★Dahl, Julia. I Dreamed of Falling. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Sept. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781250865977. $29. THRILLER

This stand-alone from award-winning Dahl (author of the Rebekah Roberts series) introduces a journalist forced to uncover secrets in his own family. As the only reporter in a small Hudson Valley town, Roman Grady covers everything from meetings to park-bench dedications. When his romantic partner Ashley dies at the home of Bella, a known drug user, he is devastated. Roman thought he knew the town’s story, and he knew Ashley experienced depression after the birth of their son, Mason, four years earlier at the height of the pandemic. He didn’t know Ashley had resumed a friendship with Bella. When the police chief shows little interest in investigating Ashley’s death, Roman turns to his mother, Tara, for help. Tara had been a lousy teenage mother, but she redeemed herself with her devotion to Mason. Now she and Roman are determined to investigate. As Roman and Tara dig into Ashley’s relationships and uncover her plans for the future, they learn they didn’t know as much about her as they thought. VERDICT The devastating crime novel will appeal to readers who appreciate tragic family stories and fans of Julia Keller’s Bell Elkins books.