On a foggy summer night, eleven people–ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter–depart Martha’s Vineyard headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the passengers disappear into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs–the painter–and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of a wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.

With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the tragedy and the backstories of the passengers and crew members–including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot–the mystery surrounding the crash heightens. As the passengers’ intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy: Was it merely dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations–all while the reader draws closer and closer to uncovering the truth.

Before the Fall is a thrilling mystery and I am so happy to have read it! This is a rare book, a book which does not rely on cheap thrills or lackluster mystery but rather a book that looks below the surface with a deep intricate plot and I loved it! The plot of this novel and the characters within this novel will stay with me for a long time and I hope that you read it so it will stay with you for a long time too!

The plot of the novel is very simple. A small plane carrying 11 passengers crashes and only two survive.  The two survivors are a painter named Scott who has a troubled past and a four-year-old boy named J.J. (who Scott had managed to save). As soon as the aircraft goes down there is speculation amongst the media and tabloids. There is speculation about how this had happened and why it could have. Whether it was an accident or a targeted attack because of the 11 passengers a few of them were controversial figures… could they have been targeted? Is our survivor Scott a Villain or the good guy? Either way, he has lost all right to his privacy in the media. The questions keep racing through your mind throughout this novel and it makes one hell of a mystery.

There is more to this story than it being an edge on your seat thriller. Instead, it takes you on a behind the scenes look at all the people we see on our television screens after every disaster we witness. It also shows you the role of the media in installing outrage in the viewing public and creating and fabricating conspiracies. This is a very important theme because we see this all too often in the media today. The media is great in the form that it educates you on what is happening but the majority of stories are fabricated to dangerous levels and fabricated beyond belief. This theme reminded me of Gone Girl and the role of the media and lack of privacy which was portrayed in that novel (which is one of my favorites by the way!).

The narrative winds back and forth between the present and the past and examines the events leading up to the crash and the consequences after it. The cleverly written narrative gives us a look into the lives of the people who died in the crash and the two survivors. It also shows us the government agencies from around the world who are trying to solve this mystery by looking for debris of the crash and their search for the black box etc; it makes for such a gripping read. I think our author Hawley has done a magnificent job in giving us readers an in-depth look into what happens behind the scenes of a disaster. I personally have been guilty of always wondering what is happening in those newsrooms around the world, how the knowledge they share with us has come into being and what they, in turn, had to do to secure that knowledge, so being able to witness this was fascinating to me!

Hawley is not only a magnificent writer but also a wonderful storyteller. His writing is very well written and constructed incredibly well all whilst being extremely fascinating. This comes to no surprise to me reading recently that Noah Hawley produced and wrote the hit FX television series Fargo. I personally loved that TV series, especially the first series so the fact that he wrote that and has now written a novel is beyond me and if you did love Fargo or the new series Legion (which he also produced) then you will fall madly in love with this novel! This novel itself is like a TV show, that is how it unraveled in my mind. I heard some news recently too that this book is being made into a movie, where Hawley will write the screenplay and James Cameron will direct… I mean come on, James Cameron! He is one of the most famous and well-accomplished directors we have today so the fact that he has put his name to this means that it must be good!

To summarise my thoughts I would say that if you love mysteries which keep you hooked and asking questions to the very end then this novel is for you! Every single chapter was so brilliantly written and so enthralling. They all tied in beautifully together to make one masterpiece of a hauntingly brilliant story. Before the Fall gets Four Stars from me!

Thank you so much for reading! I know I say this all the time but I do really appreciate it! Comment below whether you have read this novel or if you would consider reading it. It is truly magnificent and I truly believe all of you will adore it! Let me know also whether you love mysteries as a genre and whether you have ever watched Fargo! Thank you so much for reading!

Goodbye for now book lovers,

P.S. Here is a preview of the book for all of you lovely readers to enjoy! If you have loved what you have read and want to buy the wonderful novel then you can click the buy on Amazon button and it will take you straight to Amazon U.K.! If you are international then click the Book Depository link underneath it! Thank you so much again for reading!

Book Depository / Publisher; Hodder & Stoughton

Thank you so much again for reading!