T. J. NewmanReseñas

This is probably one of the best edge of your seat dramatic books I have listened to in a long time! It was a nail biting experience. The description of the whole event gave me the feeling that I was experiencing this drama 1st hand. Excellent audio and the narrator was also perfect. This would make a fantastic movie!

For the last couple of days I have been listening to an audio version of Falling by T. J. Newman. This is an exciting thriller about the high-jacking of a commercial airline by terrorists who start by kidnapping the pilot’s family and threatening to kill them unless the pilot crashes the plane at a designated site.

The author ensures that as the story advances, the reader feels as if they were strapped into a seat on this doomed flight, a prisoner of this terrorist event. As the crew scramble to make the plane as safe as possible, the pilot is able to get a message out which alerts the FBI and they race to rescue the family and stop the plane. Uncertain of their success, the President of America gets ready to have the plane shot down, sacrificing the crew and passengers rather than adding thousands of additional victims if the plane is allowed to crash.

The author is a flight attendant so I was relatively certain that the details regarding aviation and flight rules were accurate. The author’s storytelling was good and her main characters, although perhaps a little too heroic and one-dimensional, were easy to root for. As read by actor Steven Weber, this is an addictive thriller that is guaranteed to give you a late night or two. A fun read but I would warn that probably not the best book to accompany you on a flight.

Good book...hold your breath.

Page-turner but not good. What a coincidence, the parents both working to save Shannon!

I read T.J. Newman's first book, Falling, which was also a 5 star read for me. I knew it would be nerve-wracking and it was! I has to keep taking breaks to decompress! I just finished this book and once again, this author has reconfirmed my decision to never fly again!!! Highly recommended, but not before a flight!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

This is a fast-paced novel that takes you on a thrill ride filled with on the edge of your seat suspense. The author having worked as a flight attendant adds to the reality of the events. Unfortunately, it begins with terrorists looking for justice by holding the pilot hostage. They give him the unspeakable choice of saving his family or the passengers on his flight. They torture the pilot and his family by Facetiming with them. The experienced flight attendant, Jo, becomes an integral part of the story by trying to keep the passengers calm and in control amid the chaos. You will find yourself rooting for Jo and the brave team as they try to survive. You may not want to take a plane ride immediately after reading but you won't need one as you'll feel like you were just on a trip of your life.

I read this because I read nothing but great posts on Twitter/X.
This book fooled me. I thought it was going to be a different take on airplane hijacking books but as it went on I found it so trope-filled, predictable.
Nobody else died except the bad guys (duh!). I mean, give me one or two casualties on the other side to up the suspense of it all.
Author was definitely writing this with the possibility of it becoming a movie. I saw Octavia Spencer and Leslie Jordan in my head as I was reading.
The movie/book would do well for the masses who settle for generic overplayed entertainment. Stereotypes were in full force.

I wanted more from this.
But I’ve learned my lesson. If the majority of a population likes something, it’s not really as great as they say it is.

It's a bit cheesy and not very original but it is absolutely what it says it is, a thriller. It reminded me a lot of [book:Black Sunday|32417] that I read decades ago. Like that one, I fully expect this to be made into a movie.

It's a fun read but I don't recommend reading it on an airplane.

Cried at the end and I rarely cry listening to books, great cast of characters, a thrilling flight for sure

Unlike most readers, I have been on a plane when an engine failed. Fortunately we were able to turn around and, after 50 nervous minutes, land safely on the remaining engine.

But in the case of Flight 1421 the engine failure and subsequent explosion was catastrophic. If you are nervous about flying, you may never want to fly again. but this is also a story about bravery, good training, human nature and the will to survive. The result is a real page turner.

There is a nice twist at the end too.

Fast-paced, unsettling (as a parent of a college student that flies regularly), and has a couple gut punch moments.½

This was a real page turner, and the reader is kept in suspense, working out how the story will turn out.

There are elements that you've seen in other real-life stories but also some carefully thought through good-feel moments.

Highly recommended.

WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWW... what a roller coaster of a read! First, thanks to Netgalley and the generous publisher for sharing early access to this book. I'm so glad I requested it. TJ Newman put together a really great thrill ride as her first effort. Leveraging her deep experience as a flight attendant, she paints a rich picture of life on an aircraft, and really knows how to get inside the mind of the participants (pilots, flight attendants).

Not going to give away the story arc; suffice it to say, this is not one of those books where you can predict the character's motivation and the ending. Hoping to read more from this author!

Predictable. Maudlin at times. A few surprises. I think she wrote this strictly to have it made into a movie. It reads like so many other man-vs-the elements stories that it is almost comical. The author needs to expand her horizon and stop writing about airplane disasters. But honestly, I don't think she has that ability.

I don't often give a book 5 stars, but this definitely deserved it. Pushing all the fear, redemption, isolation, strength and sacrifice onto the reader is such a heavy burden. Unbelievably well written thrill ride. i was on the edge of my seat for the ending, waiting and hoping.

This fast-paced thrill ride was just what I needed to take my mind off my worries. There was never any doubt in my mind that the pilot and crew would save the day, and this freedom allowed me to put my little gray cells to work on figuring out how they would succeed with minimal casualties.

I learned a bit about the world of flight attendants, I enjoyed cheering on the good guys, and I loved how the bad guys were thwarted. All in all, a fun read that makes me want to read Newman's next book.½

I was really looking forward to reading this. It sounded like such a great premise! Unfortunately, the it definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

Newman writes well when describing the actions and interactions of the flight crew, no doubt drawing from her own experience as a flight attendant. Other parts of the story were much less convincing. Even the plot twists, the few there actually were, seemed much too convenient. The characters were pretty flat and many parts of the plot seemed implausible. The dialogue throughout also felt cliched.

The story was described as a "page-turner", but I struggled to finish it. Despite the interesting premise, the inconsistent writing and flat characters made Falling a disappointing read for me.

TJ Newman’s debut novel Falling was not just a very well-executed action thriller. It was a fantastic novel, period — earning a spot in my Best Reads of 2021 list. So, it was with some trepidation that I cracked the spine on Drowning. Could she overcome the second novel hoodoo?

Short answer is, she has. Will and Chris Kent, and their daughter Shannon, are a fabulously drawn feisty lead-character set and this novel’s plotting gripping. Only on reflection did I realise how many reflective sequences there were, so seamless was their execution. And somehow Newman maintains consistently strong emotional propulsion between the many intensity peaks and deeply shocking moments.

Compared to the standout narrative of its predecessor though, this novel does have its weaknesses. A couple of secondary characters felt a little thin and for me, some of the one-liners just did not drop quite as well as likely intended. Continue reading: https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/2023/09/drowning-tj-newman-review.html

3.5⭐️

Flight 1421 from Honolulu to California crashes into the Pacific on account of mechanical malfunction six minutes and thirty- seven seconds after it takes off. Of the 99 passengers on board most of the survivors are evacuated, but the waters prove to be equally dangerous. Twelve remain inside the plane as it sinks into the ocean to come to rest on an unstable cliff. Among the twelve are the copilot, two flight attendants, an elderly couple, an irate male passenger, a newly married man who lost his wife in the crash, an unaccompanied minor, a nurse, a young woman who is a bartender by profession and an engineer, Will Kent and his daughter, Shannon. As the narrative progresses we follow the twelve passengers trapped in the submerged airplane as the conditions worsen and they struggle to stay alive while the rescue operations led by a team of professional divers headed by Chris, Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife strive to reach them before its too late.

Drowning by T.J. Newman is a thrilling read. Intense and well-paced, the vivid setting, the tension and the heightened emotions make for an immersive read. It does get a tad too technical midway which does detract from the overall reading experience. The final 20% is unputdownable! While I did overall enjoy the story, it is evident that this book was written keeping in mind the possibility of an onscreen adaptation, which is something I would definitely watch, but doesn’t quite always make for smooth reading. I wasn’t a fan of the author’s debut novel and was wary of picking this one up. Overall, I did enjoy this one bit more!

I paired my reading with the audio narration by Steven Weber and Laura Benanti, who does a wonderful job of capturing the mood and tone of this thrilling read.

Went into this with high expectations. An airline pilot's family is held hostage and in return for their release he must crash the passenger plane he is flying .The premise was very interesting and this had potential to be an edge-of-your-seat thriller but somehow fell short. The dynamics of inflight crew made for an engaging read and the author's professional experience in the airlines industry shines through. But the characters in this book don't exactly draw you in. The dialogue lacks maturity and the steeliness one would expect from a taut thriller.

In a nutshell Falling is quick read with flat characters and predictable plot turns .

This page turner packs a punch with a thrilling and suspenseful ending that will leave you oxygen deprived. Since it was written by a flight attendant, it is grounded in believability.

Pilot can crash the plane or see his family blown up

An engineer and his daughter on a commercial flight land in the ocean and his wife needs to save them. Very intense for me

This fast-paced thriller can probably be characterized as an “airplane book” except it’s about a plane hijacking and possible crash, so it might be a bit too anxiety-producing for that setting.

Bill Hoffman is piloting Flight 416 to JFK with 143 passengers plus crew on board. Shortly after taking off, he learns that his wife and children have been kidnapped - his wife was fitted with a suicide vest - and there is an unknown collaborator on the plane. He is given the choice of crashing the plane (after gassing everyone onboard) or his family will die. He confides in the crew, but he really doesn’t have a plan, except to save his family and save the plane if he can.

Many of the plot details are cliched, but that doesn’t stop your adrenalin from racing as you tear through the pages.

It is difficult to say more without spoilers, but I can add that I thought the epilogue was somewhat unrealistic, and could have been omitted in order to make the story less cinematically caricatured.

Nevertheless, as someone not on the plane but just reading the book, I enjoyed the ride!

I would never have picked this one up if the Lazy Genius hadn’t recommended it. A pilot’s family is kidnapped and he must decide if he’s willing to crash his plane to save them. Perfect to break a reading slump if you need an action-packed story. I loved the character of Jo the fight attendant. The book is worth reading for her alone! The author was also a flight attendant and that knowledge and experience are obvious.