The Flight

Jenny Cooper #4

by M.R. Hall

Product Description Coroner Jenny Cooper returns in her most explosive journey yet . . . Book Description When Flight 189 plunges into the Severn Estuary, Coroner Jenny Cooper finds herself handling the case of a lone sailor whose boat appears to have been sunk by the stricken plane, and drawn into the mysterious fate of a ten year-old girl, Amy Patterson, a passenger on 189, whose largely unmarked body is washed up alongside his. While a massive and highly secretive operation is launched to recover clues from the wreckage, Jenny begins to ask questions the official investigation doesn’t want answered. How could such a high tech plane – virtually impregnable against human error – fail? What linked the high powered passengers who found themselves on this ill-fated flight? And how did Amy Patterson survive the crash, only to perish hours later? Under pressure from Amy’s grieving mother, and opposed by those at the very highest levels of government, Jenny must race against time to seek the truth behind this terrible disaster, before it can happen again . . . About the Author M. R. Hall is a screenwriter and producer and former criminal barrister. Educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, he lives in the Wye Valley in Monmouthshire with his wife and two sons. Also available in the Coroner Jenny Cooper The Coroner, The Disappeared, The Redeemed

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, British Literature, Audiobook, Procedural

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

M R Hall, otherwise known as Matthew Hall, lives and works in the Welsh borders near Monmouth. Born in London in 1967, he was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated in law.

After several years as a criminal barrister in London, Matthew started writing TV drama, beginning with epsiodes of ITV's Kavanagh QC. He was nominated for a BAFTA for his first original series, Wing and a Prayer. He has since written over 60 hours of prime time drama including the recent BBC hit series, Keeping Faith.

His debut novel, The Coroner (2009) was shortlisted for the CWA's Gold Dagger, as was his fourth, The Flight. The Jenny Cooper coroner series has now been adapted for television. 'Coroner' is made in Toronto for CBC and distributed internationally by Cineflix.

Series:
* Jenny Cooper

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like The Coroner, the first book in this series, but I now have formed the opinion that I am in Groundhog Day, as the plot is different, but everything else remains the same. There is a format to the books, i.e. Jenny Cooper always threatens someone she can have them arrested if they do not comply with her orders. "I am The Coroner, do you know who I am and what powers I have". (She does not actually say this, but implies it every time). Alison, her assistant, is always in a bad mood and annoyed with her. If she were my employee, she's have hit that minty highway a long time ago. There is always a major conspiracy and Jenny's bosses (The Ministry of Justice), are trying to shut down her inquests, trying to sack her or she is being arrested. I could go on, but I think I have made my point. The basic plot here was about an Airbus passenger plane, which went down killing over 600 people and a mother's search for the truth as to what caused this disaster, which killed her young daughter. I felt I was in over my head at times, as the technical detail/jargon was too much like hard work. There is one other book in this series, but I need a break from it right now. It was a good enough read to stick with to the end, maybe I am being a little bit harsh, but my advice to the author would be, change the format as it is now too predictable and same old stuff and increase Mrs. Coopers medication or change it and have her smoke some pot, to take the edge off.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all the fact that the quality of writing here was high, for all the plot generally held me interested, for all the pre-existing interest I have in air accident investigation, this otherwise very decent book was let down IMHO by the same little annoyances which prevented me enjoying the previous M.R. Hall 'Jenny Cooper' novel.

The central premise of this is that local coroner Jenny Cooper is called in to investigate the death of a man washed up in her patch following a plane crash having sunk his yacht - but being the investigative heroine kick-ass lady she is, she goes and treads on loads of toes as she tried to get to the bottom of possible conspiracies and cover-ups regarding why the plane crashed. I just didn't believe most of the book - we had some well-defined characters acting in a manner which just didn't ring true, a load of co-incidences and serendipity eventually making the story long and complex enough to stretch it to novel length.

Crime thrillers centred round detectives and the police come naturally, below that maybe journalists and pathologists or medical examiners, but when you get to the likes of Kathy Reichs' heroine Tempe Brennan and the local coroner in this series.. I just found the suspension of belief required to ignore the fact their normal workload and normal responsibilities/rights appear to have been suspended to allow them to be so deeply involved in solving a crime.. it's all a bit too hard to swallow at times.

[Clodagh Phelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series too far?

When Flight 189 crashes into the Severn Estuary, it leaves a raft of unanswered questions. How could ten-year old Amy Patterson have survived apparently unharmed, only to die of hypothermia? Who was the man found alongside her, a yachtsman who had obviously not been on the plane? How could such a high-tech plane literally drop from the skies? Why were certain passengers switched to this flight at the last moment?

Coroner Jenny Cooper is drawn into the investigation, despite the fact that a distinguished judge is appointed to head an inquiry that would normally be within her jurisdiction. However, Jenny is never one to bow to authority and, under pressure from Amy’s high-powered mother, finds a way to keep herself involved.

‘The Flight’ is the fourth in the Jenny Cooper series. I read the first two but must have missed the third, ‘The Redeemed’. I enjoyed the earlier books more than this one and have been trying to figure out why that should be. Certainly 'The Flight' gripped me almost as much as the others. I found it just as hard to put down at times. Nor was I put off by the rather lengthy descriptions of how airlines are organised and the technical side of flying. In fact I found the technical detail and explanations some of the best things in the book.

In general and on the plus side, it’s refreshing to have a protagonist who isn’t a detective. The insights into the workings of a coroner’s court are instructive and well written; this is true across all the books. Here too the plot is fast paced, at least in the beginning. However, it becomes more and more implausible and muddled. I never did discover what the helicopters had been doing at the scene.

So what didn’t work? I think it boils down to the fact that this series is being a bit overworked. ‘The Flight’ is book four and there are at least three more, one to be published in 2016. It’s all becoming too formulaic. Always Jenny battling against authority. Always some secret government agenda or other form of authority opposing her. A game of cat and mouse to see who will win.

I couldn’t really engage with Jenny’s character either, this time round. As I read on I began to rather dislike her. She seemed so obstinate and negative. I found her stubbornness irritating and her depressive attitude wearisome. The bickering and carping that goes on between her and Alison Trent, her sidekick, is also more annoying than instructive. I began to feel that the author couldn’t like her much either, to have created such a dreary person.

I really hope that in the later books, M.R. Hall gets back on track. In the first book, the fact that Jenny is mentally fragile, and addicted to popping pills, makes her plausible, vulnerable and rather likeable. In the second book the author skilfully charts her mental progress, both triumphs and setbacks. These insights add an extra and welcome dimension. In fact so well observed are they that I was convinced that M.R. Hall was a woman. And I’m not at all sure what that says about me!

Reading the descriptions of the later books on Amazon, it looks more hopeful. At any rate in terms of plot. We may not be in for more of the same after all. The stories are intriguing – a link between a suicide and a child’s death from meningitis, the aftermath of a tragic house fire and the death of a young soldier in Helmand. They promise new angles and another direction. I look forward to reading them.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was very wise to add a note at the end of the book saying, "......do remember that a short drive through town remains statistically far more dangerous than your flight by a factor of many thousands to one." That said, it was a great read!

[Clive Grewcock2 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, dear. Overly long, overly detailed, the romantic diversion unconvincing, the inquest bizarre (just for starters no one thought of calling the aircraft manufacturer) and, okay, I've little insight in to the extent of a coroner's role, but I'm fairly sure fictional coroner Jenny Cooper shares my lack of insight.

[Ann James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found myself quickly reading through the technical bits of aviation...possibly as it was an industry I worked in. Shame it didn't include at the end why flying is safer than car travel...a large aircraft, compared to a car, has the equivalent of 150+ MOT's that are checked after every landing & before it can take off again (one of the many things that contribute to the turnaround time at an airport, when u see the aircraft landing and wonder why it's taking so long to be called to board!). If one piece of paper is not fully up to date - the plane doesn't fly. Something to reassure those who maybe have stopped to think twice about air travel, after reading this book.

Overall it's a good story, although the same formula regarding Jenny Cooper's personal issues have moved on very little, and I did become disinterested. Having said that, I've started the next book in the series: The Chosen Dead and already it feels a comfier read. Just hoping Jenny's life has become cheerier, or at least, more organised.

[Vicky Thomasson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a plane plunges into the Severn Estuary, Jenny Cooper investigates into its sinister cause. I wasn't really sure how I felt about this book. It was a very scary concept which has severely intensified my fear of flying but I'm just not sure if the ending was entirely believable. I don't really believe in conspiracy theories as I refuse to believe that people can be that evil (probably being very naive here!) and sometimes things are just what they are with no suspicious meaning behind them at all. However, it was an interesting read and was very intelligently written - sometimes too intelligent as I found myself skimming over the complicated aviation jargon!

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth in the series of the Coroner, Jenny Cooper, and with her repressed childhood memories being exposed in the third book, she is a much less stressed and less irritating character this time round. She still plays the role of the determined outsider battling against the establishment, and her dogged pursuit of matters probably outside her remit seems a bit of a stretch of credibility at times. Nevertheless, a decent read, the series improving and I will definitely read the fifth book

[Rhiannon Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah yes, this was a jolly gripping read. I liked that there was so much more detail about the actual mystery/disaster/accident and much less peripheral stuff about Jenny's personal life, bickering lawyers etc. Maybe next time we could have an inquest that they don't try to shut down and/or Jenny isn't threatened with being sacked.

[Mark Robison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has gotten into a rut, and the detailed explanation at the end from one of the characters about what really happened is always a troubling sign.

The rut: In every book so far in the series, Coroner Jenny Cooper is barely on speaking terms with her assistant who threatens to quit, the Powers That Be try to thwart our hero from getting to the truth, she would lose her job if not for actually getting to the truth so the Powers That Be can't fire her, there's an age-appropriate love interest whom she can't quite connect with, and there's always a magic prescription pill to help when the case becomes overwhelming. And there's a secondary case that turns out to have connections to the primary case.

About the data dump at the end where what happened is revealed: It didn't have to be written this way. The plot was approached from a very Alpha Male perspective like might be seen in a techno-thriller involving the president and terrorists. But there's a mom in the story whose little girl is killed at the beginning of the book in a plane crash — why not keep the plot machinations the same but reveal it from the viewpoint of someone much more sympathetic?

Not a bad book. It's basically the equivalent of an Acorn TV screenplay with a plucky female detective who has some personal challenges. This type of story is comfort food for me, and I needed it during a tough past week at my day job.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my 4th book in this series and I'm really enjoying them . The author tackles big subjects. The 3rd dealt with opposing Christian doctrines and how the are received in modern society and this one deals with China and how western society could be attacked in ways much worse than tradional war. The technical flying scenes in this book were extremely well done and I felt I was in the cockpit of an airliner and understood how they worked. The backstory of Jenny evolves ever so slow,y through the series but keeps you engaged.

[Donna ~ The Romance Cover · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are about to go on a flight, this is not the book for you, seriously, the more and more this world relies on computers is absolutely terrifying, especially when you consider that an aeroplane that can carry 600+ passengers can take off, fly and land itself without human intervention. There is a lot of aviation jargon in this book, which I must admit, I found absolutely fascinating but, and the author stresses at the end of the book, this is completely fiction and the scenarios that he writes about have never happened, and I sure hope that this is not some premonition about what could happen in the future.

The more and more I read about Jenny Cooper the more I love her, yes she is flawed, but this woman is like a Rottweiler and will not let anyone or anything stand in her way of finding out the truth, even if they want it dead and buried along with the victim she is investigating. I don't know if a practising coroner would go to the lengths that Jenny Cooper does, nor do I particularly care, because this is fiction, but what MR Hall does is always bring a story that is unputdownable and absolutely fascinating.

Onto the next book!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I seem to be the odd one out -- I really enjoyed this, despite (as some have pointed it) the story follows the familiar template of the first 3 in the series. I was absolutely fascinated with the all the in-depth detail of flying & landing a modern plane, even though I don't have a technical bone in my body.

I seem to have developed a rapport with Jenny's character and have no problem, and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Connie Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and series

I’m finding this a very entertaining and intelligent series, which I only started reading after watching Keeping Faith by the same author. What a shame that the CBC decided to base their Coroner series on these books. They bear no resemblance to each other. I will continue to read but gave up on the tv series after the 2nd episode.

[Annie Dyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed and liked the plot, but the character of Jenny seems to have run it's course. She has become far too unlikeable and I'm struggling to be on her side now. The demons from her past/mental health issues were interesting at first, but now have become depressing. Not sure if I'll read the next.

[PeterHudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good read.


Technically had a lot going for it and certainly held your attention. I can recommend this book to anyone aeronautically minded.

[John Selmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in one gulp which is unusual for me, so yes, it's highly readable, always pushing towards the next part of the investigation. I wasn't sure about it at first; I'm not familiar with the series character of coroner Jenny Cooper, and the description of the A380 airliner's avionics wobbled a bit. The novel starts with the A380 crash, and two bodies washing up on the shore in Severn Vale, Cooper's patch, but one is of a sailor from a boat hit by airliner fragments, and so she has a case - and a half, as the other, a child, is from the crash, resulting in a jurisdictional clash. The other 600 bodies are part of a major investigation in North Somerset.
Of course, all is not as it seems; the sailor may be more than a sailor, the crash may not be an accident, and there is much talk of cover-ups. There are also other cases and the protagonist's private life in the background, but these do not interfere with the action and all is tied up neatly, if not satisfactorily, at the end. The coroner's role and legal elements of the story are very well handled.
I note the terms "trim" and "throttle" in their aviation sense only appear towards the end, having previously been studiously avoided. Also the cars have English "windscreens" but airliners have American "windshields". When it comes to rumours of cover-ups, I would add a cautionary note; members of the armed forces (the love interest is an ex-RAF pilot who knows some airline staff) all too often don't know much and aren't told much, resulting in very poor quality rumours.
There is a weakness in the crash itself; in places it is described as a ditching (a potentially survivable crash-landing on water), and we are told the tail section of the plane hit the water first, which means it was nose-up and had slowed down; and that part of the impact would have been downwards; the rest forwards through water, a slower deceleration than a simple crash. It also means the aircraft was fairly level; had a wing hit first the plane would have cartwheeled, but it remained straight; all in all much more of a ditch than a crash. But the injuries described (eg nearly cut in half by seatbelts) are of instant deceleration from high speed like a nose-down crash, with no-one surviving to put on life jackets. But I suspect most readers wouldn't think about that, and to be fair, I haven't run a computer model of it. (An aside; some of the evidence on the disappearance of airliner MH370 has been interpreted as it ditching, others say crashing; there is a vast difference, as the purpose of ditching is to survive and paddle away, perhaps to a rendezvous with a lover, a new identity, a cut of the insurance for over-valued cargo... if the plane is never recovered.)
Nonetheless, this is a good effort to shift away from the usual territory of the crime story.
There is another weakness in the crash. There is an explosion on the aircraft nose ten minutes or so after it hits water and breaks apart, but the explosion is above water. Yet we're told the nose section is in the silt under just fifty feet of water... it ought to be underwater at the time of the explosion.
The black helicopters from the "army base" (a fictionalized RMB Chivenor) are a bit silly; no-one covers up problems by flying around unmarked AH-64s firing (probably Hellfire) missiles, that's how you advertize them. Especially when what you're firing at will be subject to an AAIB investigation... even the CIA would be more subtle...
Talking of intelligence, the company exporting encryption software would undoubtedly have had contact with them, and I'm sure MI6 would have had copies of anything useful. But here they don't seem very aware.
In real life, I suspect the aviation industry would be discussing the issues raised too widely to make covering them up plausible.
Lastly, the end seems unsatisfactory because the culprits remain shadowy actors who are not really thwarted; but that would be the territory for a thriller, rather than a coroner's investigation.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The trouble with this book is that I've read it after two crashes involving the Boeing 737 MAX have led to the aircraft being grounded which rather knocks down the suggestion that planes are left flying when they have exhibited dangerous problems. But since the book was published in 2012, the author can't be blamed. What I can't accept is the premise that a coroner would go hell bound trying to solve one particular case. The coroner's authority to release a deceased's body is required in cases other than accidents - when a person dies without having recently been seen by a medical practitioner. In most cases, the coroner will issue a certificate without holding a hearing, after reading the pathologist's report into the cause of death. I can't imagine the families of recent deceased in Jenny Cooper's district would be happy to hang around waiting to make funeral arrangements while she goes haring around the country. I assume that she's intended to be a full time coroner as there is no mention of her having another job. I don't believe that her office would be run by just her and her officer. Ignoring these points, an interesting story of skullduggery in the airline industry and in the upper reaches of government administration. We all love a good conspiracy.

[Soozee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is quite unusual, in that we see the procedures from the point of view of a UK coroner. However, Jenny is quite the maverick. I was pleased that in this book she has her medication-addiction more under control, so it does not overtake the story too much.

A passenger aircraft gets into trouble and crashes - two bodies are found in the water away from the main fuselage. They are initially passed to Jenny as coroner, but then higher authorities take over the little girl, who was a passenger on the aeroplane. However, the girl's mother persuades Jenny that the death of the man, whose boat was apparently hit by the plane wreckage, is linked to the cause of the crash.

Jenny braves the might of lawyers and special services in her determination to see justice done and that the deaths will not be swept away, unexplained.

An entertaining and pacy read, with twists and turns. As in real life, not everything is explained neatly at the end - sometimes you just don't know all the ramifications of a complex disaster like a plane crash.

[yovichka · Rating 2 out of 5]

обожавам документалки за самолетни катастрофи.. на на английски
тук съм на кантар с оценката ми за превода, може би беше добър, но просто ми звучеше неестествено 90% от диалога между героите (а диалозите бяха съответно и 90% от книгата)
освен това.... кога мъжете ще спрат да се опитват да пишат гледната точка на жена и да СПРАТ да избират жена за главна героиня? не се получава и тук вината си е на автора безапелационно.

като епизод на От местопрестъплението ми дойде тая книга - чак последните 100 страници (от общо ~410) ми бяха по-интересни. вместо да ме отпусне малко след последните по-тежки книги, които бях чела, по-скоро се убедих, че такива по-посредствени трилърчета не са моето

книгата не е скандално лоша, просто вече не съм на възрастта и акъла да чета такъв жанр писания

затова слагам 2/5 :)

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comfortable leisurely listen
I am a fan of author Matthew Hall’s Coroner Jenny Cooper Series and have found the collection riveting. The narrative talents of Sian Thomas go above and beyond. “The Flight,” is an complexellent suspenseful thriller and does move along a bit slowly; this time, that is a good thing. The plot and subplots kept my interest throughout; I found it hard to take a break. A lesson learned: Listen intently, no multitasking during this one, as there are surprising twists and turns. Highly recommended. Well worth a cherished credit or the $10+ I paid. Kudos to all involved.

[Don Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in the Jenny Cooper, Coroner series I have read and I did enjoy it. Sure, it is overwrought in places and unrealistic in others, but I haven’t read any similar Coroner stories before, so was intrigued throughout. Others have detailed the plot, so I won’t here.
Read in 2022, a decade after it was written, I am impressed at the prescience of the story. Viruses and bots planted in increasingly computer-operated aircraft, as part of global warfare does not seem fanciful to me now. Well done, Mr Hall!

[Katy Chessum-Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the angle of air travel in this novel but found some of the characters a bit flimsy and I couldn't remember who was who a few times! Overall, was enjoyable and I will look forward to reading the next in the series.

[Anne Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing

I found most of the book confusing and hard to follow the many plot lines. The end tried hard to pull them all together but did not quite pull it off. Not a satisfying read.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

A woman coroner to the rescue. Interleaved with family issues, office politics and romantic entanglements. Sound familiar? Well, yes, but, alas, not in the same league as the North American contenders.

[Tom Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Technical

Avery well written story with plenty of twist At times it became very bog down with technical data that's why I only gave four stars

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again a second read but equally gripping.

[Peggi Warner-Lalonde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frightening, especially given the recent events of 2019 in which an airplane was grounded in several countries due to problems.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the CoronerJenny Cooper series. A bit too technical for me and enough to put anyone off flying.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

all round great
fantastic insight in flight systems as well!