T.J. Newman's debut novel was a nail biting read that I (and a lot of other people) couldn't put down. I've been eagerly awaiting her second book - Drowning - The Rescue of Flight 1421. I always wonder if an author can bring another great read to the table after a best selling first book? Newman does....in spectacular fashion.
You might be wondering about why the book is called Drowning. Well, it's another book about a plane in trouble, this time having to make a crash landing - on, or should I say in, water.
Some make it off the plane, and some don't. Newman gives us a core group of survivors. They're a mixed bunch of personalities, ages, backgrounds and more. One of them is engineer Will Kent - and the second is his young daughter. Can he figure out a way to get out? Or does he have to wait for the government to come up with a solution? Will isn't a patient man - not when lives are at stake. The book is told from two points of view - those up top and those still in the plane.
The tension in this book is crazy - almost every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. Newman knows how to write suspense! Her personal bio gives her writing that ring of believability. Why? Well she was a flight attendant for 10 years.
I chose to listen to Drowning. Steven Weber and Laura Benanti were the narrators. They did a fabulous of presenting Newman's work. The voices for the two main characters matched the mental images I had created. Weber's voice is rich and full, with a nice gravelly tone that is very pleasant on the ears. Both readers enunciate well and are easy to understand. Benanti brings in the grit and determination for her main character. Both readers have come up with identifiable voices for a wide range range of supporting players. They both easily capture the dangers and the emotions of the plot. A wonderful performance of an excellent book.
See for yourself - listen an excerpt of Drowning - The Rescue of Flight 1421. I can see this one as a movie. A film for her first book, Falling, is already in the works.
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