Falling Off Air

It's not easy to watch someone fall out of a window to her death, but life is much harder when the police begin to think that maybe this innocent bystander wasn't really just standing by. Robyn Ballantine is trying to make her way back to her career in television, balancing her job with the demands of being a single mother with twins, when she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kate Reading's narration is strong and well paced. She personifies the strength of this character, who is slightly overwhelmed by the events that follow and police inquiries that seem to be focusing on her. The supporting characters are distinct and fully developed. Reading's performance of righteous indignation, emotional distress, and strong resolve rings clear and true. She draws out the ironies of the situation and the bits of humor sprinkled in. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

July 5, 2004
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. Agent, Amanda Preston. Mystery Guild Featured Alternate.