Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams is an amazing historical fiction novel centering on two female characters, Irene Foster, a famous female pilot in the late 1920s/1930s, and Janey Everett, a photojournalist in the late 1940s writing a book about Sam Mallory, Irene's flight partner. Both characters are strong, complicated women whose upbringings and past experiences influence their life trajectories. I loved how the author weaved the women's stories together. There were several plot developments that actually made me gasp out loud.

This book had elements of mystery, romance, adventure, and tragedy. I definitely give this book 5 stars. I haven't read any of Ms. Williams' other solo novels, but I'll be sure to pick up others now.

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow/HarperCollins for the ARC. I'll be sure to recommend this book to all of my reader friends!

I was given this book as an ARC by Negalley and the William Morris Agency. I gave this a rounded up 4.5 stars. This was an intriguing book based on Amelia Earhart. The book starts withia young woman, Janey Everett, is arriving on a Hawaiian Island researching a former aviator and Spanish War pilot, Sam Mallory. She meets several on the Hawaiian Island that knew this aviator through a friend, Irene Lindquist who was a female surfer and pilot. Sam had taught her to be a pilot and they won several races together..The story continues from there.

Beatriz Williams wrote a remarkable historical fiction novel based on the lives of these two characters, Irene and Sam

4.5 Beautiful Stars!

This was so beautifully done with threads that were interwoven and knitted together so well that most of it I didn't even see coming. I absolutely loved the historical details about planes and those brave pilots that really laid the foundation for flight today from both women and men alike. Truly an engaging story that kept me eagerly turning the pages as each story unfolded over time. And thought this wasn't about Amelia, I can totally see the similarities in these two characters and the whatifs of everything that happened on her fateful last flight.

This is the first book by Beatriz Williams I have read, and it certainly will not be the last. This novel was inspired by Amelia Earhart and other early aviators who pushed the boundaries of what airflight was at the time.

Janey Everett is a photojournalist working on a biography of famed pilot Sam Mallory in 1947. She tracks down another pilot and close associate of Sam's, Irene Foster, who had disappeared in flight ten years earlier. Not only does Janey attempt to unravel Irene's secrets, but her own past is hurtling into the present.

I enjoy novels with back-and-forth timelines and those with a book-in-a-book, and this novel combined those in a way that kept me turning the pages. I will be recommending this to who enjoy twists and turns.

Janey Everett, photojournalist, tracks down famous pilot Irene Foster who disappeared years ago and many thought dead. Janey is really interested in the pilot that taught Irene to fly, Sam Mallory. The story takes the legend of Amelia Earhart and imagines what may have happened to a female celebrity pilot who went missing. it also explores love and family and secrets and pain.

Beatriz Williams’ Her Last Flight tells the story of Irene Foster, a famed aviatrix during the late 1920s and 30s, who disappeared in 1937 during the first Round the World Air Derby. What a mystery!
I enjoyed how the author expertly wove together the points-of-view of the two time periods. The earlier time period of the 30s uses 3rd person, told in book format about Irene; whereas, the latter period of 1947 is told in 1st person through the view of Eugenia (Janey) Everett, a photojournalist who tells Irene she is researching a novel about pilot Sam Mallory. Janey accomplishes her goal of finding the true relationship between Irene and Sam and reveals surprises for the reader along the way. Those surprises were eye opening!
Williams illustrates the importance of an individual understanding the behavior and personality of a loved one. Janey matures and becomes a better person for this understanding.
Beatriz Williams has again created a Wonderful historic fiction novel.

The Last Flight by Beatrix Williams is a very good historical novel which is set in the 1940s and the 1920s. The format of the novel goes back and forth between the two time periods. The novel explores the life of a female aviator named Irene and the man who teaches her how to fly. The more current time period begins with a photojournalist who is researching about the male and female aviators and their unique life and relationship. I found the aviation part of this novel to be fascinating. It is amazing how far aviation has come over the years. As you read this novel you begin to question what role each character plays in promoting aviation dreams and realize that sometimes love makes us do desperate and curious things. I enjoyed the character development and the relationships that developed over time. My thanks to HarperCollins Publishing and netgalley for allowing me to read this book in order to write a fair and honest review. Read this novel! You will not be disappointed and you might also learn about aviation !

I enjoy historical novels that feature strong women. I read West with the Night, Circling the Sun, and The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion so I loved reading Her Last Flight. It was well written, had interesting characters, and I didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Net Galley and Book Club Girls for the ARC of this title for my honest review. I am a huge Beatriz Williams fan, and this book certainly does not disappoint. "Her Last Flight" covered all the bases for me. Some romance, mystery, and adventure all tied into one bundle. The leading characters, Irene and Janey are very well-developed with a mysterious side that slowly peels away throughout the book. I really enjoyed this book!

Her Last Flight follows Beatriz Williams' tried and true formula of a dual timeline novel. In this book we are introduced to Janey Everett who is a photojournalist wanting to write a book about pilot Sam Mallory, who's remains and plane have been found in Spain. In her search for more information on Sam, she begins searching for Irene Foster who Sam spent years training and flying with. Janney finds Irene Lindquist a surfer and sometimes pilot in Hawaii and confronts her about being Irene Foster. This is the basis for the timeline in 1947. The other timeline is the late 1920-30s and the story of Irene and Sam. Both stories have strong female characters and the plots blend very well together. The book is well researched and an enjoyable read. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to review #HerLastFlight

My first Beatriz Williams read and I was not disappointed.

Fans of historical fiction will love reading the story of pilots Irene Foster/Lindquist and Sam Mallory and Janey Everett - photojournalist. This story is written in multiple timelines - 1930's & 1940's.

Janey Everett is on a mission to find missing pilot Irene Linquist & Sam Mallory and to write their stories leading up to their disappearances. There are a couple twists and unexpeted turns as we learn about their lives and romance.

A great read! I was interested in this book because I thought it would be about Amelia Earhart - the most famous woman pilot I had ever heard of. After following Irene and Sam, I was glad I was wrong. I must admit that it took awhile to like Janey - but came to enjoy her story almost as much as I did Irene and Sam's love story - truly one of the greatest written in some time.

The author took an interesting story - women in avaition and gave it a relatable, enduring story.

Janey is a photojournalist and she’s currently working on a big article about Sam Mallory. Mallory was a famous pilot who disappeared about ten years earlier.

Possibly his most famous flight was with a female pilot named Irene. Irene was very famous as well. There were very few women flying at the time.
Nearly twenty years ago, Sam and Irene took a flight together that crashed. They spent weeks together, stranded on a beach, just them and Sam’s kitten Sandy. After they were rescued, everyone wanted to know if something had happened between them.

Janey tracks down Irene to interview her. Irene dropped out of the public eye and isn’t excited about being interviewed.
But the two women seem to relate to each other in a way.

I enjoyed this story. I think it felt a little slow to start. Now, personally, I was having a rough day when I started reading the book and that might have affected my ability to get into the story at first. But I mention it because if someone else has a slow start with getting into this book, I wanted them to know that the storyline and the pace picks up.

I definitely liked Irene’s character the best.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. I love this author’s books and I’m so grateful that I got picked. Thank you!

HER LAST FLIGHT
BY BEATRIZ WILLIAMS

HER LAST FLIGHT written by Beatriz Williams is a fantastic favorite historical novel based on Amelia Earhart's factual life as well as other early aeronautical trailblazers including the Wright Brother's and Charles Lindbergh. Irene Foster Lindquist is a composite character drawn on meticulous research to incorporate many books written about early aviation. I absolutely loved this rich and multilayered plot and the character's were all equally lovable and well drawn to be three dimensional and mesmerizing.

The novel begins in the badlands of a desert in Spain in 1947 where Janey Everett acting off from a tip discovers an airplane partially covered in sand. As she climbs inside she finds the skeleton still clothed attached to a boot which she recognizes as belonging to a pilot who flew in the Spanish Republic Civil War ten years earlier. She buries the remains in a shallow grave of sand using the remnants of the airplane's propeller as a cross until this forgotten soul can receive a proper burial. She also found a leather bound journal. She herself has never before flown on an airplane and got to the crash site by riding a mule. She is a photojournalist. She reads "GM to rescue at last thank God she will live." She asks herself, Somebody came to his rescue? Then why is he dead? And who is she? There was no she, just this single man found in his airplane. No second body lies here, no female body. "Because here's what I know for certain about that pile of abandoned bones, which was once a pilot named Samuel Mallory. There was only one 'she.' Only one person in the world to make him invoke the name of God."


The book alternates between chapter's of her recreating a biography about Sam Mallory and Irene Foster Lindquist with chapter heading's that are either labeled "Aviatrix by Eugenia Everett, (excerpt)" or Hanalei, Hawaii.

March 1928: California
Irene only surfs at dawn, when nobody who wants to be around other people all of the time. There are some beautiful descriptions about the frigid and cold Pacific Ocean. It is here that she drove her father's old dilapidated Model T. Her father taught her how to surf when she was eleven or twelve smelling of alcohol. Now she is twenty when she meets Sam Mallory. He asks her if the kitten he found belonged to her. She says no. When she tries to start her father's ancient car it won't start. They discover together it needs a spark plug. He offers to drive her in his canary yellow car only five or six years old to his airfield where he said he worked as a pilot. Irene suddenly recognized him as the famous Sam Mallory and the famous pilot who flew in the Dole Derby who she followed his race by listening to the radio. He drove her to the airfield while she watched him fly in an exhibit. He did loops in the sky and he told her that the owners owned the airplane. He told her that he loves flying and over the course of months he taught her to fly. That it takes a sponsor such as the Publisher George Morrow to build an aircraft that after training her they would fly from California to Sydney, Australia.

Hanalei, Hawaii--October 1947
Janey Everett has tracked down Irene Lindquist to a remote Island in Hawaii where she correctly guesses where Irene is surfing and she ambushes her on the beach. She recognizes Irene Lindquist to be one and the same person as Irene Foster. Janey has done her research and at first Irene Lindquist tries to deny she is the former Irene Foster who was world famous for her aviator achievements. When Janey discloses that she has in her possession Sam Mallory's leather bound journal recovered at the crash site Irene Lindquist asks how she found her? Janey tells her that she never tells anybody the source of her information. Janey tells Irene over breakfast that she is there to write Sam Mallory's biography because she needs to find out what happened to him--she just needs too. It is a big secret that Irene Foster who mysteriously disappeared during an around the world flight in 1937 owns an Island hopping airline with her husband Olle and their two young blond children. The famous aviator Irene Foster was once Sam Mallory's flying partner and it is one of the world's biggest mysteries to what happened to her. Everybody on the Island's of Hawaii knows her as Irene Lindquest and they are protective of her anonymity. Irene Lindquist surprises Janey by offering her their guest cottage.

Anybody that knows about Amelia Earhart and her trailblazing career of aeronautical accomplishments will recognize Irene as a factual composite character of Amelia and early famous aviator's. The plot of this novel is amazing and Beatriz Williams has clearly done meticulous research to learn about the technological insights she weaves into this outstanding novel of historical fiction peppered in with factual data of the era. I grew to love all of the character's as they are vividly portrayed in all of their three dimensional humanity. There is a nod to Ms William's publisher in the character of George Morrow. Amelia Earhart was married to GP Putnam. As both a novel within a novel this is a multilayered narrative that has a mind blowing reveal which I thoroughly appreciated because I never expected it and I never saw it coming. The reveal is purely legendary and I think it will please the reader's. I am a big fan of Beatriz William's and I certainly get the impression that she writes intelligently and that this historical novel will be enjoyed as well as educate. It is on my list of favorite's for 2020 and I look forward to owning the physical copy to add to my unforgettable personal collection.

Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Beatriz Williams and HarperCollins--William Morrow Publishing for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#HerLastFlight #BeartizWilliams #HarperCollinsWilliamMorrowPublishing #NetGalley

This book was so not what I expected. It reads like a memoir of aviation's first flights and developments.
Following Sam Mallory and Irene Foster's relationship with aviation and each other. Sam Mallory is a famous aviator. He's one of the first to fly long distances. Surviving crashes and making history in the late 1920s. When the idea of flying long distance was a dream. He meets Irene surfing in California. She's on track to become a nurse but gets sidetracked into Sam's lifestyle. She becomes a flying partner to him. Becoming involved in the fun and exhilarating lifestyle of flying. Reaching new long distances never before reached. Becoming herself, a legend in the Aviators world.
Bouncing back and forth from the 1920s and the late 1940s. In walks a photojournalist, Janey Everett, wanting to document Sam Mallory and his disappearance. She wants to find out what truly happened to him. His plane disappeared and was never found. Did he finally succumb to his beloved flying? She wants to find out the truth. Shes combed the last area Sam Mallory had been seen and discovers things that lead her back to Hawaii and possibly the woman that may have some answers for her.

This story was so well thought out. It mimics a bit of Amelia Eahrart and what she may have experienced in her flying extravaganzas. Being the first woman to fly at length. The fame of it all and the publicity that she gained from being the first. Her love of flying and her personal life not very personal. Being in the open and having the media all the time taking pics of her and her life.

This book takes you on a ride. From the late 20s to the late 40s. Many shocking discoveries I didn't see coming. The development of that suspense is incredible. I loved the passion of this book. The trials and tribulations from those early flights. The amount of time they had to put into to learn how a plane could take on longer distances. I have a new respect for that time period and the risks that those pilots took to advance this type of technology.

Highly recommend to those interested in early aviation. Mystery. Secretly mixed in love story.

Super excited to get an advanced reader copy of this book. Thank you #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

I love that the author mentioned that this book started as almost a sort of biography of Amelia Earhart but turned into more of a "well what if she did survive and was staking out on an island?". It was such an interesting story to read and definitely my favorite Beatriz Williams book by far.

This new novel from Beatriz Williams tells the story of Jane Everett, a photojournalist who embarks upon researching and writing the story of Irene Foster, one of the first women in flight some 20 years earlier.
(At first, I thought this book might have been an historical fiction about Amelia Earhart which would have been quite interesting, but this was a close second. There is a reference in the epilogue to Amelia Earhart so it may be that this story is loosely based upon her life and work).
The story is told in alternate chapters between past and present, (which I usually enjoy) and is so richly detailed in its writing that I was able to vividly picture it as I read. The story overall, while intriguing, felt contrived in some spots and fell a bit flat for me overall, until the last 100 pages of the book.
The characters were well-developed. I was fascinated with Jane's character and story and her persistence to get the story out of stand-offish, aloof Irene who bordered on annoying because of it. The chance meeting between Irene and Sam and their eventual partnership in flight seemed a bit too convenient for me, but it was a good storyline.
There were quite a few other characters which might have been added to create some depth to the story but were extraneous in my view.
I liked the description of the background and landscape of the different countries featured throughout the story. I especially liked the description of the different flights which was not too technical so it was fairly easy to follow.
I enjoyed the details of the story overall, but some of it might have been cut down so that it could get to the point.
That said, there were a few interesting twists towards the end which made me improve my initial rating from 3/5 to 4/5.

In summary, if you like Beatriz Williams, you will certainly love this!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I have read many of Ms. Williams’s novels and have enjoyed them all and this one does not disappoint.
I have always been fascinated with Amelia Earhart and female aviators. This book gives me that fix and portrays such strong female characters. The book gives such a rich history and I love the way the book goes between the times and tells the story.
This book makes me feel like I’m in the story and have gone back in time!

I have to admit, at first I was disappointed this story was not about the famous Schuyler, but the queen of historical fiction did not let me down!
Very true to Williams' writing style, this novel alternates between two characters/timelines. Janey Everett is a photojournalist trying to track down the mysterious Irene Foster in 1937. An "Aviatrix" from the 1920s who disappeared during a solo round the world flying race. Janey has discovered the crash site of Foster's partner, Sam Mallory, and thinks she can find more answers on a remote island in Hawaii. The novel explores how Foster became a pilot, during a time when women were not expected to leave the home, and Janey's dedication to finding out the truth about Mallory. So many surprising twists and turns in the novel, it was really one I could not put down.
An amazing story!

Every Beatriz Williams book is something to savor, even as you tear through the pages, unable to put it down -- and this was no exception. It's a fascinating, melancholy, romantic, addictive read, and readers will cherish it.