In Julia Dahl’s newest mystery, “I Dreamed of Falling,” all of the main characters are people who have failed at parenting during at least one point in their lives. Parents of these neglected children (some of whom are now adults) were not married and the conception of said children was completely accidental.

The main character is Roman Grady, an aspiring journalist whose dream of writing hard-biting exposes has diminished, and he is now working at a small local newspaper, covering town events like the unveiling of a bench honoring a resident. It’s not what he wants, but he feels stuck in the town where his girlfriend, Ashley, lives with him and his mother, Tara. Tara cares for their son, Mason, and though she was neglectful when Roman was a child, she is now a fierce advocate for Mason. She has become Mason’s primary caregiver as Ashley and Roman struggle with their relationship, their careers, finances, parenting, and drugs and alcohol.

The story opens with the Ashley’s death. Because of the packet of pills found in her pocket, it’s assumed that she died from an overdose. But Roman insists on an autopsy and drug test, and when there are no drugs found in her system, the authorities (small town police) aren’t sure what to do. Ashley died the night of her friend Bella’s party, and there are many people whom Roman suspects might have been involved in her death.

At the same time, there are suspicious deposits of large sums of money that were made into Ashley’s bank account, and as Roman investigates what he believes is Ashley’s murder, more irregularities come to light regarding the town and the wealthy Davenport family and their attorney, Julius Wolfe. Wolfe’s stepdaughter had recently befriended Ashley , and the Davenports own the newspaper Roman works for. How much is all of that connected to Ashley’s death?

There’s a lot to take in, and while we don’t particularly like any of the important characters, we feel for them. And at the end, when all the twists have been unturned and we see the truth of Ashley’s life and death, we feel guilty that we didn’t think more of Ashley and Roman. Did we let our biases keep us from caring as much as we should have, and in that respect, are we just like most of the townspeople who judged Roman and his family?

Julia Dahl is a seasoned writer, and that fact is clearly demonstrated by her ability to pace the plot of the novel so that the tension doesn’t flag. Her dialogue and the way she includes Ashley’s thoughts and experiences works perfectly to present us with surprisingly important and relevant information.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.