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kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
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."
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Addiction, Mental illness, Death, Gaslighting, and Stalking
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
drug trafficking, poverty, plane crashabicaro17's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Grief, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, and Death
radhikag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Enjoyed this and while I kinda wish there was a different end, I think it was pretty good overall.
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Drug use, and Stalking
annaofjesup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Drug use, Physical abuse, War, Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Grief, and Death
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Deadnaming, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Plane crashdev921's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Death of parent, Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, and Cancer
afriendwithfiction's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Stalking
life_is_good's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Stalking
Minor: Addiction and Physical abuse
tezariah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
brenna2themax's review against another edition
- 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
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
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.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Stalking, Drug use, Confinement, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident, Death, Bullying, Child death, Outing, and Murder
rebeccaxenia's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Stalking