Before the Fall
Noah Hawley
Grand Central Publishing
Dh57 from Amazon
At first blush, Before the Fall appears to be on track to be a typical action-packed thriller wrapped around the horrific crash of a private jet. But author Noah Hawley soon veers his highly entertaining novel into an insightful look at families, revenge and media intrusion by delving deeply into each character's story. Hawley invests the same care with a soupçon of dark humour into Before the Fall as he does on the TV series Fargo, of which he is executive producer, writer and showrunner. He shows how each character came to be on the plane, laying the foundation for the tragic crash of the corporate jet that plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean about 16 minutes after it left Martha's Vineyard.
Only two people of the 11 on-board survive the crash: Scott Burroughs and 4-year-old J J Bateman, who was with his wealthy family – media titan father David, mother Maggie and older sister Rachel. Burroughs would be the last person to call himself a hero – “a recovered alcoholic, a struggling artist who’s never been able to keep a single lasting relationship”. Yet somehow he manages to rescue Bateman in the dark and, disoriented and with a dislocated shoulder, swims the many miles to shore.
The miracle rescue first labels Burroughs a hero before a shock journalist brands him an opportunist by putting a negative spin on every aspect of his life. A federal investigator looks at terrorism, financial crimes and threats.
One victim was a Wall Street financier about to be indicted for money laundering. A couple of years earlier Rachel had been kidnapped, the abductor never found. The Batemans’ armed Israeli bodyguard had a dubious past. David Bateman had many enemies because his 24-hour conservative news network was accused of manufacturing the news.
The authorities and the media question how Burroughs, who barely knew anyone on the flight, finagled his way onto a private jet. And why would a well-maintained jet with an experienced crew suddenly crash? Before the Fall is superb and cleverly constructed, and should become one of the summer's hottest sellers.
* Associated Press
