Claire Cook, married to Rory, is an abused wife. Controlled in the extreme, things are about to get worse when her husband announces his Senate campaign. She's making secret plans to get away from him and the marriage but it all goes awry with a schedule change. Instead of flying to Detroit (and a new life) as previously arranged, her new assignment is to head to Puerto Rico. As fate would have it, Claire meets an unlikely savior at JFK Airport on the morning of the flight. Eva James has her own reasons for agreeing to switch tickets with Claire. The solution seems ideal for both women until the flight that Eva was on to Puerto Rico crashes into the ocean killing everyone on board. NO SPOILERS.

Although fast-paced and easy to read in a couple of hours, I ended up being disappointed in this novel. The alternating chapters from each woman's point of view made the narrative clunky and disrupted the flow of the story. After awhile, I found myself completely uninterested in their issues, problems and backgrounds. I never really related to either Claire or Eva and so much of it seemed far-fetched and stretched credulity. One connection extremely so. I've seen many other glowing reviews, but I just couldn't really buy into it after all. It was definitely not any kind of thriller and the conclusion was rather anticlimactic. Oh well, better luck next time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Landmark for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Two women both with a need to escape agree to swap identities. This is a really good well thought out page turner with interesting characters.

A great original idea.

This book had me gripped from the start and I didn’t want to put it down.
Really interesting and enjoyable

Wow I just love this book. It is a tight, but masterfully plotted, page turning read. I particularly liked the change of characters’ points of view, motivations and various timelines. Both Eva and Claire are strong women, both desperate to leave their current lives but never did those characters merge. They had their own identity which is a hard thing to achieve but a testament to this very talented author. I’m off to seek out her first book as I love the way she writes. Great plot twists, empathetic characters, tension ratcheting up with every chapter - what more could you want?

Claire is married to a wealthy philanthropist who’s the son of a well known senator. Although on the outside the marriage looks faultless, on the inside she wants to get out.

Her escape is planned down to the tiniest detail over the course of a year, so when her husband tells of a change of plan last minute she is devastated.

Claire goes to JFK airport ready to take her new flight where she meets Eva. Her husband has just died and she’s not coping well. They decide to change flights and both are relieved.
When Claire’s flight arrives she’s horrified to discover the flight she was supposed to have taken has crashed.

What has become of Eva? What will Claire do now with $400 to her name??

This is told from the point of view of Claire, in the present and Eva, six months in the past working towards the present day. You see what causes Eva to make the decision she did and how Claire comes to terms with the decision she made.

A really good story and I liked the small twist involving characters towards the end.

First of all, huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and the author @julieclarkauthor for a copy of the compelling thriller "The Flight". Within the first twenty pages of this book I knew that this is a book crying out for its own Netflix series. The premise of two strong women escaping their current lives by exchanging boarding passes is one fraught with tension and one which definitely kept me turning those pages. The narrative structure is effective, with the two protagonists giving their versions of the events leading to the risky decision made at JFK airport. Claire Cook has it all - married to the powerful Rory, from a political dynasty, son of a late Senator. She has the trappings of wealth but underneath it all lies the darkness of abuse. Rory's staff turn a blind eye to Claire's bruises and desperate to escape to Detroit, a chain of events out of her control leads her to sit in the airport about to board a flight to Puerto Rico. Along comes our second protagonist, the feisty Eva James, a Berkeley college dropout, also desperate to escape her situation. The wheels are set in motion for a visit to the airport toilets for a hurried exchange of clothes, belongings and boarding passes. What follows kept me intrigued. Is it really ever possible to escape your past?

A story of two ladies, both needing to escape, both looking for a way out. Will they be each other's answer? It was calculating, clever and intense. It was attention-grabbing and I couldn't put it down.

In The Flight two women are leading lives in which they don’t belong and both are desperate to escape. Two very different women; Claire Cook who is married to the powerful Rory, part of the wealthy and influential Cook dynasty, and now running for Senate and Eva James, a Berkeley college dropout, all alone in this world. But both are united in their desire to throw off the constraints of their current lives and be free to take control of their own narrative. They no longer want to be defined by the men in their lives. Except it’s never going to be that simple since one false move could prove catastrophic.
In a nutshell this is about the consequences of two women coincidentally meeting at JFK airport and audaciously switching plane tickets and by default their identities. It’s with this chance meeting that I was totally gripped. Claire’s plane ticket to Puerto Rico is now in the hands of Eva whilst Claire herself lands up in Berkeley. So far so good. However life has a habit of throwing curveballs and when flight 477 to Puerto Rico crashes killing all passengers on board the guilt Claire feels at swapping lives is immense but of paramount of importance is her need to remain under the radar, forging a new life with a false identity. How difficult that is to accomplish remains to be seen. What follows is such an elaborate game of cat and mouse so that on many occasions my heart was in my mouth, hoping and praying they wouldn’t be caught out.

Both stories are equally riveting. Claire’s story is told in the present whilst Eva’s is told in the past during six months prior to the crash. It’s impossible to decide which woman warrants the most sympathy as you can draw parallels between them both. Thus far their lives have been overshadowed by loss but they are both incredibly strong women. It was my belief that perhaps they don’t realise how strong until current events force them to utilise every ounce of guile and resourcefulness they possess. These women should in no way be underestimated and I admired them in equal measure. Every single part of me wanted Claire and Eva to succeed with all kinds of emotions coursing through me as I became immersed in their stories. Fear, admiration, sadness and hopefulness are just some of the feelings I experienced as I discovered more about their backgrounds.

Unfortunately people like Eva and Claire are always going to be used as collateral damage in the game of life where money buys silence. Rules are so different if you belong to a wealthy influential family like the Cooks but I felt sheer determination and the will to survive puts these two women in a class of their own.

Plenty of suspense thrillers claim to be full of twists and turns and unputdownable; it’s a much loved marketing ploy that every publisher of books of this genre seems to employ. In most cases this claim is true to varying degrees but I’m beginning to become wearisome of this especially as I read a great many suspense thrillers. HOWEVER the premise for The Flight is a brilliant one with quite a few twists that ARE unexpected and I feel Julie Clark’s writing deserves such high praise. This is exactly how a suspense thriller should be written. It’s so taut and tense and very very clever. At no time did I ever think a situation was unbelievable (although I have no idea if it is entirely plausible for two people to switch airplane tickets). With the creation of two such strong intelligent women determined to take back control of their own destinies, I believe the author has written a BRILLIANT piece of fiction. In fact the other women in this novel, Danielle, Liz and Kelly are portrayed in the same light so that in the wake of #MeToo campaign I couldn’t help but feel the whole tone of the book is a celebration of the underlying power of women in general. The ending is probably not what the reader will want or expect but in my opinion that makes it all the more enjoyable. I simply cannot fault this so unsurprisingly it’s a resounding 5 star read for me.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC.

Great story and excellent pace throughout. There was a lot of swapping about of time between the chapters but that added to the interest. Using the two main characters Claire and Eva to tell both sides of what proved to be quite a complex story proved to be a really good idea.
There was a reasonable amount of previous history to get across in order for the personalities to be made clear but it wasn’t dragged out or overly intrusive.
A few complete surprises along the way and for a pleasant change I wasn’t left with lots on unanswered questions.
I probably would have given four and a half Stars if I could but I’m still happy to up it to five. Not much to grumble about just a very good book.

Two women who strike up a conversation at an airport have one pressing concern in common. Both need to disappear, and urgently. Claire and Eva decide to exchange boarding passes and take the seat of the other on their two flights. The Flight is an exciting dual narrative thriller that presents a unique opportunity for two people to make use of each other’s misfortune with an instant decision that backfires in the worst possible way.

Claire Cook is living the life of the invisibly oppressed, existing in a climate of fear with the constant terror of slipping up whilst under the critical surveillance of her husband. To an outsider, it would appear that Claire has the perfect life and should have nothing at all to complain about. As it becomes more difficult to hide the bruises and repercussions of her husband’s control and narcissism, Claire begins to plan her escape. On the day she intends to take action, her husband has his staff book Claire onto a flight to Puerto Rico to attend a not-for-profit function. Claire realizes that her husband will shortly be fully aware of how she had planned to run.

Eva, a former Berkley college student, has been working casual as a server at local restaurant but it is her side hustle that keeps food on the table. Putting her chemistry talents nocturnally to use in her basement, Eva is careful not to make personal connections that may reveal what her true occupation has become since she took the fall for a boyfriend and got kicked out of college. Despite all the care she takes, Eva is noticed by a sharp eyed investigator who would like to take down an unseen face higher up the drug supply chain that Eva is firmly at the bottom of.

What is refreshing about The Flight is that it lacks the victim culture we’re all tired of reading about in crime novels. Claire and Eva both are strong characters that intend to extract themselves from their dangerous situations with minimal harm to everyone else, and spend little time in exacting revenge – they just need to be able to move on.

There is little opportunity for the two women in this novel to ever truly rest with the constant threat of discovery hanging over Claire as she tries to stay one step ahead of her husband, and for Eva to keep her drug handler unaware of her intentions. Manufacturing drugs and supplying them to the college community in which she lives becomes more and more risky. A little schmaltz does creep in detailing the relationship Eva forms with an elderly neighbour, giving a little backstory to why Eva is the more focused of the two women when the two of them meet at the beginning on the book.

The Flight has all the ingredients for a high octane chase thriller for the large or small screen, so here’s hoping that a savvy production company will pick up the rights to adapt the book for film. This tense read is truly one you will be able to knock over in one or two sessions. The Flight is meticulously plotted and absolutely compelling, giving the readers fresh reasons each chapter to stay close to the page.

The Flight by Julia Clark

This novel has such a fine premise and I found the beginning completely involving as I got to know Claire's situation - so glamorous and appealing on the outside, so dark and menacing in reality. The tension rises as we follow Claire's intricate plan of escape. However, I found the story of Eve less convincing and my attention wandered and I did find it become a little predictable. Nevertheless, a fun read with some good moments.

Clare is escaping her husband and looking to start a new life but a last minute plan changes all that until she meets Eva. Maybe they can help each other and both escape but what is Eva running from and what happens when a plane crashes.

This was a really interesting story with such a clever premise. The story flits between Clare and Eva as we learn what led Eva to the airport that day. The plot builds slowly but keeps you reading. The ending is really well done if not quite how I wanted it to end. The writing is descriptive and detailed. I liked both Eva and Clare, they were good leads. A great story.

Claire is longing to escape her seemingly perfect life, but when her carefully constructed escape plan is sabotaged at the last minute, a new offer is presented. But what will switching her flight seat cost her?

As someone who (used) to spend a lot of my life on planes for work I loved the idea of The Last Flight/The Flight. It certainly is a great premise and developes into an interesting and twisty thriller. As two strangers, both trying to escape their lives meet at an airport and switch places we get a rollercoaster ride in both the past flashbacks and the present day action to keep the pace high. The book builds to a really nice crescendo and I really liked the ending – which was really well executed. The book deals with darker issues including domestic violence and drug dealing but I think it dealt with them well.

As someone who used to do a lot of flight travel for business I did find the idea of being able to switch identities and easily board another flight a bit of a stretch – even on domestic flights your ID is heavily scrutinised at multiple points before boarding the plane! I must also admit I did feel some of Eva’s flashbacks did drag in the middle section of the book but her story overall is interesting. All small niggles though – this really is a good thriller with a fresh premise.

Overall The Flight is a great read with a good premise and I recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two women living very different lives, are desperate to escape, for very different reasons.

Claire is desperate to leave her abusive husband, but each attempt she has previously made has failed.

She is nervous that all of her planning will be for nothing, and he will discover her escape plan before she has the chance to execute it and leave him for good.

Eva is desperate to leave her work behind, she has fallen into a role and lifestyle that are no longer viable, and her life is in danger every single day.

When she heads to the airport determined to let nothing stop her on her journey to her new life, she doesn't consider that she may meet an individual just as desperate as her.

A chance encounter at the airport provides both desperate women a real chance at a new life. But neither of them are prepared for the fallout that follows.

The Flight is a twisty, intriguing and very enjoyable novel, and I very much look forward to this authors next work.

I love a suspense/thriller novel but so many seem to have become a bit too similar recently, with the unreliable female narrator seemingly top of the pile. If you are looking for something a bit different, well written and still full of twists and turns, I suggest you pick up this book immediately - it had me gripped from the start and I flew through it. Put it in your TBR list now!

Two women, living very different lives, both want to run away from their current lives - they meet by chance at an airport bar and a split second decision has life-changing consequences. Told from alternating points of view, Clark's character development is fantastic, as we get to know two strong women, very different but both trying to make the best of life in difficult circumstances, who you can't help but root for despite their flaws, and Clark cleverly weaves one present time narrative with one leading up to the point at which they meet. The tension builds slowly, with plenty of twists that I did not see coming, leading to an ending that is weirdly both unexpected and unsurprising, but more importantly so well written that it absolutely gets you in the gut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

If this book isn't made into a Netflix series I will eat my hat. It is crying out for it, all the time I was reading it I could just picture the series. The 2 female lead characters are solid and well formed, the plot is tense and suspenseful. I really don't want to give anything away, and I feel I would do this if I started to explain the plot, but it does have a plane crash, lots of intrigue and twists and turns a plenty. Let me just say...read it, before the series is snapped up.

What a fantastic read this book was!

An absolute master at suspense, Julie Clark builds a tense start as Claire makes the final arrangements in her plan to disappear. As a reader, it can sometimes be difficult to get inside the mindset of the characters at the start of a book but with The Last Flight I was right there with Clare sneaking through her home listening for footsteps on floorboards and desperately waiting for information to transfer! I was gripped from the very start!

I really liked Eva's character. Her challenges, her inability to let people in, her feeling that she deserves no better than what she has ended up with all make for a woman who has given up hope, until she's shown the love and care she's been missing all her life. Eva's journey is one of growth, hope and opportunity and I really enjoyed her character development. Out of the two women, it was Eva's story I was more interested in. I really enjoyed reading the events in Eva's life in the months leading up to meeting Claire at the airport and felt they were really well developed and interspersed with the current events happening in Claire's life.

This is a really well-written, well-paced and well-developed book that I'd highly recommend. Very enjoyable, this book had me gripped and for me the ending was bittersweet.

The Last Flight is an important message to women who fear they won't be believed or who are too afraid to speak up in a world of unfair treatment, abuse and discrimination. The dedication in this book is touching and an admirable attempt by the author to try and encourage women to stand up for each other and give each other a voice. An important message in this poignant era of #MeToo and feminism.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Clark and Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything had been planned meticulously for months. Taking the trip to Detroit and then vanishing somewhere in Canada. But when Claire Cook wakes up on the morning which will free her finally from her abusive husband, she learns that he has altered their plans, she is to go to Puerto Rico. All the strategy, fake passport, preparations were in vain. Eva, another woman, as desperate as Claire, runs into her at the airport and makes an offer: trade tickets. Both of then need a new start and have powerful people on their heels. None of them has anything to lose anymore and so they decide to step in each other’s shoes. When Claire lands in California, she finds out that the plane she was supposed to be on crashed which makes her a free woman with a new identity. But the new life she has hoped for for months, does not feel right somehow and one questions lingers at the back of her mind: what did Eva run from?

“The Flight” belongs to those books that you open and cannot put down anymore. It the brilliantly told story of two women who are desperate to an extent where they feel that there is nothing to left to lose anymore and who would take any risk since they know this could be their only and last chance to get their own life back. While we follow Claire’s first days in her new life, Eva’s last months before the meeting at the airport is narrated providing insight in her tragic story.

Full of suspense you simply keep on reading to find out if the women could escape. Yet, apart from this aspect, there is also some quite serious undertone since, on the one hand, we have Claire stuck in a marriage marked by psychological and physical abuse and a controlling and mighty husband who considers himself above the law. On the other hand, Eva’s life has totally derailed because of her background where there were no rich parents who could afford expensive lawyers or knew the right people and therefore she was paying for something her boyfriend actually was responsible for. This surely raises the questions to what extent women still much likelier become a victim of false accusations and endure years of assault because they do not find a way out of their lamentable situation. Additionally, can it be true that with money and power you can put yourself above the law and get away with it?

A great read that I totally enjoyed and which certainly will make me ponder a bit more after the last page.

Two women both with a need to escape agree to swap identities. This is a really good well thought out page turner with interesting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I absolutely loved this book, it is probably my favourite book of 2020 so far.
From the start it grabbed my attention, a superbly written story about two complex women who are both trying to escape their darkness in different ways, yet both courageous, strong and very likeable.
This book twists and turns and leaves you loath to put it down, it also centres on and explores female friendships and supports, I found the ending satisfying and very poignant.
I really loved Julie Clarks' writing style, I especially found her portrayal of both women's triggers and reactions bought about by their histories beautifully and sensitively written.
A clever, exciting and fabulous book which I loved, I read an E-copy but I have pre ordered a physical copy as this is a book I will read again.
Thank you to Netgalley, Julie Clark and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an impartial and honest review, I recommend this book very highly.