Not a romance but a ripping thriller which is basically an elaborate trolley problem with someone who really does not want to play the game.
I picked up Falling after a promo video by the author about her next book (Drowning – not yet released) was retweeted into my Twitter feed. I clicked, listened, was intrigued and then went and looked up both books. Falling is apparently being made into a movie and I think it will be a cracker.
The set up is fairly simple: Bill Hoffman is a commercial airline pilot. After he settles into the cockpit for a fairly routine flight, he receives a message from his wife’s phone. His wife, Carrie, 10-year-old son and infant daughter are being held hostage. He has a simple choice to make: crash the plane and his family will live. Don’t crash the plane and the terrorist will detonate the suicide-bomber vest Carrie has been forced to wear and Bill’s family dies. Of course, he’s forbidden from telling anyone – or his family dies. Bill is also told he has to slip an unknown, but fatal, powder into the co-pilot’s drink and release a deadly gas (specific chemical unknown but I inferred Sarin or similar) into the plane’s cabin at a specified time during the flight. There is a “Plan B” on the plane – someone assisting the terrorist who will make sure that the gas is released if Bill doesn’t do it.
Bill has about 6 hours of flight time to come up with a plan to save the plane and his family. All while knowing that an unknown someone else on the plane is actively working against him.
There is POV from Bill, his wife Carrie, a flight attendant and an FBI agent, as well as brief cameo POVs from both terrorists.
I didn’t love the way the book began. Bill has a graphic nightmare about a plane crash. It doesn’t really relate to the rest of the book and it was a pretty gory way to start. Then, when each character is introduced, they have a flashback to something important in their life, a memory which is relevant and pivotal. Only, it was at first difficult to tell that’s what was going on and even when I did work it out, it felt more like an interruption to the story rather than helpful information.
However, after that first chapter, once Bill got on the plane, things took a turn for the better (bookwise – not so much for Bill!). The device of the flashback was used throughout the book but after the initial rush, the introduction of characters was more tempered and so the whole thing was less jarring.
I won’t give away spoilers as to what happens. Once Bill understands that his family are in jeopardy the action is pretty much nonstop from there, with twists and turns as the story works itself out. It’s easy to see how it could be a movie.
There’s perhaps a pinch of romance in the book but it’s not a romance novel. I can’t even say it has a romantic thread. Bill and Carrie love each other and are generally happy together. The morning of the fateful flight they are at odds because Bill is working instead of spending agreed time with his family. But it’s clear the couple are devoted to one another.
I liked the various characters and the tension kept me on the edge of my metaphorical seat throughout the listen. In fact, I raced through the audio because I wanted to know what happened!
I also liked that the author humanised the terrorists and showed that, while what they were doing was wrong and bad, they had reason to feel abandoned and despairing. Why Bill and not someone else, was never really satisfactorily answered. I suspect there are other things in the story which don’t quite hold up when viewed carefully. But the pace of the audiobook didn’t really lend itself to that kind of introspection.
The narration, by Steven Weber, was very good. He’s an experienced narrator, good with character voices and accents, and well able to differentiate age with his voice also. He didn’t overplay the performance, letting the text do the work and not falling into melodrama. There was emotion and tension in his delivery which fit the novel and worked well with the story.
I have already pre-ordered Drowning. And, I expect I’ll see the film of Falling when it comes out too, even though I know how it ends already.
Narration: B+
Book Content: B+
Steam Level: 0
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
