Falling

A worthy follow-up to her 2015 debut, Falling whisks us back to the summer of 1813 and the brief American occupation of Queenston where it explores the events leading up to Laura Secord’s historic walk of June 21.

In this prequel to The Tree of Life, Leo Becker has only recently moved into the Rose Park mansion at the invitation of his cousin Dilys. He knows nothing, however, of the strange working of the Tower Room, but that is about to change.

His daughter Francine, a whip-smart Toronto lawyer, is pregnant, and pregnancy has done nothing to soften the naturally jagged edges of her personality. When she is hospitalized over concerns with her blood pressure, it appears likely that Francine, incensed over her forced “incarceration” will soon be dragging the entire hospital into court. And then there is the strange in utero behaviour of the baby…

Leo is beside himself with worry and Dilys deems the situation ripe for his initiation into the mysteries of the Tower Room. With a nourishing soup for Francine simmering in the kitchen, Dilys takes Leo upstairs for a talk and a cup of tea.

What happens next is the last thing Leo expects.