The Last Flight
Fiction
Sourcebooks Landmark
June 23, 2020
Hardcover
320
Purchased
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, 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 ― Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
The Last Flight is the story of two women ― both alone, both scared ― and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives.
My review:
Yay! This one was my kind of thriller! I don't require a million twists and turns to entertain me, just a good story with characters that I care what happens to. This one grabbed me from the very beginning, and sustained my interest until the very end. While I'm not going to say the circumstances were totally believable at first, as you near the end they make much more sense. This book is told in an interesting way. Told in alternating chapters, Claire is in real time, whereas Eva starts that way, but then we go back in time six months, and work back up to the present. So you hear about Claire's past through her reminiscing, but Eva is actually living hers. Different take that made it stand out from the usual formulaic storyline. No complaints about writing style, character development, or length, this one had just what it needed to deliver a punch. Definitely a slow burn, this one had my heart pounding by the end, and while maybe not the ending I would have wished for, it was the ending that made sense (mine would have been implausible and would have ruined it).
Want a hanging on the edge of your seat waiting for the outcome story? You need look no further, I was completely invested in this one.
I've heard great things about this one! I think many thrillers make the mistake of throwing in too many twists, so it is nice to see one that takes a more straight ahead approach.