Great author, great story. Enjoyable read. Loved all the details and interesting back story.

Flight attendant, Cassie Bowden is a hot mess. Really. She's a drunk, sleeps around and it's almost shocking when you read the book that she is even able to hold down a job. But even though she's a complete disaster, I didn't find her to be unlikable, just stuck in a terrible cycle. For pretty much her whole life since her troubled childhood from what I could tell.

So when she has a one night stand with a rich diplomat in Dubai of all places (evoking buried memories of Sex and the City 2) and wakes up covered in blood with his dead body next to her, it makes total sense that something like that would happen to someone like her. Best case scenario, someone murdered him while she slept off the night before beside him. Worst case? She killed him.

Under the circumstances and in a city like Dubai, Cassie has no choice but to slink away from the scene of the crime despite the fact she knows she will be identified and possibly be the main suspect. From there, the story really takes off.

The story unfolds from two narrators--Cassie and mystery one I can't reveal if I'm avoiding spoilers. The book itself falls into an International espionage, thriller category, which is new for Bohjalian's work. But I do think he pulled it off, and with flair! Because it's all the intrigue of a book like that but the writing and research to back it up. I read this one the week of Christmas and kept having to set it down, but was so happy each time I picked it back up. It's definitely a page-turner!

If you're in the mood for a thriller complete with murder and intrigue, or if you are a Chris Bohjalian fan, check this one out. It won't disappoint. It releases on March 13, 2018.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

Cassie Bowen is a flight attendant who has a history of drinking too much and sleeping with too many men. After one of her one night stands she wakes up in a hotel room in Dubai. Lying next to her in bed is Alex Sokolov, the hedge fund manager she became friendly with on a recent flight. Alex is dead, his throat slashed, a broken liquor bottle nearby. Cassie doesn't think she would be capable of killing anyone but, she remembers very little about what transpired. If she didn't kill Alex, who did?

Russian spies, international intrigue and a few twists along the way. The story seemed a bit far-fetched at times and, I really disliked the main character - drunk or sober.

I had high hopes for this book as I've read every book that this author has written. The author certainly did his research and while the premise was promising, overall I was somewhat disappointed.

I generally love Chris Bohjalian's stories, but this one, being more of a thriller rather than a human interest story, did not resonate with me as his other novels have. However, I do think this will appeal to thriller readers. Just okay for me.

I’ve been a fan of Chris Bohjalian for many years…I think possibly Midwives was the first one of his that I read. Anyway, he has written a ton of good books, many of which had unique characters, settings, or situations. In addition to Midwives, I especially liked The Sandcastle Girls because I learned so much about the Armenian genocide while reading an entertaining story…and The Guest Room was another fave, for its tension and suspense while dealing with a social issue (human trafficking).

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley, I received a copy of The Flight Attendant in exchange for my honest review – and it was great fun to read despite the ick factor that is the first thing the reader encounters.

Cassandra Bowden, aka Cassie, wakes up one morning in a hotel room in Dubai, painfully hung over, in bed with a man she just met the night before. Neither of these is rare for Cassie, whose life as an international flight attendant consists of episodes of one-night stands and binge drinking between flights. The difference this time is that the man is dead, brutally murdered, and the bed and Cassie are covered in blood. ICK!!! Not only does Cassie not know all the circumstances of how she ended up there, she isn’t quite sure whether she was the one who killed Alex Sokolov. She remembers meeting him on the flight, flirting with him, then agreeing to go out on the town in Dubai…but she has a(nother) blackout episode (a recurring event for her) and kind of freaks out. So she does what she often does: she lies. To her crewmates, to the FBI, to pretty much everyone. As the plot unspools, there are many questions about both people (was he a spy? Is this related to Cassies’s brother-in-law whose high-level security clearance has something to do with weapons of mass destruction? Who was the other woman in the hotel room?) and events (who killed him? Can Cassie trust her fellow flight attendants?)

The book is told with the alternating points of view of Cassie and that mysterious other woman, interspersed with interview reports as Cassie and others are interviewed by the authorities. The building of suspense is terrific, and I really couldn’t go to sleep til I had finished it. As usual for me, I didn’t guess the ending in advance (although I did have concerns and suspicions early on as I learned Cassie was not only a liar but a thief, getting gifts for family from hotels around the world). I really liked it, even though I went into it with my usual bias toward Mr. Bohjalian, expecting to love it. It didn’t disappoint – five stars.

As one reviewer posted, you never know what you'll get when you read Chris Bohjalian. I read this book right after reading The Sleepwalker, very different.

The plot hooked me right away. Cassie Bowden, flight attendant/ alcoholic, wakes up next to a dead guy. Of course that hooked me! Bohjalian's writing was quick paced enough for me to keep reading until the end. What I didn't like about the book was Cassie's character. I wanted to scream at her idiocy! I felt like this character's personality was too annoying for my taste. I'm not a writer, and I'm sure the author meant to portray Cassie this way, being the hot mess she was. Yes, it was suspenseful and kept me interested, but I think if I hadn't received the book in exchange for a honest review I would've stopped before the end. I probably should've have read something else before reading this book instead of right after his other book

Great suspense novel. If you liked the Woman in Cabin 10 or Girl on a Train, this is a much better rendition of the breathtaking suspense thriller. I am a bit tired of the neurotic or addicted female protagonist, but at least Bohjalian's character, Cassandra Bowden, is empathetic, while I really could not relate to the characters in the other mentioned novels. Bohjalian has a gift for writing realistic novels that are carefully researched and structured. I recommend you read all of his novels as no two are alike. I love his stories, and his gift for connecting the reader to his characters' experiences. He is an excellent author. This is a fast paced suspenseful thriller with a twist. ENJOY!

Cassie has been flying the friendly skies since she finished college. It was a way to escape her small Kentucky life, the loss of her parents and guilt of her younger sister being placed in foster care. She is pretty and a flirt, an excellent flight attendant. She is also a functioning alcoholic and as the years have passed the forgotten nights and strange hotel beds aren’t as sexy as they once were. Cassie is on a coveted flight to Dubai, and a very handsome younger man is in her section. On arrival she has dinner with him and ends up back at his hotel. But when she wakes in the morning he is not moving, there is blood everywhere, Cassie remembers nothing. At that moment Cassie has quick decisions to make. Choices that will change the trajectory of her life forever. Who is this man? What will she tell her coworkers? Why was she spared? Much like a spy, like an actress, binge drinkers are great liars because there are always blank spaces and situations that don’t make sense. So begins her parade of stories, one lie leading to the next. She must appease her crew, get rid of the broken bottle, her stained purse and convince her sister she is nothing like their father. The story snowballs. Cassie is front page news. The FBI, the CIA, the Union, her lawyer - all want to know. The deeper the web weaves the less people Cassie can trust. Because in the end - who is really going to believe a drunk anyway? This heart thumping suspense all rolled up into one giant wave of words that keeps crashing on you over and over. Unexpected twists and turns at every corner with a main character you find yourself unexpectedly rooting for. Bestselling author Chris Bohjalian has done it again. You are going to LOVE this one!

The beginning of The Flight Attendant starts off strong with an intense beginning when the main character Cassie finds herself in a Dubai hotel room hungover and finds the man she had been with dead, but she has no idea who he really is or why he would be murdered. Cassie is a flight attendant whose drinking finally catches up with her as she tries to figure out why the man is murdered and has to defend herself as she becomes a suspect. The self-loathing Cassie is frustrating as she makes a series of questionable decisions and the book's foray into Russia and spies lacks substance . Overall, both the characters and the plot lack depth and the book ultimately falls short as a thriller.

Cassie Bowden, a flight attendant/party girl who boasts of her partying ways and many one-night stands.

A hotel room in Dubai.
A murder.
A memorable night for Cassie OR NOT..... she doesn't really remember much considering she was so drunk that she blacked out!

Told from Cassie and Miranda's POV we get to hear their thought processes as they ponder the details involved in the night of the murder and what went wrong! The author's skill in character building was perfect - creating unique characters with emotional depth. Each personality came alive giving me insight as I tried to predict their next moves. The author did an amazing job researching each aspect of the story making it both believable and authentic. The international setting was also exotic and enjoyable.


This novel is not fast-paced or edge of your seat, but chock full of mystery and intrigue with an intricate plot, boasting some HUGE surprises! Such a talented author , I will be reading more from him very soon! Highly recommend to fans of character driven mysteries with some unpredictable twists!

I was fortunate enough to receive a galley copy of this book from the publisher on behalf of the author. Chris Bohjalian is one of my all time favorite authors, however this book was not one of my favorites. It could be that I don't particularly care for international (Russian) spy thrillers. It was well written and the plot easy to follow; I particularly like Bohjalian's books that are set in Vermont. Again, if you like international spy thrillers this will be right up your alley!

Another great one by Chris Bohjalian! This man must know everything there is to know in this life...he writes so expertly on so many different topics. In this case, it's the life of a flight attendant. Oh but there's also Russian espionage, The FBI and CIA, and a self-destructive alcoholic who blacks out and has casual sex, like...all the time. It's a page turner, I tell you! The premise of the book is that Cassie, the flight attendant, flirts with and agrees to meet up with a hedge fund manager she meets on a flight. She gets drunk with him and falls asleep in his Dubai hotel room, but wakes up in the morning to find him dead with his throat slashed. The book follows Cassie as she tried to piece together what happened, all while trying to avoid getting arrested for murder. Definitely some twists and turns in this novel, and one big one for an ending. Some parts of it may be far-fetched and hard to believe, but it's worth it. Bohjalian is always worth it.

You know an author is a master storyteller when they can write effectively across many genres, and this personifies Chris Bohjalian. I was very excited to see that this latest by him is a mystery/suspnese, since that is my favorite type of book. It definitely met all of my expectations, which, based on his previous books, are very high.

This one begins with a flight attendant waking up in a hotel in Dubai with a dead man next to her. She panics over what to do, and this starts a chain of events that quickly spirals out of control.

I found this one totally intriguing. The storyline was a truly frightening one, thinking of a female waking in a foreign country to find herself with a dead man and not remembering what happened. I felt for the main character, flawed though she was, and I was really kept on the hook, wondering where the story would go. It kept me riveted from beginning to end. This was another mesmerizing one by the author, and I'll be waiting for his next book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

My review will be published on Goodreads and the major retail outlets on release date.

The Flight Attendant was a good read. The story hooked me and kept my attention throughout. I liked the characters and the pacing.

Cassandra Bowden is the The Flight Attendant. On a route to Dubai, Cassie engages in what is typical behavior for her – flirting with a handsome passenger, getting dinner and drinks, going back to his hotel room, many more drinks and sex. When she wakes up the next morning in his bed, he is still there – dead, his throat has been slashed. Cassie, who has had frequent blackouts in the past, cannot recall what happened. How did this happen? Was she responsible? Cassie escapes the hotel but not before trying to erase any trace of her presence. On the way back to the airport with her flight companions she tries to hide her absence but is fearful of what she may have done.

Cassie is an unreliable narrator who makes poor choices. Her troubled childhood, her alcoholic binges and constant need to assert herself amps up the danger she places herself in. She feels most alive when she is most imperiled. Her problems are both self-inflicted and external. Who was the man she slept with? Why would anyone kill him? Is there a reason for her paranoia? Secondary characters – her lawyer, her sister, and other flight attendants both support and criticize her behavior. Cassie has a knack for taking good advice and ignoring it, while using bad advice to prove a point.

To reveal more would lessen the enjoyment of learning how Cassie attempts to navigate her life, as her “crime” becomes headline news. This is a slow-moving thriller that morphs into a crescendo of revelations. Stay with it even though Cassie may not be the most likeable character. Never read a Bohjalian novel before but will soon correct that! Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this title.

Cassie Bowden is a single flight attendant who enjoys taking risks, and with flights all over the world there's always an adventure to be had. To sweeten her adventures, she enjoys a nice glass of wine most evenings, or a mixed drink, or really anything alcoholic and it rarely ends with one glass. So when she wakes up in Dubai next to the nice man who took her to bed the night before, it's understandable that she might not remember what happened--and she really needs to remember what happened because the man she slept with is dead. Murdered, and she can't remember a thing.

Well, this is not good. Not good at all. I have read most, not all, of Bohjalians books. I have loved most of them as well. Not this time. This book has a ridiculous main character that I was actually hoping would be taken out. Some one stop this woman from being so dumb, drunk and skanky.
Have you sold out to the masses? Did you even write this book? It certainly doesn't read as though any thought was put into it, or that you're writing for an audience with any intelligence. Is it really necessary to remind your readers with little cues about how Cassie is such a drunk? Over and over through out the whole book? This woman doesn't know if she killed a man, but can definitely recognize another woman she barely met the same night. Uh huh. And yes, Cassie is a flight attendant, but enough with the over use of landmarks. I could really go on, but will try to refrain, oh except the ending. Pfffffft.
I'm saddened to think his writing has turned into this. An absolute favorite author, one I have a selfie with even! Has let me down.
Although this was not a good reading experience, I am grateful for the opportunity to read this prepublication version from Netgalley and Doubleday, thank you.

This book takes us on a wild ride through the wild life of a middle age flight attendant with self destructive behaviors. With her drinking and promiscuity she lands herself with bloody hands in a hotel murder, that we and she know she did not commit. But her continuous bad behavior she makes her situation worse and worse, while we keep wanting her to get better. This story sounds cheesy and shallow but there is really a great well written story between the pages.

I seriously don't know how Chris Bohjalian manages to write novels that are so completely different from each other and so incredibly good! Having read most of his books, I wasn't quite enamored with the plot summary of THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, but figured I'd request it anyway. A flight attendant who wakes up in a foreign city to find a dead man in bed with her? Why not?

As in previous works, Bohjalian uses multiple characters' POVs to unravel the mystery at the center of the story. While the story does require you to focus to try and piece together the clues, I enjoyed not having a sense of how things were going to play out. I also enjoyed all of the characters, and as is the case with most of my Bohjalian reading experiences, I found the ending to be satisfying.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this novel for the purpose of review.

As always a great book from this author. It gives insight into the seamingly glamour life of a flight attendant.