Falling Off Air [Paperback]

Catherine Sampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2004

'I am about to pull the curtains and shut out the weather when, at the margin of my vision, a woman falls out of the sky. I do not see how it began. All I see is that she falls, feet first but tipping forward, arms stretched out as if to break her fall, her clothes as chaotically twisted and tossed as the rain, and the weight of her body carrying her down through the currents of air straight to the earth like an anchor.';From the warmth of her living room, her 1-year-old twins safely tucked up in bed and a storm raging outside, Robin Ballantyne is horrified to witness the suicide of Paula Carmichael, prominent social activist and highly respected community figure. Paula's death soon reveals that she had been haunted by dark secrets and unanswered questions, and that this mysterious figure had known all about Robin, her family and the estranged father of her twins, TV producer Adam Wills. But when Robin ends her extended maternity leave and returns to work at the Corporation, tragedy moves even closer to home, and she finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation, hounded at every turn by police and press.With her solitary, cosy life transformed into a nightmare, Robin must

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of journalist Sampson's smooth debut novel, Robin Ballantyne, a single mother of infant twins, sees a neighbor she knows by sight plunge to her death from her South London mansion during a storm. Was it murder, suicide or an accident? Ballantyne is stunned to learn that the victim is none other than Paula Carmichael, a driven, charismatic gadfly, the social conscience of the United Kingdom. Ballantyne, a television producer on extended maternity leave, discovers that some of her colleagues, including the father of her children, had been filming a documentary about Carmichael that was abruptly, puzzlingly scuttled. When Ballantyne herself becomes a suspect in the mess after a second death, she traces the crimes to a halfway house in foggy, off-season Cornwall. The author gives scant attention to setting and the plot unfolds slowly at first, but about midway through, the pace picks up and the last quarter is a first-rate read. As the mother of young children, Ballantyne makes for an unusual sleuth: how many detectives need to first hire a babysitter before going out to save the world? Fans of Ayelet Waldman's Mommy-Track mystery series will want to check out this thriller.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Single mother Robin Ballantyne happens to be looking out the window of her London row house one rainy night when she sees a woman's body dropping from the sky, or, more accurately, the neighbor's roof. Robin's neighbor, Paula Carmichael, lies dead on the ground outside. After recounting the story to police, Robin is shocked to discover that she is a leading suspect, thanks to numerous mentions of her in the victim's diary and other circumstantial evidence. Robin hardly knew Paula, a renowned liberal activist, and yet Paula seemed to know Robin's every move. Why would such a famous woman virtually stalk a single mother? Could it have something to do with Robin's career in broadcast news? Is it a coincidence that Paula had worked with Robin's ex-husband? Sampson, a journalist living in Beijing, makes a grand entrance into the mystery genre with this stellar debut novel. The story is told in the first person, and Robin's narrative voice is immediately compelling. She is portrayed with humor, subtlety, and dead-on accuracy, first as a woman seeming to come apart at the seams and then as an inspiring modern heroine drawing on untapped inner strength to overcome both commonplace and extraordinary adversity. Remember Sampson's name; it's about to become an important one in crime fiction. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (August 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405040807
• ISBN-13: 978-1405040808
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,260,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, intellingent mystery, November 1, 2004

By 

D. P. Hock (Healdsburg, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling Off Air (Hardcover)

Smart, engaging story. Robin Ballantyne is a realistic-sounding single mother whose life starts to unravel when she is suspected of involvement in a neighbor's murder. The story is well-written, the characters believeable, the plot suspenseful. Well worth the time.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Fine British Thriller Debut!!, September 8, 2004

By 

S. Henkels (Devon, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling Off Air (Hardcover)

First we have our 1st person narrator, and her pre-toddling twins with our intrepid heroine witnessing the falling death of a neighbor , who we learn is a big time social activist, on a dark and stormy night. Murder,suicide, chance fall? Then the ex -boyfriend lout shows up, along with the police, a frenzied media, many corporate media types who once worked with the mom and her ex-boyfriend. Mix this together with some 1st class,very stylish writing, very unusual family situations, and a gradual semi-frantic pace into some tough English neighborhoods, and you have a sure winner! PS- See how soon you can pick the criminal. No doubt , you'll be very surprised by the finale! My only (tiny) criticism: too many "our eyes locked" phrases thruout. Nonetheless, an outstanding debut!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars engaging British amateur sleuth, August 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falling Off Air (Hardcover)

London based TV news producer Robin Ballantyne takes maternity leave to raise her infant twins Hannah and William while the father of the children Adam Wills flees from the three females in his life. However, Robin quickly realizes how much she misses the news room when she watches her neighbor Labour Party MP and social arbiter to the nation Paula Carmichael fall to her death.

Robin asks Maeve Tandy, Chief of the Current Affairs/Documentary Division for her old job back, but is offered a loser's position as ethics editor. Doing an end around, Robin attends a ritzy awards ceremony attended by broadcasting leaders including that ship deserting rat Adam. He demands visitation rights to see his daughters, but the next day is run over by Robin's BMW. The media goes frenzy with one of their own in the hot seat as they see her vehicle as the weapon, her meeting with the victim as the opportunity and her inheritance of his estate as the motive. No one cares that Adam was filming a documentary about Paula and sharing much more. Robin realizes her peers and the police have convicted her; she must prove otherwise.

This engaging British amateur sleuth tale is kept fresh by the beleaguered heroine who finds her own community ready to devour her as a wounded piranha. Though two lovers and the media feeding turmoil are old hats, having an insider caught in the headlights provides newness as Robin struggles between motherhood, prime suspect, media hanging, and investigator. Fans will appreciate Robin FALLING OFF AIR as she tries to save herself from drowning in the media spotlighted fishbowl.

Harriet Klausner