#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A decorated former Air Force pilot. A pregnant flight attendant. A dedicated TSA agent. The fates of these three, and many others, converge in Danielle Steel’s gripping new novel—a heart-stopping thriller that engages ordinary men and women in the fight of their lives during a flight from New York to San Francisco. On a beautiful May morning at New York’s John F. … morning at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, two planes have just departed for San Francisco—one a 757, another a smaller Airbus A321. At a security checkpoint, TSA agent Bernice Adams finds a postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge bearing an ambiguous—perhaps ominous—message. Her supervisor dismisses her concerns, but Bernice calls security and soon Ben Waterman arrives. A senior Homeland Security agent, still grappling with guilt after a disastrous operation in which hostages were killed, Ben too becomes suspicious. Who left the postcard behind, which flight is that person on, and what exactly does the message mean?
As Ben scans the passenger manifests, his focus turns to the A321, with Helen Smith as its senior pilot. Helen’s military service and her tenure with the airline have been exemplary. But her husband’s savage death in Iraq was more than anyone should bear, leaving her widowed with three children. A major film star is on board. So is an off-duty pilot who has just lost his forty-year career. So is a distraught father, traveling with the baby son he has abducted from his estranged wife. Sifting through data and relying on instinct, Ben becomes convinced that someone on Helen’s plane is planning something terrible. And he’s right. Passengers, crew, and experts on the ground become heroes out of necessity to try to avert tragedy at the eleventh hour.
In her stunning novel, Danielle Steel combines intense action with stories of emotionally rich, intertwined lives. As the jet bears down on its destination of San Francisco, strangers are united, desperate choices are made, and futures will be changed forever by a handful of accidental heroes.
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I love Danielle Steel, but this was one of my favorites. It was more suspenseful than usual and I read it in one sitting. It was an interesting inside look at airport and homeland security and it made me feel safer about flying. A bright airport security agent notices something and brings it to her boss’s attention–and is told it’s nothing. But it nags on her and she reports it…..and it launches an investigation into everyone onboard two plane heading for San Francisco–a possible terror threat. The ending was satisfying and the story was a wild ride. Loved it.
Loved It.
Great Book.
I really wanted to love this, considering who wrote it. But it reads like a first draft. There are so many characters with unnecessary backstory and pages of irrelevant information. The editing feels disjointed with head-hopping all over the place! The actual “incident” was a tiny part of the story. That bit was interesting but It could’ve been so much better. There was far too much tying up of loose ends afterwards. I’m afraid I was disappointed.
one of her better new stories.
Accidental Heroes is Danielle Steele’s novel about a fateful airplane flight. She does a great job of developing characters and providing a suspenseful storyline. The book seems to be well-researched, except for the part about Air Traffic Controllers. With that being my husband’s profession, I have the inside skinny on it. In actuality, air traffic controllers at San Francisco would have had more info about the problem onboard the flight. This book was hard to put down, and I recommend it. In addition to being a blend of love story and suspense novel, “Accidental Heroes” is a nice tribute to the tireless TSA and Homeland Security workers, who for the most part, do a thankless job well every day. Naturally, I would have liked to have seen Air Traffic Controlleres featured more in the story, since they also play a vital role every day in air safety – working holidays, night shifts and other overtime to ensure the safety of the public. In the “9-11” situation, ATC was an instrumental part of the security process, and the men and women of the FAA’s air traffic control system care greatly about the “souls onboard” the airplanes (their more personal phreaseology than assengers”). I won’t say any more about the story, so as not to give away any spoilers.
Accidental Heroes is about a crisis on a passenger flight to San Francisco. Ordinary people – a TSA attendant, a pilot, the flight crew and passengers – work together to save the lives of those on board. This was a realistic depiction of what could happen at an airport when something suspicious is left behind at the TSA counter. This was a real page turner and kept me reading when I should have been doing some work around my house. It was a real thriller.
This book started a little slow for me. It does give background and build the story–about the first half of the book. There are varied stories and characters. When the story plot kicks in, I was at the page turner stage. The story does follow the many characters introduced as it resolves itself. The characters are sufficiently developed and interact with few expectations as to actual outcomes. The newer aspects of technology are followed and tracing the footsteps of Jason are assisted by these aspects.
I was disappointed in this book. I had a hard time continuing to read it.
The characters in this book all have a different story in lufe. They come together to help others and make a difference. May not be the book you want to read before a plane trip….a little scary that something like this could happen to.you.
I hesitated to read this since I’m not a fan of flying but I plowed through it! I really liked the interaction between the characters and seeing their growth within a short amount of time.
Best book I have read in along time
Normally a romantic author, Danielle changes it up in this book. It’s about the characters and their observations. Great book.
loved it couldn’t put it down
I absolutely loved this book. I liked that the timeline was during a 24 hour time period. This book was different from her usual writings. Enjoy.
This book was a page turner. The characters are so realistic and feel like you are part of the story. This story is very realistic. I really loved the book
Danielle Steele continues to write excellent stories.
This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time!!
Suspenseful, riveting, dealing with contemporary issues
Not one of her best
Loved it.