Debut Thriller

Author:  Jessica Barry
Publisher: Harper; First Edition first Printing edition (January 8, 2019)

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Kindle: 356 pages

Description:

They say your daughter is dead.

You know they’re wrong.

When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, everyone assumes Allison Carpenter is dead.

But Maggie, Allison’s mother back home in Owl Creek, Maine, refuses to believe them. Maggie knows her daughter – or she used to, anyway. For the past two years, the two women have been estranged, and while Maggie doesn’t know anything about Ally’s life now – not even why she was on a private plane to begin with – she still believes in her girl’s strength, and in their love for each other.

As Allison struggles across the treacherous mountain wilderness, Maggie embarks on a desperate search for answers about the world Allison has been involved in. What was she running from? And can Maggie uncover the truth in time to save her?

Told from the perspectives of a mother and daughter separated by distance but united by an unbreakable bond, Freefall is a heart-stopping, propulsive thriller about two tenacious women overcoming unimaginable obstacles to protect themselves and the ones they love.

My Review:

Though there were questions I had at the beginning of the book, the story soon began to feel similar to other books I’d recently read and my interest waned. The basic difference was surviving a crash in Colorado rather than the Amazon.

I found the story interesting, but the chapters began to slow down with repetitiveness as Allison attempts to make her way out of the Colorado Rockies. I found myself hoping that a real reason to turn the pages would begin shortly. After all, at that time I knew very little about the woman or the pilot, so it made it a little hard to care too much.

When Allison’s estranged mother hears about the crash, she begins researching her daughter’s past two years, the time they’ve been apart.  The more she learns the more she is convinced that there is a good chance her daughter is still alive, and even possibly in danger.

By now the chapters go back and forth between Allison and her mother, Maggie. And as the story progresses, my interest level grew.

What Concerned Me:

There were times, especially at the beginning that the book felt long and slow. Not really my type of thriller at all.

Perhaps it was me, but I didn’t feel much attachment to the characters. And I did wonder what type of people would react as these people did. (Though I know the world is made up of all sorts of prideful, silly people.)

What I Liked Best:

When the story started moving along, it did get quite interesting. And it was good at first, just too long.

My true rating would be 3.5 but like most of my rankings, I go up when in doubt.

About The Author

Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS.

She attended Boston University, where she majored in English and Art History, before moving to London in 2004 to pursue an MA from University College London.

She lives with her husband, Simon, and their two cats, Roger Livesey and BoJack Horseman.

Great thoughts by Jessica:

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