As soon as I’d read the first few opening lines of Falling I knew I was in for one hell of a white knuckle, heart pounding reading adventure. This book is a brilliant, action-action packed thriller that took me on a tense, emotional rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. The raw tension is relentless and I loved it.
If you love a fast-paced thriller, I strongly recommend reading Falling, the debut novel from T.J. Newman. As crime novelist Don Winslow states: “this is Jaws at 35,000 feet.”
Captain Bill Hoffman is a family man with a loving wife and children. He is also a man of duty, loyal to Coastal Airways, the airline he has been a pilot with for almost 25 years and loyal to the passengers he flies across the United States. Soon after he takes off as the captain of Flight 416 with 144 passengers on board, ‘a mass of humanity hanging in limbo‘, Bill is contacted by a terrorist. His family have been taken hostage. The terrorist gives Bill a choice; save his family by crashing the plane, killing all the crew and passengers; or land Flight 416 safely and let his family die at the hands of the kidnappers.
Everything about this novel is brilliant as it portrays ‘humanity at its worst. And best.’ One second I was laughing, the next my throat was clenched in fear, the next I was crying my eyes out. All the way through I was a bag of nerves but I was completely gripped. The tense action never stops – believe me this is a real page turner that will have you gasping.
I don’t want to say too much as I feel if I do, I will be in danger of revealing spoilers, and I want to you to experience the raw tension and excitement of this great novel just as I did. However I will say that the plot structure is brilliant. It is so cleverly constructed and well thought-out, resulting in a powerful, emotional and multi-faceted drama.
Further enhancing the gut wrenching plot is the fully fleshed out characters that T.J. Newman has created. As a flight attendant herself, the author says in her acknowledgements at the end of the novel: ‘The crew of Flight 416 was inspired by so many of the smart, brave, funny, resourceful teammates I flew with over the years.’ This clearly comes across in the narrative. For me as a reader, the portrayal of the crew was one of the most emotive elements of the story.
I also found the portrayal of the terrorists poignant and powerfully thought provoking.
Falling is definitely one of the best thrillers I have read in a very long time. With a fast-paced, gripping story and short chapters, I raced through it. I couldn’t put it down.
In my view Falling needs to be made into a film. I believe it will make a brilliant block buster.
Thank you Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of the blog tour to publicise this stunning thriller. It was an absolute privilege. To read the reviews from my fellow book bloggers also on the tour, please see below.
Falling was published in the UK by Simon & Schuster and released on 10th June 2021. If you read it, enjoy the rollercoaster adventure.
Happy reading everyone! 🙂
Thanks for the blog tour support x