Missing In Flight by Audrey J. Cole is a propulsive read that you will stuggle to put down once started. The narrative grabs hold immediately and does not let go for the duration of a nerve-shredding ride.

Makayla Rossi is returning to New York with her infant son, Liam, following a visit with her father in Anchorage. An urgent need for the lavatory forces her to make a quick decision. Surely Liam will be fine if she leaves him for just a few moments, and the girl across the aisle did agree to keep an eye on him. She will only be away for a minute, after all. But upon returning to her seat, Makayla is horrified to find Liam missing, and the race is on to find her precious son before it is too late.

I love Ms Cole's writing, and always find myself completely immersed in well-crafted, often diabolical, plotlines. In this latest, the author clearly asserts her knowledge of the intricacies of aviation, and the novel is all the better for it. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC.

Missing in Flight by new to me author A.J. Cole, published by Thomas & Mercer, is a fst paced, complex story that had me in knots.
The heroine is on a plane, leaves her baby boy alone while going to the restroom. So what could go wrong?? Every little thing of course.
I read the blurb, the raving reviews of preview books and was intrigued. Then I started reading and was disappointed. I mean who in green earth's name leaves his baby alone and goes strolling across the plane, taking time to remove eyeliner and macara from her faces and then goes strolling back to her seat?? No, no, no way. I just can't connect with such hanebüchen logic.

The story follows Makayla , a mother who, when she attends the lavatories on a plane, discovers her baby (Liam) - who was sleeping soundly and supposedly watched over by a nearby passenger - is missing.

The story is multi-perspective which I enjoyed and believed the author did effectively, it was definitely fast paced and a quick read (I finished it in a few hours!)

The ending was much more bizarre than I anticipated but I did enjoy the book overall - definite need to suspend disbelief at certain parts of the novel if you have any knowledge of aviation, but otherwise an easy and engaging read

When a mother and her infant son board a plane for a cross-country flight from Alaska to New York, everything seems routine. When Makayla, the mother, needs to go to the bathroom, she asks a nearby passenger if she'll watch the sleeping baby for her. When she returns, she's alarmed to find the baby's carrier is empty. A frantic search for baby Liam results with the panicked mother and flight attendants searching between the seats and even in the overhead bins for the missing baby. When he's not found, they get the pilots to radio ahead and the FBI is contacted. They go to speak with the baby's father and discover he is a high-flying finance manager who has recently been profiled on a national magazine about all of the money he invests for clients. Everyone is sure it's a kidnapping for ransom. But just about everyone is hiding something and before the plane lands, there will be plenty of drama.

This story was really full of twists and turns. We don't know who to trust and of course, the puzzle of how a baby can go missing on a flight ramps up the tension. I can see this being an edge-of=your-seat film! While Makala is behind annoying at times, her determination to find her missing son gives the story a human touch.

I really really enjoyed this !!
The mind blowing guessing game with so many
Twist you start to second guess your self.
I whole heartedly felt for Makayla I could feel her pain through her chapters at one point I wanted to call the plane to kick off that’s how connected I felt to the characters like it was so real.
I read this in a day as there was no way I was putting it down!!
Brilliant book you get so many different characters point of view which I loved and it was easy to follow! I find myself wanting to know more about Tina.
I loved the red herrings the twists the uniqueness would definitely want this as a movie!!
an amazing thrilling intense book I completely enjoyed

What an interesting plot for a thriller. I wasn’t sure where this book was going to go considering the details in the description. This book had me biting my nails. i couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Missing In Flight releases January 7, 2025

On a direct flight from Anchorage to New York, Makayla’s three-month-old baby goes missing during the two minutes it takes her to use the lavatory. The obvious thought is that he was kidnapped, but as the crew and passengers tirelessly search the plane with no baby in sight, individuals start questioning whether there was even a baby to begin with.
With a wealthy husband featured in Forbes, and a late mother with a rare amnesia disorder, it’s a race to figure out what truly happened, all while thousands of miles in the air.

This was tense and fast-paced. I loved the use of multi-pov and how we got to see the action first hand both on the plane and from the ground with the FBI intelligence analyst.
There were some things that were far-fetched, like the man in the condo and the saw, but overall, this hit the mark as a pulse-pounding thriller.

I’d recommend this for fans of T.J. Newman.

This book was giving Freida McFadden, and I do not like Freida McFadden. Everything just seemed way too unbelievable and rushed.

On a flight to New York, Makayla asks a passenger to watch her baby while she uses the toilet. When she returns to her seat, he is nowhere to be found. Welcome to the plane ride from hell.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was so invested in the plot that I finished it in one sitting. Although there were parts of it that were far-fetched, I still enjoyed it overall as it was everything you would want in a thriller.