Name: Falling
ISBN: 9781982177881

T. J. Newman

Thirty minutes before a flight to New York, the family of the pilot is kidnapped and in order for them to live, all 143 passengers onboard must die in the first novel by a former flight attendant.

A Novel

Falling

Okay wow this book was incredible it had me h I owed. I struggled to put it down. 

Samantha King

Ryan Mateyk

A fine, quick thriller featuring a flight attendant who had a name but was referred to exclusively by his nickname of Big Daddy or Daddy throughout the book which is the most bizarre thing to happen in a book!

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!!! straight out a movie plot💯loved it sm

tris

This book was suspenseful and engrossing; it’s fast paced nature is so easy to lose yourself into. This would look pretty good as a movie, I can already imagine the visuals.

I loved the fresh perspective we got from Air traffic controllers and the cabin crew, loved knowing little inside info on planes and such. It was cool especially since the author herself was a flight attendant.

My issues mainly resided with the characterisation, the main characters are an amalgamation of every thriller/action Hollywood movie I’ve ever watched. The best way to describe the developments is a collection of repeated stereotypes. Yes at least the author presented a more eye opening message of the reality of America in the Middle East, but the thing is..do we still need to write about Middle Easterns being the bad guys…in 2024?

Part of the writing threw me off a bit: “ He felt a whole new level of alpha male protection, one rooted in envy and possession. It was animal, not rational…” - this is more suitable in a Dark Fantasy Romance but a Thriller book!? Weird.

Jawahir M

This book was suspenseful and engrossing; it’s fast paced nature is so easy to lose yourself into. This would look pretty good as a movie, I can already imagine the visuals.

I loved the fresh perspective we got from Air traffic controllers and the cabin crew, loved knowing little inside info on planes and such. It was cool especially since the author herself was a flight attendant.

My issues mainly resided with the characterisation, the main characters are an amalgamation of every thriller/action Hollywood movie I’ve ever watched. The best way to describe the developments is a collection of repeated stereotypes. Yes at least the author presented a more eye opening message of the reality of America in the Middle East, but the thing is..do we still need to write about Middle Easterns being the bad guys…in 2024?

Part of the writing threw me off a bit: “ He felt a whole new level of alpha male protection, one rooted in envy and possession. It was animal, not rational…” - this is more suitable in a Dark Fantasy Romance but a Thriller book!? Weird.

This was a book full of the most stressful chaos from the start and kept you on the edge of your seat until the end. I really enjoyed this book even with the stress and that out of dread that comes with this book. I honestly haven’t been on a plane before but I believe this is a fear that everyone has when it comes to it. There were so many details on this book and truly felt like I was reading a documentary of the events that occurred. Highly recommend!

Priscilla Stanfield

Patricia Nelson

I was so excited to read this book that I ordered it from Blackwell's because it was published earlier in the UK! It did not disappoint! This was a thriller that grabs the reader from the start and takes you for a ride, and at the conclusion, you are left with something to ponder. Great book! Highly recommend!

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “T. J. Newman has written the perfect thriller! A must-read.” —Gillian Flynn “Stunning and relentless. This is Jaws at 35,000 feet.” —Don Winslow “Falling is the best kind of thriller…Nonstop, totally authentic suspense.” —James Patterson “Amazing...Intense suspense, shocks, and scares...Chilling.” —Lee Child You just boarded a flight to New York. There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight.

Hannah Alexander 

Melyssa Tromberg 

As much as I wanted to love this book, I'm left a little bit speechless how dull of a story it was, considering the premise. It just didn't live up to the hype for me. 

Bill Hoffman is a pilot of flight 416, his wife and children have been kidnapped and being held hostage and he is left with the choice of crashing the plain or his family will die.

It sounds interesting enough but as the book when on, it just wasn't keeping me entertained and it was just too predictable for me (upset passengers, heroic flight attendants, anti-hero Middle-Eastern characters) which led to to being hard to want to keep reading. I actually listened to the audiobook and it is probably the only reason I got through it. The narration was fun and enjoyable, I'll give it that. 

​I'm all about honest and real reviews, and unfortunately this book just didn't do it for me. Overall, I feel like this book was just way too predictable in all ways possible.

Scott Wilson

WOW! Definite page-turner!!! For a first-time author, T.J. Newman hit this one way out of the park!!! The first couple of pages were so frightening, and involved every flier's nightmare of a badly damaged plane, body parts and death - and it only gets better from there.

I won't repeat what most of the other reviewers have summarized other than to say that this book provides for a unique form of terrorists hijacking an airliner. Even the bad guys have some redeeming qualities and the way that the author deals with their demands.

You'll find yourself physically holding your breath while reading this book; and it's well written from insights the author brings from the airline industry.

Definitely the best book I have read so far this year!! Highly recommend that you buy this one on the way to the summer family trip.

A HUGE thanks to NetGalley and the crew at Simon & Schuster Canada for providing this book in return for an honest review. I was not paid or compensated for my opinion and my opinion is mine alone and not influenced by any pressure.

Kuba Milcarz

Thrilling and exciting! Wasn’t a good idea to start reading it on plane cause I got scared as shit. However, back at home I got so hooked on the story! Recommend for anyone looking for a quick and immersing read.

Fraser Simons

This feels very cinematic. I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t optioned already. It has American propogandic qualities but also is more nuanced than a typically commercial fiction popcorn thriller as well. At least, for the first half, anyways. It goes into a bit of a tail spin (ha) as it reveals the motivations of the antagonists. 

But it doesn’t really interrogate or examine them as much as I’d like, because as always with this kind of fiction, the antagonist(s) devolve into something simplistic in order to allow the reader to easily vilify them. 

It does a great job of starting the tension and characterizing somewhat subverted characters. But again, it ends up more-or-less in the same place as others in the genre. It gestures at political motivations, but not enough to offend anyone or say anything substantive. 

It is, however, fun. Frenetic. A page turner. A low-key read with decent narration. Perfect for my Sunday chore day. I think it’s safe to say it is what it says it is on the tin. Nothing wrong with that.

Molly Morgan

This "thriller" didn't thrill me, not even a tingle. The plot was predictable and the writing was flat.


-Coming back 3 months later to add.. I think about how bad this book was all the time. The main character was such a "white savior" it grossed me out. This thing reads like a bad episode of 24.

Sierra Bradley

** spoiler alert **
           The characters are flat: the women are all maternal and comforting, the men are gruff and heroic, the terrorists are random brown men filled with rage at America (weakly subverted by having them scoff at the assumption that they’re jihadists and rolling their eyes at religious motivations for terrorism), the plane passengers are stupid and annoying and complain a lot, yet they all band together in a heart warming show of American patriotism and strength in the end. The citizens in the would be terrorist target also band together in a show of patriotism and defiance against the terrorists that similarly made me roll my eyes. 

The plot is similarly cliche, contrived, and flat: the twists can be seen a mile away, hitting all the typical action thriller beats. I’m not sure the co-pilot being a terrorist the whole time actually works with how the beginning of the book is presented, and I also don’t think the terrorist plot really has a lot of logic behind the various steps. 

I found myself just skipping all the sections in the cabin because it was mostly inane interactions with the idiotic passengers that padded out the chapters between the action scenes. I also skipped most of the boring flashbacks of the 2 dimensional main character and his wife when they were younger. I’m not sure why I even finished this book; I fully knew how it would end and all the fake out twists it would take by the halfway mark.

Lacey Feigl

As a pilot, how can you choose between your wife and kids being murdered or having to kill your 143 passengers by crashing the plane? Is there a way you can save everyone?

Falling is 285 pages long and took me two days to read.

This book stressed me out so much in the way only a good thriller can! I’m giving this a 4 out of 5! I’m definitely going to be nervous going on my next flight!

Thank you, Avid Reader Press, for sending me this copy!

Here’s to the adventure of finding a novel novel!

Lacey

KADY BURNS

I almost dnfed this book at 90 percent. The concept was good and I liked the idea of it but oof it felt just like an awful 80s action movie. I have so many questions but I don't care enough to put more thought into it

Gabriella LePage

If you’re looking for a quick, thrilling read, pick this one up! Falling kicks off with an impossible game of would you rather - crash the plane you’re flying with innocent souls on board or let your kidnapped family be murdered.

Wow. This one was incredible fast-paced; I really enjoyed that it took place over the course of a few hours. As another reviewer mentioned, I didn’t love the motivation for the highjacking, but overall I enjoyed the story.

I started this on one of my long runs and finished it up shortly after because I had to know how it wrapped up. If you’re looking for an audiobook to keep you engaged and wanting more, I recommend giving this one a go.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press and Libro.fm for copies of Falling in exchange for my honest review.

Caitlin Snyder

Loved this book so much! The ending was spectacular.

Summer Cashmore

I picked this book up yesterday afternoon and could not put it down until it was done. This book is tense and thrilling and grabs hold of you from the very first line.

When Captain Bill Hoffman lifts Coastal airlines flight 416 into the air en route from Las Angeles to New York, he has no idea how dramatically his life is about to change. Back home on the ground, his wife, Carrie, his 10-year-old son, Scott, and his 10-month-old daughter, Elise, are taken hostage by Sam, a man posing as an internet repair technician. 

As Bill sits helplessly in “a pressurized metal tube, thirty-eight thousand feet in the air going six hundred miles per hour”, he learns of the impossible decision he must make - in order to save his family, he must crash the plane and sacrifice the lives of all 149 souls on board. 

Yes, this book is a thriller, but it also a story of love, family and loss. I am blown away that this is the debut novel of this author and cannot wait to see what else she has in store. If you’re a fan of thrillers, you NEED to check out this book! Such a fun read!

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stephanie Midolo

Cool idea, but kind of boring. The characters were a little cliche. This might make a cool movie or tv series. I understand this is TJ Newman's debut and I think she has a lot of potential. I would love to read more from her in the future.

nuha ✨️

Considering the number of positive reviews on this book, I suppose this book is a hit or a miss. And it was a miss for me. 

To begin with, I did not like the writing style. I suppose I shouldn't expect much because T. J. Newman isn't exactly a writer-writer, and this is her debut novel. And the fact that she wrote this during her red-eye flights must have been hard. But the multiple timelines and POVs irritated me. I have always hated it when writers write memories in italics, and Newman just reminded me again of this hatred. The multiple switches - which I guess is supposed to create a sense of mystery and thrill, left me nauseous. And in the end, I was breezing through most of the book without really reading anything. 

The plot was predictable. I had a feeling of how it was going to turn out and turns out I was right. The characters were equally boring. I don't really regret skipping most of the parts. It was for the greater good. 

I heard that they are going to make a movie out of this. So I guess I will just watch the movie. With how this was written, that might turn out to be a better decision.

Ruth Parker 

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.

Salam Kabbani

CW: Terrorism, war, plane hijacking, 9/11.

As someone who is newly into thrillers, I thought this was a great one!

TJ Newman takes us aboard an aircraft with captain Bill who is in a catch 22. He is being threatened by terrorists to choose between having his family murdered or crashing his entire plane.

Being the nobleman that he is, he refuses to do either; however, things aren't that easy. He is told by Sam the terrorist operation leader that he has secondary measures on board the plane should he, Bill, fail to comply, and should those measures be taken, his family will be killed.

In this thriller, we catch glimpses of airline families. It made my respect grow that much more for flight attendants and flight crew in general. As someone who used to travel a lot before the pandemic, it never occurred to me how much training goes into keeping us passengers safe, and how much communication goes on the back end to make that possible. This story while at times very scary showcased the beauty in that.

In terms of thrill I think the book deserves 5 stars but below I highlight what I didn’t like and why that was enough to bring it down to 2.5.

Quite frankly choosing the middle eastern stereotype is not only racist but also lazy and unimaginative.
As the book progressed; however, the author had the terrorist repeatedly state that this has nothing to do with religion, and one of the guys on the plane who very clearly had a Middle Eastern name was supposedly a good guy but the crew all suspected him and only allowed him to help to avoid raising suspicion. It’s just very disheartening to see an actual flight attendant put this out to the world because it makes it seem like she is telling the world middle eastern people this is how you will always be perceived no matter what.

Very upsetting given how great the actual book was. So my dear reader, if you can overlook that detail to get through the book like I did, you will definitely enjoy the story. Just know that there is an unfortunate racism staining the pages of her book. 

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard. What you don't know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot's family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight.

Chare Perez

For a debut novel it really surprised me couldn’t put it down and as a frequent flyer I really enjoyed it and it gave some insight to some things work….

Rating: 2.5/5

CW: Terrorism, war, plane hijacking, 9/11. 

As someone who is newly into thrillers, I thought this was a great one! 

TJ Newman takes us aboard an aircraft with captain Bill who is in a catch 22. He is being threatened by terrorists to choose between having his family murdered or crashing his entire plane. 

Being the nobleman that he is, he refuses to do either; however, things aren't that easy. He is told by Sam the terrorist operation leader that he has secondary measures on board the plane should he, Bill, fail to comply, and should those measures be taken, his family will be killed. 

In this thriller, we catch glimpses of airline families. It made my respect grow that much more for flight attendants and flight crew in general. As someone who used to travel a lot before the pandemic, it never occurred to me how much training goes into keeping us passengers safe, and how much communication goes on the back end to make that possible. This story while at times very scary showcased the beauty in that. 

In terms of thrill I think the book deserves 5 stars but below I highlight what I didn’t like and why that was enough to bring it down to 2.5. 

Quite frankly choosing the middle eastern stereotype is not only racist but also lazy and unimaginative. 
As the book progressed; however, the author had the terrorist repeatedly state that this has nothing to do with religion, and one of the guys on the plane who very clearly had a Middle Eastern name was supposedly a good guy but the crew all suspected him and only allowed him to help to avoid raising suspicion. It’s just very disheartening to see an actual flight attendant put this out to the world because it makes it seem like she is telling the world middle eastern people this is how you will always be perceived no matter what. 

Very upsetting given how great the actual book was. So my dear reader, if you can overlook that detail to get through the book like I did, you will definitely enjoy the story. Just know that there is an unfortunate racism staining the pages of her book.

Falling A Novel

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