obscure the evidence suggesting that a family member may have killed his father, while at the same time fighting to undo the will, which favors the enigmatic Carla. As he walks this tightrope, Adam risks his freedom and perhaps his life, even as he unearths increasingly disturbing family secrets never meant to be discovered, and which cause him to question his understanding of his own life and everyone around him - his beloved mother, uncle, and brother and, not least, Carla.

Filled with tight psychological intrigue that will keep readers guessing until the very last page, Fall from Grace confirms that “Richard North Patterson is one of the best in the business” (Time).

©2012 Richard North Patterson (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

“ Fall from Grace is a stunning tale of betrayal and love - family members torn apart as the possible murder of the patriarch, whose power and prestige have dominated for decades, unravels secrets and scandals against the dramatic backdrop of the unforgiving Vineyard landscape. Richard North Patterson delivers thrilling suspense every time.” (Linda Fairstein, author of Silent Mercy)

" The Devil’s Light will grab you from the very first page and never let go. Patterson’s amazing storytelling is made all the better by his emotionally complex characters. I was intrigued.” (Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times best-selling author of 206 Bones)

“Richard North Patterson is a terrific novelist.” ( The Washington Post)

It was okay

RNP is an author I like because his plots are complicated and interesting. This one didn't have anyone you could really be proud of or cheer for. It was a somewhat predictible storyline. But interesting. It was complicated and I wish I could listen to it again but...no, I can't. When families are this messed up...I can't go back to the story again. Everything doesn't have to be feel good but this was depressing.

Great pacing, intimate scenes

Richard north Patterson excelled at creating a narrative told in a series of intimate conversations containing many levels of relations. Seeing how Adam, the main character, communicates with his estranged family, friends and lovers from his past, as well as how he handles a chess match with his father from beyond the grave is a treat.

Just okay

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The plot seems contrived. I was looking for a riveting suspense novel and I did not find one here.

Not His Best- But Still Worthwhile

I love Richard North Patterson so I always read or listen to his books. This was a fast moving story, the narration was good and there was some interesting psychology going on. It was not great- but certainly not a waste of time. I am glad I listened to this rather than read it though, since it wasnt really that original.

Could not put this book down!

What did you love best about Fall from Grace?

This book grabbed me and I could not put it down. I am a slow reader and usually only listen to my audio books on my drives. I listened to this while doing things around the house, on my walks and I finished it in a few days.

What other book might you compare Fall from Grace to and why?

I read Clive Cussler and Steve Martini. I like the way these authors also develop their characters, relationships, action, suspense, law and politics.

What does Dennis Boutsikaris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He had a good voice for Adam and did well on the others.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I like the talks Adam had revealing himself over the course of the book.

Any additional comments?

Great book and could not wait to read book 2!

Glad I stuck with it

Good who done it story. Took me a while to get into the story both the story and the reader just kind of slow moving but in the end I would recommend this book

Not his best but not bad either.

If your familiar with the authors previous works this book reminded me of his novel the spire in story structure. I did feel however that it was a bit anticlimactic. I enjoyed the mystery element of this story but I felt like overall it was missing something. I don't know if I had it to do over again if I would spend my credit on this but I did enjoy it and it made my drive to orlando a lot easier.

On and on...

Tended to just drag on and on. For $4.95 it was entertaining. But if I paid full price I would have been disappointed

Good Story

Worth a listen. I am looking forward to the other books in the trilogy.

Not his best work

The book felt like one long therapy session. Each secondary character (who was still alive) poured his or her heart out to the protagonist who then had to make sense of it all. There was lots of talking and little action. It was very predictable and read more like a souped up romance novel than a mystery novel. The protagonist did have an interesting back story but it was not fully developed. I expect it will be fleshed out in subsequent books.