Plummet to Soar

Reviewed by Michael for Diverse Reader


If you’re anything like me, your To Be Read (TBR) list is incredibly long, filled with books or authors that you really want to try. Sadly, time and life get in the way and when taken in conjunction with the sheer number of new books that come out each month, that TBR only grows larger.



Which was why I was so excited when this book became available for review. I’ve got a few Z.A. Maxfield books in my TBR that I haven’t been able to get to. This would give me a chance to read an author that I’ve always wanted to try, and read it to review for the site. Two birds, one stone if you will.



Mac (Kenzie) is kind of a free-bird. A near death experience left him with the notion that every minute is to be lived to the fullest. He also wrote a book based on these ideas, ironically titled the same as this one, and has developed a following. He travels the world holding seminars he calls “plummets” (he did plummet from a helicopter, after all) where he espouses the virtues of taking each day as it comes and not looking into the rearview mirror



Mac’s was discovered by a publishing houses' group editor, JD. The publishing house is a family owned business left to him by his father. While somewhat younger than Mac, JD struck me as being quite older, perhaps because of the responsibility of running the business.



Mac and JD develop a relationship that is purely online. Now, some people may argue the legitimacy of any relationship that is only on-line, but, speaking from my own experience, as long as both parties are completely honest with each other, it can be almost as fulfilling as a person-to-person relationship. Sometimes it’s easier for some people to communicate from the safety of a keyboard. It’s also incredibly convenient over long distances. This is especially handy to Mac and JD given that Mac travels so much.



What Mac doesn’t know is that there have been threats, both legal and physical made against him. Add to that JD has been charged with delivering some rather bad news, which he decides to do in person. The two (along with a small group of people) end up snowed in at a hotel, and what ensues is something akin to a whodunit, or, as I call it, a “murdermance” (coined that one all on my own)



There were times that the character’s made decisions that left me scratching my head (I’m looking at you, bathroom scene after someone shoot’s into Mac’s hotel room). But I also liked that secrets weren’t kept until the very end of the book as a way to create huge drama that ultimately tears them apart. Mac and JD work together to overcome adversities, both within their relationship and from the outside.



Overall, I was glad I read this, and will definitely be reading more from this author.

Review by Annie @ Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter: https://bit.ly/2KM8EyO

From 'Plummet to Soar’s' first paragraph, I wondered how Z.A. Maxfield’s hero would mess up, stay safe, and grow up. As Maxfield describes him, “Mackenzie Detweiller lived between the throw of a die and the outcome. He gave no fucks for things in the rearview. He gave no thought to anything occurring too far in front of his car.” Taken to the extreme, living in the moment can spell danger.

Mackenzie became a bestselling author and life coach based on his ability to stay optimistic after falling from a helicopter and suffering multiple surgeries. He holds “Plummets,” similar to seventies-style encounter weekends, teaching people to fully embrace life by facing their mortality.

Mackenzie has one wise thought after another, like, “Nothing save(s us) from disaster” and “Love doesn’t change anything. It just makes everything else matter more.”

Luckily he isn’t self-important, viewing himself as only a fellow traveler. “Sometimes he actually flinched over his blithely arrogant aphorisms,” Maxfield indicates. What really makes him successful, are “interest, wonder, and unconditional love.” Hmmm, isn’t that equally true of authors?

Unfortunately, Mackenzie’s readers have taken his process literally, intentionally breaking bones in order to gain wisdom (groan). Ultimately, several have sued the publisher, Jacob Douglas Chambers IV (JD), executive editor of Chambers Lighthouse Publishing, which has been in the family for generations. JD attends a Plummet despite his own broken leg, to inform Mackenzie they must recall his book, both to protect themselves and the public.

The thing is, JD feels bamboozled. He and Mackenzie fell in love on-line while editing the book, though neither has admitted it to the other. He was the first to believe in Mackenzie. Only now, he finds himself disappointed that his own broken leg didn’t result in blinding revelations. Plus, he’s come to the mistaken conclusion that Mackenzie “was nothing but a leg-humping dog actor in a holy man’s costume,” taking sexual advantage of his Plummetteers.

While JD secretly hopes his protégé is actually the real deal, he’s sure the book is dangerous. What a relief to discovers Mackenzie “wasn’t as bright as JD hoped, but even a broken clock was right twice a day. What Kenzie got absolutely, positively right? People.”

Meanwhile, Mackenzie’s helicopter accident is merely part of a lifelong tendency to attract disasters. The venue is snowed in just as someone attempts to kill him. Then the resort’s desk clerk is found murdered.

While police are securing the area, Mackenzie uses the dangers to start the Plummet, teaching his philosophy – make the most of every disaster. Readers marvel how Mackenzie maintains his optimism, while individuals are separated from their group, much like in Agatha Christie’s 'Ten Little Indians'.

Can’t he see the killer is still on the loose? Get practical, folks. But Mackenzie is a helium balloon, who JD has a hard time bringing to earth. Can staid JD really commit to such a wild force of nature?

As in every Maxfield novel, I look forward to new words. “Die” is the singular of “dice.” Who knew? An “autodidact” is self-taught. And a “paladin” is a chivalrous knight.

I cooed at the men’s assessments of each other. JD thinks of Mackenzie “Such a likable face might stand you to a drink in any bar on earth and you might never return. You might not want to.” But he also tells Mackenzie, “‘You are a product… and the product is dangerous.’”

In turn, Mackenzie thinks of JD, “A chip off some ancient family’s edifice was Douglas (JD). Whereas Mac…well, Mac was a scrapper-a freckled earthy type whose ancestors could be found in steerage on any ship’s manifest.” Can this author write?

Maxfield’s sense of humor always makes me bark aloud. For example, when asked what he learned from his helicopter fall, Mackenzie replies, “‘I learned it hurts.’” And, after Mackenzie orders a “’Bombay Sapphire, tonic, lime,’” at a bar, JD thinks “Man after his own liver.”

Yes, 'Plummet to Soar' is an exciting thriller, the pages turning faster and faster to determine what will happen next. But I found myself re-reading it to cherish its small nuances, as these many quotes attest. JD and Mackenzie’s romance reminded me of Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in 'North by Northwest'.

Mostly, I love how JD and Mackenzie display grace. We admire them undeservedly, knowing their particular strengths are merely the flip side of their unique flaws. Any book that puts a fairly continuous smile on a sourpuss face like mine, must merit five hearts!

Mackenzie wrote a self-help book, Plummet to Soar and became a kind of life-coach. But Mackenzie doesn’t give really good advice, and people get hurt, and he’s sued. He doesn’t know it yet, so he’s ready to give his seminar with his plumeteers in Wisconsin when they get caught up in a snowstorm.

JD is Mackenzie’s editor, and he decided to deliver the bad news face to face. After 2 years of a long relationship that was more than professional online, JD wants to meet Mackenzie and see if what they have online is the same in real life.
But nothing went well. JD didn’t reveal his identity at first, then a big snowstorm cut them from the outside world, and someone wants Mackenzie dead.

It’s the longest weekend of their lives with one goal, survive!
I liked this book, it was special at first, and I wasn’t sure I would understand everything. I was pretty sure that it was a sequel, but nope it wasn’t, and the more I read, the more I enjoyed and understood the story.
The plot is simple, a hotel lost in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. 8 people, 1 killer and a lot of unknown parameters, but one goal, survive and stop the killer, it’s a kind of a mix between Clue and Agatha Christie.

It’s not the typical romance when the 2 MCs meet and we follow how they fall in love. Here, JD and Mackenzie already know each other, they are already in love with each other, so when they met and JD reveals his identity, they acted like a couple who have been together for years. It was natural for them, and I liked it actually, it’s a change from the usual romance that I read, so I like this in the book.
The writing was good, dynamic, fresh and I can say very fast. We jump from scene to scene, and at first, it can be confusing but soon we get used to it, and it’s interesting, we haven’t time to get bored, not at all, it’s like being in a rollercoaster.

I liked it a lot. It was very refreshing and funny with scenes that were intense and funny with a real comic view of the situation. I won’t forget the scene in the police’s car… (aaaaaaand you want to know right! So read it, and you’ll find out).

I recommend this book; it’s a funny, dynamic and refreshing read.

4 stars for The Plummet, The Cleptoman, and The Plummeteers!

**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by DreamSpinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**

So, this book is nothing that I expected and it’s entirely my fault for jumping at the chance to read this because it had murder in the book description. Honestly, I’m not even sure where to start with this book.

There are A LOT of characters in this book from the first page and it was so confusing. One of the MC’s is a life coach and has a lot of internal dialogue that is confusing and sounded like what I’d imagine the thinking of a stoned hippy would be. He nicknamed people in his self-help group but sometimes referred to them by name if he remembered. So I struggled to know if a character was a new one, or one he’d already been calling by a different name. And Mackenzie has a lot of internal dialogue. He’s attracted to a guy at his self-help group, but he can’t go there because of his never met before editor, who may or not have gone missing. When the guy who caught Mackenzie’s eye introduces himself, he lies about who he is and why he’s there but his reasoning is confusing, as is this whole story. But, fortunately, turns out the editor is not missing but has turned up and lied about who he is.

Before buying and diving into this book, I strongly suggest reading the book description. I didn’t pay attention to the description until writing this review, but it has a reference that had I read it, I wouldn’t have read it. Personally, this book didn’t work for me but it’s definitely one you need to read and decide for yourself.

Rating: 3 stars