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Before the Fall

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About this listen

Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Selected by The Sunday Times as one of the top page-turners of summer 2017.

From the creator of the award winning Fargo and Legion TV series.

The rich are different. But fate is blind. A private jet plunges into the sea. The only survivors are down-on-his-luck artist Scott Burroughs and JJ Bateman, the four-year-old son of a super-rich TV executive. For saving the boy, Scott is suddenly a hero. And then, as the official investigation is rapidly overtaken by a media frenzy, it seems he may also be a villain. Why was he on the plane in the first place, and why did it crash?

©2016 26 Keys, Inc (P)2017 Oakhill Publishing Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction

Critic reviews

"Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality." ( Daily Mail)
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A refreshing approach, each chapter takes you further and further into the lives of the characters, and how they all intertwine around the central event. I really enjoyed the writing style and the depth of character background stories. I thought the narrator did a great job.

Unique storytelling

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I really liked this book. It's a nice conceit, ten people each with a story brought together by a calamitous event. The book has pace, interesting characters, a who-done-it and why. It's engaging and easy to listen to, while walking exercising cooking or gardening, perfect for those in lock-down.

A private jet takes off from Martha's Vineyard with 10 people on board. A media mogul's family,- husband, wife and two children, his rich banker friend and wife, an artist (a casual acquaintance) and the crew of three, Over the sea the plane comes down and all except the artist and a three year old boy are lost. The story is told mostly from the artist-survivor's point of view but throughout the novel each of the other passengers reveals their story. The unravelling is set against the background of current American media, including a 'shock jock' who is an unscrupulous and loathsome character set on exploiting the situation. He appears more repulsive because of my suspicions that there are many real live 'commentators' in the US who are in this mould.

Great book for lockdown

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Where does Before the Fall rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

pretty high...maybe 4th/5th

Who was your favorite character and why?

scott. nice guy, patient, articulate

Which character – as performed by Jeff Harding – was your favourite?

scott

Any additional comments?

interesting. keeps reader wanting to know more...

clever

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I really enjoyed the narration. Great book until the last few chapters. Really disappointing ending

Anti climax

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This narrator's female voice is absolutely horrible. He makes every woman sound like a weak, whiny, nag ... this is the first time that the narration has been bad enough to make me comment on it in a review. I will avoid this narrator at all costs, it ruins the book.

Good story, narration distractingly bad

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