Books Read: Drowning by T.J. Newman

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside.

More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent - Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife - who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.

There’s not much time.

There’s even less air.

Book Links: Kindle or Hardcover

I'd like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and Simon & Schuster UK for my copy of Drowning to review.

What started out as an ordinary flight turns out to be anything but when only a few minutes in disaster strikes. From the opening chapter we're aware of the danger that the passengers and crew are facing as the engines explode and the plane plummets into the sea off the coast of Honolulu.  A few seconds after impact the plane appears to come to a standstill without fully submerging in the freezing water and so the passengers who survived the crash have to make a decision... stay or go. 

We follow the crucial moments of the ensuing drama from the perspective of multiple characters, passengers, crew as well as those tasked to try and organise the rescue mission for survivors. One such character was Will Kent who had insisted on accompanying his young daughter Shannon on her flight to camp and he's glad he did as he weighs up the situation with too few life rafts available in the water and the dangers of fuel leaking into the water which could ignite at any moment or whether to gamble that whatever is keeping them afloat will remain firm until help can arrive. And when he foresees danger he convinces the remaining crew onboard to close their only means of escape but has he in fact sealed them in a watery grave? 

The story alternates between the passengers and crew stuck on the stranded plane and those onshore who are trying to come up with a rescue mission once they realise that there are still people onboard and not just a recovery mission for those passengers who escaped and are floating in the ocean. One such person was volunteer Chris whose experience could prove vital but who also has a vested interest as her daughter is onboard with her estranged husband Will. It was real heart in the mouth stuff as the pros and cons of each rescue plan were discussed and they realise that the options were limited for a successful outcome. 

Drowning was a heart-in-the-mouth type of story that once you start reading you will find that you can't put it down as you become fully invested in the lives of the survivors and the rescue mission to save them. It was a fast-paced read from start to finish and I can foresee this being filmed as an action movie in the future.