From Publishers Weekly
The race is on when a law school dropout unearths an explosive FBI file that catalogues the tawdry indiscretions of several leading politicians, including the Republican presidential nominee. Soon the student's mutilated body is found in the van of his ex-girlfriend, a world-class rock climber. As suspicion is thrown on the elusive girl, Mark Beamon, a suspended FBI agent whose career is hanging by a thread, is brought in by an anonymous party to track her down. Also in pursuit is third-party presidential candidate David Hallorin, a megalomaniac whose pockets are as deep as his determination to achieve his own political ends. Actor Shea defines the individual characters well, from nasal underlings to booming politicians to classically sardonic agents. The abridgement causes some unpolished transitions, and listeners may be surprised to find characters extricated from dicey situations with a flip of the tape, but mostly they will enjoy this quality production of a classy and well-plotted political thriller. Based on the HarperCollins hardcover (Forecasts, Mar. 6). (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In Mills's third political thriller featuring FBI agent Mark Beamon, the presidential campaign season is complicating Mark's life in more ways than he knows. Because of the leak of incriminating tapes Mark found, politicians on all sides are out for his blood. Faced with a legal battle that he can't afford, Mark reluctantly agrees to an offer of $300,000 to find mountain climber Darby Moore, whose ex-boyfriend was found brutally murdered. A suspect in his death who finds herself in possession of an FBI file that incriminates one of the three presidential candidates, Darby goes into hiding. Mark knows that any of the three would kill to gain possession of the file. The suspense generated by the hunt and the political battle is immense. Unlike many other authors, Mills has not fallen into the trap of writing a story that is only suited for a movie screen; there are no cookie-cutter characters or inexplicable action scenes. Instead, Mills, like David Baldacci, knows that a great story comes first (and then, one hopes, a great movie). Recommended for all collections.-Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
We've all heard of J. Edgar Hoover's secret files and the dirt trapped within, but who expects to uncover any? Kyle Mills's newest tale begins with this premise and proceeds apace to murder, political intrigue, and general mayhem. Mark Beamon, an FBI agent with ethics and a burning drive to set things right, has been hired to find the "uncovered" file, and the thief who is now dead and his girlfriend. John Shea, veteran narrator and performer, keeps it all together in this global jaunt and death-defying manhunt for the truth or its ultimate destruction. Shea's captivating vocal performance keeps up with the disjointed pieces of the abridged plot until they seamlessly flow together for a shocking, politically explosive conclusion. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Government bureaucrat Tristan Newberry discovers a file code-named "Prodigy" buried in an obscure Department of Agriculture box. What the file reveals about presidential candidate David Hallorin could swing the election. Soon Tristan is dead, and the file lands in the hands of Darby Moore, his former lover. Renegade FBI agent Mark Beamon is hired by Hallorin's team to find the elusive young woman. He eventually switches sides, joining Darby in an effort to get the contents of Prodigy to the American people. Popular thriller writer Mills--Rising Phoenix (1997), Storming Heaven (1998)--keeps the plot churning and the pages turning with a swirling mix of suspense, gore, and humor. Some readers may be put off by a cynical undercurrent that paints all politicians as self-serving, egomaniacal killers and the American electorate as profoundly stupid and easily manipulated. Even the good guys believe it. The thriller and suspense elements work, but the sociological underpinnings are distasteful. That in itself, however, should spur demand. Wes Lukowsky

From Kirkus Reviews
Overdrinking, overweight, suspended maverick FBI agent Mark Beamon, the Bureaus top kidnapping solver, exiled to the Flagstaff, Arizona, office in the spirited and amusing thriller Storming Heaven (1998), in which he took on the huge Church of Evolution (read Scientology), returns to save the Bureau from its own fumblings and stumblings and a mess leading back to the its founder and plaster saint, J. Edgar Hoover. Rollout from some illegal tapes Beamon stole from the Evolutionists still pitches him about, with Congressional investigations underway. Worse for the Bureau, however, is the emergence of some illegal photos, made by the Bureau years ago, of a young man molesting a preteen girl and then the Bureau doing nothing about the crime in progress. A mixup has had these photos misfiled with the Department of Agriculture. But now theyve been turned up by a law-school dropout, later murdered, whose rock-climbing girlfriend hides out from the killers. Who wants the files? A villain running for the White House who hires Beamon to find the young woman. The plotting here allows less room for zingers than in Storming Heaven, but, still its nice to have a whole handful of likable characters to follow, not just long-faced dicks and malicious powermongers. (First printing of 75,000 copies) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Renegade FBI agent Mark Beamon (Rising Phoenix, Storming Heaven) makes his third rip-roaring appearance in Kyle Mills's Free Fall. A man is mutilated, a top-secret file that some will kill to bury is missing, and the young female rock climber who has the answers is loose in Wyoming's jagged hills.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Free Fall takes place in the danger zone where high crimes and extreme sports clash. It's a non-stop adventure that moves from the frozen mountaintops of Wyoming to the cavernous archives of the FBI, from the siren-haunted L.A. streets to the jungles of Thailand.

FROM THE CRITICS

Stephen Coonts

You'll need a seat belt when you read this one. Mills is a writer with a brilliant future.

Tom Clancy

Kyle Mills is a writer to watch.

Stephen Coonts

You'll need a seat belt when you read this one. Mills is a writer with a brilliant future.

Publishers Weekly

The race is on when a law school dropout unearths an explosive FBI file that catalogues the tawdry indiscretions of several leading politicians, including the Republican presidential nominee. Soon the student's mutilated body is found in the van of his ex-girlfriend, a world-class rock climber. As suspicion is thrown on the elusive girl, Mark Beamon, a suspended FBI agent whose career is hanging by a thread, is brought in by an anonymous party to track her down. Also in pursuit is third-party presidential candidate David Hallorin, a megalomaniac whose pockets are as deep as his determination to achieve his own political ends. Actor Shea defines the individual characters well, from nasal underlings to booming politicians to classically sardonic agents. The abridgement causes some unpolished transitions, and listeners may be surprised to find characters extricated from dicey situations with a flip of the tape, but mostly they will enjoy this quality production of a classy and well-plotted political thriller. Based on the HarperCollins hardcover (Forecasts, Mar. 6). (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

In Mills's third political thriller featuring FBI agent Mark Beamon, the presidential campaign season is complicating Mark's life in more ways than he knows. Because of the leak of incriminating tapes Mark found, politicians on all sides are out for his blood. Faced with a legal battle that he can't afford, Mark reluctantly agrees to an offer of $300,000 to find mountain climber Darby Moore, whose ex-boyfriend was found brutally murdered. A suspect in his death who finds herself in possession of an FBI file that incriminates one of the three presidential candidates, Darby goes into hiding. Mark knows that any of the three would kill to gain possession of the file. The suspense generated by the hunt and the political battle is immense. Unlike many other authors, Mills has not fallen into the trap of writing a story that is only suited for a movie screen; there are no cookie-cutter characters or inexplicable action scenes. Instead, Mills, like David Baldacci, knows that a great story comes first (and then, one hopes, a great movie). Recommended for all collections.--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\ Read all 6 "From The Critics" >

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