Sample Chapters

Synopsis, Characters, and Reviews

Synopsis of Shadows Fall

When Beth Gray was seventeen, a fourteen-year-old boy was shot in the woods near her home and Beth was convicted of his murder. Fifteen years later she has returned with her daughter Abby to her childhood home in the Sierras, to claim her birthright and declare her innocence.

Vague, shadowy memories haunt Beth while she struggles to reveal the secrets of a past her family and home town refuse to face. Her blossoming relationship with Dr. Peter Lloyd intensifies Beth's desire to reclaim her home. But just when her new love and the hope of clearing her name bring her the promise of happiness, the design career she's built over the past several years is threatened by blackmail, in an attempt to split her and Peter apart. Physical threats to both Beth and Abby force Beth to protect her child by sending her away, while Beth stands her ground, determined to get at the truth.

Another murder is committed, and the evidence points to Beth. The threat of death or a return to prison drives Beth to cling to Peter's love as she faces personal ruin, and an unseen enemy hidden in the shadow terrors of her childhood nightmares.

Whodunit?

Characters of Shadows Fall

Drawn together in search of a killer...

Beth Gray spent six years in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Several years after being paroled, she's a partner in her ex-husband's clothing-design firm, designing under the fashion label, "Liz Palmer." No one suspects Liz Palmer was once convicted of murder. Beth is an avid knitter, talented designer and artist. With her small daughter, she leads a solitary existence separate from the rest of her family. Yet the pall of the murder conviction hangs over her, and nightmares of the past pursue her in her sleep, growing more disruptive to her life over the years. Beth spends many sleepless hours knitting and painting, creating sweaters, portraits and landscapes, attempting to escape her past. Finally Beth takes her small daughter Abby home to visit her grandmother at the Lodge, the old, closed lakefront hotel in the Sierras where Beth grew up. Beth would like to stay and reopen the old hotel, if only she can clear her name.

Dr. Peter Lloyd never intended to fall for the enchanting patient who was a convict. He was her medical doctor, and married at the time. He denied his romantic feelings for Beth Gray, even to himself. But her memory haunted him for years, and his suspicion that she was innocent nagged at him until, finding himself suddenly alone, he gave up his position as a surgeon in a metropolitan hospital to go looking for her. Now he fishes for native trout in the cold waters of the lake and streams near the mountain lodge where Beth grew up, and he comes to think of Wilder as home. When Beth returns, she finds him renting a cabin beside the lake, practicing medicine out of an old barber shop in town, and spending a good deal of his time alone, fishing. Beth can't comprehend why he's here, but his company soon becomes as necessary to her as water to a fish.

Leigh Turner, Peter's friend and neighbor, is a schoolteacher and an artist, who just ended a romantic relationship with Beth's sister Vicky. Ollie Stevens' death has troubled Leigh since he heard of it. He's found something in the woods that may help prove someone other than Beth murdered Ollie, and he offers this bit of evidence to Beth, asking in return only her friendship and the chance to paint her portrait. They share Leigh's discovery with Peter, and together the three set out to prove Beth's innocence.

Les Kendall's first case as sheriff of Wilder County had been the Ollie Stevens murder. There was no mystery to it, in his view. It was open-and-shut, and he locked up the young heiress to Wilder Mountain Lodge without a doubt as to her guilt. Now Beth has returned, and the doctor is stirring up questions in Les's mind about the boy's death. Soul-searching won't help. Les has to know for certain whether he sent an innocent young woman to prison, while someone else got away with murder in Wilder.

Duane Prescott is the deputy who arrested Beth. He was her friend, back then - more her friend than she ever knew. He nearly gave up his career because of her arrest. He's always believed there should be a way to clear Beth of Ollie Stevens' murder, though how to do so has remained a mystery to him. Now he's married to Beth's sister Holly, and as deputy, brother-in-law and friend, he wants to help Beth. Because he was instrumental in sending her to prison, Beth can barely stand to look at Duane now.

Related by blood...

Matt Gray loved and admired his older sister Beth when they were kids. Then his friend Ollie was murdered, and Matt testified against Beth at her trial. Now Beth has returned, and Matt is torn between the love he still feels for his sister, and his anger over the murder everyone believes she committed. He watches his family begin to tear apart as its members react, one by one, to Beth's return and her desire to recall events most of them would rather forget. Meanwhile, Beth combs through her family's past for every remnant of truth she can, knitting together memories and events as she searches for a killer.

Holly Gray Prescott is openly hostile to her sister when Beth first returns home. Later Holly wonders if indeed Beth felt she had good reason to kill Ollie Stevens. But Holly doesn't for a moment believe Beth innocent of the crime. She sees the same men, who were once attracted to and sympathetic toward Beth, again fawning over her more beautiful sister. Holly's own husband is among them. This sets Holly on the defensive for both herself and her friend Nora Kendall, now engaged to Beth's former romantic interest, Gabriel Handley.

Rita Gray, eighteen, was only three when her sister was arrested for murder. She doesn't know Beth at all. She believes, as her mother does, as she was taught to believe, that Beth is innocent. What troubles Rita, is how the family that has lived in relative harmony all her life can be in such turmoil now.

Vicky Gray and Ollie Stevens were sweethearts at the time Ollie was killed. Vicky has never forgiven her older sister for Ollie's death, and vows she never will. She contends that Beth should still be behind bars. Vicky declares that Beth has come back to Wilder to claim the Lodge and property, as well as their mother's affection, all for herself. Vicky says she doesn't put any scheme past Beth, including that of breaking every male heart she comes into contact with, making herself look the victim in their eyes, and possibly even murdering them all in their sleep.

Cornell Gray is Beth's oldest brother and a successful car dealer, now living at a reserved distance from his troubled family. He's made it clear he doesn't see a point to all this show of hostility toward Beth. The murder was long ago. Beth went to prison. Now she appears to have a new life elsewhere, though where is a mystery to everyone but their mother. There's simply no point in discussing the past, especially if it upsets his mother.

Emily Gray is relieved and overjoyed to have her daughter and granddaughter visit. She sees Beth's fondness for her childhood home shining in Beth's eyes from the first day, and is hopeful. Emily wants Beth to move home and reopen the old hotel, to take on both the inheritance and responsibilities Emily's husband always intended for his favored daughter. But when Beth confronts her mother with questions about the past, Emily balks. There is only so much about Beth's childhood that Emily is willing to say.

Jack Gray studied hotel management in the hope that his father would finally understand he had other children besides Beth who might be interested in inheriting the Lodge. But their father had been obsessed with Beth, to the exclusion of his other children, treating her almost as an only child. Recently Jack has been pressuring his mother to let him sell the Lodge to a hotel chain. Now he fears Emily is about to hand over the Lodge to Beth, and Jack is desperate to do something about it.

Author's Notes

The mystery told in Shadows Fall began growing in this author's mind when I was seventeen, before I had any serious thoughts of writing an entire novel. You could say the character Beth grew up with me. Her story begins, in the book, when she is seventeen. But there any comparison to the author's life ends. When Beth is seventeen, she finds herself suddenly the prime suspect in a murder she didn't commit, and is later convicted of that crime. As if that weren't enough, Beth has been haunted all her life by the shadowy memories of an early childhood trauma that her family wants her to forget. I hope you'll take a look at my mystery novel and, if you find it intriguing and satisfying to read, or if not, feel free to let me know your reaction.

Write to the Author

If you wish to send me an email with your thoughts about Snow Angels or Shadows Fall, I'd be delighted to hear from you.

Reviews of Shadows Fall

Links to offsite reviews that open in a new window:
Robyn Glazer | Lorie Ham

Robert A. Sloan

The characters in Shadows Fall are as memorable as the premise is grim. Few things in life are as disturbing or as cruel as that simple old standby in the movies, a frame. Innocent people are convicted of crimes often and tragically in reality. Mystery novels dwell in a region of justice where that terrible wrong can be righted with wits and courage. Few authors show the devastating effects that an accusation, let alone imprisonment, can have on the family and the people around the victim. That's what sets this gut-wrenching thriller above the pack.

Robert A. Sloan, author of Raven Dance
reprinted with permission August 18, 2001

Nancy Marple

I'm also fortunate to be reading Barbara Klaser's SHADOWS FALL, which has been enjoyable all along. This is an Americanized traditional English Country House mystery with a bitter underlying twist. Beth Gray returns to her family's home and Lodge after a term in prison for a murder she allegedly committed as a teenager. Newly divorced, Beth and her wonderfully characterized daughter Abby come home to visit Beth's mother Emily, only to find an enemy waiting there.

Barbara's characterizations are very astute and show a powerful understanding of human nature. Beth experiences the anger and hatred of the community as well as members of her family based on their beliefs about her past. And she experiences plenty of romance as well.

This upscale mystery with its sometimes too-beautiful protagonist and too-perfect setting also reflects family and interpersonal dynamics at a high level. The dialogue is sometimes uncomfortable but never boring. Even many of those closest to her become suspect when Beth begins to have one bad experience after another. A good mystery-thriller. Although this book was much longer than anything I usually read, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will look forward to more from Barbara Klaser.

Nancy Marple
Academic and General Editing
njmarple@city-net.com
reprinted with permission March 7, 2001

Christine I. Speakman...
for Futures Magazine Website Reviews

In Shadows Fall perceptions, lies, and family secrets weave a tapestry of destruction and heartache.

At seventeen, Beth Gray was found guilty of killing fourteen-year old Ollie Stevens. Now, fifteen years later, she's a successful clothing designer and is bringing her young daughter home to meet the family. Most are not exactly thrilled to have Beth home. Beth had always been the favoured child, the one who would inherit the family Lodge and home, the one who had all the boys' attention; the one who was drugged into submission by their own father, a doctor. Something happened to Beth when she was small and the repercussions are still controlling Beth's life.

At first, my reading of this novel was hesitant; it felt boring. The main character, Beth Gray, had always proclaimed her innocence and now, upon arriving home years later, stumbled into the decision to clear her name. I've read other books like this and have seen too many movies of the week containing a similar plot. However, at some point, I don't know when it happened, I became locked into the story and began to like the character, Beth.

Ms. Klaser has written Beth with a certain honesty and acceptance. The character had accepted everything that had happened to her, being found guilty, prison, family members not believing her; she wasn't about to force them to believe and accept her, she just wanted to introduce her daughter to them. Beth could have ended up a weak and washed out character, too accepting of fate; however, Ms. Klaser uses conversations between Beth and her daughter to give us inside information that helps to establish Beth as a character we can believe. There is a natural progression as other characters rediscover Beth and change their views about her. There is subtleness to the novel.

The only weaknesses I found were in the speed of the love story between Beth and Peter, and new friend Leigh's determination to prove Beth's innocence, before Leigh ever met Beth he believed she was innocent. Both characters were needed, though. They represented an outsider's view of the family, again an opportunity to establish Beth as a strong character.

This is a clearly written novel that left a distinct picture in my mind of the location and characters. The ending is satisfying and realistic. I had to force myself to stop reading and take needed breaks; it's a long book and one that made my winter days a little less bleak.

Christine I. Speakman...for Futures Magazine Website Reviews
reprinted with permission March 2, 2001

Victoria Tarrani

Mystery and romance that thrill, chill, and hook you...

From the moment, I read the first two paragraphs of Shadows Fall I was hooked. What I had anticipated from a genre of a romantic mystery was a gentle heroine who discovered the object of her affection had a mysterious background. To find Beth Gray, the heroine, standing over a dead body with a loaded gun in her hand was shocking.

Fifteen years later Beth and her own daughter Abby are back. The thriller begins after Beth, who was convicted for murder and then released early, returns to her family estate "The Wilder Mountain Lodge" which is located on the west slope of Shadow Lake in California. The property value could be a clue to the identity of the real murderer.

Fourteen-year-old Ollie was involved with Beth's sister Vicky. At thirteen Vicky was enchanted by the handsome boy, and refused to forgive her sister. Her brother Matt, though he loved Beth dearly, testified against his sister at the trial. The traumatic events created an emotional dilemma for the young man.

Her romantic interest is introduced so casually in Chapter One that readers may not notice the connection between the two. It is ethereal, but perfect because we have all experienced that "there is something about her/him that I can't explain" feeling.

I will not provide a list of suspects and motives. Rest assured that there are a plethora of clues (and some red herrings) that will keep you turning pages. In many ways, this book reminded me of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians." There are only a limited number of people who could have killed Ollie. In self-protection, the killer will strike again. Beth, Abby, and everyone she knows is in danger or dangerous.

Although there are a few cliché descriptions in Shadows Fall they do not detract from the plot, characters, surprises, and puzzle. This is a crime solver's delight; a romance that touches our hearts. This, most likely, will become a movie in which Winona Rider would be the perfect Beth.

If you start reading at dawn, suddenly it will be time to turn on some lights. The excuse will be that it is getting too dark to read. Too dark to be in the house with a killer -- the characters are so real that you know they are there with you.

Do not just wait for the movie -- let your heart race with this 5 star book that should become a New York Times Best Seller.

Victoria Tarrani
reprint permission granted Novemeber 27, 2001; reprinted here July 14, 2004.
Note: this review originally appeared at Amazon.com.

Nancy B. Leake

Memories overwhelmed Beth Gray when she returned home to the old lodge in her big white Mercedes. To look at her, no one would ever dream she was a murderer returning to the scene of a fifteen-year-old crime. Coming home to visit her mother and to introduce her daughter, Abby, to her grandmother, hid the real reason for the visit, to chase ghosts. Only her mother wanted her here. Most of her brothers and sisters looked at her with hate.

At the age of seventeen, she was found holding a gun over the bloody body of Ollie Stevens. Everyone believed she killed him. Beth claimed to have picked up the gun when she found him dead. No one listened. She spent six years in prison and three years on parole. One condition of her parole had been to stay out of Wilder, California. After prison, she married, divorced, and lived under an alias, as a famous designer, in San Diego. Now she was free to set things right by returning to silence the nightmares that awoke her almost nightly. "The past has driven me back here, it won't let go. It keeps hammering at my mind…"

While in prison, she had saved a nurse from another prisoner's wrath and was shot in the knee for her deed. In the process, she had met Dr. Peter Lloyd, a caring man who became drawn to her. He operated on her smashed knee and befriended her, while she tried not to open to him. After his wife died, he never forgot Beth's stories of fishing and her mother's lodge.

When Beth glimpsed Peter at the lodge, he pretended not to know her. Their attraction was stronger than ever. The understanding Peter offered, softened the animosity of her family. Soon Peter, Beth and Abby became a threesome, and scouted trails in the countryside. Warm feelings also bubbled up in Beth for her high school fiancé, Gabriel?

Beth thought of staying and running the lodge, but couldn't change the past. No one wanted to forgive or forget. Beth's claustrophobia flourished, as mysterious happenings occurred, doors closed and locked her in, and someone tore up her drawings. Then someone shot at her. Were they trying to kill her or scare her away? She couldn't give her heart to Peter or Gabriel until she felt free from the shadows that hung in her mind, free from being wrongfully accused, if ever.

Barbara Klaser has crafted a mystery of terror and romance with all the clues in place, but the reader won't find an answer until the end of Beth's twisting and turning nightmare. Those with heart problems, asthma, or ulcers should contact their doctors' or pre-medicate themselves before reading this story, and if shortness of breath or chest pain develops, call 911.

© 2000, Nancy B. Leake, Reviewer
All Rights Reserved  
reprinted with permission 12/5/00

New

April, 2004--a free mystery novel titled Snow Angels.

Copyright (c) 2001 Barbara W. Klaser. All rights reserved