Falling Off Air

Robin Ballantyne #1

by Catherine Sampson

A unique, beautiful, chilling new voice in commercial crime fiction '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' From the warmth of her living room, her infant twins tucked up in bed, Robin Ballantyne is horrified to witness the suicide of her neighbour, Paula Carmichael. An investigation soon reveals that this highly respected social activist and community figure had been haunted by dark, mysterious secrets. Inexplicably, her diaries are peppered with observations about Robin herself. When Robin puts this terrible event behind her and tries to restart her career as a TV producer, tragedy moves even closer to home and she finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation, her safe existence transformed into a living nightmare. Hounded by police and press, Robin must enter a dangerous race against the clock to save her name, and her life...

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Plum-crazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In short, after seeing a woman fall to her death Robin is shocked to find she is suspected of her murder. Robin didn't know the woman - but from the woman's diary she appeared to know Robin. When another tragedy further complicates Robin's life she decides that she can't rely on the police & is determined to solve the mystery herself.

Robin struggles between motherhood, being a prime suspect, being hounded by the media & trying to investigate things for herself & her efforts in racing against the clock to save her name & reputation, never mind her life, makes for a compelling tale.

Overall, a good read which managed to keep me entertained & guessing up to the end.I hadn't heard of this author before but will certainly keep an eye out for more of her books.

[Malissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was turned off at first because I thought this would be more like a thriller and not so much personal drama. But after plot twists and turns, I understood why the drama in the beginning was important. By the end, I couldn't put it down. There are still a few unanswered questions to ponder.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very dark story. I couldn’t put my finger on what was happening until close to the end because there were a lot of very different dynamics going on. Robin certainly had her hands full. I was exhausted for her because it seemed like every time she tried to sleep, either the phone rang or someone was at the door who just had to talk to her at that very moment. Maeve was such a snooty person that I was sure she was involved but I just couldn’t figure out how. Robin’s dad was a real piece of work!! One thing I couldn’t quite grasp was what Robin was doing for income…she seemed to be throwing money around for taxis, babysitters, and traveling while not working. Must be nice.

[Madiha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it randomly and enjoyed it, although the end seemed rushed. Like suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. Otherwise, loved the buildup. Good air of mystery.

[Therese Bergwall · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Bob Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was different. I enjoyed the dry British humour and the audio reader was excellent.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook/Mystery/Robin Ballintyne who has twin babies, is a British, London, media journalist who sees a woman falling off her building and gets involved in solving the case.

[Gail Silverman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Falling off Air

I'm sorry but this book isn't for me. It takes too long to get to the point. The story line didn't capture enough.interest for.e to read.

[Tricia Cassavaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Pieternel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deze was oprecht wel goed, de plottwist ook

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Sampson's Falling Off Air is set in London, though you wouldn't really know it except for the street names and the tikka takeout. Robin Ballantyne works in TV and a single mother of twins who's taken a somewhat longer maternity leave than usual. The twins are the result of an infatuation with a colleague - Adam Willis - who has the bad luck to be the second dead body of the book.

Striking are the family relationships that serve as support to the protag. These warm and loving ties contrast with those with supposed friends and acquaintenances who are not what they seem. The task of managing two toddlers, coping with everyday dangers that threaten their safety and well being along with trying to get back on the job and ALSO investigate murders are overwhelming. It's good to see that they are at times overwhelming for the protag as well, when she collapses in exhaustion or screams in frustration. Also interesting is how the protag manages the media circus surrounding the mysteries and her articulation of how she tries to shape the coverage to her advantage.

The ending seemed rushed, with too many threads drawn together too quickly. A small comment on an otherwise excellent read. Looking forward to Sampson's other works.

--Ashland Mystery

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falling Off Air was a random pick from my library's site. I had never heard of the author, so I gave it a shot. I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was a solid mystery with an ending that made sense. I definitely didn't figure it out before the main character did, which is always a good thing.

I liked the main character, Robin. She is a single mom of twins and has been on extended maternity leave. One night, her neighbor falls out of a window next door and plunge to her death. Did she kill herself or was it murder? Robin doesn't get involved until her ex-lover and father of her children is murdered. The problem is the police think she did it. I felt really bad for how she was treated in the media and by others around her. Everyone thought she was guilty and was a bad mother.

I won't say too much more about the plot because I don't want to give anything away. I'll just say that I do recommend this one. It was an enjoyable mystery!

[Despoina Despoina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό αστυνομικό: ο δολοφόνος αποκαλύπτεται μόλις είκοσι σελίδες πριν από το τέλος-σε ένα βιβλίο 400 σελίδων! Μέχρι εκείνο το σημείο η συγγραφέας με μαεστρία δημιουργεί διάφορα πιθανά σενάρια/εικασίες για τη λύση, που όλα καταλήγουν σε αδιέξοδα.

Η ηρωίδα (η δημοσιογράφος Ρόμπιν Μπαλαντάιν) είναι υγιής στον τρόπο που σκέφτεται, δυνατή σε όλα τα αναπάντεχα που της συμβαίνουν, λογική, επίμονη, αισιόδοξη-κάτι που με έκανε να συνειδητοποιήσω πόσο σπάνιο είναι αυτό το είδος ηρώων στα βιβλία. Και πόσο ευχάριστο και λυτρωτικό όταν το συναντάς.

Δημοσιογράφοι, κίτρινος τύπος, ναρκωτικά, δολοφονίες. Πέφτουν τόσα κακά στο κεφάλι της ηρωίδας που αναρωτιέσαι αν και πώς θα βρεθεί τρόπος ν΄αρχίσει να ξεμπερδεύεται αυτό το κουβάρι-κι όμως!

Ήθελα να κρατήσει κι άλλο, ήταν σαν ένα επεισόδια σειράς που δεν ήθελα να τελειώσει ή που θα ήθελα να υπάρχει και συνέχεια. Και ορίστε-τι χαρά: η Κάθριν Σάμπσον έχει γράψει κι άλλα τέσσερα βιβλία με ηρωίδα την Ρόμπιν Μπάλανταιν!

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really good book. I received this book for free and was somewhat skeptical if a free book would be any good. I was also surprised to find this was this author's first book to write. It was very good and enjoyable. I'm new to the murder-mystery genre so I won't comment much on the ending. I just thought it ended very well, out of stuff to say so just throw everything out there quickly. I didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure things out, I just read and enjoyed the book. It kept me on my toes. I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to people who like the murder-mystery genre. It started out really quick which surprised me, it got a little dull after the first several pages but then quickly picked back up and kept me glued until the end.

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The murderer was easy enough to figure out, but was an entertaining read to get there. I feel that the author just wanted a Prince Charming ending, so she picked Finney out of the small list of straight male characters as Byzantine's love interest, which was kind of disappointing. Either have them fall for each other or leave out the romance, don't add it as an afterthought. There's just nothing leading up to their kiss that makes you think they'd be interested in each other in more than a casual way.

[Maryann MJS1228 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absorbing and engaging mystery novel. Yes, it is a bit long on domestic details - Robyn is a stressed-out single mother, we get it - but the plot and characters make up for this. The only let down was the ending, which felt like an abridged version that the author was ordered to write by an editor.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery book was a good read. I don't know what it was but I liked the way the story was written and the facts revealed. The deaths and parts of the story line are a little depressing but it's good to get emotional!! :)

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was it murder, suicide or an accident? The story starts with a single mother seeing a neighbor appear to fall out of the sky. Another British crime story that pulled me in enough that I wanted to get to the end to see who the culprit was. A fairly quick easy read.

[Karolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light weight who-done it. Easy read, family friendly audio-I listened in the kitchen~
I didn't figure out the murderer until the last CD. That helped me consider it time well spent.
Engaging protagonist~ endearing characters. Good acting on the readers part. Fun. Loved the English setting.

[Sharon Louise]

Nothing wrong with this book, it just didn't hold my attention enough to warrant my time finishing it when my bookcases are overflowing and weighed down with other things to read. Put it down after 50 pages.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable 'who dunnit' I couldn't put it down as my curiosity about each turn in the story kept me hooked. It was well written and mostly plausible, with nothing gratuitous. The characters were very real and the not overblown. Just a good summer read.

[Darleen]

dollar store--nuff said

[Patricia T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the reader, although a bit slow plot, it kept me engaged.

[Balde Soaulaimane]

read

[Asghar Abbas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of thriller.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad