Chris Bohjalian is one of those authors I’ve been meaning to read for the longest time, I’ve heard nothing but great things about his books and was super excited that I would finally be reading one of his books, this one sounded exactly like the kind of book that I would end up loving and I had heard he was an excellent writer. After finishing and really thinking about this one before I wrote my review I can definitely say that yes, he is a fantastic author but this one really didn’t excite me as much as I had assumed it would.

This started out very strong for me, Cassie is the perfect representation of what I expect in an unlikable narrator, she’s a hot mess and she knows it, she’s unashamedly badly behaved and I liked that she owned her crappy behavior and questionable decision making skills. The premise was also interesting even though I’ve read similar books, but the whole waking up next to a dead body will honestly probably never get old for me. After the initial setup I just got bored though, I’m all for a slow burn but this moved at an extremely sedate pace and I just could not stay focused. It actually took me over a week to read and that’s a super long time for me, I’m a book every day, every two days at the most reader and getting through this one felt like work, never a great sign. It was missing excitement and tension and when things finally seemed to heat up I really didn’t care all that much and then it was just a little too far fetched for me to believe.

Here’s my dilemma; the author can write, there is no question about that and his attention to detail is impeccable, there was a lot of interesting information about flight attendants that made me keep turning pages and I always appreciate a writer who has done their homework. But I’m wondering if his style is always this way, do his books follow a similar pattern? If you’re a fan of his work what’s your favorite book of his? Because I really want to add something else of his to my TBR but if all of his books are similar to this I may have to pass…So help me my fellow bookworms, do I call this a fluke and give him another shot or is it a case of a mismatch between author and reader and move on? I hate when a book/author is super popular and I just feel like I don’t get the hype!

Overall rating: 3/5 (Full disclosure, this would be like a two from me based on plot and pacing but the solid writing made me bump it up, it was that good. Also, I skipped my three word sum up because I am just way too torn to pick three words, sorry!)

Cassie is a flight attendant on a run to Dubai. She hooks up with a stranger from the flight and wakes up next to his dead body! She is clueless….did she do this? Or someone else? See, Cassie is a blackout alcoholic, liar, and thief. But, she has some good qualities. She visits the animal shelter every Sunday. She is also a hard worker and she really tries to be a good aunt to her niece and nephew. So, did she really do this?

Cassie is an enigma to me. I was torn with my feelings for her. I could not help but think…she brought this on herself. However, I could not help but feel sorry for her situation, especially when it escalates. And boy, does it escalate. FBI, lawyers, media, she is really in a mess.

I was completely caught up in Cassie’s dilemma. I read this in two days. It is a mesmerizing page turner. This is what I call a “smart” read. You cannot skip anything or you miss something important. It is an intricate and complex story……THEN THE ENDING! Did not see that coming!

Don’t miss this one!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

As a long time fan of Chris Bohjalian's books, I was looking forward to his latest, The Flight Attendant, and was thrilled that it did not disappoint.
The story centered around Cassandra- who was a very well-developed yet flawed character who could not stop making poor decisions...While it irritated me, like that friend who keeps making the same mistake, I honestly grew to like and root for her.
The premise revolves around Cassandra who is a flight attendant with poor decision making and has a habit of drinking too much and picking up men during her overnight stays. When one man she meets and spends the night with ends up dead in the bed the next morning she is certain she didn't murder him...almost certain...and soon fears someone who knows how he dies is out to get her.
This book has lots of suspense, incredibly sharp writing, and a mystery until the very end. The second half of the book was pretty fast and it was an excellent read! This is one to pick up for a little mystery and some great writing! Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I recently finished reading The Flight Attendant after hearing great reviews from others with access to ARCs. I really enjoyed the book The Sleepwalker by the same author, so I was interested in seeing what this upcoming work was like. It was basically a somewhat elaborate game of cat and mouse. The book followed long-time Flight Attendant Cassie who likes to walk the fine line between hitting rock bottom with her alcohol abuse. She wakes up one day in Dubai with a dead man next to her in bed with no memory of what happened the night before. What’s a girl to do? The book then follows her and another character as they try to determine what their personal next step should be. I personally figured out the big “aha” very early into the book, but I still enjoyed the the book enough to finish it out. This was not my favorite thriller of the year, but it was a quick, well researched read. This book hits shelves TOMORROW so let me know what you think once you check it out!

I think a lot of people can relate to going out for drinks and waking up the next morning wondering "What did I do?" or the scary "Where am I?" Cassandra, however, wakes up to a different bed in a different room with a dead body lying beside her. Super creepy, huh?

I really liked how the author put me into the day to day world and the past of Cassie. She is a character that I know a lot of people can relate to and feel for. She is a totally wounded character and just living life day to day, flight to flight, and drink to drink. A lot of the book deals with Cassie's flaws, but it doesn't take away from the overall affect at all. It simply adds to the terror with this huge vice of Cassie's that she doesn't even understand could be fatal to her.

The whole time through this book, the sense of danger is at the back of my mind and my mind is going crazy with scenarios on how this is going to pan out.

An excellent read that I sped through, felt for the character and thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, by Chris Bohjalian, delivers twists and suspense at 35,000 feet. I love a book with an unreliable narrator and Cassie Bowden fits the bill. The central character of the novel, Cassie is a binge drinking flight attendant. She routinely suffers from blackouts while drinking and lies. A lot.

While working a flight from New York to Dubai, Cassie meets Alex Sokolov and the two enjoy a little flirtation during the flight. Once in Dubai, Cassie arranges to meet Alex for dinner and drinks. A lot of drinks. The next morning, Cassie wakes up in Alex’s bed next to his dead body with no memory of the night before. During the course of the investigation into Alex’s death, Cassie isn’t always truthful and seems to make the worst decision she can make in the moment. The novel follows Cassie to Dubai, Paris, New York, and Rome as she struggles to piece together what happened to Alex that night and what role she may have played in his death. Along the way, her lies catch up with her and she begins to doubt her own sanity. Cassie is a flawed character, even a deeply flawed character, often compelled to make decisions that she knows are wrong. What makes her character likable is that, in spite of her mistakes, Cassie is a good person and tries to do the right thing, even if she does it in the wrong way.

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT is a fast paced, suspenseful read with an ending that I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed Bohjalian’s writing style and I will be looking for his other titles. This book was great fun to read and I highly recommend it. Pick up a copy (out on March 13, 2018) and read this book. You don’t need to be on a plane to enjoy it, but it would be a great choice for a long (or short) trip.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for my honest review.

THIS IS A MUST READ AND DO NOT HESITATE ON ASKING YOURSELF IF YOU NEED IT WHEN IT COMES OUT THIS TUESDAY, JUST DO IT!!! Was I not clear? Seriously, this book is not only a great thriller, there is an OMG DID I JUST READ WHAT I THINK I READ twist that you will not see coming and it is so great!!
Cassie is a self-destructive flight attendant that meets an attractive man in first class on a flight to Dubai and they begin flirting. She has a rendezvous with him later that evening, along with copious amounts of alcohol (per usual for her), and she wakes up not remembering much. Also, this man is next to her in bed, however, he is dead, and thus begins her nightmare. Cassie does not think she killed him, but as she tends to get blackout drunk on a regular basis, she cannot remember if she is responsible or not. She is already a hot mess, and this event makes her even more of one, although she keeps it together enough to get herself out of there and think of what to do next. I am sure plenty of people will not like this character, however I for one did. I know she is a glorious disaster, and yes there were so many moments that you were just cringing in a sea of awkwardness for her, but man, I really just wanted this girl to pull THROUGH. I was really rooting for her and just once, I wanted her to make a good decision but she can’t seem to help herself.
Like I said above, the twists are fantastic, the writing/plot is very well done, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought the ending was great as well, It was very satisfying to me. I will have to read others by the author if they are anything like this one.

Once in a while, you come across a book that you think about, wishing you could be reading it instead of doing whatever else it is you might be up to. This is how I felt about The Flight Attendant. I read it at work between tasks (I am a librarian, so reading at my desk is actually smiled upon which is amazing), in the doctor’s office, wherever and whenever I could get a few pages in. I cannot believe that this is the first book of Bohjalian’s I have read. I think it’s time to remedy that.

Cassie is the type of character you should not like. She is irresponsible, she takes too many risks and she is selfish, among other things. Despite all of her flaws, I found myself caring about Cassie and I was constantly on the edge of my seat, worrying about what might happen to her next. One of my favorite aspect of a book is character development. Let it be known that Bohjalian is an expert when it comes to creating characters that flourish right before your very eyes. Even minor characters are given such rich personalities that they come to life, jumping from the pages (or screen) of the story, adding dimension and mystery to the story.

At the end of the book, when everything began coming together, I found myself feeling tense and anxious- I could not read the words fast enough, but I also wanted to savor the ending. After everything was reconciled and I thought it was safe to breathe again, an unexpected surprise was revealed!

The writing and grammar in The Flight Attendant is topnotch. It is the mark of a seasoned author who can both write well and develop gripping, suspenseful stories that please readers and exceed their expectations.

Gosh, I went into The Flight Attendant hoping to enjoy this suspense novel. Sadly, the main character made it impossible for me to like it.

I'm going to be giving spoilers, so if you don't want to know, stop reading now...


*****SPOILERS*****
*****SPOILERS*****
*****SPOILERS*****

Cassandra Bowden is an alcoholic. She's also a flight attendant. She likes to get drunk and sleep with different men in whichever city or country she's visiting. She has had many blackouts and there are times where she's not sure she has consented to have sexual intercourse.

During Cassandra's recent flight to Dubai, she meets a man in first class, Alex and they decide to meet at his hotel. Cassandra proceeds to have sex with him while they are drinking heavily. In the morning, when she wakes up, he's dead. Someone has slashed Alex's neck. Instead of staying and trying to figure out what's going on, she runs away and boards the next flight with her crew, taking her away from the crime. But, when she lands in the USA, the FBI is waiting for her. What follows are Cassandra's failed attempts at lying and avoiding the FBI questions.

Cassandra was a very difficult character to like. She kept on getting drunk, sleeping with strangers and lying to everyone. I found her annoying, immature and irresponsible. You will think that by waking up with a dead man next to her, she would have learned her lesson but nope, she didn't. She keeps on repeating her mistakes over and over. Almost every scene, she was drunk. How she was able to escape the people interested in silencing her, is beyond me. Not only that, she enjoyed stealing from hotels and giving the stolen items as gifts for her family. In my opinion, there was nothing redeemable about her.

Of course, the epilogue was just too cookie cutter perfect and completely unbelievable to me.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Doubleday via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“..don’t have a plan,” she answered. “I wish I did, but I don’t.” The truth was, she had been living almost hour to hour since she had woken up in Dubai and found Alex …..dead. First she just wanted to get away from the corpse and the likelihood of prison and reach Charles de Gaulle. Then she just wanted to land in America. Then she just wanted to find a lawyer. Then she just wanted to survive the FBI. Then. Then. Then . . .”

Chris Bohjalian has written with many interesting topics and cast of characters and this little adventure of a flight attendant is embroiled with something we are coming across in the world news.
A flight attendant that travels from one country to another, stays overnight from one hotel to another, and any of thousands at work in same instance one may meet others in their stay, before their return flight maybe, may even dine, or may sleep with another, one who may be a stranger they encounter or someone they love and known for years, this main character, Cassandra, she had never met Alex before, but he was to change her life she would awaken to a world tops turvy from a night bender of drink and passion with minus one man.
The flight attendant story has you tied in and reading on to the need to know of why and how. I found it an interesting read, the locations added some intrigue and sense of place to the tale. A jigsaw and chess game playing out before you and surely they will all fit together by close of the tale and it serves up an entertaining read. A slowed paced intriguing international tale with a narrative not in a break neck pace thriller format but more seductive modest literary thriller that flowed with the ease and lucidity, no entrapment of sentences but of people.
His name was Alex and maybe that is all that should be said for the reader now, because mention of the rest could give rise to his family name and nationality and then theories will flow.
Flight attendant, hedge fund manager, murder, blackout, FBI, assassin, Dubai, New York, Rome, maybe you sense where its heading? But who is what and how will it all unfold and end ?

The Flight Attendant had a character driven plot in which, Cassie, an international flight attendant, is struggling with escalating alcoholism in which she often binge drinks and participates in reckless behaviors. Throughout the story, Cassie re-lives her youth and her family dynamic that attempts to explain her attachment issues and her downward spiral.
The premise, which I love, is that Cassie has a binge drinking episode on a layover in Dubai, in which she finds herself awakening next to a stranger who has been killed. His throat has been slashed and she is covered in his blood. Due to her binge drinking, she can not say for a 100% that she did not kill him.

This book has twists and turns that you can’t help but want to know the end quickly. There are a lot of details that make the book a slower-paced thriller, but ultimately, the ending is quite satisfying.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Doubleday and Chris Bohjalian for the opportunity to read and review his latest novel. I'm a big fan of Bohjalian and loved this thriller!

Cassie is a flight attendant and has been with her airline long enough that she gets all the seemingly exotic flights - Dubai, Rome, Paris. But Cassie has an issue - she's an alcoholic who makes terrible choices while she's drinking - all of them involving men - and is prone to drinking so much that she blacks out.

So when she and a passenger, Alex, begin to flirt and carry that flirtation to dinner and lots of drinks when they land in Dubai, she ends up back in his hotel room. Waking up in the morning and anxious to get back to her hotel to get ready to meet her flight crew to head out, she realizes that Alex has been murdered and is lying dead in the bed next to her. She obviously blacked out and can only remember bits and pieces of the night before - an associate of Alex's, Miranda, stopping by with yet more drinks - she panics. There's a broken liquor bottle on the floor and blood on her hands. Did she kill Alex in a blackout rage? She decides to quickly shower and leave the hotel, setting into motion a series of lies to her crewmates and later the FBI.

This is a great thriller, spanning different locations and leaving so many questions to be answered - you will race through this book to figure it all out! Highly recommended!

This is a thriller about a flight attendant that wakes up to find her one-night-stand date dead in bed next to her. This event triggers an investigation for the killer and what follows raises more questions than answers.

The book is narrated from alternating points of view and takes place (mostly) in Dubai and New York. I found the book intriguing, interesting, and character-driven.

The main character engages in self-destructive behavior and frequent alcohol binges. She reminded me a little bit of the main character of The Woman in the Window but without different motivations.

Overall I enjoyed it and recommend it to readers of thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary fiction.

I've heard really good things about Bohjalian and I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but this book just wasn't for me. Maybe I'm psychological-thrillered out. Maybe something about this just reminded me of another book I didn't like. (Maestra? I don't know. I feel like I've read this dead body in a hotel room somewhere before and not been thrilled.) Maybe it's that the protagonist is totally unlikable, despite (or maybe because of) her self-awareness. Maybe it's the whole international spy rigamarole that just put it over the top. I don't know, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I can definitely see it being someone's cup of tea though. I'll have to try another of his books one day, probably The Sandcastle Girls or The Light in the Ruins - much more my speed.

I've had The Flight Attendant on my to-read list for awhile so I was ecstatic to get an advance reader from @doubledaybooks in exchange for my honest review. Well, my honest opinion...I loved it! It was well worth the wait. Cassandra Bowden is a flight attendant in a downward spiral. She drinks to excess, has frequent black outs, and makes terrible decisions. This all leads to her waking up in a hotel room in Dubai that is not hers after a night of binge drinking and the body of a dead man beside her- yet no recollection of what happened. Afraid of the repercussions, Cassie begins to lie. And lie, and lie, and lie again. We follow the trail that leads us to the truth and I enjoyed every twist and turn! I was not expecting the final twist and I was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. This novel takes you from Dubai, to Paris, to New York, and then to Italy. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

Saturday, March 10, 2018
SATURDAY SCOOP - THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT - CHRIS BOHJALIAN

















Welcome Book Lovers


That sounds so much better than book haters doesn't it! LOL

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my "scoop" (I'm all about the short sweet spoiler free style of reviewing) about a book I've read.



I'd love to hear your thoughts or comments, if you have any, about this novel. I'd also love to hear about your favorite novel by this author (if there is/you have one).











I'm not including a blurb - I actually think it's better if you DON'T know exactly what the book is about before you read it.

That doesn't mean you can't read about it on one of the buys links, but seriously - go in cold.

Okay here you go...

It's actually out this Tuesday!
















I've never read a book by Mr Bohjalian before and if any of his other novels read like The Flight Attendant, it looks like I need to seek some out.

First, leave yourself time once you start this novel. It's that good.

It's got (almost) everything I look for in a thriller!

I want to thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC of The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian.

I really wanted to love this book, when I read the description is just sounded so good to me. Unfortunately it was jus so so. I didn't hate it but was never really excited to read it. I think some of that was that too much of the plot was not believable to me and I am pretty good and suspending reality.

Overall I didn't really feel any tension or suspense which is why while it was an okay story it just was so so.

some spoilerly info ahead

I thought this started well. Cassie was a hot mess but I liked her honesty about it. The situation that went down in Dubai was crazy but still not unbelievable to me.

Unfortunately once Cassie was back in the states she just didn't act in a realistic way to me, nor did the FBI or her employer. Buckley and Enrico were both too convenient.

The Elena part of the story was good but think that it could have been better. Perhaps more about her time in the states that made her change; I am not sure what it is but it just didn't feel fully developed.

There were hints about Megan throughout the book, I would have like there to have been more than hints but an actual full part of story that help make it be more tense.

And the end was just a no for me. NO to her new job, NO to the baby, NO to the father, just none of it worked for me.

It is a well-written, entertaining, and at times, heart-wrenching thriller. The Flight Attendant involves international intrigue, Russian spies, and the a protagonist who can't be trusted. All the ingredients for a tasty tale. At times, the story suffers from credibility, but Bohjalian manages to weave the plot and characters so well that it feels authentic, if not realistic (it feels like a great movie plot, though).

The story is well researched, which helps develop the story, and keeps it from feeling too fantastic. He also creates characters that are stunningly alive, flaws and all.

I really enjoyed this book - it is gripping right from the very start, and the premise is simple but compelling. The author does a good job of showcasing all of the main character's many flaws, but still making you root for her and hope things will turn out okay. He also gives nuance to the potential "villains" which is sadly rare and made for a pleasant surprise. This book is less of a pure thriller and more of a steadily building cat-and-mouse game, and that change of pace made it interesting (though one twist at the end I truly did not predict).. The only part that I found a little bit weak was the epilogue, but overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it. Thank you to Doubleday and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!