This book really appealed to me because I haven't read any books about a flight attendant and the whole idea sounded interesting. I have to thank NetGalley for the ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was so good and different from most books I've read. The characters were realistic and flawed and even the bad ones had a human side. Super good book and the ending wasn't what I was expecting which is always nice.

Cassie Bowden, a flight attendant, is a flawed character. She is an alcoholic who doesn't/can't sustain relationships with the men she encounters. After a night of drinking with a man who was a passenger on her flight to Dubai, Cassie wakes up to discover him lying dead next to her in bed. She can't be sure she didn't murder him as she has alcohol-induced blackouts. What follows is one bad decision after another. I think reading this could be like watching a train wreck, but I found myself turning pages because I really wanted to see Cassie turn her life around. It is definitely to Chris Bohjalian's credit as an author that I didn't suspect how one of the characters was related to what happened at the end of the story.

"I'm a very, very good liar. I lie all the time. I lie to other people. I lie to myself."

Chris Bohjalian's new book is an intricately plotted suspense novel. It's told from dual points of view by two well written female characters. Cassie is a Flight Attendant who drinks until she blacks out and often wakes up in the bed of someone she doesn't know. Elena is an assassin who works for a covert group in Russia. Most of the story is Cassie's and what a story it is. She is a total mess but so well written that the reader is immediately drawn into her story to see where she will lead them. She is often confused, doesn't listen to other people's advice and continues to follow behavior that has gotten her into trouble in the past -- in other words a complex and interesting character to get to know.

As the novel begins, Cassie wakes up in a strange room in Dubai. At first she wasn't sure where she was or how she had gotten there. She remembers flirting with an American hedge fund manager - on the flight and agreeing to have dinner with him. After a lot of alcohol, she went to his room at the hotel but due to the amount of alcohol consumed, things got a bit fuzzy after that. When she rolls over in bed and finds blood all over, she sees that he is dead. She doesn't think that she killed him but maybe, just maybe, she did. She puts the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door, takes a shower and goes back to her hotel where she soon boards a flight back to the US and nervously awaits whatever is going to happen next but she continues to lie - to the other flight attendants on her flight, to the FBI who are waiting at the gate and most importantly to herself.

This is a wonderful page turner of a novel. Even though Cassie would be an easy character to dislike as she continues to make the same mistakes over and over, she is written in such a way that I found her to be very sympathetic and I was rooting for a good outcome for her. In my opinion, Chris Bohjalian writes female characters better than any male author and his two main female characters are entirely believable - flaws included. This is another fantastic novel by this talented author.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Cassie is a flight attendant who drinks too much, sleeps around too much, and generally takes risks. When she wakes up in bed with a man who has been brutally murdered, with no memory of how she got there, wondering if she is the murderer, she is forced to rethink her lifestyle.

What starts as a simple murder mystery quickly turns into a suspense novel involving Cassie, her family, the FBI, Russian spies, and who knows what/who else. Alternating between Cassie's story, the murderer's story, and files from the FBI, the suspense builds slowly with secrets revealed in every chapter. Although not a personal, compelling family story (like many of Bohjalian's other books), this is a great story that I could not put down. Topical and relevant, this could be a story "ripped from the headlines". For fans of political intrigue and mystery/suspense novels.

Another solid pick from Bohjalian with twists you won't see coming. The "timeliness" of the Russian angle may be interesting to some but off-putting for others who don't want to read yet more about Russian espionage at the moment.

Chris Bohjalian has done it again!

Readers of his work, by now, should just come to expect a literary surprise each time they open his newest book! The Flight Attendant is no exception.

What begins as a somewhat slow burning, character driven mystery soon escalates into an international espionage thriller. It happened so quickly I nearly wasn't aware of it.

Granted, Cassie, the flight attendant, is a train wreck waiting to happen. To say she is an alcoholic is like saying the Vatican is a small cathedral. She drinks a lot; she blacks out - not passes out - blacks out with no recollection of events. She has a guy in every port or maybe more than one guy. This time she has awakened next to a murdered man and she cannot recall how it happened. This guy has connections to Russians who now are very interested in Cassie. Cassie, being the bright mess that she is creates one debacle after another. Never have I read a book with such an infuriating main character! However, despite this insanity that is her life, Cassie is not unlikeable. No matter how hard I tried to loathe her, I simply could not.

This is very much Cassie's story despite a secondary voice every other chapter or so. What a story it is, too, and one that is told as only Chris Bohjalian can do - amazingly! This novel crosses genres from mystery to suspense, thriller to espionage...there is something for everyone.

I liked this for the most part but I'm not sure if I just don't understand the ending or I do understand the ending and it requires more suspension of disbelief than I am capable of. And Cassie made so many ridiculously dumb decisions. So stupid that I can't believe a real person, even an alcoholic, would do some of the things she did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had requested this book from Doubleday because I was in the mood for a good mystery/thriller. I was taken in by the blurb. So when I was approved for the book, I was pretty excited. Then I read the book. Talk about a letdown. I came close to DNF’ing several times because the story couldn’t keep my attention. But when I start a book, I read it through to the end, no matter how bad it was.

The Flight Attendant started off with Cassie, waking up in a strange hotel room in Dubai with a hangover. That hangover turns to horror when she realizes that she is in bed with a corpse. The man she had slept with the night before had been killed, his throat slashed and he bled out all over the bed. Cassie panics and leaves. Her leaving starts an avalanche of lies that catch up with her.

I was so annoyed with Cassie during the book. It seemed like her mentality was that of a horny college student who can’t hold their alcohol. Her exploits before Dubai and mostly afterward always included alcohol. There was a point where I sighed and said to myself “Why doesn’t anyone say something to her or suggest she goes to rehab to dry out?” I mean, even her own sister didn’t trust her alone with her niece and nephew because of the drinking.

She also didn’t listen to anyone. She had a lawyer that was supplied by the flight attendant union. That lawyer told her to plead the 5th. But did she listen? For a little while. Then she told some of the truth and more lies. I was yelling at the book in my head and said “Lady, are you effing kidding me? Shut up!! Listen to your lawyer!!” I almost put the book down after that. Like I said, she annoyed the ever-living out of me.

I did like the parallel storyline of the assassin. I thought it was very interesting how she came to be one. I also thought her not killing Cassie when she had the chance was very telling. I did think that she was going to let Cassie go.

The end of the book was a big mind screw. Everything was turned upside down and that is what saved this book from getting a 1-star rating. I was not expecting the twists that appeared out of nowhere. So wasn’t expecting any of that and I loved it!! I thought the epilogue was a little much but I was happy for Cassie. I guess.

The Flight Attendant was a very slow-moving book up until Cassie goes to Italy for the 2nd time. Then it picks up the pace. I couldn’t get into this book. Besides it being slow, the characters came across as flat. I couldn’t connect with any of them. The ending was fantastic and it saved the book for me. The twists that the author did shock me and they made the book.

Will I reread: No (but I will read other books from the author)

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex, violence, language

I would like to thank Chris Bohjalian, Doubleday Books, Doubleday and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Flight Attendant.

All opinions stated in this review of The Flight Attendant are mine

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

There are parts about this book that I absolutely loved, and there are parts that totally ruined the experience for me.

What I loved: Cassie is a mess of a character. She drinks too much, sleeps around, regularly blacks out, and consistently makes terrible, harmful choices throughout the novel. This is who she is, and there's something about a character who is so absolutely, horribly themselves that is appealing. I also loved Ani, the lawyer that Cassie hires after realizing that she has put herself into quite a dangerous position. Ani is the only character in the book who comes right out and tells Cassie how it is and how her behavior is perceived.

What I didn't love: The book starts out as an assassination of a hedge fund manager who is skimming money from Russians who have invested in his fund. By the end, it was like the author decided at the last minute to make it into something else. There was this whole subplot of subterfuge that was thrown in at the last 30% that felt to me like it didn't make sense, including the realization that another character was involved in the Russian conspiracy. The book had such potential, but then I felt like the plot was totally taken in a different direction for no reason, which ruined it a bit for me.

Overall, I think this author did a fantastic job of writing characters whose lives I wanted to devour. But the plot fell flat for me by the end.

The beauty of this story is that we have a character that I did not really like on several accounts. However the author weaves a story that we cannot put down. You've got to know how this is going to turn out and I felt that Cassandra got off lightly despite all her un-likeable ways!

Cassandra worked for an airline, was a binge drinker, picked up men both from the flights and random men from hotel bars. She "blacked" out many times whilst on these binge spells but does not seem to have learnt the danger she was in till she one day gets up in Dubai with a dead man beside her. She has no clue whether she murdered him herself but then rationalizes that she wouldn't have! and then begins the cover up and the story behind the murder.

Though the plot was convoluted and crossed several countries and nationalities, the main event was Cassandra and boy was she a character.

As usual the author keeps you on edge throughout. All his books are different and do not expect the usual.

Goodreads review posted on 13/11/2017. Amazon does not permit reviews as yet. Review on my blog on 9/12/2017. Also linked to my FB page.

Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Flight Attendant's title gives away some of the premise: Cassandra is a flight attendant based out of New York City. She's senior enough to be working in the first-class cabin on some of the glamorous international routes. It's on one of these trips, to Dubai, that she spends a night with a passenger - only he doesn't survive the night.

As authorities seek to piece together why a young American businessman was murdered in a Dubai hotel, Cassandra is trying to figure out what role she played in the matter. At dinner and in her date's hotel room, Cassandra drank to excess, as is her habit. Now she finds that she can't trust her own memory when it comes to the events of that night.

Overwhelmed by the events that took place when she was in Dubai, Cassandra continues to get drunk and make impulsive choices, risking her job, her relationships with others, and even her freedom, as the investigation progresses.

Unlike the most recent book by Chris Bohjalian that I read (The Guest Room), The Flight Attendant sticks to Cassandra's perspective throughout. This makes it as much of a psychological thriller as anything, but I also found it frustrating. Cassandra is perpetually making terrible decisions against the advice of nearly everyone in her life, and they don't always seem to follow logically, even taking into consideration her addiction issues.

Nonetheless, the book was an enjoyable, easy read. Bohjalian's prose isn't showy, but it also isn't actively bad, as is the case with too many thrillers. There were a couple of fun, surprising twists at the very end that kept me on my toes.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Let me start by saying that I am a big Chris Bohjalian fan. I am in awe of the way he conducts his extensive research and incorporates it into his stories. His knowledge of the subject matter makes the stories believable and the characters real. I can't think of another author who so deftly pivots from family drama to historical fiction to thriller and makes them all work.

Having said that, this was not my favorite of his novels. I still have a soft spot for his early books, Midvives, Transister Radio, etc. This one was an easy read, but I felt myself not as invested in the story and the characters as I have been with previous books. Cassie was annoying and I felt myself wanting to slap her to her senses. The spy plot line was convoluted and not as interesting to me, but I will say I don't tend to like spy stories.

This book had some good moments. I'm still on the Bohjalian bandwagon, hoping the next one resonates with me a bit more.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2177850960?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The premise is really catching right from the start - Cassie Bowden, an alcoholic flight attendant with baggage in her past, hooks up with a guy from her flight only to wake up next to him the next morning only to find that he has been brutally murdered. But she drank so much the previous night that she blacked out and can't remember a thing.

Did she do it? Did she witness it? She has no idea, and she panics.

Aside from the main character being ridiculously annoying in her life choices (I mean, come on, girl...make some grown up decisions now and then!), I found the book to be well written and I would recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading most of this book - the flight attendant perspective was unique and interesting, but I did not enjoy the end - too much happened too quickly, and it was difficult to follow and believe. I prefer books with twists more evenly spread throughout the story.

Jumping on the bandwagon of no one is quite who they seem, this is a light read that trudges along and then races to a conclusion. Not particularly memorable, but sure to find an audience.

Hot mess flight attendant Cassie spends a drunken night with a passenger in his hotel in Dubai and wakes up next to a dead body. She has no memory of most of the night and no desire to end up in a prison in the Middle East so she flees to the security of her life. But the night and her lack of memory haunts her and the FBI are asking tough questions. A crazy ride as Cassie tries to figure out what really happened.

Cassie is a party girl with a drinking problem who thinks nothing of sleeping with strange men on a one chance encounter. While her carelessness could have gotten her into trouble, many times, this time, she's reaping the repercussions of her transgressions. Did she actually do what she's accused of doing? What's sad is that she's filled with so much self-loathing and self-doubt that she can't be sure she didn't do it because she blacks out when she binge drinks. In short, this story was full of espionage, intrigue and thrill.

This is my first Chris Bohjalian novel and it left me wanting - wanting to read more of his novels.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars
Cassie Bowden is a flight attendant who's also a heavy drinker, sometimes resulting in total blackouts. After flirting with a passenger on a flight to Dubai and spending the night with him, she wakes up in his bed to find herself covered in blood and him dead, with his neck severed. Her life spirals out of control from there as she lies to everyone about the events. She can't remember what happened and doesn't think she killed him, but she's not sure. While trying to figure out what happened, she often puts herself in situations that my book club refers to as TSTL (too stupid to live) moments. This was a total page-turner by a master storyteller.

Cassie is a flight attendant. She’s also a binge drinker who picks up men when she flies to foreign countries, and mostly a liar. But she’s not a bad person, just a messed up one. She goes back to a Dubai hotel with the wrong man one night, and in an instant her life spirals out of control.

The characters in the book were completely believable and it was a great story. Cassie, while flawed and self-destructive, was still likable and made you sympathize with her and care what happened to her.

An excellent book. Highly recommended.

ohjalian has clearly done his research on flight attendants. This element adds to the glamour and intrigue of this thriller about a flight attendant who wakes up to find her lover of the night before dead with a slashed throat. Caddie blacked out and can't remember what happened as she is an alcoholic. An unreliable yet interesting whirlwind of an unraveling of lies follows. The story is strong up until the end when things get a bit rushed and convoluted. The pace prior to the end is pretty steady. Overall, a good read.


Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley