Book Description:
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.
My Review:
WOW!! What a ride.
“When the shoe dropped into her lap the foot was still in it.”
I mean when a book opens with this scene, you know it is going to be absolutely explosive. I saw so many rave reviews about this book and I will say that this book absolutely lives up to all the hype. Is it 100% perfect? No, but I am still giving this story 5 stars for the inventive story, non-stop action and thoroughly engaging characters.
I have listened to a lot of outstanding audiobooks this year and ‘Falling’ is no exception. With outstanding narration by the actor Steven Weber, this book needs to be on your to-read list. Bill Hoffman is a seasoned pilot with a successful, upstart airline. He has a gorgeous wife and two children. He works too much and on this particular flight, feels guilty for missing his son’s game. But duty calls and Bill leaves his wife Carrie after an argument. There is a small window for them to communicate before he is in the air, and from here the book really takes off (pardon the pun!)
If you were the captain of a flight, would you agree to the demands of a terrorist who has kidnapped your family? This is the deceptively simple demand at the heart of this book. The terrorizer on the ground has a back-up plan, too, in case Bill refuses to crash the plane. Bill seems to be in an impossible situation, So, what would you do?
The author, a former flight attendant, has a thorough command of aviation rules and what goes on behind the scenes on board a commercial airline. The action is literally non-stop, and the tension and suspense are sustained throughout the book. I loved reading about the nuances of flying and the flight crew’s duties. The synopsis tells you all you need to know about the story, and I applaud the author for creating such an entertaining and suspenseful novel.
Of course this book has already been optioned for a movie and what a thrill it will be to watch this on the big screen! All of the characters felt very realistic to me and even the villains (yes there are several) garnered some sympathy from me. I am being vague about the details because there are several surprises in this book and I don’t want to spoil the fun of reading or listening!
“Here we are. You’re finally being forced to see the truth.”
“What truth?”
“The truth that people are only as good as the world lets them be. You’re not inherently good and I’m not inherently bad . . . So putting you in this position, dealing you these cards — what does a good guy do now? It’s not about the crash, Bill. It’s about the choice. It’s about good people seeing they’re no different from bad people.” He looked from Bill to Carrie. “You’ve just always had the luxury of choosing to be good.”
Explosive, action-packed and intelligent, ‘Falling’ is one of my favorite books this year!
(Thank you the publisher for providing an audio listening copy via Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.)
