It All Falls Down: A Novel

Written by Sheena Kamal

Narrated by Bahni Turpin

The brilliant, fearless, deeply flawed Nora Watts—introduced in the ""utterly compelling"" (Jeffery Deaver) atmospheric thriller The Lost Ones—finds deadly trouble as she searches for the truth about her late father in this immersive thriller that moves from the hazy Canadian Pacific Northwest to the gritty, hollowed streets of Detroit.

Growing up, Nora Watts only knew one parent—her father. When he killed himself, she denied her grief and carried on with her life. Then a chance encounter with a veteran who knew him raises disturbing questions Nora can’t ignore—and dark emotions she can’t control. To make her peace with the past, she has to confront it.

Finding the truth about her father’s life and his violent death takes her from Vancouver to Detroit where Sam Watts grew up, far away from his people and the place of his birth. Thanks to a disastrous government policy starting in the 1950s, thousands of Canadian native children like Sam were adopted by American families. In the Motor City, Nora discovers that the circumstances surrounding Sam’s suicide are more unsettling than she’d imagined.

Yet no matter how far away Nora gets from Vancouver, she can’t shake trouble. Back in the Pacific Northwest, former police detective turned private investigator Jon Brazuca is looking into the overdose death of a billionaire’s mistress. His search uncovers a ruthless opiate ring and a startling connection to Nora, the infuriatingly distant woman he’d once tried to befriend. He has no way to warn or protect her, because she’s become a ghost, vanishing completely off the grid.

Focused on the mysterious events of her father’s past and the clues they provide to her own fractured identity and that of her estranged daughter, Nora may not be able to see the danger heading her way until it’s too late. But it’s not her father’s old ties that could get her killed—it’s her own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jul 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062858368

Sheena Kamal

Sheena Kamal holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness. Kamal has also worked as a crime and investigative journalism researcher for the film and television industry—academic knowledge and experience that inspired this debut novel. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Reviews for It All Falls Down

[Sakunthala Sambanthan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reverting. She's an extremely flawed character this protagonist which makes her real and relatable. Funny too with some of her quips.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It All Falls Down by Sheena Kamal is an intriguing quest for the truth about troubled young woman's family. This second installment in the Nora Watts  series can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading The Lost Ones for important background information.

Nora Watts is taking caring of her friend Sebastian Crow as he battles cancer when she is approached one night by a veteran who tells her startling details about her father Sam Watts' military service. With most of her family history unknown due to her father's death and her mother's abandonment, Nora is desperate to learn as much as she can about this new information. Since Sam was part of the Canadian government's practice of removing Indigenous children from their families, Nora's search for answers about her father's past begins in Detroit, MI, where he was adopted as a child. Armed with nothing more than an address on a handful of post cards, Nora learns little about Sam but she uncovers shocking information about her mother, Sabrina.  With someone gunning for her for unknown reasons, Nora refuses to give up her attempt to unearth the truth about her family's past.

Nora is still a loner who refuses to back down when trouble finds her. Long haunted by the horrific memory of discovering her father's lifeless body when she was an child, she is eager to discover anything she can about his past. Nora is stubborn and tenacious as she follows even the smallest detail she uncovers about Sam. Disappointed her investigation leads to scant information about Sam, Nora is absolutely stunned when her inquiries turn up shocking news about her mother.

Back in Vancouver, Nora's former AA sponsor, private investigator Jon Brazuca is hired by Bernard Lam to investigate the overdose death of his pregnant mistress Clementine.  Not exactly enthusiastic about his newest case, he nonetheless exercises due diligence as he begins trying to identify Clementine's drug dealer.  Jon's investigation takes an alarming turn and he is very concerned for Nora's safety.

It All Falls Down is an intricately plotted and even paced mystery. Interwoven into the storyline are true to life events that add a compelling layer to this complex and fascinating story. Sheena Kamal brings the novel to a suspense-laden conclusion. An outstanding addition to the Nora Watts  series that old and new fans are sure to enjoy.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nora Watts is an unlikely heroine, she doesn't like people to get too close to her. But, when a veteran tells her that he knew her dad from the war in Lebanon, and shows her some pictures, she decides to try and find out more about him. Brazuca, meanwhile, is asked by a billionaire to find out who killed the love of his life. Both of these missions cross with disastrous results. We are left with a cliffhanger, needing to know what is next!The writing is fast paced and full of action. Nora Watts is someone you root for to win. #ItAllFallsDown #SheenaKamal

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 COMPLICATED AND CONFLICTED is how I would describe the deeply flawed Nora Watts. Although she tries to keep people out of her life, taking on her dog Whisper was a big thing for her, she doesn't want to depend on anyone nor want anyone to depend on her. This case will send her reeling when new facts about her father and his supposed suicide, come her way. She will search for snswers, which will send her from her home in Vancouver, to Detroit I think states. Here she find more trouble than expected, and danger again comes her way, involving the few Innocents who get caught up in her life.I enjoy Nora, she is tough, street smart, and a match for any guy in a fight. She survives by her with most time, but doesn't stop until she finds what she seeks. There is some sadness in this one involving a beloved character from the first in series. The author does a great job describing the decay of a changed Detroit, and also the hope that some have that is can be a great place once again.All in all a good story, with an unexpected hangover thread from her first. Love that it shows how hard it is to tell oneself they don't care, and keep others from caring. Deducted a little from my rating because the ending was a bit too much. Still, another series that I intend to keep reading. Let's just say Nora and Whisper have gotten under my skin.ARC from Edelweiss.

[jfe16 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Review of uncorrected proofA year after the events in “The Lost Ones,” Nora Watts is seeking the truth about her father, Sam. She travels to from Canada to the United States where he grew up, an indigenous child adopted as part of the Sixties Scoop. Her search for information about her father leads her to the mean streets of Detroit, which serve as a vivid, well-defined backdrop for the narrative. The drugs, violence, and crime combine to give a grittiness to the story that meshes well with Nora’s character.Meanwhile, back in Vancouver, Jon Brazuca investigates the overdose death of a wealthy man’s pregnant mistress. He uncovers a malevolent opiate ring . . . and a stupefying connection to Nora. But he has no way to warn her, for Nora has disappeared, leaving her unaware of Jon’s disturbing discovery . . . and of the danger stalking her.As in “The Lost Ones,” Nora is a flawed but well-drawn character. She’s still mean-spirited; she still acts without considering others and remains at the mercy of her personal demons. The secondary characters are believable and interesting, though not fleshed out to the same degree. The narrative is atmospheric and dark, s-l-o-w-l-y unfolding the parallel tales until the somewhat contrived non-ending ending that sets the stage for Nora’s continuing search for the truth in the next book in the series. At times, readers may find the narrative slightly disjointed as the author spins out the two main story threads. Nora’s dog, Whisper, such a bright spot in “The Lost Ones,” is, unfortunately, largely absent from this tale. Readers might want to read “The Lost Ones” before tackling this book since many references won’t be clear without an understanding of the backstory contained in that narrative. Regrettably, the offensive language remains in this grim tale, detracting from a story that might otherwise keep the reader fully engaged.

[linda.a. · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The main character in this story is Nora Watts, a woman in search of answers to her complex, dark and troubled past, someone who is prepared to do anything to achieve her aims. Her father committed suicide when she was a child, abandoning her and her sister to the unsettling experience of a succession of foster homes. When approached by a man claims to have known her late father all the memories come flooding back in a deeply disturbing way. She realises that all the problems she has experienced in her life can be traced back to the trauma of that abandonment and so she sets off to Detroit in search of answers. However, rather than answers, she finds herself facing more questions about the truth of her past.From the synopsis of this book I thought it would be a fast-paced thriller with an interesting psychological underpinning. However, I really struggled to feel any engagement with either the story or any of the characters, most of whom felt one-dimensional and rather stereotypical. Despite being action-packed, the pacing felt slow and sluggish and, with continual references to previous events and characters in Nora’s life but no clarity about any of them, it soon became clear that this was the second book in a series. If the writing is good it should be possible to read any book in a series as a stand-alone novel but for me this one didn’t work and, very unusually for me, I conceded defeat halfway through because I found it impossible to feel engaged with the story. The author’s first novel, Eyes Like Mine, received rave reviews so it’s possible that anyone who has read that would get more enjoyment from this follow on. It’s just a shame that for anyone who hasn’t there probably isn’t sufficient filling in of the backstory to make for seamless, enjoyable reading. To end on a more positive note, I did enjoy the vivid, evocative descriptions of Detroit!With thanks to Readers First and Zaffre for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[grumpydan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When some mysterious guy comes up to Nora Watts on the street and says something about her dad who committed suicide some thirty odd years earlier, Nora travels from Vancouver to Detroit to see if she can get some answers or knowledge of her father’s past. What she does get is trouble, all unwarranted. Meanwhile in Vancouver, PI Jon Brazuca is investigating the overdose death of a billionaire’s mistress, who may have some connection to Nora.Unfortunately, this is the second novel in the series, and not knowing the background of the main characters, I felt lost at times. Not a standalone and I would recommend reading the first. Otherwise, it is a fascinating story as Nora struggles with her father’s past, her current relationship with her sister and her own demons. Descriptive and moving made it a satisfactory read.