Audrey J. Cole always writes the most ridiculously implausible stories. They are the ultimate fictional popcorn thrillers. Her books remind me of work by T.J. Newman. If you're a fan on one you'll probably like the other.

This started off intense, became a little slow and repetitive in the middle and ended with bang - literally. The story centred round three main female characters, with the story bouncing back and forth between them. The mother of the missing baby, the pilot and a FBI analyst investigating the case from the ground.

New mother Makayla acted like any mother would if her baby went missing. I find it hard to believe people wouldn't care or help her find the child in an enclosed space. I felt sorry for her the whole time and was rooting for her vindication. Her husband was also a key player and possible suspect, even though he wasn't on the plane. The story was giving me 'Flightplan' vibes when they started to question whether the baby was even on board. Personal pet peeve; I hate an amnesia storyline. It seems like lazy writing but this time it felt right for the story.

The pilots POV was less interesting and unnecessary to the story. If her chapters were cut out completely the story would have ended the same.

I loved the FBI analyst and the whole investigation on the ground. Those chapters were the most plausible parts.

Overall, it was a pulse pounding thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea how it was going to end and look forward to more work from this author.

Makayla asks a a fellow passenger to watch her baby while she uses the bathroom and then the baby is gone on her return.... everyone claims they never saw her with a baby. Get ready for a bumpy ride. This is told through lots of different perspectives which is my favorite. While this book was more of a slow burn it was still enjoyable and there was lots of action towards the end. I give it a 3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: child abduction, murder, cheating, accidental death, death of a parent

After getting up to use the restroom on her flight, Makayla returns to find her 3-month-old Liam is missing. Despite thoroughly searching the plane, Liam is nowhere to be found. As tensions increase and passengers prove more and more unreliable, Makayla must do everything in her power to find Liam before it’s too late.

This book seemed like the perfect thriller for me. The closed system of an airplane abduction and the question of Makayla’s sanity should have been the perfect storm for me to love Missing in Flight. However, Makayla’s character was so incredibly unlikable that I found it difficult to sympathize with her. While her actions are completely understandable when you consider the fact that she is missing her child, I still found a lot of them incredibly annoying and self-sabotaging. That sounds horrible, but I did promise an honest review. Additionally, as other reviews have stated, the first 60% of the books provided endless recounts of information you are able to get from the synopsis and provided very little plot. Lastly, without spoiling anything, the twists became a bit unbelievable around the 75% mark. I can appreciate a little bit of absurdity in a thriller when it’s done well, but it seemed very sudden and rushed. Regardless (and that word holds a lot of weight here), I still had a fun time reading this and was able to fly through it (get it?) in less than 24 hours. 2/5 stars.

Wow. What a rush. This book pulled me in from the first chapter and never let go. I finished it in a day.

Makayla is on a flight to NY from Alaska where she was visiting her father with her infant son, Liam. Shortly into the flight she needs to use the bathroom and leaves a sleeping Liam in his bassinet. When she returns, Liam is gone. Nobody on the flight claims to have seen anything suspicious. In fact, nobody can remember seeing Liam at all. A search of the plane turns up nothing and people start to suspect Makayla is crazy, maybe losing her mind, and maybe Liam was never even on the flight. The FBI are on the ground investigating what they can while the plane is still flying but there is only so much they can do.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it was intense. I will definitely heck her out again! I love her writing style. The details are very well written and researched. Great character development and you can’t help but feel for Makayla. The story flowed with perfect intensity.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Thomas and Mercer Publishing for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. Publication date Jan 7, 2025. 5⭐️

Missing in Flight
By: Audrey J. Cole
Pub date: January 5, 2025
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
5🛩️🛩️🛩️🛩️🛩️

Cole takes me on a journey which evokes the MAMA BEAR in me. Mothers will go to any lengths to protect their children.
🛩️
This novel is atmospheric, scary, alarming, fast-paced and kept my guard up waiting for a peaceful outcome.
🛩️
Makayla is in a plane with her baby, Liam who disappears while she goes to the bathroom. Her child has to be on the flight right? Everyone on the plane does not believe her child was on board. She is panicking and questioning her own sanity.
🛩️
Her husband Jack thinks their child has been kidnapped. Jack is not convinced Liam made the flight. He has been carrying work secrets that put him and his family in jeopardy.
🛩️
The FBI gets involved and agents Tina and Pratt are investigating Jack after Liam goes missing and other situations warrant more investigation.
🛩️
There are a few passengers who are suspicious and the crew try to help as much as they can, but Makayla is outraged as she should be that her baby cannot be found.
🛩️
Thank you Thomas & Mercer for this gifted eARC. I highly recommend this spine-chilling novel.

#missinginflight, #audreyjcole, #thomasandmercer, #bookreview, #stamperlady50, #booksconnectus

This was an excellent read, I always love a good thriller and the premise of this instantly excited me. This book was fast paced and left me wondering which is always a good thing and I really thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you are taking your baby on a flight soon, do not and I repeat do not read Missing In Flight first. You will regret it. But if not, read this book. You will not regret it.

Wow! This was truly keeping me on the edge of my seat. So much "who done it" aspects to it. I couldn't tell if she's crazy or really had her baby on the flight. Loved every moment of it as it truly kept you guessing! Some of the twists were intriguing, some I expected. Thoroughly enjoyed this one and read it in one sitting!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

My goodness, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Missing in Flight is a fast paced thriller that will keep you invested the whole way through. I typically love multiple POVs, and this book was no exception, however I’m not sure Anna’s background was necessary nor did it really seem to provide the red herring I think it was intending.
Audrey did a great job at making the different characters have unique voices, it was always easy to tell who was speaking and they truly felt like fleshed out characters.
I was entirely invested in this story, I didn’t want to put it down and needed to know what happened next! The suspicions on our main character‘s mental state, Makayla’s desperation and terror, the twist of who was behind it all - everything was well written and exciting. The saw blade was a little hard for me to believe, but otherwise I found all the logic and logistics very believable.
I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat! I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

This was a fun read and I enjoyed the quick and steady pace! The main character Makayla was well written even though I couldn’t stand some of her actions, but I am sure if I were in that situation I would probably react in a similar fashion. I did hate that there was no repercussions for any of the husband’s actions both personal and career, he probably should’ve gotten some prison time and some marriage counseling if we’re honest. Overall it was an interesting plot and I was hooked the whole time!

I was in the mood for a fun, fast-paced popcorn thriller and this hit the spot. I would recommend it to anyone looking to be entertained by a thriller for a few hours. I found some things about the plot a little questionable, but if you can suspend your disbelief and roll with it, you'll have fun!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

USA Today bestselling author Audrey J. Cole delivers another harrowing thriller that will keep you reading (and on the edge of your seat). In “Missing In Flight,” Makayla Rossi faces the unthinkable when her infant son vanishes aboard a plane to New York.

Rushing back to her seat after a brief restroom break, Makayla is relieved to find everything quiet. But when she checks on her sleeping baby, her relief rapidly turns to bone-chilling fear when she sees that the bassinet is empty, and her son Liam is gone.

The flight from Anchorage to New York was long, and with every flight attendant busy, Makayla had asked a seat neighbor to watch her son. Yet at thirty thousand feet, he vanished. Passengers and crew search the plane, however no one recalls seeing her with a baby. Suspicions mount about Makayla’s mental state, and she’s left to fend for herself.

Cole masterfully builds tension as Makayla races against time to find her son. The confined space of the airplane intensifies the suspense in this "locked room" (er um, plane) mystery.

Makayla’s desperation and vulnerability are palpable, and readers will empathize with her struggle.

Just when you think you’ve got the mystery solved, think again - Cole is an expert at creating unexpected twists which will keep you guessing.

“Missing In Flight” is a heart-pounding, captivating thriller that taps into every parent’s (or Aunt's or Uncle's) worst nightmare.

Audrey J. Cole’s writing keeps you engaged, and the eerie setting of an airplane amplifies the stakes. If you’re ready for a gripping read, buckle up for a turbulent ride.

A mother, Makayla, and her infant son, Liam, are on an airplane, flying back home to New York. At thirty thousand feet in the air, the unthinkable happens. All it takes is five minutes, and suddenly, Liam is missing. Told between the alternating perspectives of Makayla, her husband Jack, the Co-Pilot of the plane, and a police detective on the ground, we follow Makayla and her desperate search to find her missing son in the most unlikely place someone can disappear. Between the sketchy passengers on board the plane who conveniently say they never saw Liam, and the flight attendants and FBI agents who question whether Makayla even brought a baby on board in the first place, she starts to wonder whether this was all an orchestrated kidnapping, or if she’s going crazy herself.

This was an amazing book. I finished it in less than a day. From the very first page, I was captivated by the story and desperate to find out what was going to happen next. The writing was fantastic, and due to the author’s connections with a pilot father, the writing truly made me feel like I was on board the plane myself. I really connected with Makayla, and went through the same emotions she did throughout the book.

There are a few reasons I’m giving it four stars instead of five. One is because some of the ending felt a bit unrealistic and over the top, which took away from the main storyline for me. And there weren’t really any major plot twists, other than a slight reveal which I ended up guessing beforehand. And because 95% of the story takes place in a single setting (on the plane), some of the scenes and dialogue was starting to feel a bit repetitive. But don’t get me wrong, this book was so good and is definitely worth reading.

Missing In Flight is an action packed novel about a baby missing on an airplane and the conspiracies that arise thereafter. I loved the extreme scenarios and narrative twists in the novel. The pacing was fast from the beginning and kept my heart racing throughout, though there were a few times that dialogue/theories/motives seemed to be unnecessarily repeated from one chapter to another and that slowed me down a bit.

Makayla is the mother of the missing child, who I found to be an extremely unlikable character as she tears the plane apart and starts chaos left and right in the name of finding Liam. I was almost expecting it to be purposeful, as in a storyline where the parents stagged their own babies' kidnapping, only then would her outrageous behavior make sense to me. The cabin crew and in air passengers were way to complicit in Makayla's bullshit and I really think she should have been restrained after her second refusal to remain seated and leave other passengers' items alone. All injuries on board are directly attributed to Makayla's stubborn actions and I really think she should have served a sentence for them. Her husband, Jack, is also a shady character that gets off scotch free for his sins when he really should have been looking at at least a little bit of prison time. But apparently all is forgiven when your baby gets kidnapped.

Another qualm I had with the story is that almost every women in the novel was a bad guy. I don't know why the co-pilot of the airplane needed to have an adultery storyline, or why Jack's childhood best friend was a black-mailing home-wrecker, or why the kidnapping mastermind had to be the woman of the criminal couple. This is paralleled with a male pilot who loves his family and saves the day with his solo landing skills and an FBI agent who comes running (and shooting) in just the right second. I think at the very least, some of the gender's should have been flipped to keep the book from sounding too anti-feminist.

Missing in Flight is Audrey J. Cole’s latest suspense novel. It is a good and exciting read but it requires a good deal of suspension of disbelief.

Makayla Rossi and her infant son Liam are on a non-stop flight back to New York from her father’s home in Anchorage. It is a long flight and while Liam is asleep, Makayla runs to the restroom and when she returns, Liam’s bassinet is empty. Frantically, she asks other passengers if anyone knows who took her son.

There a lot of red herrings that Ms. Cole sprinkles in (maybe a bit too many) and for the most part, they are effective. Global Transient Amnesia figures into the story and that part is fascinating.

Missing in Flight gets a solid four out of five stars from me. I enjoyed this and her previous books I have had the pleasure of reading. Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book early.

Pub Date Jan 07 2025

Traditional format 📕 (digital). A child goes missing on a plane ride from Alaska. Can they find him?

What I liked
✈️ Action packed from beginning to end
✈️ lots of plot twists and diversions to keep you guessing
✈️ a quick engaging read

What I didn’t like
✈️ many elements of the plot we so unbelievably far fetched I rolled my eyes at several points
✈️ almost too much action on the plane that took away a little from the main plot. I mean really did we need a violent storm to land in???
✈️ there was a lot of repetition. For examples how many times do we need to check the dog crate or mention it

Despite the ridiculously over the top far fetchedness of some of the plot it was a quick and enjoyable action packed read. I mean don’t we want a book that keeps us on the edge of our seat? For this reason I am giving this one a 4/5 and recommend it for anyone who loves a good missing child story and or a thriller set on a plane.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Missing in Flight follows Makayla, who is flying home to New York when her baby goes missing mid-flight. Searching the plane but no sign of him and a family history of amnesia, the crew begin to question if the baby was ever on board....

I was worried this would be too similar to the film "Flight Plan" and while the concept is the same - child goes missing mid-flight, people questioning the mother, the execution is quite different. Cleverly done with alternating POV's, an extremely wealthy husband who has a secret or two, a First Officer in the cockpit of the plane, Makayla and a detective on the ground. Being set in a metal tube in the sky could mean a very basic setting but adding those extra POV's added interest an excitement. The backstory of Makayla's life, including her famous mother add intrigue and character development.

I thought the characters were all well thought out, with their own struggles but common desire to protect those close to them.

It was fast paced, a few twists, and while there was one aspect of the ending that I thought was a bit far-fetched but didn't take away from the overall story and I did think it was well wrapped up. A really enjoyable thriller - 4 stars.

This book had a decent plot and the characters were okay but some parts were so far fetched it was almost laughable. I know it's fiction but the story just didn't flow in a way that made sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of Missing In Flight.

I have to admit, this was an action packed ride without a dull moment in the entire story. That being said, the characters felt shallow, the writing repetitive (even in such a short book) and the plot was almost laughably unrealistic. It definitely ended up being too much of a "popcorn thriller" for me, but this may be a good fit for another reader who is willing to suspend all disbelief for a quick and exciting read.

2.5 stars rounded up.

It seems impossible. On a flight from Alaska to New York, Makayla leaves her sleeping son Liam in his plane carrier to make a quick trip to the bathroom. When she returns, he is gone. Who would kidnap a baby on a cross country flight? Where would they put him? Good question. The harried airplane personnel search the overhead bins, the passengers’ carry ons, the galley, the undersea areas - everywhere. No baby is found. Meanwhile, Makayla becomes hysterical, the crew is frustrated, some passengers are angry and the weather gets worse.

On the ground, the FBI is involved and plans to meet the plane as soon as it lands. An interview with Makayla’s husband Jack, a senior manager at a securities company, leads to other theories about Liam’s disappearance. The agents work at solving this complicated case, Makayla fights to continue searching for her son and the pilots struggle to control the plane and land during a violent storm.

Missing in Flight is a “locked room” mystery if the room were an airplane moving at high speed 30,000’ in the air. Audrey J. Cole describes her characters so well, the multilayered plot moves quickly and the conclusion is shocking and unexpected. This is definitely a 5 star read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Audrey J. Cole for this ARC.