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Falling
416 pages
A dark, twisting psychological descent that explores how broken people can sometimes find the pieces of themselves in their enemies.
What it feels like
This is a thriller that thrives in the gray areas of human morality, pulling the reader into a tense, brooding atmosphere where trauma dictates every choice. The narrative moves at a brisk, suspenseful clip, yet it always prioritizes the psychological weight of its characters over simple action. You are immersed in a world of deep emotional scars, experiencing the claustrophobia of a fractured mind trying to solve a crime committed by a surprisingly sympathetic antagonist. The prose is direct and unflinching, stripping away the typical hero-villain dynamic to reveal a raw, empathetic core. It is a dark, propulsive read that will captivate fans of character-driven suspense who appreciate stories where healing comes from the most unsettling and unexpected connections.
- Mood
- tense
- brooding
- psychologically heavy
- claustrophobic
- Tone
- intense
- empathetic
- dark
- suspenseful
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- healing from trauma · moral ambiguity · the anatomy of revenge · unlikely empathy · blurred lines of justice
- The writing
- Direct, fast-paced, and psychologically probing, focusing heavily on the internal torment of its characters.
- The arc
- Moves from a place of deep psychological fracture and vengeful bitterness toward an unexpected, hard-won sense of redemption and wholeness.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love dark, character-driven psychological thrillers where the lines between the hunter and the hunted blur into mutual understanding.
Content notes
- child abduction
- past trauma and assault
- violence
- psychological manipulation
About the book
In Falling, Christopher Pike explores the depth and breadth of human emotion through two brilliantly etched characters: Kelly Feinman, who pays a terrible price to understand the nature of true evil; and Matt Connor, a classic anti-hero who captures the reader's sympathy.
Kelly Feinman: Once a brilliant FBI profiler and field agent, Kelly went rogue on her last case, hunting the serial killer known as the Acid Man. Now, still recovering from the madman's brutal assault, regarded by her fellow agents as a weak link, Kelly struggles to find her footing on a new case: the kidnapping of an infant, Jimmy Techer. Making matters worse, Kelly's husband has taken their daughter and left. Kelly fears she cannot even trust her own instincts.
Matt Connor: Deeply in love with his girlfriend, Matt is devastated when Amy leaves him for another man. He plots a diabolical revenge that begins with his apparent death. By the time Matt is through, Amy--Jimmy's mother--will know the intensity of Matt's pain, because it will have become her own. And Matt...Matt will pass through the fires of hell and, in the eyes of baby Jimmy, will recover his soul.
Matt Connor is a kidnapper. Kelly Feinman is the agent on his trail. They should be enemies. Instead, they become friends, and together, they help each other become whole.
Description from Open Library.
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