Author: Julie Clark
Genre: Mystery
Published on: June 23, 2020 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Two women. Two flights. One last chance to disappear.
Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns bright and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move.
What he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish. A plan that takes her to the airport, poised to run from it all. But a chance meeting in the airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision.
The two women switch tickets, with Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico crashes, Claire realizes it’s no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva’s identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
As premises go, the one in The Last Flight doesn’t seem terribly original, but it’s still compelling. And I haven’t come across many books where two main characters swap identities. That’s the catalyst that starts the story in The Last Flight. The protagonist is Claire Cook, a young woman who’s married to a rich and powerful politician by the name of Rory. They seem to lead perfect lives, though things are vastly different behind closed doors. Contrary to his public demeanor, Rory has a worryingly short temper. You quickly realize that he’s one of those jerks who absolutely doesn’t deserve his wife. Rory also has an overinflated ego, and he believes Claire should be grateful to be married to someone of his caliber.
The situation started to turn dire enough that Claire’s been working on a way to escape. The fortune she has access to helps, but Claire’s careful not to give herself away. This is a feat when you learn how much control Rory has over her life. He’s gone as far as dictating which friends Claire is allowed to have. Fortunately, she has a powerful childhood friend whom Rory doesn’t know about. She’s Petra, who comes from a mob family. No, she’s not a bad person. Seeing how evil Rory is, you’d think he’s the one in the mob. Anyway, Petra is able to help Claire make arrangements to disappear. A last-minute change ends up screwing that plan. Rory is now going to Detroit instead of Claire…where he’ll find evidence that’ll give her away.
