Shortly after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific ocean. The majority of the surviving passengers get off the plane, but due to an explosion, engineer Will (correctly) deems it safer to stay inside the plane. The plane then sinks 200 feet, teetering on a cliff. Can a rescue crew make contact and figure out how to rescue the survivors from this completely uncharted scenario before their air runs out, or the plane goes off the edge of the cliff?

Much like when I read Falling by this author, I am very glad I don't have a flight booked in the near future as it's most definitely a terrifying read for someone with any anxiety around flying. I loved the cast of characters and how they really bonded and worked together. They were not all likeable which made them all the more believable. I would have loved more of a back story for the rest of them, as we really only learned about Will and Shannon, though I loved hearing the story of their family.

I loved the pace and intensity of this book and was very invested in what happened to the passengers. The author's history as a flight attendant is evident and I love the little fun facts and insider info thrown in. Highly recommend as a read for when you are safely on the ground.

Wowzas! TJ Newman does it again!

This read was Crazy good! High energy! Claustrophobic! Gut wrenching scary! Yes, it deserves all the !!!

I loved this read and will definitely recommend it!

Shortly after settling into my seat on a long-haul flight over the Atlantic I started to read Drowning by T. J. Newman. I didn't get very far before putting it down until we safely landed as it was too realistic and believable, especially considering the author had been a flight attendant with a wealth of knowledge and experience. The thriller is written with electric suspense and taut tension with heavy doses of tongue-gnawing anxiety in the very best way possible.

Ninety nine passengers are on board Flight 1421 when flames are visible after losing an engine shortly following takeoff. Those unseated are tossed around the cabin like rag dolls, there are screams, goodbye texts and flight attendants are too calm. But it gets worse. Passengers are instructed how to brace for impact and how to use inflatable life vests. The dreaded message is delivered from the captain as the plane plunges. The nightmare just continues from there as the plane sinks deep beneath the water and rests precariously on a ledge. Just before that some are able to escape the plane but most become fatalities as the plane explodes.

Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are on Flight 1421. Shannon's mother Chris is frantic as news reports come in. Will initially wasn't going to accompany Shannon to summer camp but changed his mind at the last minute. As an engineer his knowledge is crucial . Meanwhile, Chris is a part of a Herculean rescue plan but time is running out. Fast.

Thriller and suspense readers, this one is unmissable. Your insides will feel turbulent and your heart will beat a bit faster. It is snappy, quick-paced, active and the ending is clever. This isn't an ordinary book. It's an experience. Just remember to breathe.

My sincere thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this stupendous novel. More, please!

Thank you to NetGalley, T.J. Newman and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow guys! This might be my favourite thriller in a while - it’s thrilling, suspenseful and fast paced. There isn’t a ton to say without giving anything away but I was obsessed.

Wow! Where to start? This fast paced novel by T.J. Newman had me hooked from the very first chapter. The story begins with a plane taking off from Hawaii but a few minutes into the flight things take a turn. The story had my adrenaline going and I couldn't put it down. I could envision the characters in my mind and I felt many different emotions within seconds. I felt happy, sad, fearful and most of all awe for the characters and all they were having to endure. The suspense was non stop and I couldn't wait to see the outcome. This is a definite five star in my mind and oh I do hope they turn the novel into a movie. It would be fantastic!

I read Falling by this author a couple of years ago and loved it. These books remind me of the disaster movies of the 70s (I know I am dating myself). This book particularly reminded me of The Poseidon Adventure (one of my favourites) crossed with Airport and I loved it.

This book was intense and had me stressed out. I was so anxious while reading it, I was actually holding my breath at parts. I was able to read it in a single sitting because I could not put the book down, it was that good. I was frantically flipping pages wanting and waiting anxiously to see what would happen next.

The human aspect and dialogue felt true to life and I liked that there were some mistakes made along the way of the rescue attempt. I call these types of books popcorn thrillers as they would make excellent movies. The book is completely captivating and entertaining. I love Newman's writing style because even though there are descriptive technical issues it's an easy read with clear explanations. I was emotionally invested in the characters' lives and their rescue, I cared what happened to them physically and in their relationships. Not all the characters are helpful or likeable and they don't all get along like one big happy family. They have issues with each other and they disagree and that made it all the more realistic.

I especially liked that the book isn't just about a plane crash rescue. Newman mixes the complexity of relationships with the human condition and does so brilliantly. If you're able to suspend belief a little bit, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Newman writes what she knows and does it well. All. The. Stars.

Definitely a WILD ride!! 10/10 for plot originality!! Will it be one of my fav thrillers of the year though? I don’t think so. I actually found it hard to imagine some of the scenarios and didn’t love the narrators like I thought I would. 💯 this would make an epic movie and I will for sure be watching it!! Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Librofm for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

Holy Adrenalin rush!

I need to get my hands on Falling now that I have read Drowning.

How do you rescue people from an airplane that has ditched into the ocean. Normally, as a flight attendant, if the plane is on the surface, the FA would check to see if it was safe and the open the doors and enable the slides and then passengers could exit the plane and inflate their life vests while rescue was hopefully close by. This is how Drowning begins but once the flight crew realizes that another catastrophe is about to happen outside the plane, in the water, they seal the remaining passengers inside the plane in a place of relative safety. Until the plane sinks down into the ocean and sits on an unstable shelf at almost 200 feet below sea level. What now? You’ll have to read to find out.

I found myself holding my breath at times while reading this book and at other times in full on tears. It is marketed as a thriller and I suppose that is what it is but for me it was an extreme adventure with heart. I came to care about the characters, well except for one who was so unlikeable! The pacing took hold and I read it in 2 days which for me means I was completely tuned in and maybe a bit stressed out (haha). Faster readers will read this in one sitting.

TJ Newman is a former flight attendant and along with her own experience, sought out experts in the different fields to make this story believable. I went through flight attendant training several years ago and then came to realize it wasn’t something I wanted to do. Newman has shed light on the role flight crews put into safety. In my training we had 6 intensive weeks of long days and nights of specialized training on our aircrafts and one afternoon on how to do the food service. We had to pass difficult tests with few errors. I say this because the next time you take a flight, thank your crew who are there for your safety and will be the people you will be able to depend on during any kind of emergency.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. Drowning comes out May 30, 2023.

All I can say is wow!! This book was heart wrenching, exciting, seat gripping and just plain omg!! I couldn’t put this down, the panic you feel reading this puts you in there with the characters. You see all sides and the teamwork and the best and worst of humanity. You’ll find yourself reading faster and faster because you need to know what happens next. This book needs to be a major movie. I would watch this over and over. This author is absolutely fantastic and I see her going great places!!! An absolute must read!!

Note…NetGalley has two versions of this book. Here is the second book’s review.


Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.
************************************************************************************************
The flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman—whose first book Falling was an instant #1 national bestseller and the biggest thriller debut of 2021—returns for her second book, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean, and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside, and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.
Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashed into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.
More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.
Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent—Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife—who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.
There’s not much time.
There’s even less air.
With devastating emotional power and heart-stopping suspense, Drowning is an unforgettable thriller about a family’s desperate fight to save themselves and the people trapped with them—against impossible odds

This book is gripping and engrossing and will make you question flying almost as much as TJ's previous novel Falling. At least flying over water! The characters and their backstories were lovely and I did do an ugly cry more than once (no spoilers but it's rough after a plane crash when you are trying to survive!)
I will highly recommend this to all friends, family and patrons and anyone I see reading on the train to Montreal and congratulate them for not flying! (I have had some of the best conversations about books on a #viarailcanada train!)
#shortbutsweetreviews

I’m always thankful each time I check my email and discover that NetGalley has approved me for another titIe, but this time, the enormity of it really sunk in. I felt honoured to have an advanced reader’s copy of TJ Newman’s ‘Drowning’ in my hands after I understood that Nicole Kidman and Jerry Bruckheimer were trying to outbid each other for the rights to the movie. I grinned like a Cheshire cat as I put down my tray table and started this ‘oh-so-desireable’ story as we started on our adventure to Machu Picchu!

Do you enjoy an adrenaline rush? Does your brain love the puzzles that thrillers provide? Do you see reading thrillers as a way to vent off stress?

Me, too.

When I’m feeling tense and stressed, I reach for a thriller. Seems contradictory, doesn’t it? I absolutely love the opportunity to put my world back in balance - reading a thriller does that for me! I get to see ordinary people rising to the occasion, good triumphing over evil, heroes making difficult choices and sacrificing - all the ‘stuff’ we loved in a fairytale.

I grow by introspection and the insight I get from reading allows me to question what I’d do in the same situation and if I’d measure up to the hero in my book. I need to read about people such as Will and Chris who put aside personal challenges and focused on the lives of others. I need to read about an eclectic group of people who join forces, foster hope in each other, and work together against the impossible. The passengers on this flight were more than simply a person seated beside someone else. They were people with challenges, people who’ve overcome challenges, and people who’ll be walking into challenges should they survive this ordeal. Newman makes each of them approachable. You’ll feel like you are on the flight with them.

You’ll gasp. You’ll cry. You’ll be elated. When you finish reading, you’ll know why there was a bidding war for this book.

In a me-first society, we need more people reading thrillers! What about you? Choose this aviation thriller - o.k. Maybe don’t read it on a long flight as I did, but go pre-order it now!

Newman, enjoy your new role as an executive producer, but please, please, keep writing.

I was generously gifted this phenomenal copy by Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This is what a thriller or suspenseful novel should be! I could not stop reading this book. The pacing is just perfect to keep the pages turning. I was able to connect with the characters and I cared a lot about them. It is clear this author did her research well and I enjoyed the behind the scenes of somethings we don't think about. I would recommend this book to everyone this summer. It would make a great beach read.

Drowning is a roller coaster of a ride that will have you holding your breath, cheering on the passengers, crying and celebrating each step of survival.

Lots of suspense as you eagerly await the fate of the remaining passengers trapped in the plane beneath the ocean.

How could they ever survive.

Above the ocean teams are working frantically to come up with a plan. One of the rescuers her daughter and ex husband are passengers so she cant fail.

Highly recommend that you get your copy of Drowning, put it to the very top of you TBR pile and prepare for a wild read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada, Avid Reader Press/Simon an

During the second summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the good fortune to have an audiobook copy of TJ Newman’s debut novel Falling by TJ Newman. This book was probably responsible for a lot of clocked kilometers of walking, because I found every excuse possible to leave the house, put in my earbuds, and listen to this novel. 20 minute walks extended to 80 mins, because I simply did not want to stop listening. While it was never ‘powerful literature,’ it was great storytelling akin to the blockbuster action movies of summer, and I was completely invested.
Fast forward to 2023: When Newman’s second effort became available as an advanced reader copy (ARC), I thought (much like when I asked Santa for a scooter when I was 8) that it would be impossible that I would get what I asked for. And then I was! I was so excited to preview Drowning pre-publication.

The plot: a plane, through an unlikely series of misfortunes, falls into the ocean with a small number of passengers still inside (ten? I think?). The narrative focuses primarily on estranged couple Will (an engineer, on the plane) and Chris (a scuba welder, not on the plane) and their daughter Shannon (on the plane with dad). Will and Chris lost their oldest daughter to an accidental death years earlier, and both are committed to saving Shannon. In addition to Will, Chris, and Shannon there are a cast of supporting characters both on and off the plane, including the least developed character (Maia) I think I’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering. Is it possible to read a book where someone is in the proverbial room for 90% of a novel and learn nothing about them or their personality? This book says yes.

Unlike Falling, I found Drowning a slog to get through. I wasn’t invested in the characters, I thought the story was relatively predictable, and to be completely honest, I sometimes didn’t quite understand what was going on. There were a few nail-biting moments (I’m talking about you, Kaholo), but it didn’t match the break-neck speed and thrill of Drowning. rights to the novel have already sold for 3 million dollars, and maybe a film version (where the story can show instead of tell) will feel more compelling.

All in all, hopefully this is a sophomore slump for Newman, because I will still be first in line for her next book.

Thanks to NetGalley, TJ Newman, and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Drowning will be published at the end of May, 2023.

4.5 STARS - Drowning is a fast-paced heart pumping read that explodes with tension from the first page when Flight 1421 crashes into the ocean shortly after take-off. Readers are pulled into the experiences of the crew and passengers as they experience the crash and the horrific aftermath that sees many passengers perish while others continue to fight for their lives.

This is a well-researched, exhilarating read and Newman's years of experience as an airline attendant give this thriller an authentic feel. She includes many catastrophic instances that left me feeling like 'if anything can go wrong, it will' ... and it does! Readers will connect with the strong cast of characters - some you'll love and one you'll love to hate. I especially loved Chris Kent, a kick ass female underwater welder who has personal reasons for helping with the rescue.

My only beef is a medical aspect that affects my own family which I felt wasn't accurately portrayed. It always irks me when this life-threatening issue is given a quick fix when it's anything but (FYI - the specific medical issue is in spoiler at the end of this review).

This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat and my heart pumping with a story that features a handful of the catastrophes I most fear. Intense, exhilarating (and more than a little claustrophobic!), Drowning makes an excellent vacation read ... as long as you're not planning to get on a plane.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my advanced copies which were provided in exchange for my honest review.

Spoiler -- quick fix of anaphylaxis with one epi-pen that had been submerged

4.5 stars

TJ Newman, a former flight attendant, has captured the attention of readers with her debut novel, Falling, and now follows up with another thrilling aviation story, Drowning.

From the very first page, Drowning takes off with non-stop action that kept this reader on the edge of my seat for almost 300 pages. The story follows the harrowing experience of a flight that crashes into the ocean just minutes after takeoff in Hawaii. A handful of survivors are left stranded on the sinking plane, and a rescue mission ensues. With limited time, patience and oxgyen, the overwhelming anxiety of the situation makes for a fast-paced and emotional read.

But Drowning is not just a story of a rescue mission. It delves into the complexities of family, heartache, and the hope of reunion. The mix of personalities is authentic, and the procedures taken are true to life. Suffice it to say, I devoured this book in a single day.

My thanks to Simon and Schuster Ca (via NetGalley) for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another great "airplane" thriller from T.J. Newman with plenty of twists, turns and tears. I enjoyed the "insider" knowledge strewn throughout the story - it certainly adds a layer of realism to a (hopefully) unfathomable idea. Multi-dimensional characters round out a terrific book.

I read this in one day, I couldn't put it down.

Will Kent insists he deliver his daughter, Shannon, to camp in LA. Her mother Chris Kent feels Shannon is a responsible 12 year old and can fly as an unaccompanied minor which Shannon wants to do. The loss of their older daughter, Annie, 6 years ago still haunts the family and is the reason they are undergoing a divorce.

Will's knowledge of engineering, and Chris' knowledge and skills as an underwater welder pits them as a team against the military 'experts' when it comes to ways to save passengers on flight 1421 which crashed into the ocean a few minutes after take-off.

The characters were amazing people. Some you love, some you hate, some you want to hug and some you want to slug. Real people with real life problems and ways of dealing with life.

The trauma. drama, suspense, situations were unforgettable. I hate water but having read Fallen and loved it so much I had to read Drowning. I can hardly wait to read what TJ Newman comes up with next!

Drowning is the latest thriller by former flight attendant, now best selling author T.J Newman and focuses on downed flight 1421 which crashes into the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff. While attempting an emergency evacuation the plane begins to gain water and the engine explodes causing the plane to sink more than 200 feet below surface with 12 trapped passengers, including Will Kent and his 11 yr old daughter Shannon. With oxygen limited to mere hours and the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning, survival depends on Chris Kent, Shannon’s mother and Will’s estranged wife, and her team of Elite rescue divers to come to their aid before it is too late.

What I liked about the book:
-multiple 3rd person POVs, the rescue team, the trapped passengers
-strong female characters in traditionally male dominated fields
-backstories of the characters
-some interesting facts about behind the scenes activity of flight attendants and pilots
-attention to detail of the parts involved in a ‘not in your manual’ rescue operation
-the sense of impending doom and dread
-claustrophobic, trapped sensation of the passengers

What I disliked about the book:
-became too technical at times, I was overwhelmed with all the technical jargon
-Chris and Will’s personalities seemed at times like irritating know it alls, but take charge personalities would be needed in that dire situation
-wanted more info about why the crash occurred, I would have like some sabotage aspect to it for added suspense

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My final takeaway: I would recommend this suspense book for fans of rescue and disaster novels, who enjoy a realistic and technical read. Furthermore, readers who want an immersive, claustrophobic experience of a desperate and time sensitive rescue will appreciate this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada Avid Reader Press for this eARC.

[arc review]
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Drowning releases May 30, 2023

A suspenseful, action packed, adrenaline inducing, emotional read. (I cried. Multiple times)
The ultimate fight for survival.
I <i>need</i> to see this adapted to the big screens.

Flight 1421, departing from Honolulu, crashed into the water just 6 minutes and 37 seconds after take off. With the engine catching on fire just 2 minutes into the flight, things escalate at the speed of light.

Out of 99 souls, how many will make it out alive to tell the tale? And how many others will band together and sacrifice themselves to rescue them?

A true three dimensional read. We get the perspectives from each moving part — the surviving passengers trapped in the sunken plane, the rescue team, and a loved one of two of the passengers.
The ingenuity here was thought provoking. I loved the idea of having to think of the sunken plane, no longer as a plane, but instead a submarine!
The events are not cookie cutter, and there’s no written manual that they could have trained for to guide them through this exact scenario.

Chris, a civilian contractor on a Navy ship, just so happened to be at the right place at the right time. Seeing two parents on opposing ends fighting for one common thread was just amazing, coupled with a family healing from grief in the most unconventional yet touching circumstances.
I truly was not expecting to be brought to tears picking up this suspenseful thriller, but the pull of emotion these characters evoked was everything. <u>This</u> is why I love to read. To feel. To be totally immersed. To be on the edge of my seat the entire time, heart-pumping, holding my breath, not able to predict what would happen next.

I already know this will be a top 10, maybe even top 5 read of the year.