“Filled with turbulence and sudden plunges in altitude, ‘The Flight Attendant’ is a very rare thriller whose penultimate chapter made me think to myself, ‘I didn’t see that coming.’ The novel — Bohjalian’s 20th — is also enhanced by his deftness in sketching out vivid characters and locales and by his obvious research into the realities of airline work.”
— Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
14 March 2018
Dear Friends Who Read and Readers Who Are Friends,
Tray tables up, seatbacks in the upright positon. We are now in our final descent..
The Flight Attendant has landed. What’s the novel about? If you have thirty seconds, watch the television commercial. I love it. You can watch it right here.
This is my twentieth book, and my goal has always been never to write the same book twice. Yes, it’s a thriller about a functioning alcoholic – a flight attendant – who wakes up in bed beside a dead body. It’s about the beauty and allure of alcohol, and the devastating consequences of addiction. (I watched Sia’s video for her song, “Chandelier,” a lot while writing this novel.)
And so I love the idea that Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory and Warner Brothers have optioned it. I can’t think of a better actor to bring my hot mess of a flight attendant to life than Kaley.
But I hope also that the novel explores the precarious state of our souls in a world of drones, chemical weapons, social media manipulation and terrorism.
Let me know what you think. Say hello if I visit your town.
Please know that I’m grateful for our friendship and our shared love of books.
And, of course, thank you, as always, for your faith in my work – and in what words and reading and books can mean to the soul.
All the best,
Chris B.
“The author provides enough twists for a roller coaster fan…The beauty of the book is that, along with the politics of the plot, Cassie’s humanity comes through…the last 100 pages turn tense as you try to follow the unexpected but believable surprises Bohjalian has in store and answers whether Cassie can find salvation.”
— Amanda St. Amand, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Hi Chris,
I just finished and thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and intrigue in The Flight Attendant, congrats !
There was one surprise point in the plot that revealed you had not been correctly advised about firearms operation. Specifically, a semi-automatic handgun cannot explode due to incorrect loading, for other reasons but not that one. I’m a gunsmith and have repaired a number of Beretta 92’s.
I thought that you set up that climax point well by Cassie loading the magazine into the Beretta without jacking the slide. That meant if Cassie or anyone else (Elena?) pulled the trigger, the hammer would only snap because Cassie had not put a round in the Beretta’s chamber. Although Evgeny was probably a firearms expert in his line of work, the panic situation that you put him in with Enrico and Cassie could have caused him to not check the Beretta chamber for a round before using the gun.
Hope this helps,
Jerry
New Braunfels, Texas
Thank you, Jerry! To quote a friend of mine, “I was wrong before. I’m smarter now.”
Hi Chris, just finished your masterpiece, The Fight Attendant and yes, sure didn’t see that one coming! Fantastic! I am so impressed with the acknowledgements that you shared, the wonderful people that assisted you with how the FBI would work with your story, life in Dubai, what life is like for a flight attendant and drones and chemical weapons. Kudos to you for all of the great research conducted and insight gathered to make this magnificent ride so plausible, so believable and so much fun! Congratulations! Now which one of your great books do I read next?