Falls the Breath by Melodie RamoneMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A hauntingly captivating and emotionally charged novel...
"Falls the Breath" by Melodie Ramone is a captivating and emotionally charged novel that weaves together the lives of both the living and the departed, transcending time and space.
In the summer of 1907, an aristocratic couple hailing from Vienna, Benjamin, and Theda Lett, arrive at Ellis Island with the aspiration of leaving their troubled pasts behind. Swiftly ingratiating themselves into Chicago's high society, they ambitiously construct Brimfield—an opulent estate aimed at rivaling the renowned Rockefellers. To safeguard their carefully cultivated image, they conceive their only child, Lorenzo. However, tragedy strikes eighteen years later when Lorenzo falls victim to a heart-wrenching murder, leading authorities to swiftly point the finger at Theda.
Lorenzo, who experienced a traumatic end to his life, reemerges as a poltergeist with hazy memories of his past life and the circumstances surrounding his passing. Trapped at Brimfield alongside his mother's ghost, he roams the estate, enveloped in anger and brooding. It is only until a fateful accident befalls quirky maid Mahoney Miller on the spiral staircase, transforming her into a ghost as well, that an unexpected and immediate connection sparks between the two. Together, they embark on an afterlife neither could have anticipated, seldom acknowledging the generations of people residing at Brimfield—until fashion designer Pauli Kotilla and his ex-supermodel wife, Tiffany, acquire the estate in 1982.
The tale takes a mesmerizing turn as the young Kotilla daughters, Samara, and Eleni, demonstrate the ability to perceive and communicate with the resident spirits, prompting enthusiastic embraces of the divide between the living and the dead. Eight years later, signs of instability surface when Samara becomes a teenage mother. With her son, Kevin, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, Lorenzo is compelled to make the ultimate leap of faith, as everyone—both alive and in the afterlife—strives to summon the determination and unwavering love necessary to preserve Kevin's life.
Exploring themes of mental illness, bullying, and chronic disease, "Falls the Breath" narrates the compelling story of a family confronting daunting odds and the extraordinary phenomena that unfold when the worlds of the living and the deceased intersect. Highly recommended.
View all my reviews