‘Before the Fall’ is a Summer Thriller

IN A NUTSHELL

• Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Grand Central Publishing, 2016)
• In 40 words or less: Hawley, an award-winning TV screenwriter, producer and showrunner’s fifth novel  about a small plane crash touches on the risks of privilege, news/entertainment hyperbole, and privacy issues while exploring the lives of the victims and discovering the cause of the crash.
• Genre: Thriller
• Locale: Primarily New York/Martha’s Vineyard
• Time: Contemporary
• Read this for a fast-paced story and perfect vacation read.

The Batemans seem to have it all, but every family has its problems.  Dad, David, is the key man at a news/entertainment network whose top property is an outrageous loudmouth with a propensity for getting scoops via secret (and illegal) wiretaps. His wife Maggie and two children, Rachel and JJ, spend the summer at their home on Martha’s Vineyard, at the farmer’s market and local cafe, befriending some of the locals. Their daughter’s kidnapping years earlier has top-notch round-the-clock security with the family at all times.

At the summer’s end, they prepare to return to New York on their private jet.  Maggie offers a ride to a couple returning at the same time and to a local artist, hoping to revive his career with a series of new paintings he’s shopping to galleries. As the plane is ready to leave, David learns that the husband is to be indicted for serious financial wrongdoing. The artist barely makes it on the plane as the doors close. And there seems to be something unsettled among the crew. Eighteen minutes after takeoff, the plane crashes in the water.

Scott, the artist, awakens in the water and discovers JJ is still alive. Swimming has been in Scott’s blood for years.  Although rusty, Scott’s obsession with strength through swimming  and Jack LaLanne kicked in to help he and JJ survive an arduous and unlikely swim to shore. Hawley grabs the reader in his description of the swim and positions Scott as JJ’s protector and the flawed but righteous hero of the story.  Of the eleven on board, they are the only two survivors.

Chapter by chapter, Hawley unrolls the backstory of each character, raising and answering questions about whether this was an accident or targeted attack. As the investigation continues, family, the media and Scott all have their interest in JJ, now a very wealthy four-year-old, questioned.  There is ample reason and opportunity to root for the good guys and jeer at the villains, and while there are  suspicions, the specifics of whodunit and why are not revealed until the very end.

There is place on my bookshelf for page-turners. Going in knowing a novel is unlikely to be a book group read gives me the freedom to just escape in the story. Whether he is doing this with his TV shows (Fargo, Bones and more) or his latest novel, Noah Hawley has me hooked.

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