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The Flight Attendant

Filed Under: Books Read

The Flight Attendant

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
Published by Doubleday Books on March 13th 2018
Pages: 368
Format: arc_ebook
Genres: Fiction, Suspense
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

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?

I was a little hesitant to request this arc from Netgalley cause I thought the premise of the book was strange. I like Chris Bohjalian’s books so I figured what’s the harm, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book.

Cassie Bowden is not a particularly likable character, her life centers around drinking too much and getting laid. While she is able to hold on to her job, at just past 40, her life is slipping away from her. On a flight from New York to Dubai, she meets a younger businessman, whom she ends up spending the night with. The following morning Cassie wakes up in bed with a dead man. Cassie’s life is forever changed.

Upon her return to New York, Cassie lies to the FBI about her interlude with the young businessman. Cassie has come to a point in her life where she needs to decide which way to go, she finally admits that she was with the businessman the night he was murdered. As Cassie attempts to tone down her life she meets an actor whom she is drawn too. She also realizes that someone is following her and that her life may be in danger.

I enjoyed this book, the suspense that builds throughout the book is great, you just want to keep on reading. Chris Bohjalian is a master storyteller.

The Chalk Man

Filed Under: Books Read

The Chalk Man

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Published by Crown Publishing Group (NY) on January 9th 2018
Pages: 288
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

The must-read thriller of 2018, this riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank . . . until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

For a début novel The Chalk Man was very good. The book was a mixture of Kate Atkinson and Mo Hayder, two very skilful storytellers to my mind. I like books that move from past to present, the author did a good job of moving gracefully between the periods.

You get the sense that not everything is as it seems. Not really sure whats what, Eddie, who is recounting the story tends to neglect telling you all, leaving a bit for later. So do not get comfortable while reading cause you never know what is right around the corner.

About C.J. Tudor

C. J. Tudor lives in Nottingham, England, with her partner and three-year-old daughter. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over artist, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. The Chalk Man is her first novel.

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White Gold

Filed Under: Books Read

White Gold

White Gold by Caitlin O'Connell
Published by Alibi on February 7th 2017
Series: Catherine Sohon #2
Pages: 347
See it @ Goodreads


Synopsis

In this pulse-pounding follow-up to Ivory Ghosts—hailed by Jodi Picoult as “a win for any animal lover or reader with a conservationist’s heart”—wildlife biologist Catherine Sohon ventures into the darkest corners of China to hunt the world’s deadliest poachers.
Catherine Sohon has gone undercover in the Chinese underworld, where the illegal ivory trade is at an all-time high. Posing as a foreign buyer in the backroom of the Beijing Antique Market, she’s closing in on the smuggler who has eluded her since Namibia. Then ruthless gunmen burst in, leaving death in their wake and turning Catherine into a suspect in a triad turf war.
After a close call with a king cobra on a boat full of endangered wildlife, new clues propel her across the country, from open markets to an ivory carving factory in Guangzhou to the forests of southern Yunnan, home to the precious few remaining Chinese-Asian elephants. Her quest pits her against the same vicious trafficking kingpin—only now it’s clear that even high-level officials are looking the other way as the world’s endangered species flood into China from all across Asia and Africa. And when an old lover pays a surprise visit, Catherine is forced to confront the agonizing choices that still haunt her.
As Catherine races to execute a daring sting operation along the mountainous border of Myanmar, a shocking betrayal sends her into a tailspin. Now her life depends on the bond forged with an elephant named Lu Lu. Meanwhile, in the shadows awaits a powerful new adversary—someone with far more at stake than Catherine could possibly know.

White Gold is the second book in the Catherine Sohon Elephant Mysteries. Catherine has recently moved from Namibia to China in hopes of capturing, Nigel Lofty,  a big time endangered animal smuggler (worst type of person in the world). With the help of her college roommate, Ling Ru who after college returned to China and became a customs agent. Catherine and Ling Ru find themselves in some pretty tight spots which they manage to find a way out off. The book brings to light how brutal the illegal animal trade is, at times it was not enjoyable reading about how we mutilate animals.

The best part of the book was the descriptions of the elephants and their interactions with one another and humans. Elephants are fascinating animals.
Elephants with baby
Thanks to Alibi and NetGalley for the opportunity to read White Gold.