Falling, the debut book by T.J. Newman, is about a highjacking and the impossible decision facing the captain of choosing the life of his family or the lives of his passengers. Newman, a former flight attendant, writes with the authority and conviction of someone intimately knowledgeable about the airline industry. The fact Newman was rejected by 40ish publishers is bananas because I couldn't put Falling down (see what I did there). For being her first book, it's a master class in building suspense and tension without violence. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing an advanced copy of Falling.

I was really in the mood for a good thriller. The acclaim for this one was high so I was excited when I saw that I was approved with it. I read it all in one sitting... Not because it was good but because I wanted to finish it to move on to something else. It really did not click for me. All the "I will not crash this plane, my family will not die" stuff was weird and not earned in the least. I was expecting a back story to shed some more light on why our main character would say that... Nope. And the "reveal" of who the bad guys are? Come on... It's cliche at best and offensive at worst. There are so many little things that irked me about this book..the baseball game, big daddy, the cliche characters. Seriously there were so many cliche characters from the terrorist with a sad back story, the tough looking guy with a heart of gold, the rogue fbi agent. I understand that books like this are the equivalent of watching a Michael Bay movie and that's fine, but the author shows talent and could have taken this is some interesting places if she wanted to. Again, I really wanted to like this book. The cover was cool at least! Oh, and if this was real life that plane would have been shot down way before it got to spoiler.

Despite the hype and blurbs from two of my favorites ,McKinty and Winslow, I did not like this book at all. It was not suspenseful, intelligent or particularly well written. And it was so corny as to border on parody—read the scene at Yankee stadium and tell me if you disagree. I usually try not to pan a book, and it is the author’s first book, but this one does not live up to the hype at all. Compare it to a similar thriller, say Black Sunday by Thomas Harris, and tell me which one is more intelligent and suspenseful. I am hopeful the author does better with her next book.

Oh man was this book A RIDE! Holy anxiety inducing free fall of a story!

A story of a devoted pilot who one day makes the choice to choose work over family, it doesn’t seem like too big of a deal. Sure his wife is upset, but choosing this flight was an honor when his boss asked him to cover it. Surely he can make it up to his wife. Only...this flight is different in every way. Sooner than he anticipated, Bill will have to make the choice of work or family again. Only this time, whoever he doesn’t pick will die. How is Bill supposed to choose between his family and the 150 souls depending on him for survival?

Good thing Bill is determined to not choose.

A cat and mouse game at thousands of feet in the air, this tense novel is a breathless read. I highly recommend it! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance!

With a title like that and a plane on the cover you know something’s going to go terribly wrong. If they just had a plane and titled it Flying then you’d be in for a doozy of a surprise. So pop some corn and get ready for a high altitude adventure.
It’s been a while since I’ve read just a purely adrenaline driven thriller for thriller’s sake, not a mystery, not a procedural, not a murder solving thing, just something silly and fun and boombastic. A Michael Bay movie, essentially, though with a more complicated, politically correct and woke morality. Is that a sign of times or just a reflection of the author’s gender? Who knows. Doesn’t matter.
It was going to be an ordinary day for one ordinary all American family. Bill, the father, was off to do his job and be a pilot and Carrie, the mother, was to stay put and take care of their two kids. It was going to be an ordinary flight too for Bill, a straight through from west coast to the east. But then it all went to sh*t. All of it.
Now Carrie and the kids are kidnapped and the only way Bill can save them is if he crashes the plane. And, as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also someone on the plane itself, an accomplice. So the pressure is on. Can Bill, the heroic, patriotic pilot save the day?
What do you think? You know this movie before it’s inevitably made into one, don’t you. It has rousing (Independence day style) speeches and strategically lachrymose moments and principled diligent goodness in the face of evil. It has a freaking baseball game. This entirely production is so American, it just needs a flag, an apple pie and personal arsenal.
You know Bill won’t let you down because he’s the good guy and Carrie will hold her own too, because she’s the good woman behind the good guy and also a total motherbear. And you know the flight attendants will prove to be both heroic and awesome, because…well, mostly because the author was a flight attendant herself for 10 years prior to finding success as a popcorn moviebook writer. Seriously, Newman’s own story is way more inspirational than her book, a book she wrote on numerous flights and passed around for 41 rejections before getting a multibook deal with a major publisher. Now that’s kinda awesome.
The book itself isn’t awesome as such, but it’s really committed to being the best summer high flying extravaganza it can be and that’s quite something. It practically pops its own popcorn at an altitude. You almost have to admire that sort of zeal. And much like all those silly huge productions, it is inherently entertaining. It might be the most amount of fun you can have on a place without Samuel L. Jackson shouting obscenities. It’s definitely all the thing the recent 7500 movie tried to be and failed

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for an advanced digital review copy of the thrilling novel Falling by T.J. Newman.

While I am sending thanks, I want to say a big thank you to the author herself. T.J.--This novel is what I have been waiting for and you wrote it better than I could have ever imagined. Being a flight attendant myself, I love how you she described the details and intricacies of flying and that lifestyle. As you know, that job and lifestyle is unlike anything else. My heart was racing the entire novel and it really made me think about what I would do if I was working that flight.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Los Angles. A mother is getting ready to take her son and daughter to her son’s game. A father, Bill, who is also a well-established pilot is getting ready for his transcontinental flight from LAX to JFK. It’s a perfect day for flying until Bill is faced with a decision that will change his life and the lives of many others. Someone is holding his wife and children hostage. The demands are to crash his plane full of 149 souls on board to save his family or to save the plane, which would kill his family. How does Bill cope to make that decision and who will he save? Who can be trusted on that flight?

This is a page-turning, non-stop thriller with excellent character development. Just when you think you have it figured out, something new develops. The author’s experience working as a flight attendant is very evident in this book. The three flight attendant personalities in this book were so spot on. Over the years, I’ve worked with all three of these personalities at one time or another on my own flights. Honestly, I loved everything about this book. If you’re looking for a novel that you won’t be able to put down, I highly recommend this one. I look forward to reading anything else T.J. Newman writes. If this is her debut novel, I can’t imagine what she has in store for us next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this gripping and tantalising read; one I couldn’t put down. This has been my best read so far in 2021.

Meet Bill, an experienced pilot carrying 149 souls on board a flight from LAX to JFK. In the flight deck, the readers are quickly introduced to a narrative twist that will keep you on the edge of your seat; non- stop to the end.

For a novel to begin almost immediately into an impossible situation and to then extend it throughout the whole narrative is absolute genius. The suspense and tension is palpable and you soon are ensnared into the story; something I’ve not felt in a while when reading.

Our main protagonist Bill, is presented as a true American hero and his dilemma of crashing the plane or saving his family affects all passengers and crew. His constant crisis lingers throughout and the reader is plummeted, along with the passengers, through the possible alternatives that face him.

Jo, the cabin manager is such a thrilling character to behold. Her actions are also heroic, you feel her emotional turmoil and dedication to the protection of her passengers. Her assertive and dynamic behaviour alone, is gripping to read.

Big Daddy. Another character I loved. Bold and feisty and an hilarious sidekick to Jo.

Multiple narratives, enriching characters and utter, full blown, eye popping action from the first chapter to the last. This has really been written well. The ending alone with its fast paced perspective changes, structured this fierce story to the final full stop.

I honestly can’t wait until this is published. Read it, get it on your TBR pile and I assure you that you won’t be disappointed. It is a heart racer! What on Earth do I read next?

Through Net Galley, I was afforded the opportunity to read an advance copy of Falling by T.J. Newman. A pilot is placed in a no win situation when his family is kidnapped and he given two options: crash the plane or your family dies. Written by a veteran flight attendant, Falling is a non-stop thriller with a killer cast of characters and terrific plot that travels as fast as the jet plane much of the action takes place on. Given Ms. Newman’s experience, it should come as no surprise that the reader is introduced to the inner workings of the air transportation industry and the aircraft crew are certainly heroic in their actions. That said, the bad guys are equally as compelling with fully fleshed out backstories as to what drives them to do the things they do.

Simply put, I loved this book and give it 5 enthusiastic stars.

My thanks to the author, Avid Reader Press and Net Galley for the chance to read this excellent novel.

ADRENALINA EN ESTADO PURO.
Vamos con una nueva review, en este caso del esperadísimo "Falling", de la debutante T.J. Newman. Una americanada. Muy chula, pero americanada.
LA TRAMA: Bill Hamilton es piloto de líneas aéreas. Lo que debería ser un apacible viaje de cinco horas y media con destino Nueva York, se convierte en una pesadilla cuando su familia es secuestrada y los captores le dan a elegir entre estrellar el avión o que su familia estalle en pedazos tras explosionar los chalecos explosivos que llevan. Un win-win de manual, vamos.
LO MEJOR: la adrenalina. Acción sin reparos y a toda velocidad. Como "Speed", con Keanu y Sandra, pero en un avión. Y que, escrito por una azafata de vuelo, explica muy bien algunos de los entresijos de a bordo. Cualquiera que hay subido alguna vez en avión se puede ubicar sin problemas.
LO PEOR: pues que es una americanada, que está muy bien que una americana escriba americanadas, pero en este caso creo que incluso en algún momento roza el ridículo (lo de las Series Finales es antología del almibarismo).
Muy entretenido.

Oh my goodness, THE TWISTS! My heart is racing!
This book was VERY suspenseful with -oddly enough- some excellent cometic relief here & there. “Big Daddy” made the passengers’ initial irritating antics hilarious and bearable with “Karen” references and the everything felt fresh and modern with Instagram “influencer” and current world issues.
And then there’s the realization of the power and persistence of a defiant group of strangers. From Bill, the stoic captain, to Carrie, an strong mother, to Theo, an impulsive agent, and Jo, a fearless cabin leader, the cast of characters in this novel are impeccable and inspiration. I often found myself on the edge of my seat and the verge of tears throughout this entire book.
As a flight attendant myself, I obviously identified with the crew and loved Newman’s referenced in her acknowledgments to her former teammates being her “pixie dust.” Also, though, found this book both terrifying and entirely too realistic.
I’d definitely recommend Falling to any thriller & suspense fans and anyone interested in aviation and current world events.

This fast-paced easy read is good for fans of disaster movies and thrillers. Easy to pitch as a readalike to Clare Mackintosh's HOSTAGE.

Like the edge-of-your-seat disaster movies of the 1970’s coupled with a terrorist plot, ‘Falling’ will leave you stiff from clenching your muscles throughout this book. Just when you think you might catch your breath, the reader is thrown into yet another life and death situation. Simply put, ‘Falling’ is THE reading thrill ride of 2021! Thank you to the published for making this available through #NetGalley

I flew through this (pun intended) and read it all in one sitting as I couldn't stop reading until I knew exactly what happened. The characters are so well written and the teamwork between the flight attendants was so touching. Two things that I wanted to know though that I don't think were addressed (if I missed them or if they get added in before final publication, let me know)(view spoiler). A tense, suspenseful novel. Highly recommended!


Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Falling is a prime example of writing a nail-biting thriller without the shootouts and car chases mostly found in the best of the genre. Instead, readers are treated to an intense situation 35,000 feet in the air onboard a plane piloted by a man who has to choose between saving his family and saving the souls on board his aircraft. T.J Newman spins a captivating yarn full of deeply grounded characters standing up to challenging dilemmas no reader would ever want to face. It isn’t often you see a debut novel written with such finesse as that of Falling.
One of my quicker reads, I finished Falling in two days. The story moves at a breakneck pace without faltering or dragging. There is always something happening that pushes the story forward. The driving forces of the narrative are the highly relatable characters. Each character feels like someone you may cross paths with without even realizing. It is only when the going gets tough and the situation takes a nosedive (pun-intended) that the characters are tested and their true natures revealed in displays of unflinching bravery ( or betrayal for some ). Even the antagonists are painted in a shade of gray rather than a simple ‘evil’ label. I felt for the bad guys just as I did for the good ones when Newman aptly highlights their painful desperation. This is the brilliance of Falling. Flashbacks and powerful dialogue are brilliantly used to convey the gravity of the hostile situation, always keeping readers on their toes to be prepared for anything to happen, much like how the characters in the story feel.
I am glad I read Falling safely on ground and not in the air because I would have been a nervous wreck for the entire flight. Void of cliché agendas for bad guys and highly elaborate conspiracy stories, Falling opts for a character-driven escapade with a personal message for all readers in a race-against-time setting to drive home the gut-wrenching stakes of the narrative. It is only a matter of time before we see a big screen adaptation of this exquisite debut, so be sure to read it ASAP!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fun romp of a read. As a pilot gets ready to fly from LA to NYC, his family is kidnapped. Bill is given the option to save his family or crash the plane. I liked Jo, Big Daddy, and Carrie's characters a lot.

I had the same feeling as when I read The Martian, thinking this would make a great movie.

I had a hard time understanding why the terrorists were doing this and targeting Bill and his family.

Great first book by T.J. Newman. I hope to read more from her in the future. She also showed me that flight attendants have much more responsibilities than I realized.