Fall Guy

By Carol Lea Benjamin

Book Overview

A private detective and her dog investigate a cop's death in this "page-turner" that will have "even die-hard mystery readers . . . guessing until the end" (Publishers Weekly).

Officer Timothy O'Fallon's death may have been ruled an accident, but private investigator Rachel Alexander can't let the details of his case go. Allegedly, the cop was cleaning his service revolver when it misfired--but why did he name Alexander as the executor of his will? O'Fallon was a stranger to her, a member of the 9/11 survivors group she went to with her pit bull Dashiell. Though he attended all the meetings, he never spoke a word. Outside of the single sentence O'Fallon uttered to her one night after he'd taken Dash for a walk around the block--returning the dog with his fur soaked in tears--Rachel knows nothing about him.

Now she's calling the siblings he didn't trust enough to settle his affairs to tell them the news of his sudden passing. And the more she searches through the details of his lonely life, prowling the corners of the Greenwich Village neighborhood they once shared, the more of a mystery he becomes.

Was his death a suicide? Or something more sinister? As Rachel sets about her work, she soon discovers the secrets in O'Fallon's past that led to his tragic end. . . .

"One of the best private eye series around." --Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Fool Me Once

"Benjamin's work is] first rate." --The Plain Dealer

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1504099796
• ISBN13: 9781504099790
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Thoroughly enjoying

I have read most of Ms. Benjamin books and I have to say this was one of the best. It was not the normal who-done-it. Bringing all the pieces of the puzzle together at the end in an unexpected twist. I had not drawn the same conclusion until the last moment and then it made perfect sense. Being a dog lover myself, I always enjoy the unique manner that "Dash" is worked into the storyline.

Great Read

This is an excellent mystery by Carol Lea Benjamin. I had read some of her earlier books, but this is her best to date. She weaves an interesting mystery -- it's not cookie-cutter like so many of them out there. PI Rachel Alexander is chosen by an NYPD detective as the executor for his estate who tragically dies in a fatal gun-cleaning "accident." Rachel barely knew the cop, which adds to the overall mystery as to why he chose her. I found that they mystery became more and more intriguing and the ending was quite a surprise. A good read!

A great book

Ms. Benjamin is a gifted writer and this book is up to her always high standards. In addition to being a well written mystery, this book is the most touching account I've read about the impact of September 11th. While never overt, the devastation wrought that day, the pain and loss and change to us all are there in the background, part of the characters just as they are part of the reader. I can't recommend this book highly enough, even if mysteries are not your standard fare I urge you to make an exception for this truly exceptional work.

Not just for dog lovers

Susan Conant and Carol Lea Benjamin have created strong female detectives who use dog training to solve mysteries. But the resemblance ends there. Rachel Alexander is a tough New York licensed PI, not an amateur. She lives alone, without a steady boyfriend, and has a loving but realistic relationship with her dog, a pit bull named Dashiell. Conant's Holly Winter is warm and fuzzy; Benjamin's Rachel Alexander is street-smart and tough. And while Holly Winter is unabashedly a dog fanatic, Rachel Alexander doesn't go into rhapsodies over Dashiell. He's a good dog. She's a good trainer. What else would you expect? Or put another way, you don't have to like dogs to enjoy this mystery, while enjoyment Susan Conant's books will be deepened by dog ownership. I learned that first-hand! And as a result, Benjamin's plots tend to be edgier. Here Rachel discovers she has been named executor of a will for Timothy O'Fallon, a man she met briefly in a pet-therapy group. She agrees, suspecting that the dead man had a reason for asking her to do the job. And of course she's getting paid the customary executor's fee. Rachel learns Tim was a cop from a family with tragedies to rival the more famous Irish family, the Kennedys. She also begins to wonder if his death really was a suicide, especially since she discovers a note from a family member, "I saw what you did." A tragic event from Tim's childhood seems to be haunting him today. Up to the very last chapter, I was riveted by the characters, writing and plot. I loved Rachel's discussion of therapy dogs. I enjoyed her interactions with the off-beat Village people. Her encounter with Detective Michael Brody seems headed for a longer romance. Experienced mystery readers will look for villains close to home. Trying not to spoil the plot, I'd have to say that Benjamin doesn't play by the usual detective rules of when to introduce the villain. The climactic scene -- de rigeur for modern mysteries -- seems a little forced. If you like to go back and say, "Ah, I see where I could have guessed the ending," you'll be disappointed. But if you want a fast-paced absorbing read, and a chance to spend time in the Village with some interesting people and a delightful dog, this novel is for you. I awarded five stars because I wish I'd had this book on my last airplane ride!

A terrific New York mystery

This is a terrific book. The characters are compelling, the plot complex, the pace swift. Rachel's evident professionalism is in evidence throughout, while her dog, Dash, adds another dimension to her activities. Beware, though, if you're expecting Dash to solve the crime. Fall Guy is surpringly Hard-boiled, a lot closer to Sue Grafton, then to Lillian Jackson Braun. I heartily recommend it.