In Jessica Barry’s debut novel, Allison Carpenter finds herself alone in the Rocky Mountain wilderness of Colorado after surviving a plane crash. She and her wealthy fiancé Ben Gardner, the pilot, were en route on a private flight from Chicago to San Diego. Taking what supplies she can salvage, Allison begins the arduous trek to safety, suffering from the elements and exhaustion. But it’s not only the wilderness she has to fear. She has secrets and she knows someone will kill to keep them from being revealed—and that someone is stalking her.

Meanwhile, in the small town of Owl Creek, Maine, her mother, Maggie Carpenter, is devastated to hear that her daughter and Ben have both been killed in the plane crash, and that Allison’s body has not yet been found. Maggie won’t accept Allison’s death until her body is recovered. While Allison has secrets, Maggie does also: she and Allison haven’t seen or spoken to each other in the two years since Allison’s father died. The last she knew, Allison was a journalist living from paycheck to paycheck, not the sleek socialite shown in the photo the media is using. At a loss as to what to do, Maggie sets out to learn everything about the last two years of Allison’s life, but finds herself stymied at every turn.

Told in alternating chapters, the reader follows Allison as she struggles to survive and stay ahead of a ruthless killer, and Maggie, as she anguishes over her loss and her determination to find out the truth of her daughter’s life and death. Tension-filled, more in Allison’s chapters than Maggie’s, Freefall puzzles together both women’s secrets and their complicated love for each other as it gains speed toward its climax. An excellent debut.