I thought this was going to be good but it rather petered out. Very predictable at times. Interesting storyline but I couldn't really get involved..

The Flight (also known as The Last Flight) by Julie Clark is a suspenseful novel, with two very different characters that share the same goal – to escape their past and start a brand new life. I am glad my fascination with planes put this book on my radar! Thank you to the teams at Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley, for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for my book review.

Synopsis:
Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.

Claire Cook lives a perfect life. On paper. She is married to a political figure, lives in a lovely place full of staff. She is surrounded by elegance, her days are planned and her future already known. But when no one is looking, nothing is as it seems. Her perfect husband has a bad temper, and he’s tracking Claire’s every move, making sure she lives up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has been planning for months on how to disappear.

At the airport, she somehow encounters a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they choose to make a last-minute decision to switch their plane tickets. Claire takes Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva now has a ticket to Puerto Rico. They believe this swap will be the final action they’ll have to take to finally leave behind their identities. But when the flight to Puerto Rico crashes, Claire realises it is no longer a head start, but a completely new life. Cut off and out of options, with news surrounding her death in the media, Claire now has to pretend she is Eve and live as her. But when what Eve told her on the airport is a lie, and she has no clue who Eve was, Claire has new challenges facing her. Challenges full of danger.

My Thoughts:

The Flight follows these two different characters and their lives, as destiny connects them at the airport. They both have their own story and they both need to escape from something. While we know from the very beginning what Claire is escaping from, we know nothing about Eve’s secrets. And as we go along the story, the dynamic stays the same. Claire’s future combines with Eve’s past, as we follow a present narrative. And this part was very interesting to follow and read, and it was all I ever wanted it to be – intense, mysterious and exciting!

“That sometimes, the death of a dream can finally set you free.”

I am and have always been fascinated with planes, especially plane crashes. There is an irrational fear I always have when I am flying, and because of this I have spent many hours of doing research, learning about planes and how they work, as well as reading about the most unfortunate plane crashes. This was the main reason I chose to read this book. Somehow, I had the feeling that the plane and the crashing, or even the airport scenes would be more prominent in the book, but this wasn’t the case. The airport was just a pit stop for the plot to thicken, and not realising this at the beginning is on me. This is the main reason why I probably didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. But this also doesn’t mean that the book is not good, because it truly is!

“But what I’ve learned in life is that in order for true forgiveness to occur, something has to die first. Your expectations, or your circumstances. Maybe your heart.”

The characters are very well written and they are likeable.

I couldn’t connect to them enough to care, but both their stories were really intriguing. I have never been in association with rich people, or a victim to violence or surveillance without consent to be able to identify with Claire. Additionally, I also didn’t experience the type of life Eva had either, so that might have been the case. I did, however, really loved Danielle, who plays a critical role at the end of the book.

The writing was great and the intensity kept increasing as I kept reading, which I loved. It was very easy to read and I finished it very fast. The ending wasn’t predictable, but it also wasn’t as intense as I hoped the climax would be. The Flight was definitely a solid read and it kept me engaged all the way through. If you love suspenseful novels with vivid characters, I highly recommend it!

I didn't mean to finish the book in less than two days, but it was hard to let go of this story!

The poem by Mary Oliver quoted at the beginning of this book suggests a story of domestic abuse, and indeed that is the main line in this book. Claire trying to get out of an unlivable situation by using an almost impossible escape route.
However, for me personally, the story about Eva and her involuntarily – at the same time the isolation of her own choosing, and the loneliness behind it... is what also got to me. The sadness of having no one to connect with.

Very well-developed characters and not too weird twists and turns, so yeah: five stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I had high expectations of this book having heard so much about it. However i couldn't help but think I'm missing something.... It just fell a little bit short for me.

Writing was good although a bit repetitive.

Claire is trying to escape her violent husband in Manhattan. Eva is trying to escape a stud dealing life in Oakland. They meet in a bar at the airport and decide to swap tickets, id, clothes and purses so they can disappear from their lives. The flight Claire is booked on crashes into the sea. It doesn't take her husband long to realise Claire had not been on the flight and he starts to look for her. Eva's drug dealer is also looking for her. A brilliantly written thriller.

I loved this book and read it in one day.

Two women both running from their daily lives and trying to reinvent themselves meet at an airport and an irrevocable chain of events are put in place. Plenty of twists and I really didn't know how it would end until the last twist. Definitely recommend.

This is a suspenseful, easy read and I enjoyed it hugely.
This is a cleverly crafted (although somewhat unbelievable at times) story of two women who swap identities. One is presumed dead after an aircraft crash and the other is propelled into danger after slipping into the other’s identity.
The descriptions of the coercive control and abuse of Claire are excellent…it is almost a relief to enter the drug dealing world of Berkeley after reading some of those passages.
Altogether a really satisfying read and perfect escapism for these troubled times. Highly recommended.

I loved this book, and reading the storyline that unfolded. What at first I thought was going to be a predictable storyline, I soon discovered that I was wrong. I found that I needed to keep reading as I wanted to find out what happened to our main characters, neither ending was what I was expecting. Really well written, and I was quite sad that the book had to end.

I am so late reviewing this but hope to help the book by reviewing on my blog and via the usual outlets as well as here. Now published as The Last Flight this is a modern day thriller with a slight nod to the classic Strangers On A Train. However, instead of two strangers committing each other’s murders, here two women plan a swap that will do away with each other’s lives. On paper, Claire has the ultimate sophisticated and upscale lifestyle with a townhouse in Manhattan, staff to cater to her every whim, and a perfect husband with a glittering political career. As we readers know, lives like this are rarely as perfect as they seem and Claire’s choreographed life is not one of her own choice, it is rigidly controlled. Her husband uses the staff to observe every move his wife makes and her schedule is there to keep her to his impossible standards. Claire has a secret though, for six months she has been planning to vanish.
An event she must fly out to Detroit for gives her a chance, and she arranged documents and money, only for her husband to change his mind: he will go to Detroit and Claire will go to an event in Puerto Rico. Now she has no money or documents at the other end of the journey.

When she meets Eva in the bar at the airport, As the women discuss their lives they forge a connection and realise they can help each other. If Claire takes Eva’s ticket to California and Eva takes Claire’s to Puerto Rico they both have a head start. Will the plan work and if it does what sort of new life will the women find? Her dreams are shattered when a boyfriend’s involvement with drugs gets them both arrested. Eva is charged and loses her scholarship, With a criminal record and no qualifications her options are limited and in this vulnerable moment she gets involved with the wrong man.

Swapping identities was always going to be a risk. Eva has had a very difficult life and I felt a lot of sympathy for her. She grew up in care and hoped to build a good life for herself by winning a scholarship to Berkeley. He promises a ‘safe’ job in his drug business, making and selling under his protection. This man isn’t everything he seems and Eva’s life becomes more threatening and dark than ever before. She tells Claire of the sad death of her husband to cancer, and nothing about her criminal activities. As the women choose to swap identities it seems that Claire is taking on a huge risk, not just retribution if her husband ever finds her but the consequences of mistaken identity,

This is an escapist, roller coaster of a thriller that keeps you hooked through the many twists. I actually felt physically anxious at times! There is so much detail here that I was certain the author wouldn’t be able to pull all those loose ends together, but she did and added a few real OMG moments. This kept me guessing all the way to the epilogue, A truly thrilling read that’s a great holiday companion.

Fantastically written and one of those books that the twists come about at the perfect times. I was so wrong about my guess for the ending and I love when that happens. Two thumbs up.

I was engaged with this book from the first page as it was so well written. The Prologue immediately drew me in to the intrigue. Then the story really begins introducing Claire and the 24 hour countdown before the Crash. She is an abused wife trying to escape a husband who will not give her her freedom. Then we are introduced to Eva who has targeted Claire in order to escape and disappear from her life. Again a countdown before the Crash, but a longer time period - 6 months! The story has many surprises and twists and turns bringing us to a conclusion in a real page turner. Excellent read.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Julie Clark/Hodder & Stoughton for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was brilliant, A heart stopping and gripping read that had me gripped from the very beginning.

One flight can change everything forever. Claire and Eva find their lives at a crossroads when they cross paths at the airport one fateful morning. Claire is trying to escape from a controlling and abusive marriage whereas Eva is trying to escape a life of crime and deceit. When they swap plane tickets it leaves one person reportedly dead and one person living the life of a wanted person.

What I loved about this book was that both Claire and Eva were so likeable and the emotions and reactions to the situations they faced were both so relateable and true to real life. I felt Claire's fear of her husband and Eva's desire to turn her life around. I was rooting for them both to get the life that they both deserved.

The Flight flips between 2 different time frames and this gives a vital insight into Eva's backstory which is heartbreaking in itself. It neatly ties up elements of the story and throughout the various twists and turns it cleverly brings both Claire and Eva together again towards the ending of the book.

I would entirely recommend this book and I cannot wait to read more from Julie Clark.

I read this a month ago and the plot and characters have stayed with me. Two women leading very diametrically opposed lives agree to swap plane tickets at an airport. One never arrives (or does she?) while the other adjusts to a very different way or living. Well developed, with numerous strong female characters and a fast-paced narrative. I was kept guessing about who was on which side (no spoilers!). The twist at the end is extremely surprising but satisfying - this author knows how to craft a thriller. I loved it. A perfect summer read.

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets ― Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

I started reading this book and at first I just couldn’t make my mind up. I kind of thought that the book was done and finished in the first 50 pages and didn’t really know where it was going. Then, Julia Clark through a huge twist at me and that was it. I liked the book.
The plot was fast paced and intriguing. I read it in two sittings (perks of not wanting to go out and socialise with anyone now!)
The book is told from two different viewpoints, Claire and Eva. And I must admit Claire was definitely my favourite.
The book came together in a very intelligent way and I enjoyed this boo

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc of The Flight by Julie Clark

This involves two ladies whom are named Eva and Claire whom indefinitely lead very much so different lives but are actually have one thing in common... that they are in grave danger and whom are needing to actually disappear due to the danger they are actually in....


4 stars-quick read for me read within 1 day very enjoyable thriller and all the twists and turns had me gripped start to finish- definitely recommend,

Would recommend for holiday, lockdown reading. A very readable, page-turner, which would make an excellent film. It is told from two points of view; one in the past, and one now. The leading characters are believable both in terms of themselves and their dilemmas. They meet momentarily in an airport, swap tickets; and the novel takes it from there.

With thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, and NetGalley for an advance copy.

The premise of this book is interesting and the book itself doesn’t fail to deliver on it’s promise.

Essentially, this is a switching identities story, which is complicated by the fact that both women have secrets and complicated backgrounds, that the other does not know/understand.

The writing is fantastically descriptive and you can picture everything so vividly that it feels like a film inside your head. The two main characters who switch identities are very different people at first glance but have more in common the more you read. There are also a few other characters who are more than what they seem. As they are unveiled, there are surprises in store and the story goes down unexpected avenues. I did guess one of the avenues, and I think many readers will, but there are so many others that it does not feel at all predictable.

For fans of thrillers, mystery, crime and ‘domestic noir’, this will not fail to engage and excite.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton, Netgalley and the author for access to this ARC.

A fast paced, gripping and thrilling read. Both characters are really likeable and well written. The storyline never gets boring and it is really hard to out down. I .look to more from this writer.

The Flight is a clever and really well written psychological thriller, with an extremely relevant theme at the heart of it, an intelligent bit of plotting that keeps you immersed throughout.

Strangers on a plane would be an apt analogy, The Flight has a lot of depth as well as plenty of twists and turns to keep you involved...its one of those unexpectedly haunting stories and has an excellent and satisfying resolution.

Very good indeed. Most enjoyable.

Recommended.