A three month old baby goes missing on a flight from Anchorage to NYC. They search the airplane but nothing. The flight crew starts to question the Makayla (the mother) when they learn that her mother died of a rare brain disease that causes sudden short term memory loss and nobody can account for seeing the infant, just the bundle that was wrapped around her upper body.

After the captain alerts the authorities of the missing kid and Makayla texts her husband Jack, the FBI starts to investigates and they learn about some issues that Jack was having at work and might be directly related to the kid’s disappearance.

Most of the story takes place on the airplane and is told from different points of view. One of them being the pilot which I feel prolonged things and had nothing to do with the actual story. There were also a lot of aviation terms used which I feel didn’t add any value to the story.

I would not consider this a thriller by any means. It starts off slow and it doesn’t pick up until 40-45% of the way in but I’m glad I pushed through because it had a good ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow, Missing in Flight really took me by surprise! I started it thinking, “Not another missing child story,” but I was hooked right away.

The story follows Makayla Rossi, a mom whose baby, Liam, goes missing on a flight to New York. As she desperately searches for her son and deals with the suspicion of those around her, Cole delivers a thrilling tale about a mother’s love and the quest for answers.

✅ Pros:

○ A gripping premise that hooks you from the start.
○ Makayla is a relatable and strong protagonist; you’ll be rooting for her.
○ Plenty of unexpected twists that keep you guessing.
○ Emotional depth as it explores themes of isolation and belief.
○ The writing has a cinematic quality, perfect for adaptation.

❌ Cons:

○ The plot was far-fetched.
○ This is not about character development - at all.
○ Pacing was inconsistent.
○ The resolution left some questions unanswered.

TLDR:
Read it. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down.

<i> Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the advanced reading copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. </i>

The plot of "Missing in Flight" sounded a lot like the movie "FlightPlan" (2005) with Jodie Foster, and I found the premise intriguing and terrifying. Unfortunately, the book moved slowly, and seemed repetitive. The action doesn't start until more than halfway through the story, but if you have the patience and are an Audrey J. Cole flan, you may like it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked this book. I've been going thru a funk lately where I'm having a hard time really getting into a book. This book fixed that.

Makayla and her son are flying back to NYC from Anchorage when her son goes missing on the plane. How can that even happen?
Jack is Makayla's husband who is having issues at work. Serious issues.
Anna is the co-pilot with secrets of her own.
Tina is the single mom FBI analyst who is called onto the case.

Each chapter is told from one of their perspectives and it works.

Makayla had a famous mother who suffered from a rare and serious form of amnesia. Is that happening to Makayla? How can a baby disappear on a plane or did the baby even get on board.

All the threads of these characters are drawn together nicely, the book has a lot of action and it was a good read.

There’s something about books and movies that take place on airplanes that I love and this book did not disappoint! There were a few points in the book that had me stretching my head but overall it was a very enjoyable read. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a fast quick read and as usual this author does not disappoint. Highly recommend this book.

Audrey J. Cole, you clever, clever woman! This story has a plot twist that I guarantee you will not be see coming! I sat with my mout open afterwards, and I am already planning on re-reading this story just so I can catch all the little clues she leaves for the reader.

It takes a bit to get into, because you wonder if Mikayla really did bring her baby, Liam, onto the plane? Did the co-pilot have something to do with it, or is she hiding something else? Did her husband, Jack’s appearance on Forbes magazine make their baby a target? Did her husband’s boss’s fraud have anything to do with her baby’s disappearance? What about Jack’s old girlfriend, who is also his boss’s daughter? The FBI is involved. The plane is searched more than once, including people’s carry-on luggage. Mikayla becomes so frantic that she has to be restrained. Then it becomes an adrenaline-rush to keep reading until you find the answers to all these questions. Definitely a page-turner!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes, etc: Missing Child, Everyone’s a Suspect, Mental Health In Question
POV: Multiple, 3rd Person
Cliffhanger?: No

The Praise: I really liked this! It was interesting, action-packed, and kept me guessing. I also loved that the relationship issues between Makayla & Jack and Anna & Carter were resolved by the end, it made my little romance reader heart happy.

The Critique: The motive behind the kidnapping was a little flimsy to me.

Final Thoughts: Twisty, frustrating, and unexpectedly sweet. I’ll definitely be recommending this to my friends who are mystery/thriller fans.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Missing In Flight. Wild ride! This is a fast paced novel centered on a woman traveling with her son Liam. Macaulay has been suffering. She lost her mother tragically and her marriage is not stable. Her husband Jack is an investment banker who is detached and does not pay much attention to his family. Macaulay is on a flight from Alaska. She takes a quick bathroom break and when she returns her son is gone.
How can this happen?
This suspenseful and tense novel will have you guessing till the end.
Well written and although I thought I had it figured out the ending was satisfying.
4 stars

This was a fast paced read that gave me TJ Newman vibes. The story had me hooked quickly but by the end when we learn what happened to Liam, I was skeptical. It just all seemed very far fetched. Compared to the build up it also seemed kind of rushed. That’s all ok though, I still really enjoyed the quick read!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat!

It was a guessing game, very intriguing and smart, very entertaining and the twists were sharp.

I love Audrey’s writing style, and she turned out to be one of my auto buy authors for sure.

I really loved the twists and turns that kept me invested since the first chapter. It was also a fast paced thriller where the main character Mikayla is a desperate mom looking for her son, where she shows her vulnerability and determination.

Thank you Audrey J Cole for this heart pounding thriller, I loved it and definitely recommend.

Also thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Day 01/07/2025

≡;- ꒰ 3 stars ꒱

・❥・thank you to netgalley & the author for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review !!


⭑.ᐟ plot : after asking another passenger to keep an eye on her baby, makayla rossi returns to find her son gone without a trace. passengers & crew help her search for liam, but he completely vanished. with time running out and people starting to doubt whether she even brought her son with her onto the plane, makayla has to take the search into her own hands.

⭑.ᐟ characters : there are four different pov’s in this book - makayla, jack (makayla’s husband), anna (co-pilot) and tina (an FBI analyst) and is written in third pov.


𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 personal review : “missing in flight” was my first ever thriller book and i am glad i chose this one as my first. what intrigued me before starting this was the setting, since i’m interested in aviation i was very excited to see how the plot would fall out in the setting of an airplane.
the writing was fairly easy to understand and the story was so captivating that i read this book in one sitting. i did not see the plot-twist coming at all and had so many suspicious which turned out to be wrong.
a thing i find amazing is the chapters of the other characters and their own theories and backstories. the author did a great job writing these characters, not too much boring backstory but still unraveling certain aspects of their secrets throughout the book which kept me on my toes and curious to find out more.
i’m aware it’s a book in a plane setting, but i admit that most of the captain phrases were somewhat confusing and some equipment could be even more confusing to people who don’t have much knowledge about things in an airplane.

makayla especially was a greatly written character, with her starting to sometimes doubt herself after the suspicion of all the crew and passengers, yet she still stood strong to finding her son and standing up for herself.


this is a great book for anyone looking for a quick thriller read with multiple character povs and an intriguing and compelling mystery plot.

Wow!!!!!! This is such a clever storyline. I was absolutely hooked from the start. I was on holiday so I managed to finish it in two days. Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended.

This was such a heart pounding thriller. To start with, the majority of the setting is on a plane, so you have a sense of claustrophobia and that a missing child shouldn't be that hard to find with such limited space.

I loved the multiple POV in the book, however the aviation terminology within the pilots' POV was completely lost on me.

It started as a slow burn, but around 60% of the way through the plot really picked up and left me needing to reach the end.

So although it had a slow start, it definitely gets extra points for the original plot of the missing child storyline.

Definitely one to read!

Missing in Flight by Audrey J. Cole is a twisty suspense novel about a woman faced with the unthinkable when her infant goes missing aboard a plane to New York.

The story is told from multiple points of view, which worked okay for the most part. There were a few parts where I felt I had to suspend my imagination on events that occurred. Overall, there were some good twists and the tension of the story held my interest. The mother's plight to find her missing son was heart-pounding.

A good story from Audrey J. Cole. I would recommend this book.

#MissingInFlight #NetGalley @AmazonPub

Makayla is on flight with her infant baby, Liam. When she comes back to her seat from the bathroom, his bassinet is empty. After searching the plan, crew is shocked to find the baby missing.

I sped through this one in an afternoon as it’s very fast paced and entertaining. You can tell that alone from the plot. There’s mystery to keep you going and halfway through it turns into constant action. You will have to suspend belief a lot, especially when it’s all said and done but no one can say it’s not entertaining.

Missing in Flight comes out 1/7/25.

This book was intense and a great thriller that kept you turning the pages. The fact that a baby goes missing in the flight and can’t be found leads to all sorts of possibilities and not what I was thinking at all.
There was a lot drama throughout that kept the story interesting especially at it related to the 2 main characters of Jack and Makayla. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Missing in Flight by Audrey J. Cole
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 Stars
I was hooked on this story from the first chapter and was sat wondering what was going to happen next. I read this in 24 hours.

Mum, Makayla is flying from Anchorage to in New York alone with her baby Liam. The flight is going well until she reluctantly leaves Liam in his bassinet to go to the toilet. It is only for a few minutes she tells herself, that is until to her horror she returns to find the bassinet empty.After the flight crew search the plane there is no sign of him. But how can a baby go missing at thirty thousand feet? Soon suspicion is cast onto Makayla was the baby ever on onboard or did she make it up?

The story is told from multiple POV’s, the mother, the pilot, the father and the FBI Agent. The book jumps back and forward between them throughout the story.

I had a-lot of theory in my mind about who could have done it and just as I thought I had solved it a new suspect would be thrown into the mix and I was proven wrong. This book had a lot of red herrings. I was kind of hoping for more conspiracy.

I admit I had to suspend my believe by the end of the book and I now have a lot of questions about aviation.

The book is due for release on the 7th January 2025 . I received an ARC of this book from Net galley in exchange of a book review, all options are my own.

After a slow start, which was necessary to build tension, the story becomes a thrill ride (flight) as the race to find a baby missing on a transcontinental flight ramps up. Where could the baby be? Didi the mom even bring a baby? Who would take him? Why?