The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Flight Attendant is another well-written book by Chris Bohjalian. This time he's chosen to write a thriller, focused on a woman whose self destructive behavior has put her in a dangerous position. Cassandra Bowden wakes up in a Dubai hotel room next to a murdered man after an alcohol fueled one night stand. She experienced a black-out during the previous night, can't recall exactly what happened and doesn't trust the local police. The only thing she's got going for her is the fact that her flight back to the states is scheduled for that day. So Cassandra cleans up as well as she can and leaves the scene. The novel takes off from there.

The Flight Attendant is written primarily from two points of view: Cassandra and another woman, Elena Orlov, who had been tracking the victim before he met Cassandra. Both these women have self destructive aspects to their characters, but also have aspects to their personalities that draw a reader to them. I found Cassandra to be particularly well-written and interesting. She uses alcohol and sex to forget her self loathing, but it is those two failings which cause her to hate herself. I found myself rooting for this flawed woman, which is why the thriller worked so well.

I thought the ending was somewhat contrived, but it worked and the book still deserves a five star rating.


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Consumed by Justin Alcala

Consumed by Justin Alcala
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love novels with characters who change over the course of the book. The character of Detective Sergeant Nathaniel Brannick in Consumed fits that bill well. He has changed significantly prior to the start of the story, due to the long illness and death of his wife, Catherine. He continues to change as the pages turn and he is forced to respond to situations he never imagined possible. However, Consumed goes a step further. The novel itself changes. It begins as a detective novel set in nineteenth century London, with a number of similarities to the Sherlock Holmes stories, but ends reading more like Dracula. The process is a slow one with various paranormal elements added along the way. I liked this unusual style.

Brannick is a wonderful character. The depth of his love for his departed wife is clearly shown through her death's effect on his relationships with others, especially with his partner, Detective Sergeant James Davis. Davis and Brannick are friends, but they have very different work styles and personal ethics. Davis is often unfaithful to his wife, which is particularly irritating to Brannick who would give anything to have his wife back. Davis is also crude and often jumps to conclusions.

Consumed is very well written, with a good amount of attention to detail. Here's an example when Justin Alcala introduces Davis:

A pink-faced fellow with a long mustache, jolly grin and a yellowed porkpie hat bobbed his bushy brow farcically at me.

There's a lot of graphic blood and guts throughout the book, which is to be expected in both detective and vampire novels.

I recommend Consumed to people who enjoy paranormal mysteries.


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