Title: Her Last Flight
Author: Beatriz Williams
Publisher: William Morrow 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 400
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Read Around the USA - Hawaii
Where I Got It: Won on Goodreads
In 1947, photographer and war correspondent Janey Everett arrives at a remote surfing village on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to research a planned biography of forgotten aviation pioneer Sam Mallory, who joined the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War and never returned. Obsessed with Sam’s fate, Janey has tracked down Irene Lindquist, the owner of a local island-hopping airline, whom she believes might actually be the legendary Irene Foster, Mallory’s onetime student and flying partner. Foster’s disappearance during a round-the-world flight in 1937 remains one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
At first, the flinty Mrs. Lindquist denies any connection to Foster. But Janey informs her that the wreck of Sam Mallory’s airplane has recently been discovered in a Spanish desert, and piece by piece, the details of Foster’s extraordinary life emerge: from the beginnings of her flying career in Southern California, to her complicated, passionate relationship with Mallory, to the collapse of her marriage to her aggressive career manager, the publishing scion George Morrow.
As Irene spins her tale to its searing conclusion, Janey’s past gathers its own power. The duel between the two women takes a heartstopping turn. To whom does Mallory rightfully belong? Can we ever come to terms with the loss of those we love, and the lives we might have lived?
I was excited to read this book based on a few previous Williams’ books. Unfortunately, this one did not really land for me. I was intrigued by the topic of female aviators. The idea that this was partially based on Amelia Earhart pulled me in also. But then I started reading it and was immediately turned off by the main characters. Irene and Janey are in turns annoying and infuriating. I don’t always need to have amazing characters to connect with, but these two were really frustrating. Beyond those two characters, I didn’t ever buy the “romance” between Irene and Same. It just seemed like they were two people in close proximity, but no real relationship was shown. And don’t get me started on the big “twist” revealed near the end. I just wasn’t into this book at all.
