In this novel Williams provides an excellent storyline by which the reader can get a glimpse into the early years of aviation. The characters are so enamored with flying, success, love, truth and themselves that it is a whirlwind read. The relationships that evolve and the plot twists that are revealed make this a suspenseful read. My main criticism was that in listening to the audio book, it was sometimes hard to discern which character was speaking in the early chapters.

Janey Everett is a photojournalist who honed her skills during WWII in Europe. Now she turns her attention to investigating a mystery surrounding missing aviators. Sam Malone was a famous pilot who survived numerous mishaps, including being stranded at sea for many days, clinging to the wing of his downed plane. His last fateful flight was in 1937 when his plane disappeared. It’s now 1947 and Janey has finally located the remains of Malone and his crashed plane in the Badlands of Spain.

After locating the wreck, Janey heads to Hawaii, determined to follow a lead and track down Sam’s former flight partner, Irene Foster. While Sam was flying his last mission for the Spanish Republic in 1937, Irene was on the final leg of a highly publicized airplane race that ended with her sudden disappearance. She was Sam’s protégé but her notoriety had surpassed her mentor’s and her disappearance was even more newsworthy than his. A decade later, Irene is surprised to be found by the young journalist and she’s also skeptical of Janey’s interest in Sam. The story of Sam and Irene’s celebrity status fits with the time that also produced the likes of Lindbergh and Earhart. Aviators were the stars of the day, as famous as our pop stars or athletes. It’s not a coincidence that Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937. Williams used the story of the early aviators as a springboard to create her fictional account of Sam and Irene.

The plot unfolds in a timeline that follows the events of 1947 but interspersed are alternating chapters that are excerpts from a book called Aviatrix, which details the story of Sam and Irene. As the story progresses, there are secrets and surprises that add to the intrigue, and keep a firm hold on readers’ interest.

The characters are skillfully drawn and the relationships that exist between Fannie, Sam, Irene and the remarkable secondary characters, enliven the storyline, adding dimension and depth. It’s Janey who’s probably the most memorable one of all. Her behavior reveals hurts that she endured as she was growing up. Besides the strength of the characters, another reason this book works so well is the plot complexity. Williams has cleverly woven in enough revelations to make the book compelling. It’s a captivating read that will add to the reputation of Williams as a writer of great historical fiction.

I truly enjoyed this book. I was honestly surprised by the twists and turns. I enjoyed the characters and their developments/.

I absolutely loved this book. Beatriz Williams did it again. She delivered a very well deserved historical novel that holds the attention of the reader from beginning to end with a lot of twists that you don't see coming.

I learned a lot about aviation, the characters are very relatable. The story is fascinating.

Janey Everett, photographer and War correspondent is investigating de disappearing of Sam Mallory a war pilot/aviator who goes missing during the Spanish Civil War. While investigating the story she also uncovers the disappearing of Irene Foster Lindquist, an aviatior pioneer.

The book has two timeliness, Janey's story in 1947 and Irene's laye 1920s to 1937.

I enjoyed very much reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves to read about strong women.

Another great novel from Beatriz Williams, on par with her other historical fiction novels.

Loosely based on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, Irene Foster is a pioneering female pilot, who disappears in an around the world race in 1937. After the war, reporter Janey Everett has tracked down another woman named Irene who she believes is the famous aviatrix. The story follows multiple timelines, 1928, 37,44,47, detailing Irene's life and story, and the disappearance/death of her flying partner Sam Mallory.

Williams, as usual, does a remarkable job on her story. Her Last Flight is a page turner, and her research into the "Golden Age of Aviation" is impressive. While not meant to be a biography or a what if xyz happened to Earhart, you can't help but feel the vibe of the story. Was there a different ending for Amelia? Could there have been? Irene's story makes the reader wonder more.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Her Last Flight. I was not able to connect with the characters so I did not finish the book and won't be leaving a full review.

I enjoyed reading this book! It is definitely a topic I had never thought of reading about, and was pleasantly surprised with this book and its characters. The ending through me for a curve, but it was perfect!

Good historical fiction from a great writer. The story gives you a glimpse into early flight and from the perspective of a woman. The book has dual timelines to give a deeper story.

This is a fantastic novel, written by Beatriz Williams. She is the author of A Certain Age and The Golden Hour, both excellent novels, that I have read and there are others that I look forward to reading.

This novel takes off with a whoosh of wind into the sky and brings you in for a perfect landing . Inspired, I would say, by the continued mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, this novel imagines what could have happened. It is a love story, an adventure and a look into the social mores of a time in US history. Womens' rights, marriage and relationships, the choices people make and how they affect others.. all these themes are pulled together in this plot by Janey Everett, a photo journalist works to uncover the hidden truth of forgotten aviation pioneer, Sam Mallory and Irene Lindquist, the owner of a small island -hopping airline. A heart felt story that makes you feel attached to the characters and cheer for their successes and worry about their failures.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Collins, for the free ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. This is an excellent book. The characters are fully fleshed out and the plot moves forward pulling you with it. I couldn’t put it down! The switching between Janey’s viewpoint and Irene’s viewpoint as told by exerpts from Janey’s book is inventive and works very well. I liked seeing the relationship between Janey and Irene unfold. Not to mention Sam and Irene! I’ll leave the plot elements to the Goodreads summary description. I’m here to recommend you read this book. You will enjoy it! I did. I reviewed this on Goodreads and Amazon, but was unable to copy the links onto here.

I really enjoyed this novel. In her note, the author states this book is not intended to be a thinly-veiled fictional biography of Amelia Earhart. When I first saw the title, I assumed that's what it was going to be. I was pleasantly surprised to find something completely different. The author researched the history of Aviation and wove a story around some historical events.
The main characters are a female Aviator and a reporter. Irene, the female pilot, disappeared and the reporter believed she had not perished and set out to find her.
The novel tells the story of Irene and her flying partner (and more), Sam. What motivated Irene to want to disappear and how did she accomplish it? What happened to the supporting characters in their lives is also addressed.
The characters and their stories are all well developed and enjoyable to read about. There are also a few interesting plot twists.
On the day Sam and Irene met, they found a kitten on the beach. The cat named, Sandy, what is a constant in their lives. I found it interesting that Irene called the cat "she" and the reporter referred to the cat as "it". The author did this intentionally to stress the importance of the cat in Irene's life. Unfortunately, when a 20 year old cat appears in a story, you pretty much can predict the outcome.
This is a well-written novel that I would recommend to fans of historical fiction and women's fiction. I would read this author again.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Beatriz Williams never disappoints. I enjoy good historical fiction so I was anxious to read this one. The story is about a war correspondent named Janie Everett who is investigating the disappearance of a war pilot, Sam Mallory. Her research leads her to Kauai and to a woman, Irene Foster. The story is captivating and fast-paced with a few twists thrown in.

The characters seemed like real people which is always the mark of a well-written book.

I highly recommend Her Last Flight.

Beatriz Williams wrote her best with Her Last Flight. The characters were beautifully written and the story came together so well.

i really enjoyed reading this book, you could tell the historical ques in the book and I really liked the characters and the way they were written.

With the number of Beatriz Williams' books available, I'm not sure how this was the first time I read her but I'm so glad I finally did! This represented so many aspects of historical fiction that I love. It included a strong female character, a history of a topic I knew nothing about (competitive aviation and early fight shows), some inclusion of what was happening in the rest of the world at the time (the Spanish Civil War) and a focus on family relationships. Having finished it over the summer, it is one that still comes to mind so it has the power to resonate not just in the moment but in the memory. I look forward to reading more of her historical fiction. Thank you, #netgalley for the ARC of this wonderful book!

Another fantastic historical fiction work from Beatriz Williams. She has crafted a wonderful tale of Irene Foster and Sam Mallory and their lives together. A dual timeline story that weaves them together in the end with some surprise twists and turns.

Irene is just a kid when she meets Sam Mallory and falls in love with flying. He pairs with her on a transcontinental flight to Australia and the rest is history. They end up stranded together for 3 weeks while the Navy searches for them to get them back on their way to Australia.

Janey is a journalist that wants to write a book about Sam Mallory's life. She has a hard time getting all the facts until she goes to Hawaii.

Rich characters and a wonderfully woven plot for this book. Does not disappoint!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Her Last Flight is a fictional account of a character loosely based on Amelia Earhart. For anyone who has an interest in the aviation race and what may or may not have happened to Ms. Earhart, this is a must read. Williams's story allows your imagination to explore the effect of the dangerous race for the skies on the pilots and their loved ones.

I loved the dual timelines in the book! I have enjoyed that with a couple of Beatriz Williams books, so maybe its something she always does, but I like it! I liked the characters and got an Amelia Earhart vibe, I'm not sure if that was who the character was based on or not. The book was a little wordy for me, which I have noticed with some of her previous books as well, but I forced my way through because I enjoyed the storyline.

Beatriz Williams always writes a good book. But tying this one in to an early flying maven was too good to resist.

Irene Foster. The name was synonymous with many things, glamour, aviatrix, role model. She's a female pioneer, piloting (literally) the way for the females who come after her. And then, she's gone. During an around-the-world race, Irene's plane goes missing.

In an alternating timeline we meet Janey Everett a photojournalist on a mission. She's writing THE book on Irene Foster's teacher, Sam Mallory, a daring and accomplished pilot the world seems to have forgotten. As she tracks down a silver a lead, she hits pay-dirt and finds herself looking up an Irene Lindquist in Hanelei, Hawaii.

But sometimes when people are "lost" it's intentional. It's that they don't want to be found. Irene Foster had been viewed under a magnifying glass of celebrity. The world was fascinated with this woman aviatrix. Her accomplishments, her speeches, her looks. And she's more than happy to stay hidden.

Janey won't settle for that though because Irene is the person who knew Sam Mallory best and Janey is determined to hear her account of what happened to him.

As these two story lines unravel, we uncover the whole truth.

What I found to be quite clever about this novel's set up is that though there are alternating narratives, they're both really from Janey. First, we hear from Janey herself as she unravels the mystery of Sam Mallory and Irene Foster (now Lindquist).

The two women compliment and contrast each other nicely. Irene seems to be the picture of composure. A woman who isn't easily rattled and has learned to hide her emotions from her face. A result of years in the spotlight where a picture can capture feelings you aren't eager to share. After years hiding in plain sight, Irene has hardened, making her harder to figure out. Janey seems to be out to prove something. It's clear she tries to prove she doesn't need anyone, particularly a man, to have fulfillment. Oddly these two stubborn women have a grudging respect for each other and you can see a friendship forming.

Williams is careful to explain that this novel isn't a take on Amelia Earhart. There surely is some inspiration from the flying phenomenon, like her famous hair. But, this is a book that came to fruition after wondering about the pilots of early aviation. The risks they took, the thrills they sought, and the disasters they often met.