Carole's Monday: Odell's Fall by Norman Bacal

Author:  Norman Bacal
Title: Odell's Fall
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 352
Published: October 2nd 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



Where do you go once you've clawed your way from obscurity to the pinnacle of success? When you've finally found the woman of your dreams. When the ethical rules guiding your life need to be broken in order to have her. When you've eloped to avoid the stigma of an inter-racial marriage among Alabama's elite. If you're Odell Moore, one of New York’s most successful lawyers, the entire world is watching your inevitable descent. And two New York detectives will be waiting to greet you in hell.

Love, jealousy, and deceit lead to murder in a penthouse apartment. But did Odell do it? Even he can’t be sure.

Othello has re-emerged in modern Manhattan. Will it end better for him and Desdemona this time?

Othello had been one of my favorite plays by William Shakespeare so when I read that this is pretty much a modern version, I could not help but give this a read. 

The story follows Dee and Odell. The two fell in love right away and married quickly. Odell is extremely successful and rich and charming and Dee comes from a prestigious Alabama family. However, due to his race, they knew they wouldn't find acceptance so they eloped. They move to New York and things don't get better. Jealousy and deceit start plaguing them.

The beginning was a drag for me if I am to be frank here. Maybe we are supposed feel bored alongside Dee and Emily? They live lonely existences because their husbands, Odell and Jackson, are busy successful men and simply just want to work all day and all night. Booo! They are just the wives at home and we barely got to see Odell and Dee just be together and be in love. I think I was missing that bonding time with them to see the love. 

However, after a certain event started unfolding at the store and then at the beach I was intrigued again and I knew it was beginning to happen. Iago...I mean Jackson...was beginning his insidious plan to ruin Odell's life. Ooooo that baddie. Always so bad!!!! 

I was ABSOLUTELY hooked at this point. The intrigue and the drama. Ooooooo that father-in-law!!!!! I hated him. Horrible, horrible man.

I felt for Dee. She was just a dumb, rich girl who just wanted to be happy and in love. 

Odell has a lot of issues and I felt for him. Poor guy! I also felt for his friend Michael. 

Poor everyone! Except for our baddie and the father-in-law. Heck! I even felt for Emily. She was equally a victim. 

The ending was awesome. TOTALLY didn't see that coming. I loved the detectives. The ending made me happy. 

What else to say without giving away spoilers?? MMMmmmmmMMM

Yes, this was a good one. It was like the original play but with many different twists and turns and we got to see a lot more character development. The modern take was fun and done well. Kuddos to the author for not just copy-pasting this story. The author truly found a different way to tell this story and make it different. You don't at ALL have to read the original play. This was its own story. 

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this book. The beginning was dragging there for a bit, but once the ball got rolling I was totally glued to the pages. I highly recommend this if you are looking for a good people story. I'll stamp this with 4 stars with a touch of romance and a bunch of mysteries. 

19 out of 16/25