The Flight Attendant

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Chris Bohjalian's writing; his prose is lyrical, his characters are flawed enough to invoke actual people, and his ability to paint a story from multiple angles is impressive. That said, this wasn't my favorite of his novels.

Many of the negative reviews found Cassie (a drunk, self-indulgent, self-absorbed flight attendant) to be too unlikeable - I actually thought that Cassie's honesty about her own flaws, and her continued destructive behavior despite a series of events that might make most people stop and reevaluate their life choices, was one of the strongest aspects of this novel. I didn't like Cassie, per se, but I thought her character was exactly who she needed to be to tell this show more story.

The plot movement through the book was interesting, though at times I think the action was a bit slow. The ending, though too quick for my taste, definitely contained a twist that I was not expecting which I always appreciate. Overall, I liked this book; if you're a fan of intrigue and mystery, I think you'll like it too. 3.5 stars. show less

There is no question that Chris Bohjalian is an outstanding author. He has the ability to make you care about a wide swath of characters, some of which are all too easy to dislike. Plus, his meticulous research shines on every page with an attention to detail that makes you feel as if you too are a subject matter expert on the topic. His novels are as diverse as they are numerous, and they all work in their own way with some working more than others. In this regard, The Flight Attendant is yet another achievement in a long list of them. That it is not his best novel is only slightly disappointing because a disappointing novel by Mr. Bohjalian is still a good one.

In The Flight Attendant, your enjoyment of the novel is completely show more contingent upon your reaction to Cassie. She is pretty awful. Selfish and borderline narcissistic, all she cares about is herself and her next good time. She is a barely functioning alcoholic, prone to blackouts and behavior that should have landed her in jail a long time ago. She repeatedly makes the wrong choice in all things, and it is a miracle that she still is alive let along still working as a flight attendant. At the same time, she has a propensity for self-pity which is nauseating. Her problems are of her own making, and even though she recognizes this fact she still laments them and ultimately drowns her sorrows because of them. The merry-go-round that is her life is simultaneously depressing and sickening, especially because there is nothing to indicate that Cassie is a good person. So, if you find Cassie a tough pill to swallow, your enjoyment of the novel is going to suffer because she and her problems are the heart of the story.

If you can get beyond Cassie’s self-imposed problems, the rest of the story is actually fairly interesting. Given the headlines these days regarding Russia and their active involvement in foreign elections and foreign politics in general, this is one spy story that is frightening in its timeliness. Mr. Bohjalian does an excellent job of creating his chess game of a story, keeping his most valuable pieces hidden until the very last moment. There are times where the story does lag, when the focus is on Cassie’s internal problems rather than on her external ones. However, when the story progresses and the hidden layers of secrets reveal themselves one by one, the story grows on you in a “does this really happen?” way.

Let’s be honest. The Flight Attendant is not Mr. Bohjalian’s best novel. Nor is it even among his best. One must go into the story willing to forgive a lot of weaknesses, including the sometimes glacial pacing of the story and the non-empathetic main character. However, his attention to detail remains among the best among modern writers, and the minutiae he includes about life as a flight attendant or as a secret agent provides enough compelling points to keep your interest. Any story that does that is a success in my book. show less

Cassandra Bowen spends many of her nights in an alcohol-induced blackout. She’s a binge drinker who finds adventure in one-night stands.
But her night of drinking and sex in Dubai ends with the man she spent the night with lying dead in the bed beside her. Cassie has no idea what happened to Alex, but if she’s not responsible for his death, then who killed him? And why?

The author’s scrupulous research gives the narrative a strong realism, and the revelation of unpredicted secrets turns the story in unexpected ways. However, while the premise for this tale seems full of promise, and the FBI Interview Reports add a realistic aspect to the telling of the tale, the story quickly descends into ad nauseam accounts of Cassie’s drinking. show more It’s patently clear that Cassie is a self-destructive drunk; many readers will find the continual repetition of this fact downright exasperating. Honestly, they’ll get it the first time around. The woman spends most of her time drinking and making inordinately poor choices.

And then, more than one-third of the way through the story comes the never-hinted-at, preposterous revelation that Cassie is also a kleptomaniac. Really? This out-of-the-blue divulgence is likely to result in mass book-tossing by readers due to sheer frustration.

Lonely Cassie is not a particularly likeable character and, despite her difficult childhood and her desperate desire for love, readers may find it difficult to empathize with her situation.
The murder mystery is resolved early on, leaving the “why” of the murder as the overarching question, but that alone may not be enough to keep readers involved in the narrative.
Although there are several surprises in the twisty plot, the implausible ending is likely to leave many dumbfounded readers shaking their heads in disbelief. show less

Cassie is a flight attendant on a run to Dubai. She hooks up with a stranger from the flight and wakes up next to his dead body! She is clueless….did she do this? Or someone else? See, Cassie is a blackout alcoholic, liar, and thief. But, she has some good qualities. She visits the animal shelter every Sunday. She is also a hard worker and she really tries to be a good aunt to her niece and nephew. So, did she really do this?

Cassie is an enigma to me. I was torn with my feelings for her. I could not help but think…she brought this on herself. However, I could not help but feel sorry for her situation, especially when it escalates. And boy, does it escalate. FBI, lawyers, media, she is really in a mess.

I was completely caught up in show more Cassie’s dilemma. I read this in two days. It is a mesmerizing page turner. This is what I call a “smart” read. You cannot skip anything or you miss something important. It is an intricate and complex story……THEN THE ENDING! Did not see that coming!

Don’t miss this one!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review. show less

"I'm a very, very good liar. I lie all the time. I lie to other people. I lie to myself."

Chris Bohjalian's new book is an intricately plotted suspense novel. It's told from dual points of view by two well written female characters. Cassie is a Flight Attendant who drinks until she blacks out and often wakes up in the bed of someone she doesn't know. Elena is an assassin who works for a covert group in Russia. Most of the story is Cassie's and what a story it is. She is a total mess but so well written that the reader is immediately drawn into her story to see where she will lead them. She is often confused, doesn't listen to other people's advice and continues to follow behavior that has gotten her into trouble in the past -- in other show more words a complex and interesting character to get to know.

As the novel begins, Cassie wakes up in a strange room in Dubai. At first she wasn't sure where she was or how she had gotten there. She remembers flirting with an American hedge fund manager - on the flight and agreeing to have dinner with him. After a lot of alcohol, she went to his room at the hotel but due to the amount of alcohol consumed, things got a bit fuzzy after that. When she rolls over in bed and finds blood all over, she sees that he is dead. She doesn't think that she killed him but maybe, just maybe, she did. She puts the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door, takes a shower and goes back to her hotel where she soon boards a flight back to the US and nervously awaits whatever is going to happen next but she continues to lie - to the other flight attendants on her flight, to the FBI who are waiting at the gate and most importantly to herself.

This is a wonderful page turner of a novel. Even though Cassie would be an easy character to dislike as she continues to make the same mistakes over and over, she is written in such a way that I found her to be very sympathetic and I was rooting for a good outcome for her. In my opinion, Chris Bohjalian writes female characters better than any male author and his two main female characters are entirely believable - flaws included. This is another fantastic novel by this talented author.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

I am, in general, not drawn to murder mysteries in my reading choices. It's just not the way I chose to spend what never seems like enough reading time. If I had known "The Flight Attendant" was a murder mystery, I might not have even picked it up, but I did because it was written by Chris Bohjalian, whose books I have enjoyed immensely. The fact that the story begins when a flight attendant with a killer hangover wakes up in a plush hotel bed next to the nearly-decapitated hedge fund manager she met on their flight to Dubai might have put me off, but it did not. Because I knew I would be treated to well-drawn, credibly-flawed characters and a compelling story. And so I was. What I did not expect from that opening scene were the twists show more and turns in the plot that I never once anticipated. Nothing and no one are what they seem. This book was so much more than a murder mystery -- or a thriller, as I had seen it described -- it was also a tale of redemption. Well done! show less

The Short of It:

An intoxicated flight attendant with an insatiable appetite for men, goes on a bender and wakes up next to a corpse.

The Rest of It:

Flight attendants visit some pretty exotic places but even with all that promise of adventure, things can be pretty routine while on the job. For Cassie, flirting with the passengers is pretty routine. Sneaking shots of vodka while working is also pretty routine and finding a guy to sleep with as soon as you land? Also pretty routine.

Cassie arranges to meet one of the passengers from her flight for dinner and drinks. Dubai has many luxurious bars and hotels but her only requirement is that the rest of her crew need not know any of it. It’s none of their business anyway, right? So when she show more wakes up next to Alex, a hedge fund manager whom she hardly knows, and sees the gaping wound to his neck, she panics because she cannot remember the evening and wonders if she was the one to murder him. Was she?

Cassandra Bowden’s alcoholic tendencies is what lands her in trouble but even sober, Cassie is not someone you feel sorry for because she’s somewhat calculated and makes really stupid mistakes over and over again. She is very hard to like and in the end, you won’t like her but that’s okay because the story still had me turning those pages.

However, the story has its weak moments. It’s a little repetitive. She gets drunk often and like The Girl on the Train, I tired of it quickly. I feel like the story could have taken many different directions which was good because I couldn’t tell how it would end but the ending was not realistic to me.

This is a book that I enjoyed purely for its page-turning lure. You’ll want to know the outcome and there are enough setbacks and wild moments to keep you guessing.

Have you read it? What did you think?

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. show less