Christina Kovac, a former journalist, used her background knowledge of the political news industry to propel her debut novel, The Cutaway, onto reader and critic radars several years ago. She now returns with Watch Us Fall—a incisive look at friendship and love that examines the bonds that hold us together: those stories we tell others and the stories we tell ourselves. Because this is Christina Kovac, readers also get a compelling mystery that more than satisfies, but it’s the insightful look at human psychology that resonates the longest—and will likely leave fans feeling very introspective.
Lucy, Addie, Estelle, and Penelope. Four strangers who quickly became the best of friends when they were randomly selected to be roommates at university. They now share a coveted corner brownstone in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood within our Nation’s capital. As they navigate post-graduate jobs, romantic relationships, and the general stresses life sends our way, these four friends share everything with each other. So, when Addie’s boyfriend, Josh—a highly successful and recognizable news anchor—goes missing suddenly, these four besties close ranks and try to figure out what happened.
Josh is a member of a political family dynasty who is known for uncovering the dirt in the Washington corridor’s “swamp,” so many agencies are looking for answers. Addie is distraught, but it is only after she tells Lucy something that Josh told her in confidence that the ties that bind begin to unwind. Can these four women navigate the challenges of friendship in the shadow of much bigger problems.
Told via two points of view—Lucy’s current chronological look at the days after Josh goes missing, interspersed with Josh’s recounting of the days leading up to his disappearance—Christina Kovac wisely forgoes any unnecessary subplots and focuses the reader squarely on the issue at hand. This makes for a streamlined novel that can almost be read in one-sitting—and benefits from such immersion.
Too much more of the plot would be a spoiler here but know that Christina Kovac is writing more than a missing person’s mystery here. Watch Us Fall is a look at trauma in the holistic sense—Individual trauma, community trauma, and maybe even Global trauma. Readers witness the desire for connection, especially after great loss, that manifests itself in a myriad of different ways depending on the person. Some of these ways are healthy and others quickly become toxic, but the truth is that it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the extremes from within. In the background—and never really mentioned directly—is something that is now an intrinsic part of each of us: how do we handle lies and lying when the truth has become a moving target? Truth has become what one believes, often regardless of objective data. Christina Kovac has tapped into this idea and, sadly, foresees its continued effect on all our personal relationships.
Watch Us Fall is all-consuming and leaves readers thinking about themselves and those around them. Let’s hope that with this domestic suspense/mystery, Christina Kovac’s deep dive into human psychology can help us all to better understand each other—even just a little bit.
BUY LINKS: Watch Us Fall by Christina Kovac
Disclaimer: An e-galley of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
