The Flight Attendant

I was a flight attendant (back in the day) and I hated this book. The protagonist was unlikable. She was basically sabotaging her life in the entire story. I thought it would be a fun mystery, but it turned out to be trash!

Do you read books before you watch a show or movie? Normally, I am 100% that person. I like to read the book first and know what I'm getting myself into with the show. Well, in this instance, I didn't know that The Flight Attendant was based on a book. I watched season 1 of the HBO show when it released, and recently started season 2. It is such a fabulous show! I don't normally like suspense/mystery, but there's a comedic spin with the show and it's just so good. Well, I was browsing Libby looking for my next book to pick up on audio, and I saw this and immediately was like “I didn't know! Now I must read it!” Y'all, It is so good! The narration is so good. There is a full cast of narrators for the different POVs, so I stayed immersed in the story the whole time I listened. This story follows Cassie Bowden who is a flight attendant with a habit of getting very drunk and reckless. She wakes up after a night of drinking to find herself in bed with the body of the man she was with that night. The book follows her journey to help solve his murder. There's secrets and double agents, this book is packed with it all. I loved this book, and I think the TV adaptation is actually pretty close to the actual story while adding some details and side character's stories. This is an adult psychological thriller, 18+ for language and themes.

Another 3.5 solid stars for this one. A main character full of flaws, almost to the point of us reading and saying omg please stop, lol, a murder surrounded by mystery and surprises and good twists and a comfortable yet engrossing pace. I had this author recommended to me for another book and I can see why it may be interesting to pursue other titles - will definitely do it.

This book had really great pacing, but the ending was disappointing.

Liked the first few chapters. Then wanted to bang my head against the desk because of this woman's poor choices. Sure it's a character flaw, character flaws are good. But isn't she supposed to learn from it? Also that ending.. ugh.

Highly recommend

The Flight Attendant A Novel by Chris Bohjalian published by Doubleday Books is a good read. I want to thank all parties who made this book possible and many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my arc of this novel.
I like many readers out there feel that the thriller genre is highly saturated but this novel has such unique qualities that it makes it a gem in the genre. Chris Bohjalian does an amazing job painting his female lead in many dimensions. While she comes across like a drunk party girl who enjoys a good time in every part of the world she lands, she is also a devoted aunt a strong female and a sister. For those who do not know much about alcoholism it is a very interesting ride watching Cassie spiral then picking herself up. I felt that the slow pace of the novel actually didn't bother me. Why you ask well that simple because I think the slow format makes the story more digestible for the reader there for making it a more enjoyable read. I think the only thing I didn't much care for was the character of Viktor while I get the role he played I just want a fan. Over all I think this deserves a read from anyone who likes a thriller with lots of twists.

I really liked the premise of this book but felt let down in the execution. The characters were one dimensional and the plot sputtered along. I almost DNF'ed it but decided to plow through. The ending was solid and moved it from a two star to a three star read for me. If you enjoy mysteries/thrillers with complexity and character development you may want to pass this one up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital advance reader copy of this book.

First of all, thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm apparently in the minority considering that this book has such good reviews so far. Maybe it's because I don't already have a fondness for the author; this is the first of his novels I've picked up. I really did not enjoy it. I found the protagonist, Cassie, to be unrelatable. She continually makes ridiculously bad choices which is understandable with an addiction but she seems like she just doesn't care. It's hard to empathize with that. Also, sorry, but we GET that Cassie likes alcohol a little too much. Does it really need to be repeated in EVERY single paragraph?

The Flight Attendant is marketed and described as a suspenseful thriller but it was neither suspenseful or thrilling. Instead, I found it rather boring and predictable. Nothing drew me in. If it wasn't for the fact that I needed to review it as an ARC, I wouldn't have bothered to finish the last few chapters as it was clear how it would end. The characters were shallow and one dimensional. I had high hopes in the first few chapters but it quickly went downhill for me and it was just a chore to finish reading it.