Zone

Ocean Airways flight 582 is on a routine flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. Flight attendants Sharlene Their and Aaron Drake are prepared for a long, uneventful flight. But there will be nothing mundane about this flight. it’s not long before the navigational and communications systems on the aircraft begin to malfunction. While thoughts at first turn to terrorism, it quickly becomes clear that something more malevolent, something otherworldly is at work. At a time when fear of flying is common because of political turmoil, it was fun to read this book about supernatural havoc in the skies

A Dutch horror story that will make you think twice before you board your next plane

ZONE was written by a Dutch suspense writer and translated into English and I wasn't sure what to expect. Some English translations just don't make my cut. But this horror/thriller offering was translated expertly and was a suspenseful, frightening read.

Purser Aaron Drake and assistant purser Sharlene Thier both work for Oceans Airways, based out of L.A. And they've recently become a couple in their off hours. They don't fly the same flights often but today they're both flying on Flight 582, flying from L.A. to Sydney, Australia.

Even before boarding and soon after, the author lets us know that Aaron and Sharlene plus other members of the crew and passengers have dark events in their pasts. And the reader soon realizes that something dark and twisted is on board Flight 582.

Great build-up of suspense and characters that are developed to just the right degree make this a super fun story - especially to read with the lights turned down low.

A couple of points - the book reminded me in many ways of the television series "Lost." Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily because I loved that TV series.

A negative, though, was the ending. It was very abrupt and left a lot of loose plotlines dangling. But the book is still well worth reading. especially if you like horror, thrillers, or airplane thrillers.

NOTE: I received this book from Severn House Publishers through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Please don't read this book before you are scheduled to take a plane trip if you are in any way susceptible to noticing strange, eerie things......please. You will regret it if you do because every creak and unidentified motion of the airplane will have you wondering what's out 'there'. Or maybe worse, what's in the plane with you.

This is one of those paradox novels which I find sometimes. I didn't particularly like the writing style of the author, but the story simply would not let me stop reading once I had started. The first half of the novel is all about meeting the crew members and passengers who will be taking the long flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. There is even a chapter about the configuration of the airplane. Two of the flight crew members, Sharlene and Aaron have become romantically involved so you have that plot thread running through the novel as well as the problems happening in the lives of crew members and passengers. Some characters are written to be decidedly odd in the way they act so even that builds the tension for what is going to happen when Oceans Airways Flight 582 is winging its way across the Pacific ocean. The second portion of the novel concerns what some of the people experienced while the flight was under way.

I like reading novels with strange happenings in them, but I'm not exactly sure even now what happened aboard that flight. This is spooky, scary fiction so if you like to feel the hair lift off the back of your neck when you are reading a novel, give this one a try. I, however, will NOT be taking any trips anytime soon where I have to fly.

I received this novel as an e-ARC through NetGalley.

A picture is worth a thousand words. The book cover says it all.
I'm never flying again. (Well, maybe short flights only)
This is a spooky, creepy, down right chilling, horror story. If you fly long distance don't choose this book for reading in transit. Better to read it during a thunderstorm, an home, with a guard dog beside you.
The main characters are well done with enough background for the reader to understand their fears. There are several passengers who add to the mix. Some are rather strange and others are down right nasty. As the long flight continues the plane encounters "rough" weather. The pilot had problems with navigation. There is something dark and deadly on the plane.
The reader can almost feel the tension building with the physical and emotional distress of the passengers.
I really liked the way the whole story unfolded. It seemed so realistic and built up to a deadly ending. A very good scare.

Thank you NetGalley for the free Kindle version