Freefall by Jessica Barry. Thanks to @netgalley @jessicabarry9 and @randomhouse for my ARC. Publication date 7th March
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‘Surviving the plane crash is just the beginning for Allison. The life that she’s built for herself, her perfect fiancé, her life of luxury has disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now she must run, not only to escape the dark secrets of her past, but to outwit the man who is stalking her every move’. _____________________________________
So sometimes when I start a new book it takes some time to get into it. This book though! I was hooked from the very first page. There wasn’t a page in this book that didn’t make my heart race while reading it. It was so fast paced and powerful I couldn’t stop reading. I loved Ally and her strong spirit. I loved the alternating chapters of past and present. But above all I loved Ally’s mum. She was by far my favourite character. I could feel her pain and her strong will and desire to find out the truth. ...............................................................
I simply can’t recommend this book enough. It’s fast paced and frantic. Completely unputdownable. While Allison fights for her survival, Maggie searches for the truth and the sensational back story is revealed. An absolutely fantastic read. I’m left stunned and breathless. The best kind of thriller. Highly recommended xx

I wanted to love tisbook, the synopsis drew me in but having read over half way I’m struggling to continue. It’s a not for me, but I’m sure others will love it.

When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, everyone assumes Allison Carpenter is dead.

But Maggie, Allison’s mother back home in Owl Creek, Maine, refuses to believe them. Maggie knows her daughter – or she used to, anyway. For the past two years, the two women have been estranged, and while Maggie doesn’t know anything about Ally’s life now, not even why she was on a private plane to begin with – she still believes in her girl’s strength, and in their love for each other.

As Allison struggles across the treacherous mountain wilderness, Maggie embarks on a desperate search for answers about the world Allison has been involved in. What was she running from? And can Maggie uncover the truth in time to save her?

Told from the perspectives of a mother and daughter separated by distance but united by an unbreakable bond, Freefall is a heart-stopping, propulsive thriller about two tenacious women overcoming unimaginable obstacles to protect themselves and the ones they love.

Alison is desperate as she embarks on a battle to survive, with barely any supplies, full of fear, facing the forests, hunger an9d inclement weather, whilst danger stalks her every footstep. Will she manage to reach safety and home? Maggie becomes aware of just how difficult and rough Alison's life became in the two years, right up until her engagement to Ben. Maggie's storyline eventually connects with Alison as the truth eventually emerges. This is a story of complicated mother and daughter relationships, secrets, deception, betrayal, and intrigue, where little is as it seems. The two protagonists, Maggie and Alison are strong and resilient women, and their characters are compelling. I found this a fast paced, intense and gripping read with twists. It is far from perfect, but it nevertheless held me enthralled, wanting to know how it would all end. An entertaining read for sure.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage Publishing for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review.

Freefall begins with Allison surviving a plane crash, battered and bruised but alive. The only other passenger on the small plane, her fiancé did not survive….. she is in the mountains with few supplies, a little water and not much else…..only a sense that someone is going to try and find her….but she doesn’t want to be found!

Maggie, Allison’s mother, has been told by the local police that her daughter likely died in the crash…but she will not give up hope, she knows her daughter is strong and so sets out on a search for her Allison. At the time of Allison’s fathers death, they became estranged and have had no contact since.

The tale is told from the two perspectives of Allison and Maggie, giving background to both their stories……bleak at times but utterly compelling. It shows the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child and the lengths she will go to for them no matter what.

This is a slow burn, with the tension gradually building and building right to the truly heart thumping end…

An exceptional debut novel from Jessica Barry and I will be waiting impatiently for her next endeavour…..

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Freefall by Jessica Barry is a great Holiday read when you're lying on a beach relaxing. However, maybe not when your flying to your destination! This was a book that had me hooked to the very early hours of the morning and I just had to finish reading it. It was Gripping with so many twists and turns with lies told by so many throughout. It was just brilliant and very cleverly written.

Highly recommend

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book.
All opinions are my own and are in no way biased in any way.

What a roller coaster ride this book was. The intrigue from the start had me hooked. The suspense increased throughout . Plenty heart in mouth incidents. Alison's struggle for survival after the plane she was travelling on crashes. The perils and the danger that follows as this pilot unfolds makes for a compelling read. All is not what it seems! A gripping thriller.

Thank you to Penguin Random House U.K./Vintage/Harvill Secker for an eARC via NetGalley of Jessica Barry’s ‘Freefall’.

The novel opens just after the crash of a small plane in the Colorado Rockies. The pilot is dead and the only passenger, Allison, has survived with minor injuries. She doesn’t wait for rescue but flees the crash site clearly in fear for her life.

In Maine her mother, Maggie, receives news of the crash and that Allison’s fiancé, Ben, is dead and Allison is missing, presumed dead. We learn that mother and daughter have been estranged for a couple of years. Maggie refuses to accept that her daughter is dead.

The narrative alternates between Allison fighting for survival in the wilderness and Maggie’s search for answers about Allison’s new life and the crash.

Personally I am not keen on survival stories so even though I was interested to find out why Allison felt under threat, her trek through the wilderness didn’t engage me that much. Still there are plenty of flashbacks that show how Allison had met Ben and morphed into a Stepford fiancée. Those were more interesting to me as was Maggie’s story.

‘Freefall’ was fast-paced pure escapism with plenty of twists. I found it pretty much impossible to put down.

Great novel suspense builds throughout As the story develops and the characters change. A number of great twists. Really enjoyed the development of both Maggie and ally

4.5 Exciting, and Lots of Fun Stars!

For two years Maggie has had no contact with her only child. Allison has refused to speak to her since Maggie did something unforgiveable in her eyes. Now, Allison is presumed dead, one of two victims of a plane crash, and Maggie is seeking answers to increasingly dangerous questions, all the while hoping her daughter is still alive.

Allison has survived the crash, but the threat is far from over. Hurt and alone, she’s on the run in the treacherous terrain of the Colorado Rockies – equipped with secrets powerful men will do anything to protect.

Wowser – this was an excellent debut – a high-stakes, multi-layered, as thrilling as it was fun, action adventure with courageous protagonists who you’re genuinely rooting for. We are launched straight into the action with Allison sifting through the wreckage, and right off the bat I was blown away by her survivalist skills, and even picked up a few tips. At first I thought it a bit odd how resourceful, and resilient she was – she kept a clear head, didn’t panic, or fall to pieces – but it’s soon mentioned that her father taught her all sorts of useful practical things, and there are later flashbacks to support this.

I was awe struck by the level of emotion, and small details, Jessica Barry managed to inject into every scene. Even a paragraph on neighbourhood women leaving casseroles on Maggie’s doorstep was conveyed in an interesting manner.

I would class this as light entertainment – there’s no overly graphic content or language, and even when the characters are threatened, or in danger, you know they’re going to find a way out of it. The twists vary – some are fairly predictable, others completely threw me for a loop, but even when I suspected what was coming, I was never bored or disappointed. Chapters alternate between Maggie and Allison, with the latter’s chapters alternating between the present, and what led up to the crash.

Superbly written. I didn’t want to leave these characters. A first novel to be proud of, and one I highly recommend.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Random House UK – Vintage Publishing, and Jessica Barry for the e-ARC.

US Publication Date: Out Now!
UK Publication Date: 7th March, 2019

Review posted to Amazon, Goodreads and Instagram.

This is a book that is told from alternate view points - Allison and her mother. The pair have been estranged for a few years, so when her mother learns that her daughter has died in a plane crash, she is determined to discover what lead to this moment. As Allison's mother digs into her past, Allison herself is desperately trying to escape a mysterious someone pursuing her through the wilderness and her back to her mother. As she grows weaker from her injuries and lack of food she reflects on the last few years of her life. Throw in the possibility of a corrupt big pharma company, a young woman working in a private members club trying to make ends meet and a couple of shady characters and you have a fast paced, entertaining read that I devoured in one sitting.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Freefall is Jessica Barry’s debut novel and definately hits the floor running.
The story is told in alternate chapters of mother and daughter. Daughter is Allison who has just been in a private aeroplane crash and is the sole survivor but is trying hard not to be found and the reason for this is revealed as Allison recounts her story. Maggie is the mother and although supposedly eighty years old she seems to have more energy than I’ll ever have! Maggie tries to believe her daughter is still alive and although they haven’t spoken in two years she now regrets not having tried harder to make contact with her. Maggie tries to piece together her daughters life and discovers she was soon due to be wed, so she tries to track down his parents to get as much information as she can about her daughter. The plot twists and turns and keeps a good pace, it was for me lacking something I can’t put my finger on, whether it’s because I didn’t like Allison I don’t know but I did really like her mum though!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing, Harvill Secker for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Freefall is an exciting thriller which begins with Alison miraculously surviving a plane crash ,the private plane being piloted by her Fiancee Ben .She needs to get away from the crash site as she someone is after her and so the story begins .Told through both Alison and her estranged Mum Maggie ,who refuses to believe her daughter is dead .Alison is on the run but she is being hunted so she is running to her Mum .This is a story of survival and love .I really enjoyed this book ,it was fast paced and gripping .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review.

This is quite a difficult book to review because I think you need to go into with as little information as possible, just so you can get the most out of the story.

The story is told from two viewpoints, Alison and her mum Maggie. They were both very realistic characters, both strong in their own way.

Maggie is struggling without her husband, now she thinks she’s lost her daughter who she hasn’t spoken to in two years.

Alison, after struggling to make ends meet for a long time, thinks when Ben proposes that it’ll be the last of her worries but after miraculously surviving a plane crash has to battle her way down a mountain while someone is hunting her.

While this is an interesting book, with good characters and plenty of twists and turns, I wouldn’t say it blew me away. What’s annoying is I can’t give you a definitive reason why, I think you’ll just have to read it yourself and decide.

Freefall a terrifying and taut thriller with well rounded characters that will to keep you entertained until the end.

A fantastic read, This one takes off from the word go and continues at a relentless pace till the end. I loved the alternating mother-daughter narration, and the weaving back and forth between now and the past. The only thing that slightly niggled was how Allison managed to survive the crash, trek, and later. Did she have some sort of survival training or some sort of extreme fitness regime? There were a couple of red herrings too that were guess-able (unless I’ve been reading too many similar thrillers lately, which is a distinct possibility. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable story written well.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

This book is intriguing as Maggies daughter, who she has been estranged from for 2 years, has died in a plane crash with her husband....however you find out almost immediately that she hasn’t and is battling to survive in the forest and mountains whilst being chased by ‘baddies’
Why is she being chased? And why was she on the plane? Well these questions get answered as the book progresses and it turns out all is not as it seems in Allison’s life.
Meanwhile Maggie is half mourning her daughters death and half not believing it when a man enters her life and tells her what Allison has discovered and why her life was in danger
Its all a bit complex and takes a while to grasp ( well for me anyway) and the constant switch between past and present almost mid sentence can be hard work but if you can cope with that you are rewarded with a good adventure esque kind of tale
The character of Maggie is lovely, I really warmed to her, the character of Allison not quite so endearing!!
Its very American with lots of mulch and the like but it sets the scenes well
I did enjoy this debut story and was glad with the conclusion and the ‘twist’ ( sorry but there is one ) was unexpected, welcome and added an quite shocking turn to events....
A worthy read all told

I enjoyed this book by Jessica Barry, plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I look forward to the next one.

Having survived a plane crash, Allison is fighting for her life once more. She is on the run not from the dark secrets of her past but from the man who is stalking her every move. Everyone assumes that Allison has died in the crash but Maggie, Allison's estranged mother, is convinced she is alive and sets out to discover the truth. But not everyone wants the truth to come out...

I am not sure I really 'liked' the characters but I was certainly gripped by the dynamics between Maggie and Allison. The narrative jumping backwards and forwards between them kept the suspense high, but it was a little distracting on occasion. And as a cat lover, (spoiler alert, sorry) I really wasn't happy about the cat dying. But I am not letting it influence my review!

This was certainly a gripping read?! Shocking. Scary. Thrilling... a great debut novel. I will look out, with interest, for Jessica Barry's next novel.

An easy reading thriller - curl up on your sofa or deck chair and whip through scheming, evil deeds and the heroics of the small man standing up against big pharma.

The tale is told in a split narrative and time frame which from my recent reads I now understand to be compulsory in contemporary fiction. I enjoyed it, I did not work out the plot twist until it was upon me - so job done.

As an aside, for some reason the copy I read was missing the 'fi' and 'fl' - so the heroine was watching 're ies' which I presume were fireflies. Amusingly her mother regularly talked about her 'oral dress' - the mind boggles.

This one grabbed me at the start and didn’t let go. I really was caught up in the stories of Ally and Maggie and their fractured relationship. I know as a book reader I’m not supposed to say this, but I think this would make a great movie. I note that this is a debut novel and I hope there’s plenty more to come from the pen of Jessica Barry. Highly recommended.

Wow.. Jessica Barry...what a book!! I could not get enough of this story and desperately needed to find out what happened. I was pulling for both the main characters to get the ending that they deserved. I will certainly be looking out for more from this writer. This book is like a roller coaster and I read it so quickly. Can't recommend this book enough.. if you like thrillers then you need to read this book!!!

Allison is involved in the crash of a private plane and assumed to be dead. She does however manage to survive but this is just the start of her fight. She is now trying to stay alive, being stalked by a man determined to kill her because she knows too much. It's is a long way from the ideal life she was living just months ago with the perfect fiancée.

Across the country her mother Maggie is being told that her daughter has been killed in the crash. She hasn't seen her daughter for over 2 years and her heart is broken. But her gut is telling her that Allison is still alive and is determined to find her. After seeing a photo of Allison that she hardly recognises she sets out to find out what happens to her little girl.

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased