‘Falling’ -TJ Newman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The cacophony of vivid and explosive action, form the outset of this book, had me utterly HOOKED. Undoubtedly, one of the best openings I’ve read in a while; utilising a juxtaposition of pulpy, rapid, edge-of-your-seat pace, quickly followed by a stark and immediate shift to the humdrum tempo of present day...genius!

The stakes were high and the tension was even HIGHER. The cliffhanger chapters were spectacular in rising this already adrenaline filled plot. Five star read... engrossing and engaging throughout.

A high octane drama that never lets the pace or the thrills plummet.

I was very happy to have my wish granted as I was curious about this book after reading an interview with the author in The Guardian. The story felt very cinematic and the various character dilemmas were captivating. I became very quickly wrapped up in the unfolding tension and blitzed it in a few hours. It had an authentic voice running through the drama due to Newman’s background and this made it even more gripping. I was pleased that this didn’t stray into the stereotypical hijacker story with a one dimensional foreign person as the villain, as I find them quite frustrating and insulting. Falling has more depth that you would expect from this type of tale, and it’s very entertaining.

I’ve rounded up my rating from 4 and half stars.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and Netgalley for the arc of this debut novel. Brilliant book - great plot, very fast paced and completely un-putdownable.

Loved the characters, and the anticipation of what would happen next. Excited to see what T.J Newman does next!

Falling is a great novel to settle down with for a few hours- edge of the seat action that doesnt really let up.

The opening immerses you straight in and from then on in it's really hard to put down, a classic page turner with some great writing and plotting. I read it in one sitting and it was wildly entertaining. Although you might think twice before boarding that plane next time...

Recommended.

This book scared me so much. I have a terrible fear of flying, which is sad since I currently live abroad, a 12 hour flight away from my home country. But as much as I try to convince myself it's the safest form of travel, I still freak out. The best way for me to feel better though, is to constantly tell myself that if anything goes wrong, the pilot wants to make it home safe and sound just as much as I do.

Oh man, the way this book basically won't let me think that way. Instead it made me imagine what would happen if the pilot was faced with the unbelievable and horrific decision. And what would I do in that situation too?

I loved this book and found it a page turner, but I have to admit, I felt like it could have shocked me more at times. I saw the twists coming and I felt like it could have had a more explosive (pardon the pun) ending.

However, the way I kept thinking about this book after it ended showed me that this was well worth reading, and I would totally recommend this. A great book that really sticks with you until long after you've finished.

WOW! Falling is phenomenal. I am literally a little bit in love with how mind-blowingly stupendous this debut is. TJ Newman has not only hit the ball out of the park, it’s made it’s way to 35,000 feet! Buckle up, fold your tray tables away and return your seats to their upright position folks, because this is one of summer 2021s MUST reads...

It’s hard to emphasise just how filmic this novel is. The whole thing plays out like a series of scenes in a major summer blockbuster: high-impact action sequences are interlaced with edge of your seat suspense, against an intense backdrop of heightened, visceral emotions. I love how focus shifts between the plane, the Hoffman’s house and the FBI team in a sharp and snappy way, making each of the different narrative paths equally engaging and tense. The cast of characters are really engaging and help to not only build suspense, but provide heartfelt, comedic and emotionally raw moments. Essentially, this is a very engrossing and “readable”novel. The reader is taken on a journey that goes from 0 to 600mph in less than 50 pages and it is SO hard to put down. In fact, Falling deserves to be read in a single, high-octane sitting and I wish that I had been able to do that!

What else makes Falling such a fantastic read is the quality of the characters and all of the interwoven snippets of backstory. These flashes of past experiences and personal moments really draw you into the characters’ worlds. They help develop a strong connection between the reader and Bill and his family - I was so invested in their safety and how they were going to escape. However, they also humanise the terrorists and more importantly provide a plausibility to the extraordinary events. The underlying agony and torment that has lead to the events in the novel are both moving and affecting. This makes Falling a very thought-provoking novel too. I found myself thinking about how our western privilege really does remove us so far from the traumas that occur daily elsewhere in the world. For me, this elevated the novel from just being a thrilling action suspense story, to a measured and thoughtful critique of society and the juxtaposition between cultures. The novel is a journey to realisation, not only for the Hoffmans, the crew and the FBI, but for the reader too. Falling will stay with me for a long time for being both an invigorating and affecting read.

I can’t wait to read more from TJ Newman!

I read this in two days. Utterly gripping and convincing. Great to see that it was written by an ex Air Stewardess who had clearly done her research and made me feel like we were in safe hands as the dramas in the sky unfolded. Very much recommended with convincing characters and riveting plot line. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

This book reminded me of a classic 1970s disaster thriller and that's no bad thing! Fast moving and very cinematic. To be read on the beach (just not the plane on the way over)

A fast-paced, gripping and relentless thriller which reads like a movie. Written so well it is hard to believe this is the author's first novel. Commerical airline pilot Bill lives in LA with his wife, their 10 year old son and 10 month old daughter. When he agrees to go into work at short notice, forgetting his promise to keep the time free for family commitments, his wife is far from impressed. But events soon take a shocking turn, causing the couple to consider how well they really know each other and how far they will go to save their family.

Well, this was an absolute gripper of a read!
Just a quick heads up, I wouldn't take this as a holiday read when you at next jetting out somewhere though!

When Bill picks up an extra flight on his day off, he couldn't have imagined the way his day was going to go. In the bad books for backing out on family time again, he gets on his flight thinking that wife Carrie is ignoring his usual text before flying as she is punishing him, not knowing that the second he had walked out of his front door, his family had been taken hostage. When they finally make contact, the hostage-taker tells Bill that to save his family, he must crash the plane carrying 140 passengers.
What follows is a five-hour flight of Bill trying to follow through on his promise that he will not crash the plane and his family won't be harmed.
The story then follows a few characters to flesh out the story well - Bill in the cockpit, Carrie trying to keep her children safe, FBI Agent Theo trying to save his career and my favourite, flight attendant Jo who is amidst the passengers trying to keep them all calm. She and 'Big Daddy' absolutely made this story for me and you can tell that it comes from a writer experienced in that world.

Highly recommended.

A frighteningly realistic tale of terror. Scary but also a great story to match it. Brilliant. Highly recommended xx

This book was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and so when my wish got granted on NetGalley on Friday I knew this had to be my next read, and it more than lived up to my expectations for it. Falling is your worst nightmare – a pilot is in mid-air when he finds out his family have been held hostage and he has to choose between his family’s lives and the lives of all 149 people on his airline! The novel gets going immediately and the pace doesn’t let up for a second all the way through! I literally didn’t put this book down once I started reading – the way it’s told from multiple perspectives meant I was always desperate to know what was happening to everyone else and so it was a case of just one more chapter, and one more etc until I turned the final page! I had some suspicions about the perpetrators of this crime but I didn’t work it all out and I love that it kept surprising me throughout. There are moments where you have to suspend disbelief but I didn’t mind that at all because by then I was so invested in the plot and I was fully onboard (no pun intended) for wherever this story was taking me! I highly recommend this one!

Wow! What an absolutely incredible debut this is! I managed to make it last across three days but could so easily have devoured it in one sitting.

For the passengers on board Flight 416 they naturally expect a safe Coastal Airways Flight from Los Angeles to New York. Little do they know that before the flight, Captain Bill Hoffman’s wife and two children were kidnapped! With the flight in motion, the Captain receives a message from his family’s kidnapper. For his family to live, everyone on the plane must die. Therefore the only way his family will survive is if the pilot follows these orders and crashes the plane...

From the moment I started this book I was swept up in the story. I loved the fast paced plot and cliff hanger endings of the chapters as I just never wanted to stop reading. It is extremely gripping and full of tension with so many great surprises and turns of events throughout!

I really liked the different narratives and perspectives throughout this story of the events happening on board for the Captain in the cockpit alongside the experiences Jo and her fellow flight attendants are having out in the cabin with the passengers. We also get to learn and understand how things are simultaneously evolving down on the ground and I thought these elements worked so well together.

It was also really clever how there were sections in italics interspersed throughout the book as these showed the memories the different characters were having. These moments of reminiscing provided a really great insight!

Falling is such a fantastic debut and I am excited to see what T. J. Newman writes in the future!

thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for ARC.

This is an amazing thriller and you can believe all of the admiring blurbs from famous writers!

A pilot leaves his suburban LA home to cover a cross country flight, just as his wife is dealing with the arrival of the cable repair man. Just a regular Saturday. He and the crew make their usual preparations, as they have done so many times before. But this time is different - just before take off the pilot receives a message that his family has been kidnapped. To save them, he must crash this flight, risking all on board and more. He must tell no one, or his family will die. His every move is monitored.

From this tense opening, I was gripped.
The plotting is astonishingly tight, the characters well-drawn enough for you to care about their fate and wish them well, and the empathy for all the characters is deeply felt, even the hijacker. The tension never lets up.
I was breathless reading this, staying up way past bedtime to see what happened in the next chapter, and the next, and the next...
TJ Newman knows the airline industry and she knows books, and this comes across in this envy-inducing debut.
Perfect for reading safely on the ground.

A remarkable debut! A story that rips along and keeps you engaged from the first page to the last. Newman's inflight experience adds credibility to the story without getting in the way or slowing down the pace.

The opening section is great but leaves you worrying if it can be sustained, however Newman plays her cards carefully. It's like the steep climb of take-off followed by a careful levelling off as she brings extra threads into the story before preparing for the big landing..

There is a cheesy passage or two here and there, plus the occasional cliche thrown in, but with a novice writer I can forgive that (although perhaps not the editors!). I'm sure Newman will have the confidence to avoid them in her next novel.

I'd suggest that it's perfect holiday reading, but many of us won't have the luxury of being by the pool or beach this year, so just grab it and read it at home now before the blockbuster film comes along.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Falling but that has in no way influenced my review.

Woah! I mean, WOAH! What a book! I've discovered in recent years that I'm a huge fan of novels which feature a disaster at their heart. I have a particular love of plane-based hostage situations. Stranded at 30,000 feet, there's no escape and someone else is pulling the very delicate strings. One wrong move and....BOOM! So much so, Falling is the first of three flight-based thrillers I'm featuring on damppebbles this month. And it's by far the best. I didn't want to be separated from this book for a single second.

Captain Bill Hoffman boards flight CA416 to New York with a heavy heart. He knows he's in trouble with his wife, when he left the house things were strained between them but for Bill, it's impossible to say no to the Chief Pilot. Missing his son's Little League opener is something he'll have to come to terms with. Despite the tension at home, it's another normal day for Bill. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until he receives a devastating message. His family have been taken hostage. In order for them to live, Bill must crash the plane killing everyone on board. Bill has an impossible decision to make and the clock is ticking...

Falling is a superb debut. Tense, scarily real and absolutely relentless. The book starts with a bang. The author throws the reader straight into the deep end. You have no idea what came before but you have a fair idea of what's coming next. By far, the best opener to a book I've read in a long, long time. Although the action does grind down a gear or two after our initial introduction to Bill, the tension remains ever present. As the situation the crew are in becomes clear, as the pressure mounts, the book builds to a heart-stopping climax. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I was living and breathing this book alongside the characters. Totally believable, completely engrossing and the ultimate thrill-ride.

As an ex-flight attendant the author has used her extensive knowledge (and a little artistic flair!) to create a pulse-pounding reading experience which I loved. I felt fully invested in the characters. Strong, capable Bill who everyone believes will do the right thing (whatever that is!), the fearless cabin crew who not only have a flight full of anxious, scared passengers to deal with but also the promise of the hijackers 'back-up plan'. And not forgetting Bill's family, his wife, Carrie, who has a suicide vest strapped to her but still manages to remain outwardly calm and in control for the sake of her two children - 10 year old Scott and baby, Elise. It's the stuff nightmares are made of and I loved every heart in my mouth second.

Would I recommend this book? I most definitely would, yes. If you're looking for a thrilling, high concept, intense and all-consuming read then make sure you get yourself a copy of Falling. It's true, I won't be stepping foot on a plane anytime soon but don't let that stop you ! Highly, highly entertaining. I was completely captivated from that blisteringly good start to the heart-stopping, 'read behind your hands' end. A definite contender for my 'books of the year' list without a doubt. Shedloads of suspense, a fast and pacey plot and a cast of characters I felt fully invested in. Sublime! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Falling. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book should come with a warning ‘Do not read prior or during a flight”. Thank goodness I’m not flying anywhere if you are a nervous traveller like myself then Falling will increase your fear and anxiety tenfold. I found my heart pounding and the dread growing going as pilot Bill Hoffman’s flight turns into every pilot and traveller’s worse nightmare. Falling has a simple but intriguing concept, pilot Bill Hoffman discovers that his wife, son and baby are being held hostage by terrorist. He is told. “Crash your plane, or I kill your family. The choice is yours.” And so begins a high octane, thrill a minute blockbuster movie in book form.

The claustrophobic feel of being enclosed in an aeroplane cabin with no escape adds to the tension. As the passenger’s terror grows, it rubs off. You can’t help but imagine what it would be like to be in that same situation. T. J. Newman has created some fabulous characters who spring to life when placed under immense pressure. Each character has a role to play, Bill the unflappable captain, Theo, an impulsive agent, and Jo, the ballsy cabin flight attendant, and big Daddy who brings some humour and light relief to the read. This plot isn’t farfetched in fact it’s the opposite, it’s frighteningly believable. The author's own career as a flight attendant made the details of the procedure on the plane felt very realistic. 

Falling is thankfully an unpredictable read, you may second guess what Bill may do or not do, you may be right but the chances are you will be wrong, and that’s what makes this book such an exciting read. As I reached the end of this book, my stomach felt like it had been through the worse turbulence. I was surprised and just how much I enjoyed this book. T. J. Newman has written a ‘thrilling’ thriller that I’m sure is going to be a tremendous hit this summer.

4.5

This is one that’s best to go in blind, without too much information which would spoil the enjoyment. Suffice it to say, Captain Bill Hoffman works for Coastal Airways, there are 144 passengers on Flight 416 from LAX to JFK. Meanwhile on the ground his wife Carrie, son Scott and baby Elise are held at gunpoint by Sam .... The story alternates between the cockpit and cabin and events on the ground.

‘Come fly with me, come fly, let’s fly away’ ... but maybe not this flight as it’s your worst nightmare. This is as taut as piano wife, as tense as a Hitchcock movie, it could potentially shred your nerves and reduce your fingernails to stumps. Both Catch-22 dilemmas are extremely well done as the plot develops explosively with several jaw dropping and exciting scenes of excellent thriller movie potential. Without being too cliché I visualise Tom Hanks as Bill (too Sully?!!) and Tom Cruise (too Ethan Hunt?) on the ground as FBI agent Theo Baldwin. There’s bravery in abundance with several characters demonstrating a gird your loins, warrior spirit as they think fast on their feet. There’s guilt and betrayal too but some of that has political reasons at its core which does give you something to reflect on. The plot is clever, the pace is fast when it needs to be and thankfully you do get occasional breathers with some little moments of ‘peace’ which serves effectively serves to highlight the trauma and the drama. There are at least a couple of occasions when your heart breaks in two with the voluntary sacrifice offered. There is one moment of reckless stupidity which makes you wonder why some people think they can be Rambo????

Overall, this is an exciting well written thriller that will have you perched on the edge of your seat. A major plus is the authors flight attendant experience which gives a feeling of authenticity to the storyline.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Simon and Schuster for being kind enough to grant my wish for the arc in return for an honest review.

I just finished reading Falling, and wow. It was everything I had hoped for a more. It was thrilling, action packed, heartwarming, but also had a deeper message!

My favourite thing about the book was watching the -family- on the flight (pilot Bill, flight attendants) come together and work as a team to do all they can to save the lives of the passengers! You can tell that so much research was put into this book, and it really gave you an insight of the training that people go through to be in these roles, and the situations they have to be ready for!

I really loved every character, and they were all perfect in their own way! I would 100% recommend this book!

If you’re a fan of high intense, action packed disaster films then this is the book for you. It reads just like a film, with an opening chapter that doesn’t hold back.

As the story begins we are introduced to Captain Bill Hoffman, pilot of Coastal Airways who is about to embark on what he thinks is just another routine flight. It doesn’t take long for the action to begin and Captain Hoffman has a choice to make….crash the plane in order to save his family.

The story flips between all the action on board the plane, Bill’s family back on the ground and the FBI who are trying to stop the crash and save the family.

My favourite parts were definitely those on board the plane, especially in the cabin with flight attendant Jo and her colleagues. The author was a flight attendant herself and this is clear from the details that she goes into regarding safety protocols and aviation terminology. It really brought the book to life even more and my heart was racing throughout as though I was a passenger myself.

This is a real page turner that you won’t be able to put down. There are plenty of twists and turns, and even though I did guess one pretty early on it didn’t spoil the book for me. Despite knowing certain things I still had no idea how the rest was going to pan out and I thoroughly enjoyed the nail biting ride it took me on.

Overall this was a fast paced, action packed thriller that will be a perfect summer read…..maybe not whilst flying though!