The Flight Attendant: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful thriller about the ways an entire life can change in one night: A flight attendant wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man—and no idea what happened. • Don't miss the acclaimed HBO Max series!

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, 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?

Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at forty thousand feet, The Flight Attendant unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.

Look for Chris Bohjalian's new novel, The Lioness!

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Published Jan 8, 2019

368 pages

Average rating: 6.37

115 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anne-Marie Eberhardt
Jul 02, 2025
10/10 stars
Oh my gosh, so good!
BookClubAddict
Dec 15, 2024
8/10 stars
Good fast paced thriller. I enjoyed the characters and their arcs. Good ending. very believable. Also glad to see the representation of someone with a substance abuse problem as a real person.
CarrieReadsBooks
Jun 12, 2024
6/10 stars
Wanted to give up half way through but pushed through. The ending felt rushed but it had a nice twist. Probably could've been half the length and still got the point across.
hideTurtle
May 18, 2024
5/10 stars
This was just okay. I found myself getting bored at different points.
KBenoit
May 17, 2024
8/10 stars
4.5 stars

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