LOCAL BOOK REVIEW ‘Falling’ is white-knuckle thrill ride

Boarding pass. Check. Seat belt buckled. Check. Trays in the upright position. Check. Now sit back and enjoy this white-knuckle thriller of a roller coaster that is “Falling.”

For Bill Hoffman, a seasoned airline captain, it’s just another day at work flying passengers from Los Angeles to New York. Until a call comes in midflight. It’s a man with a simple request; Bill needs to crash the plane he’s flying with everyone on board, or Bill’s family will die. It seems simple, but it’s far from that.

Newman grabs the reader from the get-go as she takes them along on this fast-paced read. Also, along for the ride are Bill’s flight crew, his family, the FBI, and the puzzling terrorist whose motives are not what you expect. While this book might seem like it falls into the cliched “terrorist hijacks plane” story, “Falling” is anything but. The wide cast of characters, the shifting viewpoints, and the plot twists are sure to keep you reading at the edge of your seat all the way to the final page.

– GLENNIS SIEGFRIED, Barberton Public Library, reference outreach librarian