I have been a fan of this author for quite a while. While this ended up being a pretty good book, I will say, in my opinion, it wasn’t my favorite of his books.
The flight attendant in question, Cassandra Bowden, just wasn’t a very likable person. I understand about addiction and it shapes the way a person behaves, but you really couldn’t have very much sympathy for this woman.
Cassie Bowden wakes up in a Dubai hotel room next to a dead man. He’s the man she met on the flight, a passenger whom she flirted with, had dinner and sex and too much to drink. What is your first instinct here? Mine would be to call the police but Cassie decides to flee the hotel room, after wiping the room of her fingerprints. Did she kill him? She doesn’t know.
It kept my interest yet seemed to drag a bit. I was hoping it would pick up and refrain from the detail about how Cassie liked to drink and have sex with strangers and her blackouts and self-loathing. Around the 50% mark it really started picking up so I was invested by then. Russian operatives, secrets, police investigations and more lying.
I thought the end wrapped it up but not as strongly, or believably as I had hoped. Would I read more by Bohjalian? Absolutely. This just wasn’t my favorite book by the author.
This one was finished up last year but I am just getting around to posting about it so it doesn’t count towards my 2019 reading goals and challenges.
Novel Meals 
Your review obviously isn’t inspiring me to read this — I never really became a fan of his. A book club I was in read Bohjalian’s Midwives a long time ago. It was just ok, as I recall. At some later point, I was volunteering at a book fair and it was my job to drive him to the airport. His talk wasn’t all that memorable, and it didn’t inspire me to read the book he was promoting (though I did read one of the sources he listed!).
Have a wonderful New Year!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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That is so interesting, I hope the source material he listed was a good read! I had read The Double Bind and the Guest Room. Right now I have other books on my list that take precedence.
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