In The Last Flight, Claire longs to escape her abusive marriage to a powerful man. A chance encounter at the airport with Eva, a mysterious woman also on the run, leads them to swap their airplane tickets. Claire heads to Eva's home in California, hoping this is the chance she needs for a fresh start. But when she steps off the plane, she hears news that Eva's plane, that one that Claire was supposed to be on, has crashed. Now Claire has to step into Eva's life while evading all that they were both trying to run from.
This story starts out so strong, grabbing me in its initial pages. The introduction to Claire and her backstory, the setting up of her escape, the chance encounter at the airport with Eva, are all fast-paced and amazingly executed. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
But then the swap happens and Claire steps into Eva's life, and the whole thing just fizzles out for me. I found the storyline around Eva to be utterly boring. It reminds me of a very popular tv show (which I won't say for spoilers, but if you've read this book, then you know which one I'm talking about). The thing is, I couldn't get into the tv show either, and found it boring too.
In addition, I also didn't find the reason why Claire had to step into Eva's life, because she had no other choice, to be all that compelling. None of the decisions Claire makes after that point (including staying on as Eva, using her identity, spying on her husband), makes any sense to me. And she hardly does anything other than daily runs for food, a side gig to pick up cash, and lots of ruminating about what she should do next. I kept expecting a villain to jump out and accost her or something, but nothing happened. Where are all the secrets and thrills I was promised?
I think this is a case where I'm just not the right reader for this plot. The beginning was so riveting that I thought for sure this would be a book I whizzed through. Instead, after the initial setup, I felt utterly bored, trying to stay focused every time I read a page or two. Eva's life and her secrets felt so mundane and uninteresting to me, and Claire's decision to stay on as Eva made so little sense, that it ultimately became a lost cause.
Readaroo Rating: 2 stars
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