Falling: A Novel
T. J. Newman
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
SYNOPSIS:
You just boarded a flight to New York. There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight.
REVIEW: (minor spoilers)
Falling, the debut novel by former flight attendant T.J. Newman has a great hook: a seasoned pilot forced by terrorists to sacrifice his family on the passengers on his plane. The story begins with a literal nightmare scenario right before the real-life nightmare begins. Newman wastes no time placing pilot Bill Hoffman in this impossible situation and the plot, admirably, remains taut throughout. Violating strict instructions from the terrorists, Hoffman informs his flight crew of his impossible dilemma. From that point, Falling ricochets between several viewpoints, including Bill in the cockpit where he receives demands from the terrorists through his wifi-connected laptop, the flight crew as they prepare for the worst without panicking their passengers, and Hoffman’s kidnapped family, along with the FBI agents who need to rescue Hoffman’s wife and kids—or prepare the military to shoot Hoffman’s plane before he’s forced to crash it into a high profile target. As with all good thriller writers, Newman adds surprises and reversals along the way to keep the reader guessing. Falling is a non-stop thrill ride is a perfect beach read. And may all your flights be much less interesting.
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