The Skydivers is a quick, fast-paced read told across two timelines (which I always love) and multiple POVs. This was my first Chris Bohjalian, and now I definitely want to check out more of his work.

As with most novellas, I wanted just a bit more—but for such a short book, it really pulled me in. The pacing was tight, the tension built steadily, and that line—“Never underestimate the human capability to make the worst decision possible”—chilled me in the best way.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a great little short story that will have you guessing the entire time! The last 5 minutes of the audiobook had me spiraling!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future

This story left me pretty confused overall. I’m not even sure I fully understood what I read — there were moments that felt meaningful, but the bigger picture just didn’t come together for me. I kept hoping things would become clearer, but instead I was left with more questions than answers.

That said, the fourth part (or chapter/section) stood out. It was really well done — engaging and vivid — but even then, I was left wondering why. Why things happened the way they did, or what it all meant in the context of the story. It felt like something important was missing, like I was seeing only part of the whole.

Maybe that was intentional, or maybe I missed something. Either way, it didn’t quite land, but I can appreciate the craft in parts of it.

The Skydivers is a short story in the Alibis collection by Chris Bohjalian. The audio version is narrated by Eric Altheide, Soneela Nankani and Peter Simonelli. Brothers Leo and Peter Hamilton, in disagreement about the disposal of their father’s estate, go skydiving to scatter his ashes over his beloved farm: what could go wrong? War veteran and Pentagon analyst, Ceci Fitzgerald witnesses their descent, and sees one brother come to grief. She’s not convinced it’s a tragic accident. Some excellent twists and red herrings in this one.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing.

The Skydivers - Alibis Collection #4

This one definitely started out with a unique setup! Two brothers, skydiving to spread their recently deceased fathers ashes get caught up in a horrible, and a suspicious tragedy that was a complete accident… or was it…. A biking spectator with a special set of skills definately gets us questioning things!

The mix of family drama and mystery that @chrisbohjalian includes was super engaging, and the twist at the end gave it a nice punch. I do wish we had a little more time to really get to know the brothers, but for a short story, it delivered some solid suspense and kept me turning the pages. Quick, clever, and just unsettling enough!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy of the book! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Another great read from the Alibis collection. And another new author for me. I thought I had this all figured out early on in the story but, as all good thrillers do, there was a twist at the end.
I'm not sure about the choice of narrator There was nothing wrong with the narrator, I just wasn't sure her voice matched this mini thriller. Still very enjoyable though.

I love listening to these short stories!
The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian was a quick, entraining read.
It kept me engaged trying to figure out what happened.

𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
Pete and Leo are brothers with little in common - but their father’s death brings them together to scatter his ashes over their inherited dairy farm via a skydiving tribute. Things go south mid-air, and Ceci witnesses the death of one of the brothers.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡
This kicks off with a skydiving “accident,” but most of the story dives into backstory - soldiers, Syria, refugees. It’s clear that’s what we’re meant to pay attention to, but it felt a bit clunky to me.

I liked Pete, couldn’t stand Ceci, and Leo was awful until his final line, which was hilarious. So props to the author - under 100 pages and I had strong feelings about everyone, even if it wasn’t all love.

The full cast narration from Brilliance Publishing was great. The voices were spot on and really made the most out of the multiple POV.

The epilogue tied everything up nicely but I prefer to connect the dots rather than have it handed over right at the end.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
If you’re into military stories or enjoy thrillers that dip into global politics, you’ll probably get more out of this than I did.

Thanks to @BrilliancePublishing and @Netgalley and for access to this advance readers copy

I had a hard time getting into this short story/novella.
It felt like it drug on for too long - hard to imagine in a novella, right?
It was a quick read.
The plot isn't very well structured. The pace was slow.
The characters felt forced.
I was confused a lot of the time.
I really don't know what exactly to think.
Possibly if there had been some character development, I could felt more engaged. I just don't know what to say.
I enjoyed the Freida McFadden book in the Alibis Collection, but this just wasn't it for me.
You may enjoy it and its super quick, so if you are a fan of short stories/novellas, go ahead and give it a read!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Happy Reading!

Chris Bohjalian's writing style is better suited for novels. This one had some potential, but the mystery was a bit too complicated to pull off effectively in a short story. Knowing the author's strengths in writing a novel, this one could easily become a full length novel with engaging characters (with unique backgrounds) and a twisty plot that the reader could be drawn into. But.....it is short and interesting if you are looking for a super quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the audio review copy of The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian in exchange for my honest review.

Chris Bohjalian’s The Skydivers is a tense, layered, and emotionally resonant novel that explores the ripple effects of a single, split-second decision. True to Bohjalian’s style, the story is driven by morally complex characters and unfolds with a gradually tightening grip on the reader’s attention.

The novel centers around a group of recreational skydivers whose seemingly ordinary weekend jump turns tragic. But this isn't a simple survival story—it’s a psychological unraveling. Bohjalian uses the aftermath of the incident to dive into grief, guilt, and the haunting pull of memory. As each character reckons with what happened in the sky, Bohjalian slowly reveals the hidden histories and fragile truths they each carry.

The pacing is methodical but never dull. The narrative is structured in alternating perspectives and timelines, a technique Bohjalian handles with precision. It gives readers both the thrill of a mystery and the emotional weight of a literary drama.

In all, The Skydivers is a gripping exploration of consequence and connection, written with the grace and intelligence Bohjalian fans have come to expect.

This book was drawn out and there was too much explanation. I would have preferred more action and an interesting storyline. This story was short but somehow also too long.

This is a short story about two brothers, an inheritance debate that triggers a horrific event deemed an “accident”, and an experienced eye witness that feels the need to investigate further. The audiobook is about an hour long and the narrators are all excellent. The story itself is well-written, engaging, and entertaining enough to recommend, but the major twist near the end seemingly comes out of nowhere with very few breadcrumbs. This left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more story to lead to the conclusion. However, it was still a quick listen and entertaining read! Thank you to NetGalley, Chris Bohjahlian, Brilliance Publishing, and Amazon Original Stories for the gifted ALC. This is a voluntary and honest review.

3-3.5⭐️ I am really enjoying this collection of short stories all centered around alibis. Of course I had to start with Chris Bohjalian's as he is a new fave of mine. This is a fun short story, centered around skydiving gone wrong - perfect for getting your heart rate up. It is ominous from the start (and pretty darn gory) and the tension never lets up start to finish. I would have liked a little more from it, particularly around the conclusion and the explanation as to why things happened the way they did, but overall a good little refresh between books.

Thank you Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy.

I liked the storyline, it was fun to follow. There were things that were definitely OTT but overall it was a good one.

This story started out strong and I thought it was going to have a great ending but then it just fizzled and ended too quickly, which is why I am not a huge fan of novellas. A little longer and this could have been great but it was squeezed into a short time frame and lost some of the suspense that can be built in a longer story.

Pete's father has recently died and requests that his ashes be
spread across the fields of the family farm. He and his brother
are both skydivers and figure that spreading the ashes from the
sky would be a fitting method. But something goes wrong with
the descent, and thankfully, there is a witness there to help sort
out the mystery of what really happened.


This is part of a collection of short (one hour) audio stories that
can be consumed in one sitting, and I did just that (wel, one
walk in my case). For such a short story, Bohjalian quickly
creates characters you feel like you know and strong suspense
from the get-go. There are some great red-herrings packed in
there, too. Definitely worth the quick listen!

Thank you Brilliance Audio for my gifted ALC!

This started off really strong. But then it … took a nosedive? Is that crass? lol. It went a completely different direction than I thought it would, and it made absolutely no sense.

I love Chris Bohjalian's work and this short story is no exception! It has a great twist that you won't see coming until the end- which is the genius of the story,