NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful story about the ways an entire life can change in one night: A flight attendant wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man—and no idea what happened. Now an HBO Max series. Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She’s a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts … adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police—she’s a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home—Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it’s too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?
Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at forty thousand feet, The Flight Attendant unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER
A NATIONAL INDIEBOUND BESTSELLER
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so, so good
Bohjalian’s books never disappoint. What’s to love about a protagonist that’s her own worst enemy? Everything!
I loved the ins and outs of airline life, the cities where Cassie traveled, but mostly it was the suspense. Who’s real, who’s honest. Who to trust? That is Cassie’s problem, starting with herself.
Well told, with just the right amount of tension (meaning lots!) Can’t wait to see what he does next!
Where is really sad it was about a flight attendant who was a alcoholic whose father was an alcoholic it was just really weird written and it would like to give you hints that something had happened in the past but it never told you what and then ended with her being a spy pregnant and it was just weird and it was all over the place and I didn’t like it at all
This is the first novel I’ve read by this author, it was so good I will be reading more
Regular readers of Chris Bohjalian have learned by now that you never know what you’re going to get when you open one of his novels. Every single one is different. Because some of the enjoyment of Bohjalian comes with the surprise factor, I won’t go into heavy detail about The Flight Attendant except to say that this book is more about the female lead character: Cassie than it is the overall plot line. Don’t get me wrong, there is an intricate storyline to follow – one that is at once full of confusion and cleverness, but Cassie is at the heart of this novel. You will get to know every single thing about her…every flaw (and the flaws are significant) but I couldn’t help but like her so much despite her epic poor judgement and self-sabotage tendencies because she is just so human.
The Flight Attendant is full of mystery, murder, sex, culture, and one hell of an unreliable narrator. It’s full of other stuff too but I won’t spoil the plot. My one criticism comes around the 72% mark (in the ARC edition) when Bohjalian segues into a political soapbox of sorts. It made me wonder if he wrote this book and focused on the countries he did just so he could include those narratives. It disappointed me a great deal to think there may have been a possible agenda with this book but it’s Bohjalian’s book and his platform. The opinions were confined to this chapter but I would have preferred them to be left out all together. Each reader will have their own opinion and perspective of current events. Let them take the settings and subject matter and draw their own. Regardless, I very much enjoyed The Flight Attendant overall and am very glad to have read it. It was engaging, very mysterious, and it created a hundred different avenues for how it could have ended. If you are a fan of character-driven mysteries, check it out!
My favorite quote:
“Remember that person you wanted to be? There’s still time.
Thank you to the following for permitting me access to an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Flight Attendant. This generosity did not impact my honesty when rating/reviewing.
Source: NetGalley
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Pub Date: 13 Mar 2018
Very clever ending, but hard to know where the story was headed midstream, or midair. Finally coming of age at how old?? “Remember that person you wanted to be? There’s still time.”
Holy. Smokes. That ending! This book surprised me at every turn and twist. I am usually not a fan of changing POVs and this book was no exception. I understood towards the end why Bohjalian wrote the story this way, but it was just a personal preference.
I loved that we got the anti-heroine protagonist, which in my opinion, we don’t get enough of. Cassie showed her flaws, even to the end. Usually, there are 99% “flawless” heroines in books (mostly romances) but not Cassie.
I didn’t see that ending coming (maybe I should have?) but I definitely recommend this book to any lovers of mystery/suspense!
2.5
I always have really high hopes for books that are turned into movies or series. This was just ok. I’m not sure that revealing the murderer so soon in the book worked for me. I also found the main character to be unlikable due to her erratic actions and odd thought process.
After reading The Woman in the Window, I’m realizing I am not an enthusiast of female leads that are made out to be unreliable because of their drinking problems. In this one, it was borderline obnoxious for me.
A great twisty thriller that was driven by a very self destructive and black out prone yet likable flight attendant. There’s murder, spies, hired assassins, addiction, promiscuity, dysfunctional family history, and even some old cats. This was definitely a page turner with an ending that left me with a dropped jaw and wide eyes.
This book has it all. Family drama, personal morals that are flawed, self respect that is questioned, and challenging situations that have to be overcome one way or another. Put your seat belts on, adjust your tray tables to the upright position, and prepare for take-off!
This is a fabulous thriller from Bohjalian, centered on a hard-drinking hot mess of a flight attendant named Cassie, whose international partying is interrupted by serious intrigue when she wakes up next to a dead body in Bangkok. A fast, twisty, fun read, and everything I’ve watched of the HBO Max adaptation so far totally does it justice. Read it first!
The premise had promise but, unfortunately, there’s no character or plot development to speak of, and nothing is resolved by the end of the story, leaving this reader obviously disappointed.
This was the second book in a row that I picked up and started reading only to discover it wasn’t at all what I had anticipated. When I saw comparisons to this book it was always to thriller bestsellers like The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl. I was expecting something along those lines but The Flight Attendant took all of my expectations and turned them upside down. I don’t like spoilers so I won’t give too much away, just know that nothing in this book is what it seems, not even the blurb. It kept me turning pages until I finished and then sat there wondering just what I had read.
This book is amazing!!! If you want a great binge-worthy read, Chris Bohjalian never disappoints. I was haunted with the series of events, leaving me breathless at times. Perfection!
I usually like Bohjalian’s books, but this one not so much. Readers who are in the airline industry may be able to relate more than I. Not an enjoyable read for me.
I really enjoyed this book. It had a great story line and was very well written the twist and turns was great. Can’t wait to see if Cassie makes a sequel.
As a flight attendant for a major airline for almost ten years, I was very impressed by Bohjalian’s portrayal of the aviation industry and the free-spirited, nomadic lifestyle of those within it. He did his research; that is apparent from the very beginning of the book. Additionally, the descriptions of Cassie’s alcoholism and childhood trauma are as poignant as they are haunting. I found myself rooting for this flawed heroine, despite her shortcomings. Fast-paced and gripping, my only criticism of the novel pertains to its ending; the story seemed to halt abruptly, and the last few chapters felt rushed. The epilogue was impossibly perfect, in sharp contrast to the beautifully broken yet relatable main character I had grown to love throughout the novel.
A crazy story from the viewpoint of the flight attendant who is set up for a hit murder and how she tries to save herself from getting arrested without knowing they are stalking her also. Full of plot twists; you can’t put it down!
kept my attention
So much Better!
A story about some characters within a whole other story about another set of characters, ya think? Hahaha. Keep reading! Really good who doneWhat?!