Book Review: FALLING by T. J. Newman

FALLING by T.J. Newman (Thorndike Large Print, July 2021) Hardcover. ISBN #9798200710492 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

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.

 

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     Some people are going to grumble about the success of scoring a movie contract and a best-seller with her first published novel, but I'm happy for T.J. Newman. She took what she knew and spun it into a page-turning, hard-to-put down thriller in FLYING. 

     It takes guts to quit your job and pursue your dream. She's got the persistence needed to never give up, and after 40+ rejections she landed a publishing contract for FLYING. Kudos to her! Can lightning strike twice? I'll be interested to see how she follows this up. 

     I guess my time spent reading a lot of science fiction during my early years helped hone my tolerance for artistic license and my ability to "suspend my disbelief". That's the approach I'd recommend for best appreciation of FLYING. Otherwise, if you think about some of the coincidences in here and the liberties taken then the story doesn't hold up as well. Just look at some of the unhappy reviews on Goodreads. 

     FALLING belongs in the category where I place my "guilty pleasure" novels. I know I shouldn't enjoy them but I do. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't engrossed in this story. 

     Welcome T.J. Newman! Please take your place on the pedestal beside James Patterson, Harold Robbins, Lester Dent, grind house movies and silly television series that nevertheless keep me glued to the page, screen, set.