The Fall Will Probabky Kill You

Brian McMahon | Some Other Time Books 384p, trade paper, $16.99, ISBN 979-8-9879181-0-4

Blending a lifelong love story with themes of political corruption and disillusionment, McMahon (Seaview Road) centers this tense novel on Teddy Thompson’s undying feelings for Charlotte Pennington, a love that persists even when she falls for his roommate Braden Edwards. Charlotte has always been in Ted’s life, along with her father, the charming and charismatic Senator Conrad Pennington, who has eyes on the White House. Conrad also has a special affection for Ted, a young progressive who the Democratic senator mentors into becoming an important team member. In a parallel narrative that takes place ahead of Ted’s time, detectives Figgy and Norelli investigate a seemingly random murder that later acquires sinister tones. As the presidential elections near, the narratives inevitably converge, all as the novel teases the link between an ascent and a fall.

McMahon’s language is subtle and shrewd, and he’s adept both at backroom dialogue and polished political speechcraft and TV appearances. The different timelines and the sense—stirred by the title and Teddy’s arresting announcement that “I am writing this for you in case anything happens to me”— that a tragedy is looming will set readers on edge, especially as McMahon suggests that everything’s not exactly as Teddy perceives it to be. The happenings and discoveries of both timelines clash tellingly with each other, adding nicely to the tension. The characters, too, are well-etched and convincing; McMahon favors empathy and complexity over easy villainy, and in spite of their failings this cast succeeds in winning reader affection.

The intriguing, complex nature of Teddy’s love both for Charlotte and Conrad is delineated well. One final twist strains credulity, but McMahon writes with compelling power of the feeling of getting in too deep and possibly losing one’s self. A sharp line like this, about Teddy being handed a bag to vomit into, lingers after the last page is turned: “I deposited some jerk chicken and whatever was left of my soul into it.”

Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Compelling novel of love, politics, and the loss of one’s soul.

Great for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife, Kennedy Ryan’s The Kingmaker.