The Flight Attendant, Chris Bohjalian

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher *

Author: Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Pages: 368
Format: DRC
ISBN-10: 0385542410
ISBN-13: 9780385542418
Publisher: various formats

Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She's a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, already counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police--she's a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home--Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it's too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?

There are a lot of lessons to learn from this book. One be careful how much you drink and second do not lie. Next it might not be the smartest to run away from a crime scene though I did understand why Cassandra made that decision. It was funny and annoying at the same time, the amount of bad decisions Cassandra was making. There was not much time to recover from one of her stupid decisions before she made another. I could totally relate to her lawyer and did like how she reacted to all the stupid things Cassandra did.
Still it is easy to feel for Cassie. Just trying to imagine waking up next to a dead person and not having an idea what happened. I found it interesting that she actually considered she would have done it. Her fear of being in a country where the voice of a woman is not heard, trying to decide what to do and getting all nervous was contagious.
There is another story in this book. That of Elena. A secret agent in service of the KGB. Being in the situation she was in and what that did to her was really interesting to read. Her anger was palpable and working. I enjoyed that part of the story touching developments in the secret service. It always adds something creepy to a story.
The revelations at the end felt a bit rushed. The one moment I was still in a hotel in Rome tying up the loose ends. Next it is two years later and there are still things happening. I honestly did not care much about that part of the story.

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