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Book Summary and Reviews of The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

The Flight Attendant

by Chris Bohjalian

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2018, 368 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A powerful story about the ways an entire life can change in one night: A flight attendant wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man - and no idea what happened.

Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She's a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police - she's a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home - Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it's too late to come clean - or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?

Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at forty thousand feet, The Flight Attendant unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.

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BookBrowsers Ask Author Chris Bohjalian
I haven't read The Flight Attendant (yet), but noticed it was made into a limited series on HBO. Can you say a little bit about your involvement with the series with regard to helping the production company stay true to the story and also whether you had any input into which actors or actresses w...
-Jill_Mercier

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Bohjalian is an unfaltering storyteller who crosses genres with fluidity, from historical fiction to literary thrillers…a read-in-one-sitting escapade that is as intellectually satisfying as it is emotionally entertaining." - Booklist

"Starred Review. Readers who enjoyed the imperfect heroine in Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train and the anxiety-ridden paranoia of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment will be hooked by this murder mystery." - Library Journal

"With about 50 pages to go it's as though the bell has rung for the final lap, with the author unceremoniously detonating a plot bombshell that triggers the frenetic, exciting, but not especially convincing sprint to the finish. Bohjalian's fans will still have fun." - Publishers Weekly

"The moral overcomes the mystery in this sobering cautionary tale." - Kirkus

This information about The Flight Attendant was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Cathryn Conroy

A Spellbinding and Intelligent Thriller
Have you noticed all the hype that has surrounded this book by Chris Bohjalian ever since it was published in March 2018? Yeah, it's all true—and then some. Do find a comfy chair because this spellbinding and intelligent thriller is so engrossing and riveting you won't want to stop reading. At least, I couldn't!

Flight attendant Cassie Bowden is a party girl to the extreme, drinking so much and so frequently that she is quite accustomed to not only passing out, but also blacking out (not to mention taking her shirt off in public places and other eyebrow-raising antics). And then one morning in a Dubai she awakens in the bed of a dead man. A man she didn't even know 24 hours earlier. Who killed him? And why does Cassie remember so little? Bohjalian expertly weaves the tale of this man's brutal murder into something that is far more compelling than a run-of-the-mill thriller: It is also a fascinating psychological study into the mind of an alcoholic and compulsive liar.

Vividly written with page-turning suspense, this book is ingeniously plotted with twists and turns to keep you glued to the aforementioned chair until the very last page.

Mal

Lively read!
Great book! Cassie was one hot mess, I cringed at her behavior and poor decision making. A majority of the time I wanted to slap sense into her as she fuels the train wreck she is and her life. This woman possesses serious flaws.

The only negative I have is the epilogue was disappointing and unbelievable, otherwise one heck of a read. Bohjalian is on a roll, can't wait to read his next offering.

Dpfaef

Excellent story....
I was a little hesitant to request this arc from Netgalley cause I thought the premise of the book was strange. I like Chris Bohjalian's books so I figured what's the harm, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book.

Cassie Bowden is not a particularly likable character, her life centers around drinking too much and getting laid. While she is able to hold on to her job, at just past 40, her life is slipping away from her. On a flight from New York to Dubai, she meets a younger businessman, whom she ends up spending the night with. The following morning Cassie wakes up in bed with a dead man. Cassie's life is forever changed.

Upon her return to New York, Cassie lies to the FBI about her interlude with the young businessman. Cassie has come to a point in her life where she needs to decide which way to go, she finally admits that she was with the businessman the night he was murdered. As Cassie attempts to tone down her life she meets an actor whom she is drawn too. She also realizes that someone is following her and that her life may be in danger.

I enjoyed this book, the suspense that builds throughout the book is great, you just want to keep on reading. Chris Bohjalian is a master storyteller.

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Author Information

Chris Bohjalian Author Biography

Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including The Jackal's Mistress, Midwives, Hour of the Witch, and The Flight Attendant, which was an Emmy-winning MAX series starring Kaley Cuoco. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into mov­ies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. His novels have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by numerous newspapers and magazines, and been selections of Oprah's Book Club and the Barnes & Noble Book Club. He is also a playwright. He lives in Vermont and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on many social networks, @chrisbohjalian.

Author Interview
Link to Chris Bohjalian's Website

Name Pronunciation
Chris Bohjalian: boh-JAIL-yen

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