I was REALLY looking forward to reading Hannah Pittard”s new book Invisible Empire. Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley, I received a copy in exchange for this honest review.

The book is based on the real-life crash of an Air France flight seconds into takeoff from Orly airport in Paris in 1962. 130 people died, and this backstory provides an amazing number of potential stories of  those on the flight as well as their families, friends, loved ones, etc. The characters in the book are 99% fictional (I looked it up, thinking this might be “faction.” )

During the early 60s, Atlanta was “in the midst of the Camelot era,” yet as a Southern city it was deeply involved in racial hatred and civil rights struggles. And although I didn’t think of the meaning of the title until it was pointed out to me (duh!), once I realized that the full title of the Klan is “The Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,” I admit I was dreading something horrible happening to one of the African-American characters who figure prominently in the story. No spoilers here…

The victims of the crash included many of the city’s movers and shakers, as it was a chartered tour put on by and for art lovers of Atlanta. TBH, after reading the promotional material, I was expecting more of a story that covered the social, political and moral events of the 60s. It isn’t that: it is more a book that has “made-for-TV-movie” written all over it. Kind of a soap opera, wrapped in fascinating time and place. Doesn’t make it bad – it just was way less than I expected. Recognizing this may be due to my own unrealistic expectations, I give it three stars. (The cover should get its own star: it’s AWESOME)