Angie Kim’s barnstorming best seller in 2019, Miracle Falls, showed us that she is a force to be reckoned with. Now she’s written something even better. My thanks to go Net Galley and Random House for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

I admired Kim’s debut novel, but because of its complex nature, it was a fair amount of work to read. Happiness Falls is every bit as brainy, but it’s streamlined, with just five important characters and a handful of secondary ones, so the reader can spend more time enjoying it and trying to puzzle out the solution, and less time trying to keep up with the plot and recall the intermittently appearing characters as it progresses.

As with her debut, this story features a main character with special needs. Eugene Parson has Angelman syndrome, a rare disorder that has rendered him incapable of speaking. This is a problem, because one day, Dad and Eugene go to the park for their daily walk, but Eugene comes home alone, bloody, disheveled, and tremendously upset. What happened? The family’s concern intensifies when Dad’s backpack is found floating downstream, but Eugene cannot speak. And so, the mystery that is interwoven into this family drama is established.

The story is told in the first person by Mia, Eugene’s older sister. Mia’s twin, John, rounds out the siblings, and their mother is the fifth family member. It’s set in Virginia during the pandemic; however, plot and character are much more important here than setting.

The mystery—what has happened to Dad—is wholly original because of the critical role played by Eugene’s communication challenges. Originality becomes more important to me every time I pick up a mystery; once you’ve read several hundred of these things, sameness can produce tedium. But this novel has much more going for it than that. The characters are absolutely believable. The teenagers are all convincing; they are age appropriate, bright but occasionally impulsive. Best of all is that there is no abuse story tucked in here. Their dad is or was a loving one, and the same is true of their mother. The parents have navigated bumps in their marriage, but by the time we hear of them, they’re fine. There’s no horrific baggage waiting to ambush us. These are nice people whose lives are complicated solely by the need to assist Eugene, whom everyone also loves. I make a point of telling you this, because I am sick to death of stories about terrible mothers. I’ve had enough of them, and am delighted Kim doesn’t go there.

Our narrator, Mia, is cleverly drawn; she is the family cynic, and she’s the family motormouth, and so if we occasionally wonder why Mia is telling us everything in such detail, it’s because Mia is a talker.

There are twists and turns all over the place. Just when I begin to think I might have a handle on this mystery, Kim throws in something else that leaves me gaping like a guppy. What? Huh? Oh. Well, there goes my theory. What now?

Because I came to this post-publication, I checked out the audio version at Seattle Bibliocommons to help me catch up. The audio is very well done. Initially I didn’t find Mia’s narrative voice appropriate because she seemed mighty chirpy for a girl that may have just lost her father; however, once Mia’s character is further developed, which doesn’t take long, I realize that the chirpiness is part of Mia’s denial. She’s very close to her dad, and she can’t bear to think that he is in danger, or worse.

I have rarely felt any interest toward any profound learning disability, but Kim made me care about Eugene and Angelman’s.

This novel is brilliant, a standout for 2023. I highly recommend it to all that love a good mystery or family story.