The Fallen

A good cop, Robbie Brownlaw was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a downtown hotel and miraculously survived. The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division . . . and a rare neurological condition that enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception . . . Another good man lies dead in a blood-splattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner, McKenzie Cortez, that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined. The New York Times bestseller from the three-time Edgar Award winner: Sometimes what it takes to catch a killer is a cop who thinks differently... A good cop, Robbie Brownlaw was thrown from a sixth-floor window of a downtown hotel and miraculously survived. The traumatic incident left Robbie with a fast-track career in the San Diego P.D.'s Homicide division... and a rare neurological condition called synesthesia that jumbles his senses. It enables him to see people's emotional words as colored shapes—green trapezoids of envy, red squares of deception—something like a primitive lie detector.Another good man lies dead in a blood-spattered Ford Explorer—an ex-cop-turned-ethics investigator whose private life was torn open by unthinkable tragedy. Whether Garrett Asplundh's death was suicide or murder isn't immediately apparent—but it's soon clear to Robbie and his smart, tough partner that Garrett had hard evidence of sex, scandal, and corruption spreading deep into local government. But pursuing the truth could prove more emotionally devastating than Robbie ever imagined.“The suspense is palpable as Brownlaw and his partner, McKenzie Cortez, work to identify Asplundh's killer, but the novel probes deeper mysteries, such as the victim's tragic life and Brownlaw's disintegrating marriage. With his trademark psychological acuity and empathy, Parker creates a world of fully realized characters coping with obsession and loss.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“His dialogue crackles and pops... an intricate and well-paced tale set in a city where shadowy characters lurk beneath sunny skies.” —Booklist (starred review)“Parker belongs in the first rank of American crime novelists.” —The Washington Post My life was ordinary until three years ago when I was thrown out of a downtown hotel window. My name is Robbie Brownlaw, and I am a homicide detective for the city of San Diego. I am twenty-nine years old. I now have synesthesia, a neurological condition where your senses get mixed up. Sometimes when people talk to me, I see their voices as colored shapes provoked by the emotions of the speakers, not by the words themselves. I have what amounts to a primitive lie detector. After three years, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the colors and shapes of other people's feelings, unless they don't match up with their words. When Garrett Asplundh's body is found under a San Diego bridge, Robbie Brownlaw and his partner, McKenzie Cortez, are called on to the case. Detective Robbie Brownlaw can. A six storey plunge from a burning hotel leaves him with the usual broken bones and something different. Synesthesia. The ability to see worlds and emotions as colours makes Robbie a human lie detector ... back cover