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kelly_e's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Title: The Last Flight
Author: Julie Clark
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 2, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Thoughtful • Entertaining • Bittersweet
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Two women. Two flights. One last chance to disappear.
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Last Flight was my final book for my 12 recommendations from 12 friends challenge in 2023. I tried reading it earlier in the year, but knowing I was going to be flying in July made me put it aside until afterwards.
Told in dual POV format, Claire and Eva are both strong, vulnerable characters. Each came across as a real person escaping an equally dangerous situation. The novel sure starts out with a bang - a plane crash - and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough through the first third. There's definitely a lull in the action through the middle, where it becomes more suspenseful than thrilling, yet it picks back up towards the end. I think the plot structure really worked for the story Julie Clark was trying to tell. It allowed me to really get to know each of the two women and how they ended up where they were, and it slowly unravels their connection. I definitely did not figure out how Eva came to be at the airport until it was revealed.
Beyond the story, what I appreciated so much about this book was the depth beyond the words on the page. Because the male characters were background here, there's a sense of female strength and empowerment. It also shines a light on how neither woman could trust the system to help them, and how they each had to take matter into their own hands. This is a reality many people continue to face on a daily basis and I just thought it added another layer to the story.
While The Last Flight was less than thrilling in my opinion, it definitely had an element of suspense and was an escape read during the frantic holiday season. What I appreciated most about it was the social commentary that was there, yet wasn't there. I'd recommend this to readers who like thrillers with depth.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Lisa Jewell fans
• readers who like psychological suspense
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I believed my voice alone wouldn't be enough. That nobody would want to hear the truth and step in to help. But when I needed it most, three women showed up. First Eva, then Danielle, and finally, Charlie. If we don't tell our own stories, we'll never take control of the narrative."
Author: Julie Clark
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 2, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Thoughtful • Entertaining • Bittersweet
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Two women. Two flights. One last chance to disappear.
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.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Last Flight was my final book for my 12 recommendations from 12 friends challenge in 2023. I tried reading it earlier in the year, but knowing I was going to be flying in July made me put it aside until afterwards.
Told in dual POV format, Claire and Eva are both strong, vulnerable characters. Each came across as a real person escaping an equally dangerous situation. The novel sure starts out with a bang - a plane crash - and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough through the first third. There's definitely a lull in the action through the middle, where it becomes more suspenseful than thrilling, yet it picks back up towards the end. I think the plot structure really worked for the story Julie Clark was trying to tell. It allowed me to really get to know each of the two women and how they ended up where they were, and it slowly unravels their connection. I definitely did not figure out how Eva came to be at the airport until it was revealed.
Beyond the story, what I appreciated so much about this book was the depth beyond the words on the page. Because the male characters were background here, there's a sense of female strength and empowerment. It also shines a light on how neither woman could trust the system to help them, and how they each had to take matter into their own hands. This is a reality many people continue to face on a daily basis and I just thought it added another layer to the story.
While The Last Flight was less than thrilling in my opinion, it definitely had an element of suspense and was an escape read during the frantic holiday season. What I appreciated most about it was the social commentary that was there, yet wasn't there. I'd recommend this to readers who like thrillers with depth.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Lisa Jewell fans
• readers who like psychological suspense
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I believed my voice alone wouldn't be enough. That nobody would want to hear the truth and step in to help. But when I needed it most, three women showed up. First Eva, then Danielle, and finally, Charlie. If we don't tell our own stories, we'll never take control of the narrative."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
drug trafficking, poverty, plane crashabicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This kept me on the edge of my seat!! I was hooked from the premise but the story kept me in. I am a tad upset about the ending as I feel like it leaves a lot of loose ends but whatevs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
brenna2themax's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
First up, general trigger warnings for the book: discussion of intimate partner violence, drug use, addiction, growing up in foster care, parent abandonment, discussion of possible femicide
I really enjoyed this book. Good twists, I liked the characters (especially Liz and Kelly). I really love reading thrillers, but I hate it when they have gratuitous sexual violence from the male.perspective. graphic, dehumanizing, used as a cheap tool to excite the reader. No thanks. As a woman and a Survivor, I just don't want to read that shit. But I do enjoy reading stories about domestic violence and male violence toward women from a woman's perspective. Not dwelling on the gory, graphic details because we get it, most of us have (or still are) loved through it somehow.
Julie Clark walks this line well, explaining the danger, but also understanding that the reader isn't an idiot and likely has their own trauma and has some knowledge on the subject.
Some of what I say next gives away some general themes in the book.
-----‐-------
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More specific trigger warning, because I don't want to give to much away but want you to be prepared: domestic violence situation in which we read about a husband working up to an explosion (walking on eggshells stage), but doesn't physically strike her. There are scenes of men forcefully grabbing women's arms and shoulders. There is discussion of being hit by a male partner, but we don't see this happening. There is discussion of a man killing a female partner, but again, we don't read through the scene or get any concrete details.
While the book does explore women's experience of violence from men, and not just from male partners, from malecops/Agents, boyfriends, friends, spouses, fathers, coworkers, and powerful men in male run institutions, it also explores how we as women can play both the role of accomplice and victim to the violence we recognize, and how a lot of us end up being accomplice because we don't know how to help and don't have the resources to help. Women turning to each other in spaces away from men are where our strength lies. If we lay the ground work, and strengthen these connections yo each other with our truth, we can form enough of a network to take down powerful men.
I love these kinds of thrillers and really wish they had their own genre, because I am fucking sick to death of the thrillers that dehumanize women, graphically describe violence women endure, and then feed us some bullshit story about how we just have to find the "right" man to help us out. Fuck that noise. I want a realistic thriller from a woman's perspective. This is one of those books.
I really enjoyed this book. Good twists, I liked the characters (especially Liz and Kelly). I really love reading thrillers, but I hate it when they have gratuitous sexual violence from the male.perspective. graphic, dehumanizing, used as a cheap tool to excite the reader. No thanks. As a woman and a Survivor, I just don't want to read that shit. But I do enjoy reading stories about domestic violence and male violence toward women from a woman's perspective. Not dwelling on the gory, graphic details because we get it, most of us have (or still are) loved through it somehow.
Julie Clark walks this line well, explaining the danger, but also understanding that the reader isn't an idiot and likely has their own trauma and has some knowledge on the subject.
Some of what I say next gives away some general themes in the book.
-----‐-------
-------------
-------------
More specific trigger warning, because I don't want to give to much away but want you to be prepared: domestic violence situation in which we read about a husband working up to an explosion (walking on eggshells stage), but
While the book does explore women's experience of violence from men, and not just from male partners, from male
I love these kinds of thrillers and really wish they had their own genre, because I am fucking sick to death of the thrillers that dehumanize women, graphically describe violence women endure, and then feed us some bullshit story about how we just have to find the "right" man to help us out. Fuck that noise. I want a realistic thriller from a woman's perspective. This is one of those books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Death, Car accident, Murder, and Outing
basicbookstagrammer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
jazful's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting