Free Fall at Angel Creek by Julie Tizard is a slow-burn romance with characters dealing with love and loss, in the past and present.
Detective Dee Rawlings will never get the chance to see and reconcile with her sister again after years of estrangement as the airplane carrying her sister is at first deemed missing but then found as a wreck.
Dr. River Dawson is the aircraft incident investigator assigned to the case and takes her job very seriously. She is reluctant to let the detective join the investigation but eventually gives in because of Rawlings’ stubborn nature.
Both are attracted to one another; River acknowledges that she would ask the detective on a date if they had met under normal circumstances. However, she’s adamant that nothing can happen between them because Dee is dealing with the loss of her sister as well as the need to focus on the investigation.
Will the two be able to uncover what happened to Flight 402?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Tizard’s expertise and experience as a pilot really shined in this book which gave authenticity to the story and its characters. There was a lot of piloting and aircraft incident investigation jargon and it could’ve easily been information overload, but the author wrote in a way that was appreciated. It definitely added a special element to the book.
The knowledge of their job that each of the main characters brought to the table was interesting and critical to helping further the search along.
On the outside, both Dee and River are strong, however, behind closed doors, they are anything but. It was very moving to read how they helped and comforted each other during their lows and time of need.
The overall pacing of the story was well done, but I did feel that the ending felt slightly incomplete and wished that it was a tad longer.
Cons And Heads Up
Although I did find that there was chemistry between Detective Dee Rawlings and Dr. River Dawson, I did get the sense that the exchange of “I love you” was said way too soon. I would have been perfectly content without the admission and the relationship would’ve been more believable for me.
The Conclusion
Free Fall at Angel Creek is a great unique story about two women working together not only for navigating through the intricacies of an aircraft incident investigation, but eventually to find friendship with one another, and ultimately love.
Excerpt from Free Fall at Angel Creek by Julie Tizard
She reached for a tissue in her pocket and felt the business card the detective gave her. She pulled it out and read, “Detective Deborah Rawlings, Major Crimes Division, Portland Police Bureau.” She was impressed such a young officer had already risen to the rank of detective in a major police department. She must be very good at her job, and good at guessing, because she was correct about the fate of the passengers. Most likely, they were all dead, or some survivor would have found a way to call home by now. This would not be a rescue mission. Instead, it would be a recovery operation.
She ran her finger along the edge of the detective’s business card. The image of her troubled face returned to River’s mind. In another time, in a different place, maybe they would have met under better circumstances. Maybe a friend would have introduced them at a cocktail party, or maybe they would have sat next to each other on a plane and struck up a conversation. She had a beautiful face, with a strong jaw, full lips, fair skin, and very intense dark-green eyes. They were the same height when they looked at each other, but the detective was leaner, wiry, with a body built for action. With her unruly, shoulder-length brown hair, she was just the type of woman River was attracted to. But they hadn’t met at a fun cocktail party or been introduced by a caring friend. They’d met on the worst day of Detective Deborah Rawlings’s entire life. She just didn’t know it yet.
The Fasten Seat Belt sign came on with a “ding,” interrupting her thoughts. They started their descent into the Redmond airport. River looked out the window one more time, hoping to see something, anything, resembling an airplane. All she saw were dense woods, steep mountains, and a giant puzzle before her. She never allowed herself to speculate on the cause of an accident until all the evidence came in. She’d seen other investigators jump on a theory, go on a wild-goose chase, then end up disgraced when the evidence proved them wrong. That would not happen to her.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781635558845
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
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