T. J. Newman is a former flight attendant whose debut novel, FALLING, was a top-notch thriller. She has effectively kicked off the summer reading season with her second novel, a non-stop, edge-of-your-seat thriller that made me fondly recall the Airport films of the ’70s. DROWNING is about an ill-fated flight from Hawaii that has an engine explode a mere six minutes into the trip, causing the plane to crash into the Pacific Ocean.

"What makes DROWNING such an outstanding novel and an ideal summer read is the constant level of suspense that is accompanied by a countdown of how long the plane is underwater and the hours of air left for the courageous survivors."

The best writers will admit that they write what they know. This is certainly the case with Newman, whose insider knowledge of the airline industry and all that goes on during a flight is heavily drawn upon in her books. She introduces DROWNING with the following information for her audience: “The term last-ditch is used to describe an effort that is made at the end of a long line of failures. It is the final attempt and is not expected to succeed. In aviation, the emergency landing of an aircraft on water is called a ditching.”

As expected, there are a handful of characters who will survive Flight 1421’s crash landing. Readers will get to know each of them intimately, which adds heart and feeling to a novel that could have been all about the high-tech efforts to rescue them from a watery grave. The most important person on board is engineer Will Kent, who is traveling with his 11-year-old daughter, Shannon. His soon-to-be ex-wife, Chris, is on the other side of this catastrophe attempting to save everyone.

The engine explodes on page one, and the ensuing and inevitable crash takes the lives of many on board, including the captain. This leaves First Officer Kit Callahan in charge of the flight and responsible for all the passengers who are left. Once the plane hits the water, Will strongly suggests that everyone remain inside. A number of passengers and some crew members do not take his advice and bail out of the aircraft, hoping for a lifeboat rescue.

With only about a dozen or so survivors left, Flight 1421 sinks into the ocean, eventually landing in a precarious position on an undersea shelf mere meters away from tipping off into the depths. On the surface, an elite rescue team is working with Chris to figure out how to save their lives. Initial attempts will be unsuccessful, and not everyone will make it out alive.

What makes DROWNING such an outstanding novel and an ideal summer read is the constant level of suspense that is accompanied by a countdown of how long the plane is underwater and the hours of air left for the courageous survivors. T. J. Newman made me miss those great disaster films of my youth, but she also proved to me that she is a literary force to be reckoned with who has found a niche in the thriller genre that will be difficult to match.