Review – Deadfall

In Deadfall, a psychopathic terrorist with a stolen, ultra-sophisticated laser weapon sets out to wreak havoc on the innocent small town of Fiddler Falls in the Canadian wilderness. Selected for the remote and at times of the year, unreachable location, Fiddler Falls is easily controlled by Declan Gabriel Page, his laser weapon, and his band of oddball associates including his fifteen-year-old little brother.

At the same time, four businessmen, escaping their own turmoil back home, set off for a vacation very near Fiddler Falls. Expecting the quiet and solitude to refresh and renew their spirits they soon find themselves not only running from the same weapon, but faced with the decision to stay and help the residents of Fiddler Falls, or flee to save themselves. Though they don’t know it at the time, their decision could well decide the fate of the entire town of Fiddler Falls.

In true Robert Liparulo form, Deadfall opens with a gory scene that burns an unforgettable picture in your brain, one that repels you at first, but then compels you to read the book, hoping that the perpetrator of the ugly evil is eradicated or at the very least contained. From that point on, the characters engaged in nonstop action carry the book to the conclusion, while the reader hopes for a positive outcome but doesn’t discover until the very end whether Liparulo gives him one or not.

Deadfall succeeds as a thriller in that Liparulo makes the reader believe that his horrifying, truly unbelievable scenario really could happen. And not just happen anywhere or to anyone, but could one day appear in your neighborhood if not stopped. The reader has a vested interest in bringing the ‘bad guys’ to justice.

Don’t expect Deadfall to race to the end like Germ, instead slow down and savor Liparulo’s characters and their interactions on the journey. It is through these everyday characters and their personal struggles that he connects with the reader. You find yourself rooting for the ‘good guys’ to overcome and lament with them in their setbacks. You also find yourself waiting not so patiently for Declan’s evil band of warriors to wise up, to tire of his insanity, and to mutiny.

But do they mutiny? Do the ‘good guys’ win in the end? Are the residents of Fiddler Falls saved or does evil prevail? You’ll have to pick up a copy of Deadfall to answer these questions, but when you do be prepared for that Liparulo signature first chapter and a book that won’t let you put it down.