'Before the Fall' by Noah Hawley

Before the Fall, Noah Hawley (4.0)

Mr. Hawley is both an author and a screenwriter (he has written for ‘Bones’ and currently writes for the TV series, ‘Fargo’), which seems obvious when reading this book – it would make a good movie. The pace is fast, the characters are interesting and the sequence of time is used wisely. The book starts with a group of people getting on a private plane taking a short trip from Martha’s Vineyard.  By chapter two the plane has crashed. The book proceeds to follow the survivors forward while alternating back in time to give back-stories to each passenger and crew member on the plane in an effort to understand why the plane crashed. Suspicions are raised as one passenger was about to be indicted and one other was very wealthy. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the Bill Reilly-like character constantly trying to find a conspiracy or salacious story – no matter who he hurt. Guess it was just too close to home in today’s political climate.