The Last Flight is a story about two women, both of whom have been victimized by men under different circumstances and in different settings. But they have ended up in the same place. Each is seeking to run away from her past and start over.

Claire Cooke and Eva James connect in the bar at JFK airport. It is ostensibly a random meeting. Claire has planned and plotted for some time to escape her powerful, abusive husband, Rory. She was supposed to fly to Detroit to make an appearance, but Rory is posed to announce his candidacy for the Senate in one week and, at the last minute, it is decided that he will go to Detroit and Claire is dispatched to Puerto Rice. Because of his money and influence, and past experience, Claire has concluded that disappearing without a trace is truly the only way she can escape Rory's reach. When Eva approaches Claire in the airport bar, Claire is panicked because the plan she has meticulously devised has been foiled and she doesn't know what to do.

Eva was raised in foster homes and a San Francisco orphanage before enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley. She loved the school and her studies, but due to events that transpired while she was a student, she did not graduate. She has continued residing in Berkeley, working as a waitress, but is on the run from persons and events that, like Claire, she knows she cannot escape without disappearing in a manner that ensures she can never be found.

The premise of The Last Flight hinges upon Claire and Eva agreeing to trade boarding passes, clothing, handbags, wallets, and telephones after getting through security. And then boarding each other's flights. Claire follows through, but finds herself in Berkeley without money, new identification, or other resources. She proceeds to Eva's apartment, planning to hunker down there until she figures out her next move. She adopts Eva's identity but is stunned when she sees news reports and learns that the plane she was supposed to board crashed into the sea. Early reports indicate there are no survivors so Rory believes, like everyone else, that she is dead. Claire quickly realizes that, for her, the crash offers "not just a head start," but "a new start" even though Claire is not sure that Eva actually boarded the plane, suspects she may still be alive, and wonders about her whereabouts.

The Last Flight is a thoroughly engrossing story about two women who, at first glance, appear to have nothing at all in common. But author Julie Clark reveals that they are actually very much alike. Each is strong, resilient, and determined to escape a dangerous, desperate predicament in order to start a new life over. Each woman has been oppressed by different forces and events, but the result is the same. Both are driven to risk everything for a second chance. In Claire's case, the #MeToo movement has done nothing to make her circumstances less fraught with danger.

Eva has made very bad choices and done abhorrent things in order to survive. But she wants to put that behind her, and get away from the people who are fully invested in seeing to it that she furthers the enterprise and keeps her mouth shut. If she fails to cooperate, they will silence her. And they begin bearing down on Claire once they realize that she is residing in Eva's home. Claire begins to piece together clues Eva left behind about her life, activities, and associates. She realizes that Eva was involved with people who will use any means to continue their endeavor and by stepping into Eva's life and using her identity, she has placed herself in a new kind of danger. In the chapters devoted to Eva, Clark gradually reveals the forces that derailed her dreams and the things Eva did to survive, as well as why she ultimately concluded that it was time to disappear.

Clark employs alternating narratives. Claire relates her experiences and feelings in a first-person narrative. Eva's tale is told in the third-person. Both techniques are extremely effective. Clark pulls her readers into the women's lives at the outset and their tension-filled adventures unfold at an absorbing and unrelenting pace.

Each woman is flawed, but likable and empathetic. Some readers will find Claire exasperating, lamenting that she has been weak for too long and should have left Rory sooner. However, as Clark injects details about the past, including the way the loss of her mother and sister in a horrific accident effected her, Claire's beliefs and reasoning become apparent and plausible. Likewise, Eva, as noted, has made terrible choices but she felt that she had no other options after she was repeatedly abandoned and sold out. She gradually comes to believe in her own self-worth and develops the strength to extricate herself from her situation, in part because of her friendship with her next-door neighbor, a visiting professor who refuses to judge her, and unconditionally accepts and supports her.

The book's pace accelerates with shocking revelations and plot developments. The resolutions Clark gives her characters' stories are quite different. One is credible and satisfying, the other shocking and controversial. For that reason, along with the thought-provoking themes Clark explores, The Last Flight is an excellent choice for book clubs, providing plenty of topics for discussion.

Despite the surprising ending, The Last Flight is one of 2020's best thrillers. It is both entertaining and touching, featuring characters whose stories resonate long after the contentious ending is revealed.

I picked up The Last Flight when I started seeing rave reviews come through from several of my blogging friends, and now that I've finished it, I can see why they enjoyed it so much! 

The Last Flight is told in two POVs - one from Claire, a woman who is trying to escape an abusive marriage, and the other from Eva, who also needs a fresh start. The two women switch plane tickets at the airport in an attempt to run from their pasts. When Claire gets off of her flight, she immediately hears news that the original flight she was supposed to be on crashed. While Claire's chapters are told in the present, Eva's chapters are told in the past leading up to the flight, and slowly unravels the events that led up to her wanting to run. 

I really enjoyed this book, and was eager to see how both stories would play out. Both women ended up in unfortunate circumstances, and I wanted to see how the choice to essentially swap places would end. There was also mystery to Eva's storyline, as we didn't know all of the details of her history upfront. I loved how everything came together in the end, and really liked the ending of the book. 

This book wasn't as dark as many of the other thrillers I've read, and was more of a domestic suspense/mystery, yet I was still glued to the pages. This will be a perfect summer (socially distanced!) beach read!

This was a true thriller! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm not sure quite how the author did it, maybe by keeping the settings very tight, but the story had a claustraphobic quality to it, just as Eva and Claire had in their lives. Reading through it, you had no idea who what good and who was a villian--even though Dex was bad and the reader knew it, not until the end was it revealed how bad. I absolutely could not put this book down and read it in one setting. I don't think anyone could let it sit overnight...

Claire and Eva are living lives that are worlds apart. Claire lives in the public eye as the wife of a political heir. Everything seems idyllic from the outside, but from deep inside, she is a woman that is abused and manipulated by her husband. There is a murky past relationship in his past that she questions and she wants to escape from her life and has been planning. Eva is trapped in a life where she is also controlled, but in a much different way. I loved the characters in this book and how their pasts and presents come together. I like how their stories are written back to back throughout, however everything is fairly separate until the ending. I really liked the way that this book was tied together at the end. I want to read more from this author and thought that this book was really well written.

A compulsive page turner with a couple of good twists! I thought some of the plot was a little too contrived but all in all, a good book.

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Addictive, suspenseful, twisted and thoroughly entertaining! Julie Clark has a new fan!

Two women - Eva and Claire - both desperately need to escape from their dangerous life situations. When these strangers have a chance encounter at JFK airport, they start chatting and realize they are in similar positions. Ultimately, they decide to switch tickets. New lives, new identities. Tragically, one of the plane crashes.

Rewind six months and we learn just what happens in each of these two women’s lives that lead up to their decision to flee and seek better lives.

I took away one star because the sections that highlighted Eva’s story sort of dragged on for me. However, the ending was wrapped up in a nice little bow with no questions left unanswered.

The Last Flight was a terrific thriller with an original plot. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Julie Clark for my advanced copy to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book and included it in my recent summer book roundup
https://mashable.com/article/summer-book-roundup-what-to-read/

The Last Flight.... ❤️ need I say more?! This book is so sizzling hot! Would you walk away from your picture perfect life?...switching place with a complete stranger? What if their life was even more dangerous than your own? Would you do it...without knowing what was waiting for you on the other side?

This book is dangerous, thrilling and fast paced. Everything I love in a thriller. Claire and Eva switch lives, literally purses and all. Whatttt? Nope there is no going back now. Girlfriend has your purse, your phone and you credit cards. I was shocked these two would do this. They each trade plane tickets.. with no idea what is waiting for them when they get off the plane...except one plane crashes....talk about bad luck..or is it the perfect escape?

This book had book started with a bang and ended with one. I was completely blind sided with the ending. A perfect thriller that I couldn't down.

This was fantastic! I loved the women’s coinciding stories. Their connection went even deeper than I thought, which was a fun surprise in the end.

I don’t know which POV I enjoyed more. I liked Claire’s attempts to reclaim and reinvent her life. She had worked so hard to get out of a bad situation. Yet it seemed she’d never be fully free.

And then Eva. Her chapters were even more intense. They were events of the weeks leading up to the plane crash. But everything learned was so crazy. I felt bad for her. What her life had become.

This is a tale of women who’d been mistreated and discarded by men. Made to feel lesser. I loved their journey into becoming whole.

I think I was a little saddened by the ending. If I read it correctly, it wasn’t what I was hoping for. But still, it was logical all things considered. Life isn’t fair, right?

So who wins? Claire? Eva? Both? Neither?

Read for yourself.

A new take on Strangers on a Train. I was riveted from the moment I started reading about these two women, each trying to escape their past. Highly recommend.

Unputdownable! I stayed up til 2 a.m. to finish this book! A completely engrossing and enjoyable mystery about two women who decide at the airport to switch identities, but one of their planes crash.

Wow! What a great thriller!--I was constantly on the edge and didn't stop reading until I learned what had happened to the main characters. Besides being so suspenseful, the story explored such timely subjects. The exploration of an abusive relationship which leads to no alternative other than what Claire undertook was fascinating.
I especially enjoyed the interspersing of the two stories between chapters. The writing served to intensify the excitement that kept building and building. The unexpected ending was masterful!

I was able to read this book through an arc from Net Galley.
This book has a very interesting premise about switching identities and what can go wrong. I enjoyed reading it and it kept my interest throughout the book.

Whoa, this is quite a plane flight. Clarie Cook wants to get out of her marriage and when she meets a stranger in an airport who is equally desperate, they switch flights, but then one of the planes crash….lets just say, somebody is not telling the truth. Alternating viewpoints often told in flashbacks and timeline jumps can be confusing, but once you figure that out you’re in for a fast paced satisfying book.

This book caused me serious problems: i was up all night reading and then I had a book hangover and then no other book was good enough to read. The Last Flight is a phenomenal thriller that hits all the marks.

Claire Cook has a life that many would envy. Her husband, Rory, is a member of a powerful and wealthy political family and he is just days away from announcing his senatorial candidacy. They seem to be a perfect couple. However, what the world doesn’t know is that Rory is abusive and cruel, and Claire plans to leave him once and for all. But, she knows that her plan must be foolproof and she must not leave a trace.

Claire plans to disappear while on a trip to Detroit, until there is a change of plans and she finds herself booked for Puerto Rico instead. All seems to be lost until a chance encounter at the airport with another woman, who is also trying to disappear, seems to offer a glimmer of hope. Quickly, tickets are exchanged and Claire finds herself on her way to California, while Eva takes her place on the flight to Puerto Rico.

The Last Flight is an excellent book about two women who are trying it escape their pasts. The story moves between the two, with Claire’s story emerging in first person, while Eva’s is revealed by a narrator. This book is well-written and very timely, with characters who are sympathetic and relatable. The suspense is maintained throughout a story that didn’t falter. The Last Flight is an outstanding read, with an ending that made me catch my breath. I highly recommend Julie Clark’s book, The Last Flight.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Looking for a satisfying thriller that doesn’t lean into the trope of the unreliable narrator? This satisfying thriller offers the narrative of two smart women who are both fighting for their own survival.

It’s the kind of thriller that you finish the final page and just say, “Damn, that was a good one.”

One of these women is in an abusive relationship with her well-known husband and there is no way to get out. After securing documentation for a fresh identity, she’s decided that leaving is her only choice.

The problem?

The flight she was supposed to take has been unexpectedly canceled and she is being rerouted elsewhere.

Oh, and her husband found out about her plans.

At the airport though, she meets a women who also is looking to escape her troubles, after the unexpected death of her husband.

Enter a Freaky Friday switch of identities and watch each of them try to foster new paths. Of course, not all is as it seems and one just might find themselves in just as much danger.

This fast page-turner should be at the tip top of your list, especially if you are in a summer reading slump.

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, making sure she’s living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish. A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets – thinking the swap will give them a head start to begin again. But everything isn’t what it seems and there are secrets waiting to come to the surface. review: This book hooked me from the very beginning and it didn’t disappoint. Told from the perspectives of Claire and Eva, this book is full of well-timed twists that keep you surprised. I really enjoyed the two perspectives and thought it lent to telling the story of the two well. It gave just enough information each chapter to keep you wanting to know more about each character. This book was addictive, fast-paced and a well written mix of suspense and women’s fiction. rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐️

Two women, Claire and Ava, who are both desperate to leave their lives behind and start anew decide to switch flights. Claire takes Ava’s flight to Cali and Ava takes Claire’s to Puerto Rico. After the flight to Puerto Rico crashes Claire is thrust into being “Ava” which proves difficult and dangerous once she finds out Ava wasn’t completely honest about why she wanted to escape her life.

I enjoyed this one for the most part. It did feel a little rushed towards the end and I would of liked a little more info on Claire’s husband and his punishment. So much of the book was focused on his abuse and her running away.. I just needed more in regards to that. I was more invested in Eva’s side to the story. I couldn’t wait to find out her reasons for wanting to run away. All in all this was a quick read with quite a shocking ending. The ending definitely did turn out how I imagined.

What a story! I couldn't believe the twist in this book. The tale of two completely different women with the same goal is intriguing and I could hardly put it down. I loved the two characters the author created because both felt relatable in their struggles and you were rooting for each of them, even though you aren't sure throughout the whole book who is "good" and who is "bad". It's the perfect combination of suspense and modern fiction. I've been thinking about the two main characters since I finished the book. Highly recommend for fellow thriller lovers.