Free Fall: A Novel

by J.D. Reed

J.D. Reed's 1980 novel Free Fall was used as a basis for the 1981 film The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper. In this book the Skyjacker is J.R. Meade, a loner, a Green Beret medal winner, a Vietnam veteran, who has a plan to use a phony bomb to ransom a skyjacked plane for $750,000 and then parachute to safety. Chasing him is Bill Gruen, FAA inspector in charge of skyjacking, who is the man who taught Meade his survival skills in Vietnam.

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Thomas]

Very much a period piece as this was written in 1980. Still, much of the story could take place today.