Cassie is a flight attendant and a self-proclaimed mess. But nothing prepares her for waking up next to her recent one night stand-who has been murdered. This is a fast-paced adrenaline ride that’s well plotted and executed

I liked the show well enough that I thought the book might be interesting, if it handles the subject matter right. But actually the show understood what was interesting about the book so well, it is far superior at presenting it and tweaking it into such a better story. I didn’t even want to finish the book, tbh.

I was so confused by the end of this book that I had to look up plot summaries and spoilers to try to even half-grasp what the heck had just happened. I thought, “Surely it couldn’t be that stupidly unrealistic and over-the-top.” But yes, it was. I mean, honestly. This is one of the most ridiculous books I’ve ever read. The entire basis of the plot/ending is just impossible. Like, way too convenient and absurd. I thought I’d get some answers or be able to wrap my brain around the story from watching the HBO series (which is part of why I read this book! love a good book-to-screen adaptation) but I scanned the episode summaries and it looks like the show is completely different from the book so don’t think it’ll shed any light there. Also, wow, Cassie makes the worst and dumbest decisions of any narrator I’ve ever read. She’s willfully ignorant and reckless and self-destructive but also kinda somewhere in there wants to be a good person? Two stars because Bohjalian is a good writer and kept me reading; good pacing and suspense. But man, this plot felt like he was just putting every element of the book in a bowl and mixing it together and then separating it back out and drawing random connections between characters and situations. Especially that twist with Megan at the end. Like huh??? How is that even relevant? He doesn’t tie up the loose ends or explain anything at the end, either. Just totally leaves you hanging with so many unanswered questions that you wonder why you invested yourself in the first place. And total absolute lack of backstory throughout so you are confused about why any of this is even happening to the characters at all. Ugh.

Bought this at the tiny airport kiosk expecting it to be one of those books you leave behind and like honestly.... this is surprisingly good! a lot of the pulp i've been reading lately has been really awful but this is a really well-crafted book with really good writing, even though it's also another gone girl / girl on the train trend piece. clearly the author is experienced and really cares about their work and that's cool! My faith in escapist literature has been restored :)

I bounced back and forth between the audiobook and the digital copy (both on loan from the library). It took me long enough to get into this book that I probably would not have finished it save for wanting to read it before the HBO Max show in a few weeks. I am glad that I stuck with this, the writing and tension in the back half of this really amped up for me. I never came to like the protagonist, but I did care about what happened to her enough to finish this story. I'm excited/intrigued to see how the adaptation goes. The audiobook was a good listen too!

Edit: bumping this up to 4 stars since I finally concluded that I did in fact enjoy the ending 3,5 stars

Cassie Bowden is living the high life, flying all over the world as a flight attendant and drinking as much as she can handle... usually more than she can handle. One day, after a particularly heavy night in Dubai, Cassie wakes up to find a dead body next to her. What follows is the flight attendant digging herself into a hole, deeper and deeper as she tries to get out of whatever she’s found herself trapped in. I really enjoyed this book, found it difficult to put down and easy to fall into the world of our flight attendant. She wasn’t a particularly likeable character but I enjoyed following her and hoping that she would find her way out of all the trouble. It was weird to basically dislike a character but still root for her. A great book with a good twist BUT this is a slow slow slow paced book, it took a while to get going but once it started burning it was on fire!

I had requested this book from Doubleday because I was in the mood for a good mystery/thriller. I was taken in by the blurb. So when I was approved for the book, I was pretty excited. Then I read the book. Talk about a letdown. I came close to DNF’ing several times because the story couldn’t keep my attention. But when I start a book, I read it through to the end, no matter how bad it was. The Flight Attendant started off with Cassie, waking up in a strange hotel room in Dubai with a hangover. That hangover turns to horror when she realizes that she is in bed with a corpse. The man she had slept with the night before had been killed, his throat slashed and he bled out all over the bed. Cassie panics and leaves. Her leaving starts an avalanche of lies that catch up with her. I was so annoyed with Cassie during the book. It seemed like her mentality was that of a horny college student who can’t hold their alcohol. Her exploits before Dubai and mostly afterward always included alcohol. There was a point where I sighed and said to myself “Why doesn’t anyone say something to her or suggest she goes to rehab to dry out?” I mean, even her own sister didn’t trust her alone with her niece and nephew because of the drinking. She also didn’t listen to anyone. She had a lawyer that was supplied by the flight attendant union. That lawyer told her to plead the 5th. But did she listen? For a little while. Then she told some of the truth and more lies. I was yelling at the book in my head and said “Lady, are you effing kidding me? Shut up!! Listen to your lawyer!!” I almost put the book down after that. Like I said, she annoyed the ever-living out of me. I did like the parallel storyline of the assassin. I thought it was very interesting how she came to be one. I also thought her not killing Cassie when she had the chance was very telling. I did think that she was going to let Cassie go. The end of the book was a big mind screw. Everything was turned upside down and that is what saved this book from getting a 1-star rating. I was not expecting the twists that appeared out of nowhere. So wasn’t expecting any of that and I loved it!! I thought the epilogue was a little much but I was happy for Cassie. I guess. The Flight Attendant was a very slow-moving book up until Cassie goes to Italy for the 2nd time. Then it picks up the pace. I couldn’t get into this book. Besides it being slow, the characters came across as flat. I couldn’t connect with any of them. The ending was fantastic and it saved the book for me. The twists that the author did shock me and they made the book. Will I reread: No (but I will read other books from the author) Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe Age range: Adult Why: Sex, violence, language I would like to thank Chris Bohjalian, Doubleday Books, Doubleday and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Flight Attendant. All opinions stated in this review of The Flight Attendant are mine **I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**