Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley (2016)
The novel begins with a plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean just off Martha’s Vineyard. Shortly after take-off, a private jet carrying a wealthy television executive and his family and a wealthy financial manager on the verge of being indicted for laundering money, crashes, the investigation quickly looks into whether or not this was actually an accident.
There were only two survivors: the 4-year-old son of the television executive and Scott Burroughs, a down-and-out artist hoping to break into the art world. The novel goes back and forth between Scott Burroughs and the backstories of the deceased passengers and crew. David Bateman, the television executive, works for a station like Fox, thus his programs have both a cult-like following and enemies. Ben Kipling has been laundering money for years and is just hours away from being arrested.
In addition to David Bateman, his family, and Ben and Sarah Kipling, the other passengers include Gil Baruch, the Israeli body man for the Bateman’s; Emma Lightener, the flight attendant; James Melody, the pilot; and Charlie Busch, the co-pilot, who got where his is due to his connections. Each character has their flaws and enemies who may want them dead. Are their enemies strong enough to actually pull off a fatal crash or was the crash simply an accident?
It was a fun read, but not a story that will stay with me.
Read: May 30, 2021
3 Stars
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