The Fallen

Robbie Brownlaw is an San Diego homicide detective who is called in to investigate the apparent suicide of an investigator for the city's ethics commission. Given the city's ethics could use quite a lot of investigating, and that the deceased formerly worked for the SDPD Internal Affairs Division, he had plenty of enemies, and consequently there are plenty of reasons to suspect the suicide is a set-up. Brownlaw sets about systematically checking out every possible lead, learning along the way that the victim had a trove of blackmail material connecting powerbrokers to a high-priced prostitution ring. He's good at his job, but he has one advantage he hasn't revealed to anyone. A few years ago he was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a show more burning building by a disturbed man and barely survived; ever since he has had synesthesia, a neurological condition that makes sounds take on color and shape. This is an imaginative adaptation of an uncommon but well-documented bit of neurological arcana, cleverly adapted to a crime fiction setting. In Brownlaw's case, his synesthesia makes people's emotions, revealed in the sound of their voices, visible as colored shapes. For him, it acts as a crude sort of lie-detector. Robbie Brownlaw is a terrific character - a genuinely nice guy whose brush with death made him aware of what matters. In some ways it distances him from people who are caught up in chronic restlessness, always searching for something more, something better, and there's a touching loneliness about him at times. Knowing whether someone is lying, or frightened or sad doesn't necessarily mean Brownlaw can connect to them. But he's determined to solve the case in front of him, and watching him proceed, step by step, makes The Fallen both a solid police procedural and a fascinating character study. show less

Twisty story told by homicide cop. After falling several stories from a hotel window a cop develops synesthesia, the ability to see people’s feelings as colors when they spoke. The story IS about his investigation of the murder of a former cop who had become an ethics investigator. The solution involves an unexpected twist. The story takes place in San Diego.

Robbie Brownlaw suffers from synesthesia which means that when people talk to him he sees their words in colors and can determine the truthfulness of what they say based on those hues. Since Robbie is a police detective, this "gift" has its advantages during investigations and interviews with witnesses as well as suspects. Robbie got this condition after falling from a 6 story building. His fall was broken by a cloth awning; however, that didn't prevent some injuries and the permanent synesthesia condition.


From all indications, The Fallen refers to Robbie and his accident, but as the novel progresses, it's clear that there's more than one "fallen" in the book. I've found T Jefferson Parker to be very reliable in writing interesting show more stories with intriguing characters, and The Fallen lives up to that standard. However, it is not one of Parker's best. I thought it was somewhat predictable as well as unrealistic particularly where Robbie's private life was concerned. In spite of that, though, Parker's second best work is still better than some authors' best, so I'd still recommend this one to mystery lovers. show less

Once again, Parker plumbs the seedy world of Southern California politics and corruption in the context of the execution of an ex-cop, ethics investigator, who appears to have been murdered for what he has uncovered in respect of a local prostitution ring. The detective uses the case to help resolve his own inner demons (synethesia) and abandonment by the wife he adores.

When Robbie Brownlaw was thrown out of a building and falls on his head he develops Synesthesia. He sees what people say to him as colours and it helps him in his job as a detective.

Garrett Asphlundth was hired to look into rumours about a certain reputed madam and local prominent politicians. He's killed in a way that looks like suicide but the clues don't add up. In order to find out what's wrong Brownlaw has to solve Asplundth's investigation.

I found it a very interesting read. I enjoyed the story and the personal stories.

Another excellent offering by T.J. Parker, tightly written, appealing characters, engaging plot.

This was a disappointing read. The idea of a person having synesthesia in a form that allows them to know if others are being truthful was interesting, but the sappy personal relationships were disappointing.