The Flight Attendant

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bojalian   368 pages

In this, his twentieth novel, Chris Bohjalian does it again. He writes a compelling murder mystery that grabs readers by the throat and doesn’t let go until the very end.

Cassie is an international flight attendant. She spends more time in foreign countries’ hotel rooms than she does in her Manhattan apartment. Two of her favorite hobbies are drinking (yes she’s an alcoholic) and sex (she seldom goes to bed alone).

After leaving Paris bound for Dubai, Cassie flirts with Alex, a passenger in first class.  After they arrive, Alex takes Cassie to dinner, but says he has another appointment and slips her his hotel key. His tone of voice rubbed me the wrong way, and Cassie’s following his command really annoyed me.

The following morning, Cassie wakes up with the mother of all hangovers. She has less than an hour to meet her colleagues in the lobby of the airport-chosen hotel, about two miles from where she is. Barely able to move around the posh suite, Cassie soon discovers that Alex is not asleep. Someone has slashed his throat from ear to ear.

Cassie remembers very little about the night before. She blacks out more than she cares to admit.  Did she kill Alex?  She has no idea. Leaving as quickly as her pounding head and roiling stomach, she makes it back to meet the rest of her crew.

She tires, desperately, to remember, but all that comes back is that another woman came into the suite and had drinks with them. Cassie thinks she left the same time as the other woman, but can’t remember how she got back in Alex’s bed.

This is a rather complicated story that is east for readers to follow. However, I was disappointed in the ending. My first thought, was “huh?”.  Therefore The Flight Attendant receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.