It is summer, 2012. Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountaintop house. As the days grow hotter, the friendship between the three begins to reveal its fault lines, and with the arrival of a fourth character, the household finds itself suddenly in the grip of uncontrollable passions. As readers of James Lasdun's acclaimed fiction can expect, The Fall Guy is a complex moral tale as well as a gripping suspense story, probing questions of guilt and betrayal with ruthless incisiveness. Who is the real victim here? Who is the perpetrator? And who, ultimately, is the fall guy? Darkly vivid, with an atmosphere of erotic danger, The Fall Guy is Lasdun's most entertaining novel yet.
Industry Reviews
"Lasdun's controlled, devious storytelling style infuses every tick of the clock with tension." -- Kirkus Reviews "[A] terrific novel of suspense. . . Lasdun presents the inexorable turnings of fate in a subtle and disconcerting way." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Exquisitely written yet propulsively entertaining all at the same time. . . a journey into the psyche of a stalker by someone who has been stalked." -- Seattle Review of Books "As the pages turn, the nervous tension ticks ever higher in Lasdun's combustible psychological thriller." -- Entertainment Weekly "A twisty, chilly, exquisitely written, and tautly suspenseful exploration of big ideas in the guise of a psychological thriller. . .Lasdun's prose is both lapidary and hypnotic." -- Boston Globe "In The Fall Guy, James Lasdun brings the signature gifts to contemporary noir that he's displayed in other literary venues-wit, style, an attractive gravitas. And the tale itself is sharp, acute in its observations, and absorbing. It's a rich read." -- Norman Rush, author of Subtle Bodies "Expertly playing the noir card, Lasdun dissects the mercurial relationships among a wealthy financier, his photographer wife and an aimless cousin during a long hot summer in upstate New York. There are plenty of lies and betrayals in this stylish thriller, but it's the slow burn of obsession that makes it sing." -- People "This is the year, or perhaps the century, of the brain. What more can we ask than to have someone tell us how to change the brain in ways that improve our lives. In this book Sebern Fisher does just that. Over the many years of our many discussions about what works and what doesn't work in treating mental health problems, she has made a convincing argument that neurofeedback as a direct approach to changing behavioral patterns of the brain is an approach worth putting your money on. A truly wonderful, clinically insightful book." -- Joyce Carol Oates "Elegant and disturbing... This simple-seeming novel, so graceful in its unfolding, proves dense with psychological detail and sly social observations." -- Wall Street Journal "This is a truly groundbreaking book. Sebern Fisher combines a mastery of neurofeedback with a real knack for applying neuroscience to do nothing less than lay the groundwork for a new, powerful, mind-brain approach to the most serious cases of developmentally-based psychological trauma. Even if you don't practice neurofeedback, the treasure of precious clinical insights it offers so deepen an appreciation of the brain-mind interaction, that you can't help but be changed by this book." -- Joseph O'Neill, author of Netherland "[A] major breakthrough in the treatment of developmental trauma . . . . [A] must-read for clinicians . . . . [A] must-read for individuals whose lives have been hijacked by the "fear-driven brain." . . . [P]rovides a clear defined presentation of what developmental trauma is and how neurofeedback helps to form new neural connections, soothing regulation and emotional stability. . . . I can say, as a trauma therapist, who uses neurofeedback as one of many treatment modalities, Sebern Fishers' methods are tried and true. I use these methods and find them extremely effective." -- The Guardian "This book illustrates the masterful use of neurofeedback in psychotherapy for developmental trauma disorders. A must-read for all clinicians involved in the treatment of trauma spectrum disorders!" -- New York Times Book Review "The writing is excellent. [Sebern Fisher] helps explain why and how developmental trauma devastates and also why and how it is different than single-incident trauma or traditional post-traumatic stress. . . . She has taken on the mountain - the human brain - and helped us scale it and understand the dragon of fear that resides within for those of us with developmental trauma. . . . Because of her work - I know there's higher for me to climb." -- BookPage
