I loved this book ....at least I loved it until the last few pages. Still not so sure about the ending, a little confusing and just not totally believable, but what the heck it's fiction! I'll still give it 5 stars and nominate it for LibraryReads, since I think Chris Bohjalian has written another winner and I love his books.
I think the character of Cassie was so well written. Despite my love hate relationship with her(hate because of the dumb things she did), I could actually FEEL her need for a drink, I could almost understand the crazy things she did. This was one of the reasons why I couldn't put the book down: it was the character of Cassie and how she thought and what she did and why she did what she did. She was so well developed, that I almost didn't care about the rest of the book, I only wanted to know what happened to her!
I would highly recommend this to all who like a good story!
Thanks to Random House Doubleday and Netgalley for the advance digital copy!

"A smart girl is both sword and smile."

Cassandra (Cassie) Bowden is, I hope, not the typical flight attendant. She's obviously an alcoholic and suffers the blackouts and embarassments to prove it. She loves flying to far-off destinations and always finds a way to party hard and often ends up hung over and suffering from drinker's regret the next day. But this time it's really a bad "morning after" when she awakens in a hotel bed (not her own) next to a dead man -- the man she'd dined and slept with the night before. What follows takes the reader from Dubai to New York to Rome in a tale of deception and espionage with the press and an assassin on her heels. What happened in the luxurious suite, room 511, of the Royal Phoenician? Who was Alexander Sokolov? It's a wild ride with Cassie, an accomplished liar, and the other characters who can't be entrusted with the truth -- because Cassie really can't remember whether or not she killed him.

Told in alternating points of view and moving from one locale to another, this is absorbing and suspenseful. As the revelations are dangled, the complex tale unravels. I'm not sure how realistic the scenarios described are, but suspend disbelief and enjoy the trip. Cassie is definitely a mess, and I can't say that I actually liked her much, her decisions are definitely not those most would make, but her dilemma makes for great storytelling if you use your imagination. I enjoyed it!

I was so excited to be approved for this title (thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books), so I began it immediately after downloading and read straight through to the end. I believe I've read almost every single one of Chris Bohjalian's previous books and reviewed most of them -- he's always full of surprises and touches on a wide variety of topics with some very unique themes at times. It's evident that the author does his research on the subject matter and that makes the narrative a bit more plausible even if it seems farfetched. There's quite a bit to digest within these pages.

The one detractor is something I've noticed recently -- authors inserting their own political bias and personal opinions into the narrative and represented as observations or thoughts of other characters in the novel. I don't like that. But maybe it's just me being super sensitive in the current atmosphere. Oh by the way, GO ROYALS! Regardless, I did like this well enough and know Bohjalian fans will want to add this to the TBR. Enjoy!

The Flight Attendant: A Novel by [Bohjalian, Chris]

Very strong, an enjoyable read, with a slightly weak ending.

Review copy provided by publisher.