I Fall to Pieces, by Dani Lewis | Book Review

First published in November 2025, I Fall to Pieces is the first entry in Dani Lewis’s Cassie Hunt series, and it is one of the most hilarious mysteries I’ve read in quite some time. Blending dark humour, crime and an unforgettable narrative voice, it manages to feel familiar enough for fans of the mystery genre while also bringing something fresh to the table.

The premise alone is quite creative. Cassie Hunt is not a detective, police officer, forensic expert, or amateur sleuth in the traditional sense. Instead, she works as a non-emergency medical transport driver, a profession I’ve never seen used as the basis for a crime novel before. Her job places her close enough to death, crime scenes, and investigations to become entangled in the mystery, while still allowing her to remain an outsider.

The story begins with a gruesome multiple murder. Four young women attending a bachelorette party and a male entertainer are brutally killed in a hotel penthouse. During the aftermath, a crucial piece of evidence goes missing: one of the victims’ hands. Unfortunately for Cassie, she is the person responsible for transporting the bodies and evidence…

That setup immediately hooked me because it isn’t simply another “find the killer” mystery, although that does come into play too. The mystery begins with a practical problem that sounds absurd on paper but works brilliantly in execution. Finding a missing body part might not sound like the foundation for a compelling mystery, yet Dani Lewis turns it into a genuinely engaging investigation filled with twists, surprises, and plenty of drama.

What truly elevates the book, however, is Cassie herself.

The novel is told entirely from her point of view, and after only a few pages, I realised that she was going to be the real star of the show. Cassie has one of those rare voices that feels completely authentic. She’s awkward, funny, observant, self-conscious, and endlessly entertaining. Throughout the novel, she constantly comments on the world around her in ways that are both hilarious and surprisingly insightful.

One thing that stood out repeatedly was how creative her observations are. Early in the book, she describes her dependence on coffee:

“I don’t care that it burns like boiling blue fire. I’m more interested in what my insides do with the stuff, extract the caffeine and make me go vroom.”

It’s such an oddly specific way of describing caffeine addiction, yet it instantly tells you exactly who Cassie is. The passage also highlights one of the novel’s greatest strengths: its ability to transform ordinary experiences into memorable comedy through Cassie’s unique perspective.

Later, while suffering through a hangover, she remarks:

“Everything about this morning sucked. My head pounded in a rhythmic percussion you could disco dance to.”

Again, it is the sort of line that transforms an ordinary experience into something memorable. The humour feels effortless because it emerges naturally from Cassie’s personality rather than from forced jokes or exaggerated situations.

By far my favourite aspect of the novel was the humour. The book constantly finds comedy in unexpected places. The humour never feels forced. Instead, it emerges naturally from Cassie’s personality and the bizarre situations she finds herself in, such as opening a door to her crush undressed. On one hand, there is a horrific murder investigation involving multiple victims. That balance between darkness and comedy is one of the book’s greatest strengths. The title, drawn from the headline “Police Fall to Pieces Over Mass Murder”, epitomises this.

Another aspect I loved was the cast of supporting characters, all of whom are lovable in their own way. Cassie’s complicated relationship with her father, who also works in the field, serves as one of the emotional anchors of the novel. Despite their differences, there is a lovely warmth between them. Following Cassie’s ordeal, her father reassures her by saying, “Everything should work out fine. That is, as long as I get to see my favorite daughter at work again, real soon.” Similarly, Vanessa is an excellent best friend character. Throughout the story, she provides support and occasional reality checks.

There is also a hint of romance in the book. When Cassie first meets Gregory Stein, she is immediately smitten. At one point, she compares him to a Greek god. However, as the book goes on, it becomes clear he may not be what he initially seems. One scene I particularly enjoyed involved Gregory returning a forgotten foot that Cassie accidentally left behind while transporting bodies. Moments like that perfectly capture the book’s tone.

Despite transporting body parts for a living and investigating murders, Cassie feels like someone you could actually know in real life. Her affection for Princess Sillypants and Mr. Meowgi, her cats, provides some of the novel’s most endearing moments. Even during a miserable hangover, her first concerns are feeding her cats and dealing with their relentless demands for attention. I even got the sense that she may be slightly neurodivergent, though the novel never explicitly labels her as such.

The missing hand serves as the inciting incident, but as the novel progresses, the story expands into something larger. There are twists, revelations, red herrings, and surprises. I found myself revising my theories as new information emerged. The ending manages to be fairly heartwarming. I closed the book feeling invested in these characters and eager to spend more time with them.

The writing itself is consistently strong. The pacing rarely drags, the dialogue feels natural, and the narrative voice carries the reader effortlessly from one chapter to the next. I noticed one or two minor proofreading issues (e.g. a minor inconsistency with Greggory’s name being rendered as “Gregory”), but these were small blemishes in a highly polished novel. The prose style is largely sharp and avoiding flowery language.

Overall, I Fall to Pieces is exactly the kind of book I love discovering on this site: funny without becoming silly, dark without becoming depressing, and heartfelt without becoming sentimental. It offers an original premise, a memorable protagonist, an engaging mystery, strong supporting characters, plenty of twists and turns, and enough humour to keep a smile on your face even while the plot deals with horrific murders.

Most importantly, it introduces a protagonist whose company I genuinely enjoyed. By the end of the novel, I wasn’t just interested in solving the mystery; I wanted to know what Cassie Hunt would do next. For me, that’s the mark of a successful first book in a series, and I’ll happily be returning for the next Cassie Hunt mystery.

Final verdict: Fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the quirky humour of Janet Evanovich, and the character-driven mysteries of Richard Osman will find plenty to enjoy here. I Fall to Pieces is a delightful debut for Cassie Hunt and a promising start to what I hope will be a long-running series.