Review: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You

Let the Shadows Fall Behind You, by Kathy-Diane Leveille



A Reader's Respite would like you to note the cover of Kathy-Diane Leveille's newest thriller. What do you see? More importantly, what do you NOT see?

That's right, my friends. Not a headless woman nor a obnoxious blurb to be found. Not on the front, not on the back, nowhere.

Needless to say, this garnered Let the Shadows Fall Behind You a bunch of extra bonus points before we even opened the book.

So when the rest of this character-driven thriller turned out to be fabulous, we knew we found a winner. Let the Shadows Fall Behind You is a taut psychological thriller with more than enough mystery and rich characterization to keep us mesmerized.

A short synopsis? Well in this case, the author provides are a far more interesting one than A Reader's Respite could awkwardly peck out on the keyboard:

On a grey morning in Northern Ontario in 1978, when the first fat snowflakes drifted down erasing all the familiar landmarks, Nikolai Mirsky headed out the door of the haunted cabin he shared with his lover, Brannagh Maloney. And disappeared…

Brannagh, a Natural Science Illustrator, struggled to collate the data from their bird count through the long winter. By the time the icicles began to melt, she was filled with a growing dread that the infamous wilderness preservationist wasn’t returning.

When Brannagh left New Brunswick, ten years ago, she swore it was for good. But now her best friend, Annie, won’t stop worrying about her, and won’t stop hounding her to come back for a reunion of their childhood all-girls club The Tuatha-de-Dannans. Brannagh finally relents, but she refuses to go to her childhood home and face her irascible Grandfather. Instead, she hides out at her Grandmother’s summer cottage, even though it is far too close to the woods where her mother was murdered. As Brannagh struggles to put to rest the questions surrounding Nikki’s disappearance, she finds it impossible to ignore the family secrets circling the most tragic disappearance of all. Brannagh learns that nothing magical will ever change her past, but the fierce love of friends holds the power to transform the future.

Now, if you happened to catch the author's guest post, you'll remember Kathy saying that this novel was actually rejected by publishers due to the multiple time lines that flit around in the book. Our verdict? It works. It really, really works. No confusion here whatsoever since the protagonist Brannagh appears in each time period. Think of each frame as a piece of the puzzle and as the taut plotline crescendos, each frame gets shorter and tenser, drawing the reader in until putting the book down seems an impossible task.

Now recall that we mentioned this is a character-driven thriller...you won't find shoot 'em up, car-chase, exploding buildings here, folks. It is the characters themselves and the secrets they keep that provides more than enough action.

This is a highly recommended novel and A Reader's Respite isn't the only one who thinks so: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You made Booklist's Top Ten Crime Books list.


Now yesterday, we mentioned a giveaway with a twist. Yes, A Reader's Respite is going to give a copy of this novel to a random winner. But the winner must agree to read, review and hold their own giveaway of this copy of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You.

So if you have a blog, that's great. If you don't have a blog, that's okay, too - just submit your review to A Reader's Respite and we'll provide the venue for your review and giveaway. All you have to do is mail the book to the new winner.

So leave a comment if you'd like a chance to read and review this fantastic new novel. International entrants are encouraged, as always! Our random drawing will be held on Wednesday, May 27th, so get your entries in!


Title: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You
Author: Kathy-Diane Leveille
ISBN-13: 978-1601641670
288 pages
Publisher: Kunati Inc.
Date: April 1, 2009


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Booking Mama
The Thrill Begins
Cheryl's Book Nook