Before the Fall
Published on 9. June 2016
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-4447-7975-2 (ISBN)
Description
Sunday Times top thriller read of the year 2016
The rich are different. But fate is blind.
Down-on-his-luck artist Scott Burroughs would usually take the ferry back to New York from Martha's Vineyard, but he is unexpectedly offered a spare seat on the Bateman family's private jet. Then just minutes after take-off, the plane crashes into the ocean and of the eight passengers and three crew, only Scott and the Batemans' small son, JJ, are left alive.
The extraordinary nature of their survival, combined with the fact that David Bateman was CEO of a populist TV news channel, means that Scott will not be returning to anonymity. Along with the orphaned boy, he is engulfed by a maelstrom of speculation, which soon overtakes the official investigation into the tragedy.
Who else was on the plane? Was there a bomb, a missile? Who is Scott Burroughs?
As the chapters drive towards their heart-stopping conclusion, weaving with ever-increasing suspense between the shocking aftermath of the crash and the intimate backstory of each of the passengers and crew members, Noah Hawley creates a searching, thrilling novel of love, fame, wealth, art, entertainment and power.
The rich are different. But fate is blind.
Down-on-his-luck artist Scott Burroughs would usually take the ferry back to New York from Martha's Vineyard, but he is unexpectedly offered a spare seat on the Bateman family's private jet. Then just minutes after take-off, the plane crashes into the ocean and of the eight passengers and three crew, only Scott and the Batemans' small son, JJ, are left alive.
The extraordinary nature of their survival, combined with the fact that David Bateman was CEO of a populist TV news channel, means that Scott will not be returning to anonymity. Along with the orphaned boy, he is engulfed by a maelstrom of speculation, which soon overtakes the official investigation into the tragedy.
Who else was on the plane? Was there a bomb, a missile? Who is Scott Burroughs?
As the chapters drive towards their heart-stopping conclusion, weaving with ever-increasing suspense between the shocking aftermath of the crash and the intimate backstory of each of the passengers and crew members, Noah Hawley creates a searching, thrilling novel of love, fame, wealth, art, entertainment and power.
Reviews / Votes
High-class entertainment. -- John Williams * Mail on Sunday * As a pacey whodunit...this is the perfect summer read. * The Times * This is one of the year's best suspense novels, a mesmerizing, surprise-jammed mystery that works purely on its own, character-driven terms...Mr. Hawley has made it very, very easy to race through his book in a state of breathless suspense. * New York Times * I started and finished Before the Fall in one day. That begins to tell you what kind of smart, compellingly dramatic read it is. So read it. -- James Patterson There are some books...that stay with you long after you've read them. The characters are so real and because of this their fates matter. Before The Fall by Noah Hawley is one of these books. * Irish Independent * Before the Fall is an astonishing, character-driven tour-de-force. The story is a multi-layered, immersive examination of truth, relationships, and our unquenchable thirst for the media's immediate explanation of unfathomable tragedy. -- Karin Slaughter An addictive thriller whose thematic richness is reminiscent of Franzen. * The Sunday Times * A searingly told, multi-layered portrait of celebrity in the modern world with a tantalising mystery at its heart...Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality, which never loses its grip. * Daily Mail * Hawley combines a thriller's tight structure and addictive narrative with characterisation and thematic richness reminiscent of Jonathan Franzen * The Sunday Times, Pick of the Paperbacks * [A] Literary thriller of genius. -- India KnightMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
661 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4447-7975-2 (9781444779752)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Noah Hawley is the author of three previous novels, including The Punch and A Conspiracy of Tall Men. He created and ran Emmy Award winning television series Fargo, the ABC television shows The Unusuals and My Generation, and wrote the film Lies & Alibis. Noah's short fiction has appeared in the Paris Review. He currently splits his time between Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
Visit Noah's website at www.noahhawley.com and follow him on Twitter @noahhawley
Visit Noah's website at www.noahhawley.com and follow him on Twitter @noahhawley