A tense thriller that charts a difficult relationship between mother and daughter as Alison survives a plane crash against all odds and her mother never gives up hope that she is alive.

Freefall from Jessica Barry is a fantastic fast paced thriller. It starts with a private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies. Allison Carpenter survived but, her Fiancé Ben perished. So Allison goes on the run. Instead of being rescued, Allison wants to disappear and not be found. She knows a terrible secret and if she is found, she will be killed, for what she knows.
The story is also about Maggie Carpenter, Allison’s mother. She hasn’t seen her daughter in two years. She finds out about her daughter is dead. At first she doesn’t take the news well and starts reliving her past when Allison lived at home and when her husband was alive. But, then she wants to find out about the lost years of her daughter’s life before the crash, even meeting Ben’s parents in the process.
I really enjoyed this. Especially Allison’s POV. How she manages not only to survive a plane crash but, also across mountains and states to get to her mother. It reminded me a bit of a film I saw some years ago. The author only feeds you little bits of information as the story goes on, to entice you to keep reading. You don’t know the full story until you get right to the end of the book. It was very engaging. If you like your thrills and spills this is the book for you. I highly recommend.

I enjoyed everything about this book, the characters, the suspense and the storyline with Alison running and hiding after a plane crash. However, the ending was a little too weak for me; being predictable especially when counting down the miles to her home.

Still, overall very enjoyable and a debut novel to be proud of; none of the review would stop me from reading her next book.

Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read and review.

An easy - yet interesting - page turner (I read this in less than a day). As a seasoned reader of this genre, I have to admit that I did guess - or rather, anticipate - some of the plot twists. That said, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of this novel - who doesn't enjoy being right?

The book has some good characters, and is written in two alternating voices - Allison and her Mum, Maggie - which always adds an interesting layer to this type of story.

I'd recommend this as an easy read for a holiday or train journey (or if - like me - you wake in the night and need to read a page turner to get back to sleep!)

My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Absolutely loved this book. I could not stop reading it (although I had to). I felt that the plot was very unusual and very well drawn. The author has really captured the feeling of drama created by Alison's escape.
I do not want to give away any of the plot, so I will just advise anyone reading this to get hold of a copy and sit down and enjoy.
Wonderful stuff.

Well, this was a bit of a high octane thriller all the way through. We start with a plane crash, with Allison Carpenter the only survivor; the pilot not so lucky. But it soon becomes evident that not everything is as black and white as it should be, as Allison then fights for her life as she treks towards civilisation.
Meanwhile, we follow her estranged mother, Maggie, as she tries to come to terms with the death of her daughter who she hasn't seen nor spoken to in two years. As she hears about the fiance whose plane it was crashed, he who was killed. But, as Allison's body was not recovered from the crash site, she holds on hope that her daughter is still alive and that maybe, just maybe, there's still as chance of reconciliation. But, as she starts to uncover the truth, peel back the layers of her daughter's last few years, a really rather scary picture starts to emerge. One that explains the danger Allison finds herself in and starts to endanger Maggie's life too.
I'm saying no more about the plot as it is all rather interconnected and convoluted and to do so might spoil it for others. Suffice to say, it is very tightly plotted and well executed and had me going round in circles figuring it all out. Yes, I do have to admit to guessing something quite key too early for the reveal, but that didn't appear to spoil my overall enjoyment of the story all told as there was much much more to discover than just that. It really was layer upon layer of secrets and lies and contained more than its fair share of dubious behaviour from certain characters throughout.
Characterisation was good throughout with a nice mix of strong characters and a few that were more than intriguing. Yes I did have to swallow some of what Allison achieved, given her circumstances, with a pinch of salt but, with the rest of the book so gripping, I was happy to take one for that particular team. Maggie also managed to call on some hefty reserve and resolve as she also battled to get to the truth but, given her past, there is more to her than meets the eye and she handled her side of things with aplomb.
All in all, a gripping tale that hit the ground running and didn't let up until the very end, holding me captive for the duration. On further investigation, I see this is a debut novel - making me even more impressed and indeed intrigued to see what she delivers up for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

After reading the blurb, I was hopeful this would be a good book and I was right. With lots of mystery, twists and turns, we read the story of Allison and her Mum from their own perspectives. Allison and her Mum haven't spoken for two years when Allison is in a flying accident and is missing presumed dead.
Allison can't quite come to terms with the fact her daughter is gone and starts to look into her life over the past two years. Meanwhile we learn about Allison as she has survived the accident and is running from someone trying to get herself back home. Will she make it in time? Will she survive the mountains with limited food and water supplies?
I found the book really easy to read and understand despite it skipping backwards and forwards in time to let us understand the present and past of the characters.

Brilliantly tense and gripping! Loved the way that the narrative flipped between Allison and her mother, slowly revealing why she was on the plane and why it crashed. Great twist too. Raced through it in less than a day and will definitely look out for more from Jessica Barry!

This is an exciting thriller that grips you from the first paragraph and does not let go until the final twist. This was a very easy, enjoyable read and I look forward to reading her next book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and author for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It starts with a plane crash, the pilot is dead and Allison fears for her life. As news breaks her mother who has not seen her for over two years sees a very different daughter. Although Maggie is told her daughter is dead she doesn't believe it and sets out to discover the truth. Plenty of plot twists keeps you on the edge. Brilliant book from start to finish would recommend.

Wow this book blew my mind. I spent most of it on the edge of my seat and there were same amazing twists in there!!!

If you are looking for a really gripping thriller, then I would highly recommend Freefall. Absolutely enjoyed! Plenty of twists and turns and just when I thought I was beginning to think I knew what was going to happen next, so the story took another turn. Two great main characters – mother (Maggie) and daughter (Alison). What strength Alison had! I am not going to write what the story is about, as I prefer one to read it for themselves. A well thought out plot and i do hope to read more books by this author in the near future.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

This was an entertaining, fast-paced easy read with some exciting learning points on how to survive in the woods (hint: iodine tablets!)
I really liked the main characters as I do love an action-thriller with kickass female protagonists and felt the story zipping along nicely throughout. I’ll be looking out for more by this author.

FREEFALL is both simultaneously family drama and gripping thriller.

Split into dual narratives, we hear from both Alison and her mother Maggie – two strong women who have their own battles to fight and obstacles to overcome. Barry is gifted in creating an unique sense of individuality between mother and daughter, and yet managing to create subtle links in their personalities that hold the narrative together.

I read FREEFALL very quickly, with the easy prose and dialogue carrying the narrative forward with ease. The short chapters allowed me to dip in and out, although I found myself always wanting to read 'just one more'. My only thought is that much of Allison's perspective is her struggling in the woods, which of course is inevitable, but this – bar the flashbacks – felt a little slow, and stunted the narrative flow a little bit.

A enjoyable read!

I have enjoyed this story so much! We follow Allie and her mother Maggie following the aftermath of the plane crash; for the rest of the world, Allie is dead, but in the mountains, Allie is struggling to keep alive with a killer at her heels.

I really enjoyed the alternative POV's and the themes explored in FREEFALL, with commentaries on social expectations, post-partum depression, wealth and morality. I really appreciated what this story attempted to do and I think Jessica pulled it off really well. The writing flowed well and the short chapters helped to make this a fast read that I struggled to put down.

I did predict certain twists and turns and some of the things at the ending felt just a little bit too lucky for me, but overall it was a really enjoyable read and I am thankful to the publishers a copy of this novel; as always, my opinions are my own!

Freefall by Jessica Barry

4 stars

Love and power make uneasy bedfellows.

The novel opens with Allison waking in the aftermath of a plane crash. Against all the odds she has survived while the pilot is dead. However, Allison knows that staying alive may be harder than she can imagine.

Maggie is Allison’s mother and is making bread when she is told that Allison has been in a plane crash and it is unlikely that she has survived. Although they have been estranged for two years, Maggie knows her daughter and refuses to believe she is dead. She begins her own investigation to investigate Allison’s life and the circumstances of her journey on that particular day.

While Allison fights for survival, Maggie discovers a web of intrigue, secrecy and pure evil in pursuit of money. She is convinced that Ally is alive, but as time passes that hope fades.

The novel alternates between the two women's experiences over time, and there is plenty of suspense, misdirection and plots within plots.

I enjoyed this novel, and it was so nearly 5 stars, but perhaps I am too cynical, and I found the explosive ending lacked credibility


Pashtpaws


Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Maggie has been a widow for two years. She has not seen her daughter Allison since the death of her husband and she misses her. She frequently reflects on their close relationship and the memories associated with her growing up. Maggie is one of the protagonists and her POV forms one half of the book. The other half of the books presents Allison’s POV. Allison has not had it easy since her estrangement with her mother but she has met the love of her life and is poised to marry him and live a life of luxury. Then, disaster the private jet she is on crashes, killing the pilot and Allison is in a remote mountain region with few supplies and someone deadly on her trail. This is the opening of the book.

Through these two strands the plot unfolds in an exciting and troubling journey with Maggie trying to unpick events leading to her daughter’s ‘death’ and Allison avoiding her pursuers and fighting the odds against a hostile environment and danger. Well, I loved it. I liked the structure of the text, even though it has been done before; I liked the revelations that were slowly exposed and I think it would make a good film. Would I recommend it – without a doubt.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Non stop action from beginning to end, I couldn't put it down. Lots of anticipation, confusion and final completion. well developed characters and a "keep you guessing" storyline. Great read.

Freefall by Jessica Barry was an amazing read. Fast-paced and full of suspense I loved it. I was very disappointed when my for-review copy on my kindle had formatting issues but luckily the publisher had a spare physical copy and sent it to me so I could finish reading it.

Alison has survived a plane crash but the threat to her life has not ended. Badly injured she knows she has to keep moving and to move quickly to outwit the man who is stalking her every move.

Alison's mother Maggie knows her estranged daughter is missing presumed dead, but she can't bring herself to believe it. She decides to examine the life Alison left behind in a bid to better understand the circumstances that brought her daughter to be in the plane in the first place.

Mother and daughter must fight – for survival and to find their way through a dark web of lies and back to one another, before it’s too late.

The author did a brilliant job of portraying the complex nature of the relationship between Alison and Maggie. Both characters were well-developed and contributed a lot to the story.

Freefall was unputdownable. My bedtime came and went, and I still carried on reading because the rest of the story could not wait until morning.

Freefall demands to be read in one sitting. It is very immediate storytelling. Allison has just survived a plane crash. How did she get there, and why is she still not safe? Allison's estranged mother Maggie refuses to accept her daughter is dead. She unwittingly puts herself in harms way to discover the truth. The book is an exciting race to the end.
Allison is not the most sympathetic character. She has become hard in order to survive, but you still suffer with her in her terrifying predicament. Maggie is a nicer character, but they are equally brave. Four stars.