Books
Should I Fall

by Scott Shepherd
Mysterious Press, July 2022, $25.95

Following the events of last year’s The Last Commandment, author Scott Shepherd’s Commander Austin Grant is back, but the happy occasion of his daughter’s marriage to NYPD Detective John Frankel gets thrown for quite the loop when Frankel’s ex-wife is found dead in his apartment. Worse yet, John is nowhere to be found.

Since the previous book, Austin has retired as a commander from Scotland Yard, but he and his journalist daughter are on the case of how John’s ex-wife turned up dead in his apartment and what she was doing in town in the first place. But once John appears, he does himself no favors by refusing to answer questions.

What was John up to? And why is he hiding the truth from his fiancée and her father, not to mention the police who consider him the prime suspect? As Austin and Rachel look into things, they soon turn up answers that cast doubt not only on John’s story, but his entire relationship with Rachel.

The trail leads to Hawaii to discover what the victim was up to while living there. Meanwhile, John goes on the run to track down more answers that will hopefully clear his name. That plan goes awry when the NYPD issues a warrant for his arrest that soon lands Frankel in a cell. This leaves him dependent on Austin and Rachel continuing to investigate on their own. With a case that is challenging on every front, Austin and Rachel will have to race against the NYPD and the actual killer to find the truth before John Frankel ends up going down for crimes they believe he didn’t commit.

Scott Shepherd develops each of his main characters from start to finish. As I read Should I Fall, I found it rather enjoyable to see Austin stepping into the fire in order to investigate the case. He may be retired from his job, but the desire to set things right isn’t something that goes away. Rachel is torn between “knowing” her fiancé is innocent but wondering why he’s holding back certain information from her and the cops. There’s a lot to dig into with the story and you will find yourself drawn into Should I Fall’s twisty plotline that takes readers in a number of directions while keeping them off balance until the final jaw-dropping reveal.

Jay Roberts
Teri Duerr
7550
Shepherd
July 2022
should-i-fall
25.95
Mysterious Press