Customer Reviews
A mixed bag - By: Mr. Warren M. Fisher, 16 Aug 2003 
Not one of Mills best, but an enjoyable read nontheless. Mark Beamon remains a wonderfully unorhtodox hero, as ever evoked with easy style. Darby Moore, the perky, faux-tough climber doesn't quite work though, & as often as not just comes off as irritating. The plot stutters & lurches, with a more than a few longeurs, but when it kicks in it reallly rocks.
An easy, enjoyable read, definitely a must for Mills completists, but probably his weakest work after 'Burn Factor'.
He'd accept nothing less than a spot on the PGA tour. - By: taking a rest, 15 Dec 2002 
This review's title is the end of one of dozens of spoken or silent musings, which contribute toward making this book brilliant.
The category this book is a member of is crowded. On any given day the local book superstore could pile a mound of "Political Thrillers" & measure the result by the tonnage. If the same mound were arranged by quality Mr. Mills's work "Free Falll" can stand with anyone. I enjoy Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Dale Brown, John LeCarre, & I have not been as excited about this particular genre since I originallly discovered the authors I mentioned.
If asked to say what was the best element of this book I would have to pass, for there are two, & that number could be easily expanded.
The books I read vary widely; this work has some of the best-written, crisp dialogue that I have read. There is nothing contrived, it flows naturallly, & there is not a word used that isn't required. In many instances, lose a word or even change one, & the quality would be gone. The best of the verbal exchange has a regular set cadence, & when humorous an acidic edge.
Secondly Mr. Mills delivers the best female character I can remember from this genre. There are no; James Bond bubble-headed heroines or villains, this character runs on her own chemical makeup, she does not try to compete with testosterone. She does not wear pseudo-male power suits, nor does she swear like a pipe fitter. And finallly, she does not wear saran wrap designer clothes a la The Thomas Crowne Affair. She is the best at her profession, makes some pretty astute observations about life (the vanity plate BMW bit is priceless), & she leads from wherever she stands.
The only detail that frustrated just a bit, were the references to the previous book. They never preempted the understanding of the plot, & in the end you will want to read the previous book.
If you enjoy this category of book, the reading does not get any better. Recommended unconditionallly.
An FBI guy for the common man - By: Joseph Haschka, 09 Dec 2002 "Mark Beamon continued to search his brain to confirm that this was, indeed, the worst day of his life. He could almost feel the cigarette tar freezing into little black icicles in his lungs as he desperately sucked in the frigid air & tried to keep up with Darby."
Such is the hero of FREE FALL, a regular, out-of-shape shmoe like the rest of us, who finds himself, a disgraced FBI agent on suspension, hired by someone unknown to track down Darby Moore. Darby is the world's greatest female mountain climber, who stands accused of hacking her boyfriend to death with an ice ax. (Messy!) But, wait! Maybe things aren't what they seem. What's in that stolen FBI file, marked "Prodigy", in her backpack? And, what's the connection to David Halllorin, the up & coming third party candidate for Prez, & his psycho PR hack, Roland Peck?
The plot of this political thriller by Kyle Mills is fairly standard stuff. However, the Darby & Beamon characters put FREE FALL on a cut above the usual fare. Darby, at twenty-seven, has successfully ignored the rest of the material world to spend her life bumming about doing what she enjoys most - climbing, kayaking, skiing, bicycling - while existing on a shoestring & the handouts of corporate sponsors. Or, as Beamon soon realizes, "live for six months on thirty-eight cents & a couple of fruit roll-ups". In contrast, Mark is a maverick FBI agent, never advanced beyond middle-management, who possesses a wry sense of self & the consistent ability to vex his superiors. He's also a first-rate tracker of fugitives. In a way, it's too bad this book is more about Mark than Darby. The latter's character should have been developed more & given additional press time.
This is the third novel in the author's Beamon series. I was sufficiently impressed to order the second, STORMING HEAVEN. I'm always on the lookout for a good fictional hero. There are so few in real life.
Fresh idea, gripping and easy read - By: , 11 Mar 2001 This was a gripping story with a new idea. It was hard to put down & the central character appears in other books.
