Critics' Opinion:
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Published in USA
Mar 2012
288 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
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.
This is the first volume in a planned trilogy. In 2013 Scribner published the second book, Loss of Innocence (2013) - a prequel to Fall of Grace.
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"Starred Review. Readers will enjoy unraveling the tangled mystery alongside Adam right up until the last revelation." - Publishers Weekly
"After a slow start, the suspense builds as Adam gets closer to finding out who killed his father, and readers learn the cause of their estrangement. Both mysteries keep the pages turning, as will reader curiosity about the various family secrets and betrayals." - Booklist
"Another from the dependable Patterson." - Library Journal
"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
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Richard North Patterson was born on February 22, 1947 in Berkeley, California. He grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1968. In 1971 he graduated from Case Western Reserve Law School and went on to serve as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He was a partner in several of the country's leading law firms and also served as the liaison for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to the Watergate Special Prosecutor.
He started writing at the age of 29 when he had completed law school. He began his first book, The Lasko Tangent, as part of a creative writing course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It won the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the category "Best First Mystery Novel (American)" in 1980.
In 1993, ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Richard North Patterson's Website
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