This was very good. Very very good. The writing was captivating, the story a precursor of things to come. Was hooked from page one. I felt the story deserved a better, more conclusive ending. But overall, a very solid read and highly recommended. 4 out of 5.

Before the fall by Noah Hawley.
A private jet plunges into the sea.
The only survivors are down-on his luck artist Scott Burroughs and JJ Bateman, the four year old son of a super-rich TV executive.For saving the boy, Scott is suddenly a hero.And then, as the official investigation is rapidly overtaken by a media frenzy, it seems he may also be a villain.Why was he on the plane in the first place, and why did it crash?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Read In one sitting. Great story and characters. 5*.

Great story, thrilling plot that I could not put down. Well worth a read, and would recommend to others.

The book begins when a private jet goes down over the ocean leaving some survivors. The story then goes on to show the story of those people who were on the plane, both before and after the crash. This book sounded so interesting when I initially read the blurb, and it made me feel like I was about to sit through the opening episodes of the TV series Lost. Unfortunately, the book did drag in parts and I found it difficult to keep the interest up with it. I liked the way I wasn’t sure whether the crash was accidental or deliberate and that was one thing that did keep me going to finish the book. I also liked the way the stories of the survivors were each told individually as I did find some of them a bit harder to read than the others and I could just move onto the next one if that was the case. I think I had higher expectations from it than what I actually got but all in all it was an okay read.

An easy but disappointing read. Started promisingly, was expecting more from creator of TV show Fargo.

Had this in my collections waiting to be read, re read storyline and wow thoroughly enjoyable especially about the media and pub;ics obsession about certain news stories.

highly recommend this book and will be reading more by this author

I am currently developing a section of the school library that will present a diverse and eclectic range of contemporary crime and thriller novels. This genre has been so popular in terms of what is being borrowed, but I feel like the young people are sticking to 'what they know' in terms of titles or writers that they've already heard of or have seen their parents reading. My mission is to include more novels like this one and improve the range and diversity of fiction that they can choose from in order to expand their reading horizons. I absolutely loved this book. It kept me gripped from the very first page and without giving away any spoilers, was a dark, intense and satisfying journey. I think that the young people will love its distinctive voice as well as be gripped by the story and intrigued to follow it to its tense conclusion. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for intelligent, credible writing with a strong hook that won't let you go. Treat yourself to Before The Fall!

Ok but not full of suspense, and the reason for the crash was predictable.
I thought this would be really good - it wasn't, but it was quite good. I guess, as I am a pilot, I wanted an interesting reason for the aircraft crash, but I found the reason for the crash obvious and even the location and kind of accident a re-run of a real crash. I had an issue with why the captain would have left his seat on such a short flight and for such a minor reason, particularly if he was uncertain of the first officer.
Most of the story is backstory for the characters involved, which I did find quite interesting, and certainly it is yet another sad but probably accurate portrayal of the media at times like this.
So, the story was ok, the writing was reasonable, I didn't like many of the characters which I do need if I am to care what happens to them; however it wasn't a book that I couldn't put down - having just read another book where the world had to stop until I had finished it, this one was not so compelling. But it was fine.

All I can say is: wow. This book was so difficult to put down, even after I'd finished it! Starting with the plane crash, we get the smallest of glimpses - and a foundation of questions to be answered - into the victims and their lives before they're gone. Scott Burroughs, the odd-one-out in this group of privilege, miraculously survives and with him so does four-year-old JJ.

The narrative flips between Scott dealing with the present aftermath of the crash - his new and compelling connection to JJ, the investigation into the crash and the tsunami of media attention - and the victims' lives leading up to the incident. With each character's chapter, the possible causes of the crash increase, and the paranoia being peddled by the media in the present day soon infuses the whole world of the novel, so as the reader you're not sure who you can believe or trust any more.

Before the Fall is a mystery and commentary on the post-9/11, fake news time we all live in now. But it's also a story of human connection and resilience, and I was impressed by the fact that at no point did the author ever lose sight of how devastating the loss of life was in the book. Even in the clinical processes of investigating the crash we are aware of the human impact, the result of which is an incredibly touching story that I think can resonate with everyone.

One very small quirk of the book which I struggled with was remembering who everyone was - there's a reasonable cast of characters, but I actually think a large part of the struggle, for me, was all the men having monosyllabic names - Scott, Bill, Jack, Gus, Gil, Doug - and all the women having two syllable names - Maggie, Sarah, Emma, Rachel. This, combined with the jumbled, fleeting glances we get at them, meant I did stumble a number of times trying to remember who was who. Ultimately, though, this didn't really impact the story for me!

I was absolutely stunned by this book - Noah Hawley articulates and explores some incredibly deep, complex themes without ever sacrificing the pace or intensity of the unfolding story. A compelling and dark read, but touched with moments of lightness. Can't recommend it enough!

A great read. Scott is invited aboard a private jet from Martha's Vineyard to New York and shortly into the flight the plane crashes. Scott survives and later finds a 4 year old boy JJ also alive. They manage to swim 15 miles to the mainland. There is a massive investigation into the incident and a news media executive keeps trashing Scott and reporting hims as a villain not a hero.

A multiple character viewpoint novel that tells the story of how everyone came to be on a plane that crashed, and why the plane crashed. The primary focus of the novel seemed to be looking at why people behave like they do, and the power of the media. The relationships portrayed in this novel felt raw and believable. I particularly liked the conclusion - it felt exactly the right thing to do.

A young struggling artist is caught up in an aircraft accident which should make him hero after saving the life of a four year old boy, however the other passengers on the plane causes the investigations take a different course. This is an okay book however the format is not my favourite as the story is interrupted by the bios of all the passengers in turn, which in my view is wasted, most are unnecessary as the plot is easy to work out about halfway through. The good part is the story of Scot one of two survivors and how he assimilates to life after the accident. The author also takes this opportunity to expose the media and their anything for a story attitude, truth or not, relevant or not. As with most things in life it is what you cannot have that creates the most problems.

This book was on my Kindle for quite a while, and after reading another book about a plane crash, I thought to finally finish this one as well. Unfortunately it did not impress me.
The book starts with seven passengers and three crew members boarding the plane. After eighteen minutes, the plane crashes into the water, where only Scott Burroughs and Millionaire’s four year old son, JJ , survives. The base of this book is the life stories of all the people who boarded the plane entangled with the present story of Scott. I really liked the stories of the passenger’s lives, I think they were intriguing and it gave great understanding of the characters and the reasons why they were on that plane. However, I found Scott’s present story quite boring, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
The narrative of this book was flowing pretty smoothly, I didn’t find any strong turns or twists in this story, and it kind of just plodded along. I really liked the insight into flight crew people’s lives, and what challenges they are facing. It was really intriguing for me. The narrative was told from different perspectives and I think that was really necessary in this novel, it gave better insight into different characters and this aspect made it little bit less boring for me, as a reader.
The writing style of this novel is easy to read, and the language used was not difficult. The chapters quite long, but they were divided into smaller sub-chapters, so it did not drag. The ending of this book concluded the whole story nicely, and it was quite unexpected. However there are some unanswered questions left and I would like to know, what happened to the security personnel. So, to conclude, there were some parts which I really liked, but overall I wasn’t very impressed with this book. But it is just my humble opinion, so please, do give it a try, and I hope you will enjoy it.

A really unusual book that starts with a plane crash - a private jet goes down but that's not the end of the story, just the beginning. An unlikely hero struggles to make sense of what's happened and a lot of other people have their own agendas for reinterpreting events. An author to watch.

I absolutely loved this gripping thriller which gave me a few late nights! I really enjoyed the dual narration - on one side we have the aftermath as the 2 plane survivors navigate the trauma of survival and on the other we follow the stories of everyone else who was on the plane.
Heartbreaking and uplifting.

This is my first book written by Noah Hawley. From the beginning the book gripped me and i spent a few late nights reading the book.
The story is that of Scott Borough. Surviving a plane crash but the characterisation of Scott as an artist and alcoholic does sort of caricature's artists who are not successful etc. The flight on private plane of a Rich businessman is about to change his life.
Saving the 4 year boy the only other survivor gives him a sense of purpose. However things spiral out of control when he goes from being a Hero to almost a Zero as FBI investigations finds that it was not an accident. The relationship between Scott and Eleanor was not given time to develop.
Then about half way through the book the book takes a turn and all the characters back ground was explained. I found the end was a bit abrupt.
I would recommend this book because it has a different storyline from what i had recently. And would look forward to read Noah Hawley books in the future.

Utterly absorbing I enjoyed this very much.

This is a bit of an odd one, being a unique story line. I enjoyed the plot, with the author leading the reader through the twisted storyline.

Mixed thoughts on this, there were part's I just couldn't read fast enough yet other part's I could easily skipped past, but I had to carry on I needed to find out what happened.

An interesting read on a subject quite often written about, a plane crash, but from a totally different angle. A survivor and his trials at the hands of an inconsiderate press pack, trying to find a story when there isn't one. Tells the tale of all the occupants in retrospect, and how they all came to be together on that fateful night