If you like to read page-turning thrillers that also give you something to think about, then by all means put Michael Crichton's Airframe on your list.
As in many of his books, Airframe focuses on a controversial contemporary topic which he illustrates by way of a suspenseful mystery. Here the focus is on mid-air disasters resulting from unsafe aircraft manufacturing. The book opens with a catastrophic accident on a commercial airline that results in many deaths and injuries. Subsequently, the story centers on heroine Casey Singleton, who is a VP and quality assurance investigator at fictitious Norton Aircraft, the manufacturer of the plane. She is charged with the task of discovering the cause of the accident in an impossibly short time-frame so that a much-needed deal with a Chinese carrier can go through. But union troubles, corporate intrigue, and scandal-hungry media types (who smell a juicy corporate negligence story) all conspire to make it increasingly difficult for Singleton to complete her mission and save her own career.
As Casey Singleton digs deeper and deeper, the reader finds out much about the aircraft manufacturing industry, which is generally portrayed sympathetically. Crichton helps the reader out by explaining the frequently technical points in a clear manner that doesn't make the dialogue seem stilted. One gets the impression, as with many of Crichton's works (for example, Jurassic Park or State of Fear), that the author has definitely done his homework and come to some strongly-felt conclusions about the issue at hand...though his conclusions may not necessarily be your conclusions. This is one of the more interesting by-products of reading a book by Michael Crichton: whether you agree or disagree with his position, the book is nevertheless bound to be extremely thought-provoking and induce discussion.
Yet Airframe is anything but a dry discourse on the airline industry. The writing style is crisp and the dialogue is believable, if a bit-one-dimensional. Indeed, character development is deemphasized while the forward momentum of the plot and the all-important setting are the primary points of focus. This trademark approach is enhanced by the use of numerous, short chapters conceptually similar to scenes in a television crime-drama. In any given chapter, Crichton makes his point with economy and then moves on to the next scene without further ado.
The end-result of Michael Crichton's style and substance is a book that draws you in and is hard to put down. So if you are looking for a quick, easy, informative and eminently enjoyable read then definitely check out Airframe.
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