Book Review: Newman’s “Falling” Lifts the Thriller Genre to New Heights

 “If you tell anyone, your family dies. If you send anyone to the house, your family dies.” — “Falling” by T.J. Newman

I'm a sucker for a good airplane thriller...

When it comes to this sub genre in entertainment, I’ve really enjoyed theatrical efforts like “Executive Decision” (1996), “Passenger 57” (1992), and “Non-Stop” (2014). 

Stories such as this are built on the foundational anxieties people have about air travel. Those anxieties serve as fertile ground for cultivating dramatic tension. 

T.J. Newman's debut thriller “Falling” traverses this tried-and-true territory. 

Yet she tweaks the formula to create a fresh, fast-paced narrative that reads like a high-octane mix of a Harlan Coben novel and “ticking clock” movies like “Speed.” 

“Falling” is built around an intriguing premise. 

Coastal Airways pilot Bill Hoffman is in the midst of flying an Airbus A320 with 144 “souls” (as he refers to passengers) from Los Angeles to New York City when he learns his family has been kidnapped — and the only way for his wife Carrie, 10-year-old son Scott, and 10-month-old daughter Elise to live is to crash the plane. 

I know some cynics will say, “But Jon... that setup sounds like numerous high-concept thrillers over the years.” 

True enough, but the way in which “Falling” is crafted sets it apart from those thrillers. 

First and foremost, Newman's decade working as a flight attendant for Virgin America and Alaska Airlines is evident throughout “Falling” (she came up with the premise on a red-eye flight to New York). 

Oftentimes, supporting characters in this type of story can feel one-dimensional. 

One of the strengths of Newman’s novel is her supporting cast. In particular, the flight attendants on Coastal Airways Flight 416 prove to be well-drawn characters.

The trio of Jo Watkins, Michael “Big Daddy” Rodenburg, and fledgling flight attendant Kellie serve critical roles in “Falling.” But Newman doesn't simply prop the characters up as plot devices — she manages to give each individual depth during the novel's suspenseful narrative. 

Being able to draw on her own real-life experience is a considerable benefit. That experience helps to inform the trio of attendants and creates a sense of verisimilitude as events unfold. 

While those three characters stood out for me, the entire cast proves to be pretty compelling. 

At the core of “Falling” is Bill Hoffman, who spends most of the story in the cockpit. Like Sandra Bullock in “Speed,” Hoffman being buckled into a seat tests our protagonist's mettle as he navigates an impossible situation. 

That restriction enhances the sense of hopelessness Hoffman feels as he tries to find a way to save his family and the passengers on the airliner. 

Some authors might have been tempted to make Hoffman a former special forces operator or someone of that ilk — like Steven Seagal’s Casey Ryback character in “Under Siege” (1992) and “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” (1995). 

Instead, Hoffman is a relatable protagonist more akin to David Beck in Harlan Coben's brilliant 2001 novel “Tell No One.” Having a protagonist with “limits” creates a sense of vulnerability that fuels the dramatic tension. 

Hoffman understands the gravity of the situation, and the power that he as a pilot holds in his hands. 

The internal struggle the character faces works to great effect in “Falling.”  

“Falling” reminded me of Joseph Garber's addictive 1996 thriller “Vertical Run” (a novel that ranks among my all-time favorites) in terms of tone and pace. Both high-concept stories avoid getting bogged down in navel-gazing minutiae. In each case, the authors understand what the mission is, and keep a laser-like focus on building suspense. 

The movie rights for “Falling” were won in a seven-figure deal by Universal Pictures after a multi-studio bidding war. The material seems tailor-made for the big screen, and I'm excited follow the development process. 

It's pretty amazing considering the fact that Newman wrote 30 drafts and received 41 agent rejections before “Falling” was finally published in 2021. 

I zipped through the hardcover of “Falling” in just two days. It is a breezy read at 285 pages, and the author does a brilliant job hooking you into the propulsive plot. 

If you are searching for a gripping standalone thriller to read, add Newman’s “Falling” to your itinerary. It lifts the genre to new heights and is an impressive debut. 

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Movie Review: “Hunter Killer”

I’ve mentioned many times on this blog my fondness for the novels of Tom Clancy. I was introduced to the books in high school in my sophomore Literary Masterpieces class. 

When the movie adaptation of “The Hunt For Red October” was released March 2, 1990, I absolutely loved it, and went on to see it three times in the theater. 

(Movie buffs might remember when the movie was first released on home video that the VHS cassette was red.)

In the intervening years, audiences have seen other attempts at “submarine thrillers” like “Crimson Tide” and “K-19: The Widowmaker."

Gerard Butler entered the fray last fall with his pet project “Hunter Killer.” I recently purchased it on Blu-ray (I missed the movie during its theatrical run, but thought the trailers looked cool). 

There was apparently a large span of time where "Hunter Killer" sat dormant. It is based on the 2012 novel “Firing Point” by Don Keith and George Wallace. 

“This is a movie that is begging to be made and to reinvent,” Butler says on the disc’s special features. “We re-create the submarine genre as well, which I hadn’t seen one of those in a while.” 

Here is the setup for “Hunter Killer”:

When the USS Tampa Bay disappears (while tracking a Russian Akula-class sub in the Arctic Ocean), Rear Admiral John Fisk (played by musician Common) dispatches the USS Arkansas (a Virginia-class submarine) from a naval base in Scotland to investigate.

Commander Joe Glass (Butler) is the newly-minted honcho on the Arkansas. 

In a parallel storyline, a Navy SEAL team led by Lieutenant Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens from Netflix’s “Lost In Space”) HALO jumps into Russia to conduct surveillance on a naval base located at Polyarny. Defense minister Dmitry Dubrovnik (Mikhail Gorevoy) is planning a coup and takes visiting Russian President Nikolai Zakarin (Alexander Dyachenko) prisoner. 

Before long, the Arkansas discovers the missing U.S. submarine, but is attacked by a Russian sub lurking under a nearby iceberg. 

The alternating threads in the movie are reminiscent of a Clancy novel. In addition to the “submarine,” “SEAL,” and “military coup” storylines, there is also a thread following the command decisions being made at The Pentagon (Gary Oldman has some key scenes as Admiral Charles Donnegan). 

As the pieces move on the foreign policy chess board, Glass & Co. are doing everything in their power to avoid starting World War III. 

I won’t go any further into the plot because I don’t want to give anything away. 

The movie itself flopped at the box office and received mediocre reviews (I believe it has a 37% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes). As a result, I was expecting the worst when I sat down and popped the "Hunter Killer" disc into my player.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed “Hunter Killer.” 

By no means is it the perfect submarine thriller, but I like how it recalls the “Clancy-esque” thrillers of the 1990s. 

There were certain sequences where I wondered how “credible” some of the technical aspects of the submarine procedures were. I figured some creative license was taken for dramatic effect. 

In the film’s commentary track, director Donovan Marsh talks about how they spent time on an actual military submarine (based at Pearl Harbor) and went out to sea for a day testing the combat scenarios seen in “Hunter Killer.” It sounds like the filmmakers had the cooperation of the U.S. Navy, and every effort was made to bring authenticity to the movie. 

“Hunter Killer” does its due diligence as a “techno-thriller.” The film didn’t have the budget many tentpole action movies possess. As a result, certain visual effects aren't as polished as they could be, and some of the green screen work feels awkward, but it is still a handsome production overall. 

Gerard Butler is one of my favorite action stars. His film “Olympus Has Fallen” is a terrific action movie (definitely owes a debt to Vince Flynn’s first Mitch Rapp novel “Transfer of Power”).

I get the sense Butler enjoys the breed of thriller novel I grew up reading. “Hunter Killer” was a movie he’d spent a number of years trying to bring to the big screen. I'm glad it finally made it to screen. 

I’ll admit that I’m pretty easily amused when it comes to movies. I really enjoyed “Hunter Killer.”

It might not be the perfect military thriller, but it is highly entertaining. 

If you like thrillers by Tom Clancy and his ilk, I think you’ll have a good time watching “Hunter Killer.” 

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TV Review: Netflix Series “Safe” is a Twisty Mystery Channeling Its Inner Harlan Coben

I finally got around to watching Netflix’s bingeable mystery series “Safe.” 

I’m somewhat baffled as to why Hollywood hasn’t tapped the talents of thriller writer Harlan Coben in a more significant way. 

His suburban-oriented thrillers serve as perfect blueprints for compelling movies and television series.

The first time I read a Coben novel was in 2001 when I picked up “Tell No One” at my local book emporium — which features this killer neon orange cover:

It’s a book I perpetually recommend. Bridget actually had to procure me a new copy of the “first edition” a few years ago because my original copy wasn’t returned (memo to self: don’t loan out books you want back). 

“Tell No One” was made into a critically-acclaimed French theatrical film (which has streamed on Netflix in the past). 

While a number of projects based on Coben’s novels are currently being developed in “Tinseltown,” overseas production houses have been producing the author’s wares for years. 

In addition to “Tell No One,” his novels “Just One Look” and “No Second Chance” were adapted into French miniseries. Coben also created an original series for British television called “The Five.” (“No Second Chance” and “The Five” currently stream on Netflix). 

“Safe” is Coben’s first collaboration with Netflix (the series is a co-production with Canal+). 

As I’m writing this post, news broke that Coben closed an exclusive five-year deal with Netflix to develop 14 existing titles along with future projects — including his “yet-to-be” published novel “Run Away.” 

After viewing “Safe,” I can understand why Netflix is making the investment. 

While “Safe” isn’t based on one of Coben’s novels, the eight-episode series has all the ingredients that make his thrillers so delicious. 

The protagonist in “Safe” is Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall), a surgeon living with his two teen daughters -- Jenny (Amy James-Kelly) and Carrie (Isabelle Allen) -- in a gated community in England. 

Tom is still grieving the recent death of his wife when Jenny (who is 16) goes missing after attending a friend’s party. 

That occurrence sets Tom into a frenzy of worry — exacerbated by the fact that her 19-year-old boyfriend Chris Chahal (Freddie Thorp) has also gone missing after the party. 

What ensues is a tangled web of lies, deceit, murder, and mayhem as Tom becomes an “amateur sleuth” tracking down the whereabouts of his daughter. 

The premise might sound simple, but the execution of the narrative is what makes “Safe” so compelling. 

Hallmarks of Coben’s thrillers are relatable characters and stories. The protagonists are people like you and me — untangling mysteries built on scenarios that could befall any of us. 

I recognized one of the plot elements used in “Safe” from Coben’s 2006 novel “Promise Me.” 

In “Promise Me,” the novel’s protagonist (recurring character Myron Bolitar) makes two neighborhood girls promise him that if they are ever in a bind (for example, the prospect of having to catch a ride with a friend who is intoxicated) and are afraid to call their parents, they must call him. 

There is a similar situation in “Safe” involving Tom Delaney’s best friend Pete Mayfield (Marc Warren), a fellow doctor who helps Tom track down clues.

There are a number of enjoyable performances in “Safe.” In addition to Michael C. Hall’s turn as a grief-stricken father, it was nice to see Amanda Abbington in the series. 

I enjoyed Abbington as Mary Watson in “Sherlock” and Josie Mardle in “Mr. Selfridge” — both series have been favorites of mine the past few years. 

In “Safe,” Abbington plays Detective Sergeant Sophie Mason — Tom Delaney’s girlfriend and neighbor. She’s good at playing soulful, melancholy characters in British dramas. 

Overall, the entire cast is solid in “Safe.” 

As the yarn unravels in “Safe,” the literal walls of the story’s gated community make way for the metaphorical walls people create in their lives. 

“Safe” is a series that keeps you up into the wee hours of the night — “just one more episode.” 

It is an engrossing tale that epitomizes what it’s like to read a Harlan Coben thriller. 

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