Book Review: The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

Title: The Flight Attendant
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Edition: E-book
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Pages: 386
Publication Date: 03/13/ 2018

Goodreads

Cassie Bowden, an international flight attendant, is a self proclaimed binge drinker and is always looking for the next party. Her job with the airline provides the perfect opportunity for Cassie to find new adventures in the cities she travels to, often involving men she meets along the way and plenty of alcohol.

During a layover in Dubai she wakes up in a hotel room that is not her own with little memory of the night before. She quickly notices that the bed is soaked in blood and the man she spent the night with is lying dead next to her. She has a quick decision to make. Does she call for help or does she leave the room and rejoin her flight crew without a word for the return flight to Paris? Did she kill him in a drunken stupor or did someone come into the room while she was asleep to kill him and spare her life? Why would they spare her? Cassie will soon have to come to terms with the way she lives her life and find out the truth.

When I saw this book on NetGalley it sounded really exciting and intriguing, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me, at least as far as the thriller aspect goes. For me this story lacked the twists and turns I have come to expect from a thriller. I kept hoping for something unexpected just around the next corner. That being said, I did enjoy the story itself. I do love stories with unreliable narrators, they tend bring more excitement, drama, and character struggles.

The Flight Attendant is told in dual narration form between Cassie and another woman named Elena and includes FBI interviews, which I found to be a fun addition. I also found it interesting to watch the impact alcohol had on Cassie’s life, in both this particular case and in her day to day struggles.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Doubleday for proving me with this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.