The Last Flight: A Novel Kindle Edition

The story is told from two different points of view: Claire Cook and Eva James. Claire’s portion is in the present while Eva’s is always in the past. The chapters alternate between the two women and this is where the confusion begins. Claire is married to Rory, who is an abusive husband. He is well known and powerful as his mom was a well-respected senator. After her death, he took over all her foundations and is about to announce that he is running for senator. Claire was forced to give up her art passions and commit herself to his campaign and foundations. Every minute of Claire’s life is planned by their assistant, Danielle. Everyone who works for Rory has seen the bruises on Claire from him for many years but everyone turns a blind eye. Claire rarely goes anywhere without the assistant. She reunites with an old friend from school, Petra and her brother, Nico who are in some kind of Russian mob. They formulate a plan for Claire to escape and assume a new identity, as Nico knows how to fake documents, etc. Claire is scheduled to go to Detroit to speak at some foundation, with Danielle meticulously planning every detail and even packing her suitcase. The plan is for Petra to send a package to the hotel in Detroit where Claire will be staying with all her new identity information (she will become Amanda Burns) and then to flee into Canada. They used burner phones so none of this info could be accessed by Rory or Danielle. As Claire approaches the airport, she is told that there was a change of plans and Rory will actually be going to Detroit and she will be going to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief efforts (allegedly). Claire knows that he will receive her package and figure out she was trying to leave him. She sits in the airport scared and wondering what to do.Meanwhile, Eva is a troubled woman who is also trying to escape her life and is looking for someone in the airport to switch places with her. She zeros in on Claire, somehow knowing she is looking for the same thing. I mean….give me a break. Then they decide to switch places in the restroom of the airport, with Claire now flying to Oakland and Eva flying to Puerto Rico. They exchange purses and ID’s, credit cards, etc. I know you probably want to scream at the computer right now, but my thoughts will be down below 😉. Then, we dive into Eva’s past and what she might be running from. You find out that Eva has been an orphan her whole life and that her mother was an addict. Eva has felt alone and rejected her whole life but develops an interest in chemistry. She manages to get into Berkeley somehow and is doing well there. She then is pursued by Wade, the quarterback of the college football team who somehow convinces her to start making speed pills in the chemistry lab. However, Eva is caught and gets expelled from the university. Guess it’s time to become a drug dealer! Wade dropped her long ago because he was just using her for the drugs. Now that her future is in shambles, she becomes involved with a mid-level drug dealer (Dex) who acts as an in-between between Eva and the big honcho, Fish. Oh, also Eva is actually making speed pills in the basement of her home now and supplying them to Dex but also keeps some back for her to sell. Dex warns Eva of Fish’s violence throughout the book (even at one point stating that he killed his former chemist). While Eva is trying to sell some pills to a woman in the park, she realizes the woman is working with a federal agent (Castro) to bring Fish down. Eva takes a small break from making pills but Dex says she must continue or Fish will kill her. Castro then starts meeting with Eva in hopes she can give him evidence on how to bring the drug ring down. She doesn’t want to cooperate for fear of being killed but knows she will face jail time if she doesn’t. She knows she has to find a way out. She lives next door to a woman named, Liz who is a visiting professor from Princeton, who will only be in town for a month. She doesn’t know the woman but they become very attached to one another, and then Liz leaves to go back to New Jersey. Liz also has a daughter named Ellie, who Eva is slightly jealous of.At the beginning of the book, you find out that Eva’s plane crashed in the ocean and they are still trying to recover bodies. Rory finds out that the seat his wife is supposed to have sat in was empty, making him suspicious. It’s a plane crash in the ocean, dude. You’re not going to find everyone! This also sets the reader up for wondering if Eva got scanned into the flight but managed to get off the plane without notice. Doesn’t pan out either.Here we go:Critiques:- After finally making something for herself after a horrific childhood, why would Eva risk her future for a boy that resulted in her getting kicked out of school? Also, there’s no info about the boy except that he’s a football player at the university. That should have been developed more because it makes no sense to do this for some random dude she likes where there’s no hint of emotional attachment.- When Eva meets a new customer (Brittany) at the park to sell her speed pills, she notices a baby seat in Brittany car (no baby) and scabs all over hands. Eva doesn’t want to sell her anything because she is clearly an addict. Hmmmm….a drug dealer who doesn’t sell to drug addicts? Consider me confused. Fish has told Dex (who then told Eva) that they could only sell to college kids looking to make good grades, not drug addicts. Yet, when one college student owes her money, she has men beat the kid to a bloody pulp and just leave him there. Eva has no concern that this is someone’s son? Yet cares about a mom being an addict? This is totally conflicting and ridiculous.- What is the real purpose of Agent Castro? He does nothing at all throughout the entire story, yet has a soft spot for Eva. As a reader, I thought maybe he would turn out to be Eva’s real father, but the author missed that opportunity. Instead, he pushes Eva to give up info so he can bring down Fish. Umm…why is he not arresting her? She’s the one making the drugs and dispersing them. I just don’t see how a Federal DEA agent didn’t arrest the person responsible for making the pills. He also saw her selling many times.- It’s revealed that Dex is actually Fish as if this is a big twist. I can’t even.- Eva is scared of Dex if she turns him in and is worried of being followed, yet makes it on a plane to visit Liz in New Jersey undetected (by Dex and Castro).- Once Claire’s plan is foiled, she changes her appearance to look like Eva and assume her identity but that makes zero sense either. Eva tells Claire in the airport that she is wanted for assisting in her husband’s death. Why would Claire assume this woman’s identity, when she is clearly in a lot of trouble?- Claire then stays at Eva’s house til she can figure out what to do. She wants to conceal who she is as much as possible to avoid the long reaching arm of her husband, yet goes to the same coffee shop every day and even strikes up a relationship with a barista named Kelly. Wow.- Kelly offers Claire a job at a catering company with her that pays cash under the table. While serving guests at an event, Claire notices a man abusing his wife which triggers something in her. Forgetting her hidden identity, she steps in-between the couple to stop it from escalating. The man is a well known football player and a video of the incident is posted to TMZ thus outing Claire as being alive. She’s so frightened but continues to check his emails and googledocs to see what he might be planning for her. She does nothing to get out of Eva’s house.- Claire tries to call Petra to get help only to discover her phone has been disconnected. A good author would have made you believe the husband did something to Petra, but later you find out Claire wrote her number down wrong. At the end, she somehow reconnects with Petra. I wanted to pull my hair out.- Kelly is totally pointless in the story. Why did we have to hear boring details about Claire going to Kelly’s house and meeting her daughter and mother? Isn’t she supposed to be hiding?- Danielle cares nothing for Claire throughout the book and overlooks many instances of abuse and then somehow finds out the number for Eva’s burner phone (which Claire has) and leaves her a message warning her that Rory is coming to find her.- Claire contacts CNN to out her abusive, powerful husband now that she knows she’s in danger (wasn’t she in danger when she wanted to leave him originally?) Why didn’t she contact CNN earlier? Oh, and Claire has stumbled on information that Rory killed his girlfriend in the 90’s and got away with it. A random character named Charlie emerges who is sending threats to Rory that he is going to go to the police about the murder. The author sprinkles in that Charlie is now Charlotte and back in the day, Rory and Charlie were having an affair. It was literally a two-sentence detail that served absolutely no purpose.- A car is sent from CNN to collect Claire for her interview and she gets in willingly. Stupid. In the car, she receives a warning from Danielle that a man has been sent to silence Claire and he has a right tattoo sleeve. Claire notices the driver of the CNN car has a right arm tattoo sleeve and panics. This could have turned into something interesting but two seconds later, you learn he’s harmless and really works for CNN.- The entire book is boring and filled with things that do not relate to the story at all. A good author throws in characters that give the reader clues and make the reader suspect multiple people. This author just threw names on paper with no meaning to the story.- The fact that Claire’s story is always in the present and Eva’s is not is a huge indicator early on that the book will end with Eva dying in the plane crash. The plane Claire was supposed to be on. You never find out what caused the crash. I was hoping there would be a connection to Claire and Eva and the abusive husband. The characters were related in no way and would have been more interesting if Rory had orchestrated the crash. Meh.- Why does the plane have to crash at all? Ponder that.- The author tries to throw a twist near the end about Eva visiting Liz in New Jersey. While at Liz’s house, her daughter Ellie comes home. We then learn that Ellie is really Danielle (the assistant) and then tells Eva the whole story about Claire trying to escape. This causes Eva to “run in” to Claire at the airport and deceive her. What a coincidence!- Liz convinces Eva to go back to Oakland and turn herself into Castro. Eva is going to but decides to switch with Claire last minute and go to Puerto Rico instead. I don’t see how we are supposed to root for Eva when she is such a horrible person.- The book paints Eva in a very sympathetic light and that she’s a victim of circumstances and men. Yeah….- After getting thru the entire book (wondering if Eva is still alive), you’re presented with the epilogue. This is how you find out Eva really did die in the crash. Why did we need all the pointless detail for half the book of Eva’s life when she just dies?- Why is Claire at Eva’s house trying to find out what Eva was really running from (and now a deceased stranger to her) when she should have been worrying about hiding from her abusive husband?

I really loved this book! It was an interesting premise of Claire and Eva switching places. Claire thought she was getting away, but got put right into Eva’s mess. I was glad to see Claire finally come forward and tell the truth, while still making sure she protected Eva. The Epilogue was sad though! I had hoped for a different outcome for Eva and would have loved the story to continue on!

It been quite a while since I read a book that I found so interesting that I couldn't put it down. That's the case with this book. A page turner!

I couldn't put it down. I usually don't read suspenseful stories but this was a book club selection.I Thoroughly got caught up in the story. It kept one guessing all through it. It was a GREAT READ.

We have two female protagonists who are fleeing their current lives. They don't know each other, and are booked on flights going to different locations. Fate or unbelievable chance brings them together in a airport bar, where they await their departures. Conversation brings about the switching of their tickets, clothes, purses and identities. But, fate will intervene again. One of the planes crashes into the sea. All aboard are lost.The lives of Claire and Eva are revealed using alternating chapters. Both women are intelligent, determined, strong and set on making their own decisions about their futures.The relationship between Eva and Liz is particularly poignant. I am happy that they had that special time together.Now for the epilogue. It gets a great big raspberry because I don't like it.

I saw this book recommended on booktok! I heard it was amazing! It was a good read. But I was kind of disappointed and felt it was overhyped… I went in with high expectations. It was a great read. Kept me interested. Just was a little overhyped for me

Despite some improbabilities that stretch credulity, this is a well written, tightly scripted look at an intersection in the lives of two women, both of whom are in very desperate circumstances. One is on the run from an abusive husband, the other from a drug dealer who would take her life. How they seek to resolve their respective problems forms the crux of the plot and is the source of some if those probabilities I mentioned earlier.The pacing will keep you on the edge of your seat and the plot twist at the end may surprise you. All-in-all it’s an enjoyable read.

Great plot. Couldn’t put it down!

I so enjoyed reading this book until the finale which was too pat and a real let down after such a terrific start - therefore I cannot recommend the book

This is a well crafted and compelling thriller that plunges you along two separate but connected story lines. Both involve women. In fact, this book is about women. Men are cardboard backdrops, as complex as a box of Shreddies. The plot is solid. It solves the “too much coincidence “ problem in a clever, backhanded way. The writing is crisp and the characters more or less believable. The two backstories are overly similar, but the real problem is with the men. From disappearing husbands to serial abusers to manifold manipulators, this is a rogues gallery of misogynists. No wonder there’s no sex in this book; there’s no male character the least bit attractive or even interesting. It’s glorious, resilient, indomitable women all the way down.

Great story...different type of story and well written...not the norm for me as I usually read sci-fi. And I don't normally like stories that go back and forth but this worked for me. The characters were believable and the story keep me hoping for a happy outcome right till the end. I would recommend this book to most everyone I know...and I have.

I really enjoyed this novel and I think one of the reasons for that was because the focus of the novel although ostensibly being about the travel industry -booking flights, paying, wandering around airports, flying etc. it was in a much deeper sense a novel about humanity's need to accept change as a good thing and not hold onto the past.

Loved this book. The dual story lines were both interesting, so much so that I found it hard to put this book down, and my attention was held until the end. Very good theme about change - won't say more so as not to spoil the plot.