Ramona read and liked Grady's review of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You: A Novel:

"LET THE SHADOWS FALL BEHIND YOU may by Kathy-Diane Leveille's first novel, but if this book is any indication of her gifts both as a weaver of fascinating stories and a poet of natural expression then it will most assuredly will not be her last! Ther...more LET THE SHADOWS FALL BEHIND YOU may by Kathy-Diane Leveille's first novel, but if this book is any indication of her gifts both as a weaver of fascinating stories and a poet of natural expression then it will most assuredly will not be her last! There is at the core of this novel a finely tuned story that mixes contemporary action with reflective passages of each character's past, a technique that for some can be burdensome in that time frames tend to blur. For the sophisticated reader this technique of blending past histories to support the development of the plot enhances the involvement in the story and allows the reader to take the journey the book explores with a fund of knowledge that resembles carrying a 'character thesaurus'.

Finding a character readers will want to accompany is a tough start for any writer: Leveille creates such a character in the enigmatic Brannagh Maloney, a cataloguer for an environmentalist Nikolai Mirsky who suddenly disappears, leaving Brannaugh with blossoming emotions she feels compelled to explore. We are given her personal history through a series of flashbacks but more importantly through a 'reunion' with her along-the-way friends Annie, Tish and Dianne - each of whom has a significant history that reflects some heinous incidents of the past that have molded Brannagh's preparedness for becoming a woman. It is a story rich in subplots while never digressing from the primary incident that eventually changes the life of Brannagh.

The story is set in Canada and Leveille has a wondrous way of painting the Canadian landscape so that those of us who do not know the atmosphere there find it palpable in her hands. 'As the late afternoon sun slanted through the window, her eyes grew heavy, and the book in her hands tumbled to the floor. She awakened with a start to discover that another day had disappeared into the twilight.' The writing is filled with poetic imagery such as this and serves the story well. This is a fine debut novel! Grady Harp,(less) "