''The Flight Attendant'' is a novel by

Chris Bohjalian Chris A. Bohjalian ( hy, Քրիս Պոհճալեան) is an Armenian-American novelist and the author of 20 novels, including ''Midwives'' (1997), '' The Sandcastle Girls'' (2012), '' The Guest Room'' (2016), and ''The Flight Attendant'' (2018). ...

, published on March 13, 2018 by

Doubleday Books Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...

. It was adapted into a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that premiered in 2020.

Plot summary

Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden wakes up with a hangover in a hotel room in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

to find a dead body next to her. Afraid to call the police, she continues as though nothing has happened, joining the other flight attendants and pilots traveling to the airport for a flight to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She is met in New York by FBI agents who question her about her recent layover in Dubai. Still unable to piece the night together, she starts to wonder whether she could be the killer.

Reception

''The Flight Attendant'' was well-received by critics with a "Positive" rating from the book review aggregator

Book Marks Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conten ...

based on seven independent reviews. Writing for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

,''

Maureen Corrigan Maureen Corrigan is an American author, scholar, and literary critic. She is the book critic on the NPR radio program ''Fresh Air'' and writes for the "Book World" section of ''The Washington Post''. In 2014, she wrote ''So We Read On'', a book ...

described the novel as, "the ultimate airplane book, and not just because of its name: entertaining and filled with inside info on the less glamorous aspect of flight crew’s lives, it may even make you more politely attentive the next time you’re asked to listen to that in-flight lecture on emergency water landings."

Television adaptation

In October 2017, it was announced that Kaley Cuoco's production company,

Yes, Norman Productions Yes, Norman Productions is an American film and television production company founded on October 27, 2017 by actress and producer Kaley Cuoco. It is known for producing the television series ''Harley Quinn'' (2019–present) and ''The Flight Atte ...

, had

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

the rights to the book to be developed into a limited television series with the same name, ''

The Flight Attendant ''The Flight Attendant'' is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HB ...

'', starring Cuoco, who was also an executive producer. The series premiered on November 26, 2020 on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

References

2018 American novels American mystery novels American novels adapted into television shows Works about flight attendants Novels about alcoholism Aviation novels Doubleday (publisher) books {{2010s-mystery-novel-stub