Before the Fall

 

In the good old days, when a plane went down, the first questions were mechanical: Was there engine failure? Did the pilot make a mistake? Were they experienced enough?

Fast forward to the post-9/11 world, and the narrative shifts. The moment a crash is reported, we ask: Is this terrorism? Has a plane once again been weaponized? It’s a sad reality, planes which were once thought to be a means to see the world, now carry the shadow of suspicion.

Noah Hawley's Before the Fall begins with a private plane with eleven passengers in route from Martha's Vineyard to New York.   Before this tragic plane crash, the author introduces us to the passengers. which includes

•  a wealthy media mogul and his family including his wife and two children 
•  a financier who was facing indictment and his family,
•  the pilot and copilot
•  a struggling artist 

who had been invited to join the group by the media mogul's wife.  

As an avid reader, I immediately start analyzing the characters for motive.  Isn't that what we all do when reading a whodunit novel? You start to scan over the evidence as it is presented to see if you can determine the answer. If the author is really good, you tend to go from one character to the other as new information becomes available.

Remarkably, two people survive, the mogul's 4-year-old son and Scott Burroughs the starving artist. It is Scot who saves the boy by helping him swim to shore. 

From there, the story unfolds into a layered exploration of grief, suspicion, and the relentless search for truth. The story is intriguing, focusing on the crash, a deep dive into the lives of the passengers, the police investigation and the media coverage.  I find media coverage a slippery slope. Like many, I want to know what happened and why. But often the media's pursuit of the truth can blur between actual truth and speculation.  

I loved how Hawley detailed the passengers’ lives in the aftermath. As the backstories of the characters unfold, the tension mounts, making the novel feel less like a thriller and more like a psychological puzzle. If you enjoy character-driven stories with emotional depth, and suspense Before the Fall consider reading this book.