Falling by T. J. Newman

Falling by T. J. Newman was a fast-paced, intriguing suspense novel that reminded me heavily of the Harrison Ford (as Jack Ryan or the president) or Bruce Willis (Die Hard, etc.) movies from the 1990s. They were easy but attention-grabbing, simple on plot and heavy on action. They entertained, which is often the exact antidote needed.

Here, Newman has given us a pilot whose family has been kidnapped and is being held for the ransom of crashing the commercial airliner the pilot is flying across the country. He has to figure out who he can trust and who the mole working against him might be. Newman's mid-air action plot has some holes, but largely they can be overlooked for the sake of the pacing and the teeth-gritting tension.

Audiobook, as narrated by Steven Weber: Weber did a fantastic job — handling the tension, urgency, and emotional highs and lows for the entire cast of characters. Not all actors can pull off stellar audiobook performance, but when they do, it only serves to elevate the entire experience.