Review: Freefall by Jessica Barry

Title: Freefall

Author: Jessica Barry

Publisher: Harper

Publishing Date: January 8th, 2019

Pages: 369
Audio Length: 12 Hours and 3 Minutes

Genre: Adult Mystery Thriller
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

A propulsive debut novel with the intensity of Luckiest Girl Alive and Before the Fall, about a young woman determined to survive and a mother determined to find her.
When your life is a lie, the truth can kill you
When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, Allison Carpenter miraculously survives. But the fight for her life is just beginning. For years, Allison has been living with a terrible secret, a shocking truth that powerful men will kill to keep buried. If they know she’s alive, they will come for her. She must make it home.
In the small community of Owl Creek, Maine, Maggie Carpenter learns that her only child is presumed dead. But authorities have not recovered her body—giving Maggie a shred of hope. She, too, harbors a shameful secret: she hasn’t communicated with her daughter in two years, since a family tragedy drove Allison away. Maggie doesn’t know anything about her daughter’s life now—not even that she was engaged to wealthy pharmaceutical CEO Ben Gardner, or why she was on a private plane.
As Allison struggles across the treacherous mountain wilderness, Maggie embarks on a desperate search for answers. Immersing herself in Allison’s life, she discovers a sleek socialite hiding dark secrets. What was Allison 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 riveting debut novel about two tenacious women overcoming unimaginable obstacles to protect themselves and those they love. 

What made me pick this book up: 

I don't really remember what caught my eye with this one. I was probably looking at a list of books coming out in 2019 and I just kept clicking them to see if I liked it. 

What did I like about the cover: 

I don't care for this cover much. It's kind of cool seeing the sky like it's from an airplane but I don't know it's just kind of meh to me.

What made me read this book:

Sounded like a good mystery thriller. 

What did I like the most: 

From the moment I started listening to this book it had me completely enamored. I didn't want to stop listening. 

By the time I started this book I completely forgot what it was about, so that was fun. Kind of added to the mystery part of this.

Speaking of the mystery, this is a good one. This book had me all kinds of topsy turvy not knowing what was happening or what was real. I didn't see any of it coming. 

I think the suspense of this book is really great, like I said, I didn't see any of it coming. It had me on the edge of my seat, and I felt myself literally gasp out loud a few times. 

I think the characters are written really well for the main part, I liked Allison. I liked how she went from a drug addict waitress to someone who is getting married to a huge CEO of a pharmaceutical company. But she did everything HE wanted. Never anything she wanted. And then BAM to this badass taking over her own life. 

I needed to know why she was trying to get away, how she survived the crash, etc. I HAD TO KNOW. And man am I glad I found out. This book was everything I had hoped it would be, and so much more.

What didn't I like: 

The mom. Seriously she got on my nerves. I understand she lost her husband and she thought she lost her daughter. But she was crazy and whiny and I cringed every time the book switched to her POV. 

There was a couple sad parts that actually made me mad while reading this. But that's almost expected right?

Other than that I really enjoyed this book. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Definitely! Jessica Barry doesn't have any others yet, but I will definitely read them once there are more!

Overall this book was so much more than expect. Was definitely a well written mystery thriller.

“...I will never, ever try to take up less space ever again. I will stretch these limbs of mine out wide and I will not budge, not an inch, not ever again.” 
― Jessica Barry, Freefall

Jessica Barry is a pseudonym for an American author who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and was raised on a steady diet of library books and PBS.
She attended Boston University, where she majored in English and Art History, before moving to London in 2004 to pursue an MA from University College London.


She lives with her husband, Simon, and their two cats, Roger Livesey and BoJack Horseman.