Just out in paperback, Nelson DeMille’s new novel NIGHT FALL is a fictional account of one former NYPD detective’s investigation into the real-life TWA Flight 800 tragedy, five years after the fact. Though our government tells us Flight 800 exploded over the East Coast due to equipment malfunction, witnesses have long claimed otherwise, reporting a missile-like trail in the sky.

DeMille’s premise suggests the conspiracy theory is true, having been captured accidentally by a philandering couple making an illicit sex-on-the-beach home video. Working against the world, our detective hero John Corey – with the unofficial help of his FBI agent wife – seeks to find that tape so the truth can be told.

This is a fast-paced police procedural made even more enjoyable by an absolutely stunning, “holy shit!” ending. Even though all the pieces and clues are there, it totally snuck up on me. I was floored.