Publication
Collection
Call number
Physical description
Status
Call number
Description
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?--… (more)
User reviews
Her newest novel, Her Last
Foster and Mallory became a cause celebre, as the world breathlessly followed the attempts to find the downed airplane. When they are eventually rescued weeks later, people all over the world want to hear about their escape and what really happened while they were stranded together on the island. Foster becomes a celebrity, and Mallory returns home to his wife and young child.
In 1937, Irene Foster disappears during an around-the-world race, her plane thought to have gone down in the Sahara Desert.
Janey Everett ends up in Hawaii, convinced that the woman named Irene Lindquist is in fact Irene Foster, who did not die in 1937. Everett supposedly wants information about Sam Mallory for her book, and she won't give up until Irene confesses her true identity.
Her Last Flight zooms back and forth between Irene and Sam's story on the island, Janey's attempt to get information about Sam Mallory from Irene, and parts of the book that Janey actually ends up writing. Each storyline is equally intriguing on its own, and Williams' skillfully weaves them together as the novel reaches its surprising conclusion.
I was so invested in each character- Janey's hard exterior and quippy dialogue, Irene's ambition to be a pilot and her love for her family, Sam's ambivalence between what he wants and his responsibility- I felt for each one.
Williams puts in a few twists that had me literally gasping as I read them, I love when a book surprises me like that. I always enjoyed history class in high school, and when an author writes a historical novel that captures me as much as Her Last Flight did, I can only say "Bravo". This one is Beatriz Williams' best book yet. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of historical fiction and strong female characters.
This novel goes seamlessly back and forth between time periods and both stories are extremely interesting. Both Irene and Janey are strong and determined woman who have worked very hard to fulfill their dreams. I loved both characters and thought that they were both well written. The author describes both their strengths and flaws and that makes them even more real. Because of the way the story is told we learn not only about both women in their present day but also their childhoods, their families and what they had to endure to become strong women in their time periods. There are also a few surprises that are part of both stories that make the novel even more interesting.
Most of the novels that I've read by Beatriz have been in compilation with other authors and after reading this excellent book, I'll be watching for more books written by her.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
The book is inspired by early female aviators. Janey Everett tracks down Irene Foster while writing a biography on Sam Malone, a famous aviator who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War. Irene’s story, is told though flashbacks and alternates with Janey in ‘present day’ 1947. The stories of both women are incredibly interesting, well researched, and really use their locations extremely well as characters in their own right. I highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, mysteries, immersive fiction.
Thank you to LibraryThing and William Morrow for the Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams. All opinions are my own. A special note that the ARC is simply beautiful with an iridescent sheen making the goldtones in the background imperceptibly glow like a sunset. Well done on the cover art! I hope this carries over to the hardcover.
"Sexual power is something I deal with in every single book
Her Last Flight captures the spitfire spirit of the early aviatrixes like Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols and Louise Thadon. Although there are strong inferences to Amelia Earhart, this is not a fictional accounting of her life. References to lead character, Irene Foster's interest in surfing is likely modeled after surfers like Isabel Lethan.
Bardenas Reales, Spain. January 1947.
War correspondent, Janey Everett stands alone in the desolate whipping desert sands next to the remains of a Spanish military aircraft. A clue has led her here. She has been on the search for the whereabouts of a daredevil stunt pilot, Sam Mallory, who disappeared in 1937. Inside the cockpit, she finds human remains and Sam Mallory's personal journal. The discovery of Sam's journal is invaluable for the completion of her current literary project; a Sam Mallory biography.
Reading the dusty journal, Everett is startled to find a clue about Sam Mallory's most famous aviation student, Irene Foster, who also disappeared in flight. Foster and Mallory, in 1928, were the most famous aviators with a history of flying together on long distance rallies. By 1937, Irene Foster was flying solo. On a flight circumnavigating the globe, she failed to arrive at a planned stop to meet up with her husband, George Morrow. Extensive searches concluded she was lost at sea. Yet, Sam's last journal entry from 1937 was a scrawled message - GM to rescue at last thank God She will live. Could Irene Foster have left her husband and traveled to Spain to be with Sam? Was she with Sam when his plane crashed? Is she alive?
Janey Everett, hungry for first-hand knowledge about Sam Mallory, employs all her investigative skills to unearth clues to Irene's whereabouts. Skills that include employing her supersized libido to seduce information from Sam and Irene's closest past associates. Irene, indeed, survived and has living the past ten years as a recluse in a small Hawaiian ocean-side town.
Hanalei, Hawai'i October 1947
The day comes that the two women meet face to face. The lionesses circle each other cautiously. Each has carefully guarded secrets. They meet, alone, at the ocean where Irene has been surfing. They parry. Janey plays her trump card - Sam's journal. Stone-faced, Irene tells her, "Come with me."
We know that Janey is successful in discovering Irene's secrets but we are dealt them out like bits of a Hershey bar - bite by bite. Irene's story, told from her perspective, appears in excerpts from Janey's book, the Aviatrix. that begins with a timeline of 1928.
Alternate chapters are written present that begins in 1947 as the two women leave the beach together.
The two alternating story lines have just the right tension and plot twists to keep the reader guessing the ending. The astute reader might spot clues but not everything is as it first seems. What I liked in particular was the historical coverage of the early aviation. The bravery of those early aviators barnstorming in planes that were as safe as running a soapbox car in a NASCAR race. And who cannot love Sandy, Sam's cat, who travels through the book showering love and contentment to soften the often highly charged scenes.
Nice read during these turbulent times.
Thank you, LibraryThing.com Early Readers for selecting me to read an ARC of the book.
When I started it I turned to the Author's note so that I could understand just how closely the story followed to the events in Amelia Earhart's life. Not too, but enough to make me look. A great tribute to her and all women who go after life like she did.
Irene Foster is the “Amelia” of the story.
During a flight from Hawaii to Australia, the duo encountered engine trouble and had to make an unexpected landing at a remote island where they were stranded for several weeks before being rescued.
Naturally the whole world was speculating about their relationship considering they were alone together for so long on a deserted island. Their publicist, George Morrow, tried to control the publicity for a time, but when things seemed to get out of his control, he managed to separate Mallory from Irene and became her publicist, manager and eventually her husband.
After a few years, Mallory and Irene reconnected and the meat of the story is the events that occurred after their reunion. The ending is one readers will not be able to tear away from. Even though I thought it was a bit of a slow start, I really enjoyed this story—especially the little twists at the ending.
Irene's story was more interesting to me, but there are things I wish had been developed more and things I wish hadn't been left out. For example, Irene decides she wants to learn to fly. We don't see her learning, though. We just skip ahead to her getting ready to navigate a historic flight. I wish I could have seen her growing love for flying and then her disillusionment with it. Instead we jump eight years into the future and are told she's tired of the life. I didn't feel invested in her struggles.
Above all, this book seemed to be about relationships, but I would have like them to be further developed too. For the main relationship in Irene's life, we see the day she meets the man and then skip to the point where they're in love. The other relationship isn't developed either, so I didn't find myself invested in this aspect of the story either. I almost wish the book had only focused on Irene so those points could have been developed more.
Thank you NetGalley and The Book Club Girls for this early read.
Irene Foster or Lindquist as she is known in Hawai’i,
Janey Everett is determined to find out about these two. She is a piece of work. She is no nonsense and does not hold back in her quest for the truth.
Wow! What a fabulous tale! I enjoyed the characters and the history! This story had some major twists at the end. I figured one out and one was a complete surprise. Now, this book is wordy as all Beatriz William’s books are. BUT! This is a fabulous read….DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
It is also about Janey Everett, a war correspondent/photojournalist, who is trying to get the story of Sam Mallory out of Irene who has hidden herself from the public.
The book
The characters are likeable for the most part, and pull you into the story.
HER LAST FLIGHT is a mesmerizing read and difficult to put down simply because of Ms. Williams' writing style and storytelling skills.
Historical fiction fans, aviation fans, and fans of Beatriz Williams will not be disappointed in this lush tale of passion, loss, and determination.
This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received this ARC through Early Reviewers. The summary intrigued me and I was definitely not disappointed. There were some pretty major spelling/grammatical errors but as this was an ARC I was able to look past them.
One of the twists in the book was pretty obvious to me but I wasn’t expecting how it would all come together in the end.
One of the twists in the book was pretty obvious to me but I wasn’t expecting how it would all come together in the end.
In 1947, Janey Everett, a photojournalist is writing a book about the famous pilot Sam Mallory, missing in the Spanish Civil War. Opening with her quiet discovery of the wreckage of his plane in the Spanish desert and a chance line in his journal found in the plane, Janey is off to find the one person who can tell her the truth of what happened in that wreck, a person also long missing. Irene Lindquist and her husband Olle run an island hopping airline in Hawa'ii. Janey suspects that this Irene is Irene Foster, once Sam Mallory's student and flying partner and a famous aviatrix in her own right but Mrs. Lindquist is taciturn and evasive and a lot less than welcoming, even initially denying this identity. Janey continues to dig though and the women come to a sort of tentative truce as Irene slowly tells her own incredible story and how it weaves into Sam Mallory's.
Told in chapters alternating between the 1947 present and the book that Janey is writing, this is that rare novel where both threads of the narrative are gripping. The tension between Janey and Irene is palpable and the reader wonders what all is being held back by these two fiercely private women while the chapters out of Janey's book in progress work toward uncovering the mystery of Sam's fate that Janey is so determined to bring to light. This is a story of complicated relationships, of fame, loss, and love. Both Janey and Irene are strong women who have succeeded in men's occupations. Each guards herself carefully, allowing very few people to see behind their protective exteriors. The secondary characters are well drawn and engaging, rounding out the lives of these women, illustrating parts of our main characters that the reader would not otherwise see. The novel is smooth and while filled with drama, it is not a showy kind of drama, more a quiet, personal cost sort. There are, of course, echoes of Earhart's life and final flight but Irene (and Sam) are entirely Williams' own and the story is well conceived. Readers fascinated by the human beings behind early aviation will delight in this well researched and well written novel.
From the moment Janey, a photojournalist, finds Sam Mallory's plane partially covered in the Spanish desert, she knows she's found what she's looking for. Well, at least a part of it. Now she's traveled to Hawaii to find the missing
Beatriz Williams flawlessly weaves two timelines, 1940's Janey with 20's-30's Irene as she tells the story of both women's lives. Their stories are raw, if not crude at times, and real as they work their way through a male-dominated world. Despite their differences, they are very much alike.
This is a perfect read for fans of historical fiction, combining romance, friendship, and history into one amazing journey. From the first page, I couldn't put it down.
Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.
3.5***
Adapted from the book jacket: In 1947, photojournalist Janey Everett arrives at a surfing village on Kauai, Hawaii to research a planned biography of aviation pioneer Sam Mallory, who never returned from the Spanish Civil War. Janey has tracked down
My reactions:
For some reason I thought this book was going to actually be a fictionalized story of Amelia Earhart. (Obviously, I never read the book jacket or reviews before opening the book.) Well, it isn’t that, but Earhart’s own story (and disappearance) certainly influence this novel.
Once again, the author uses the now typical dual timeline for this work of historical fiction. Of course, both timelines are historical: 1947 and 1937. As Janey wiggles her way into Lindquist’s world and tries to earn her trust, Irene reflects on her own memories of meeting Sam Mallory, flying with him, and both their disappearances. As the stories unfold, the reader comes to learn more about both these women: their hopes, dreams, joys and sorrows.
There are more than a few surprises in store – for Janey, and for the reader.
Although I’ve come to dislike the dual timeline so popular in historical fiction, Williams handles it very well in this case. And it did serve to heighten interest and intrigue. I couldn’t help but try to fit the puzzle together, but I was as surprised as Janey to learn the full truth of the story.
Cassandra Campbell has become one of my favorite audiobook narrators. She does a stellar job of performing the audio version.