Urban Beatz, Inc

As the reader is introduced to Caelum and Maureen Quirk, we can see that their marriage has been a bit rocky.  OK, that statement is cliched and an understatement, but it is no less true.  There's been some infidelity, some anger, and a bit of destructive acting out.  And yet, they come to believe that they can work it out.  Which leads them to Colorado.  Columbine High School to be exact.  Where Maureen is a school nurse and Caelum teaches English; and where on April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shoot and kill twelve students and one teacher while injuring  21 others before eventually killing themselves.  Yeah.  That Columbine. And that is just the appetizer.

Lamb delivers a tale that is at once a personal train wreck for the Quirks, as much as it is a beautiful and sad tale of life, love, and family.  Events that appear random or isolated are actually connected to some part of the past. (There's that theory again.)  And once you see one thread, the entire web of connectivity becomes apparent.  And still, the Quirks press on.

If you have read either of Lamb's previous novels, you know that his books are layered.  The Hour I First Believed is no different. As Lamb rips off layer after layer, some of it just damn hurts. As the book progresses, the hurt, pain, and healing progresses.  And yet, when you finish the book, you will marvel at the truth of it all.  

This is the perfect book to curl up with in early fall.  The story is engrossing, and the characters so believable, it will be hard to put down and you will want to absorb it all.