[.ca] Fallen,The (Cd) (Unabr.) (ISBN 1590869796)

A CAN'T-STOP-LISTENING-TO-IT THRILLER:
Two-time Edgar Award winner T. Jefferson Parker (California Girl, Cold Pursuit, Black Water) well knows how to pen a can't-put-down mystery. His psychological insights serve to flesh out his characters, rendering them believable, next door real. With The Fallen we meet Robbie Brownlaw, a San Diego homicide detective, who suffers (or benefits, as the case may be) from synesthesia, a neurological disorder that enables him to not just hear voices but see the speaker's emotions by means of colored shapes. For instance, when someone talks to him he may not only hear words but also see a yellow square, a red circle, etc. Thus, he is quite able to tell whether a person is telling the truth or not. He has what he refers to as a primitive lie detector. He's assigned to investigate the death of Garrett Asplundh, an apparent suicide. But. Brownlaw and his partner, McKenzie Cortez don't buy this explanation. Asplundh had left the San Diego Police Department to become an ethics investigator, looking into the activities of city employees. Despite the fact that he'd recently suffered a great personal loss, why would Asplundh take his own life. More likely it was murder, but who and why? Parker limns San Diego as few can. Voice performer David Colacci has a host of audio books to his credit. As he puts it, narrating is "the opportunity to totally live in the world of the story." And, that is the gift he gives his listeners. Sit back and enjoy! - Gail Cooke

Review from Midwest Book Review:
San Diego homicide detective Robbie Brownlaw lived an ordinary life until he was thrown out of a sixth-floor window. Brownlaw survived but developed synesthesia and now sees voices as colored shapes which relay the true emotions behind spoken words. Brownlaw has learned to trust his condition and feels he has his own internal "lie detector". He has also developed a friendship with the man who threw him from the window but finds his marriage beginning to fall apart. When the body of ethics investigator Garrett Asplundh is found in his car beneath the bridge where he proposed to his wife, the general consensus is suicide. After his little girl drowned, Asplundh separated from his wife and began drinking heavily. Brownlaw and his partner, McKenzie Cortez, investigate the case and quickly determine Asplundh was murdered. When he died, Asplundh was investigating a case which involved local government officials and could influence the city's upcoming financial ranking if the results become known. Was the murder tied to his investigation or one of a more personal nature? Parker's written a well-paced mystery with a unique character in Brownlaw. Characterization is nicely portrayed, from Brownlaw's frustration over his crumbling marriage to insights into Asplundh's agony over the death of his daughter and subsequent acts of benevolence.

Good summer read:
I'm not a big fan of police procedurals, but this is a good one. The writing is tight and the pacing is excellent. The main character's twist -- that he sees other people's emotions as shapes and colours when they talk -- is actually very well done. Far from being absurd, it actually adds an intriguing take on the story and characters and mystery. The plot didn't knock my socks off, but it is a good book for the cottage.