I found this book to be a well written and exciting read. Told from the perspective of a missing daughter, presumed dead and her mother, who is trying to discover what happened to her daughter.

Both characters develop well over the course of the book as do the secrets held within the story.

Short chapters make for a quick pace which meant my eagerness to know what happened next was regularly given a shove into turning yet another page. It has the odd loose end which may leave some readers a bit perplexed, but otherwise a decent one sitting read.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I always enjoy reading a dual narrative novel, one of the reasons why is getting to know the characters and trying to decide which of the two I prefer. In this novel it was easy, Maggie was my favourite from the start.

Maggie and her daughter Allison are estranged at the start of the novel, they had no contact for a few years. But Maggie was convinced that Alison had survived the plane crash and starts to look at what happened to her daughter since she had last seen her. The daughter she barely recognised.

She was still grieving her husband’s death a few years earlier, the circumstances of which coincided with Allison distancing herself from Maggie. I really struggled with Alison’s attitude towards Maggie with regards to that time but my feelings changed slightly when I realised that Allison had felt guilty and made some bad decisions since.

I adored everything about Maggie, her honesty over her husband’s death, her refusal to accept Allison’s death and her attempts to try and maintain some normality in her routines. Her acceptance after an initial reluctance of the young police officer was a sign of how strong she was.

Both fighting in their own way, Allison against her injuries, the weather and the fear of still being in danger because of what she knows. Maggie, knowing that something is being kept from her, but not knowing that her refusal to stay silent was placing herself at risk.

I thought this novel would be about a fight for survival and an investigation in what happened cause the crash but found it was more about a bond between mother and daughter.

An interesting plot and a good cast of characters. The book was well written but I was put off by the alternate chapters. Just not for me

The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

From the title and the description I really thought I knew what was coming from this book - in terms of quality as well as plot. I was wrong and the more I read the more I realised how wrong I'd been! While the plot isn't stunningly original or the writing stellar, it is engaging and fast paced with enough tension and emotion to get the reader invested but not too much that it wouldn't be the perfect pool-side read. A decent 3 and a half stars.

Being offered a copy of the latest offering by Jessica Barry (Don't Turn Around) I realised I had a copy of her debut and decided to read it immediately. This tale follows the story of Allison surviving a plane crash and in alternate chapters her mother's attempt to find out what happened to Allison (who she is told did not survive
the crash). They have been estranged for two years and both feel guilty.
I found this tale a little slow at the start but as I persevered the pace picked up, the plot became more complex and I became quite engaged with the characters.
Three and a half stars.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jessica Barry/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

sorry to say i lost the will to live with this one...the synopsis caught my eye and i thought it would be a good one...but i guess i am not a big fan of a story done this way...

mother and daughter have alternate chapters, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt...for me i when i started to flick forward i knew then i was not going to finish it...

sorry not for me this one...

This was a good and solid read that had me gripped from the beginning to the end. The book starts off with a mother that hears that her daughter has died. She struggles to deal with the loss and decides to try and find out exactly what happened. Well written. Recommend.

I struggled to get into Freefall and although I tried to persevere I gave up. To me this book didn’t hook me in and it failed to make me look forward to picking it up to find out what would happen next. Sorry not for me.

My particular advance review copy was so full of spelling mistakes (all the words beginning with “fi” seemed to be incomplete!) that it made trying to read this difficult and I gave up shortly after i started

This book is a pretty successful debut and follows the struggles for both Allison, who miraculously survived a plane crash, and her mum Maggie, who, along with everyone else, thinks she didn't. Told from both the perspectives of Allison and Maggie, covering the past and the present, the story is not only of survival but one of the sometimes difficult relationship between a mother and her daughter.

Written at good pace, I raced through this book helped by short chapters. I admit it wasn't the most unpredictable of endings however, the drip-drip of suspense and gradual revealing of secrets makes this a compelling read.

The two main characters of Allison and Maggie are very well developed with Maggie being a particular favourite of mine. The story captures both of their strengths and weaknesses extremely well together with their determination and resilience.

There are a few flaws with the plot that have been mentioned in other reviews but although these were a little annoying, they didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of this book.

Overall, I would recommend this to people who enjoy an easy and quick mystery that doesn't tax the brain too much.

Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, easy to read, follow and care about the characters. The bond between mother and daughter with a twist. When Maggie is told that her daughter Allison is missing and presumed dead after the plane she was travelling in crashed, she refuses to believe it and despite being estranged from her for some time is determined to seek out the truth. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, having escaped the plane wreck Allison real fight for survival starts. .
My thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for my ARC in return for an honest review.

First book I've finished since having my baby 5 months ago, so this took me a very long time to read! Really enjoyed this read and found it very easy to get back into despite having quite long gaps between reads. This book didn't grip me to a point where I couldn't put it down (thankfully!), but I did look forward to progressing with the storyline each time I picked it up. I think the plot may have been dragged out a little in the middle, but this did add to the suspense, and I wasn't expecting the ending at all! I didn't once suspect that it hadn't been Ben in the plane, and also loved the involvement of the locket - I had presumed the only value it held was sentimental despite the many mentioning of it so thought the micro-chip was. nice touch. Would recommend this book to others.

This is a brilliant modern family saga. I loved the storyline. There are two narrators. Allison who is the daughter and Maggie her mum. Really unusual.

What can I say but fantastic read by Jessica Barry an excellent author, couldn’t put it down ,took it to work and read it on my break.five star holiday read.

Mother and daughter discovering each other again, but not without some adventures on the way! Maggie and Ally are estranged but then there’s a plane crash in The Rockies with only one survivor. This is just pure escapism if you don’t want to concentrate too much or analyse the plot closely. A terrific start but then not quite as good. It has its moments, including some patronising ones (older generation and technology). It’s also like playing puzzle games, working out what some words are meant to be as there were so many “F’s” missing in the ARC. So many silly decisions made by the 2 main characters, but on the whole an entertaining story!

Be advised that once you start reading this debut novel you will be unable to put it down.
Spoken in the perspective of both mother and daughter which I loved.
There is not a stronger bond than the love between a mother and daughter your about to find out just how far this momma is gonna go.
Fast paced and enthralling.

Wow, what an amazing debut! This book has been on my shelf to read for some time and I’m gutted that I didn’t read it sooner.
This is a fantastic page turner. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down.
This is a must read for anyone who likes a good thriller.