Night Flight is a riveting, memorable read--Midwest Book Review
Night Flight will have you turning the pages in this true crime-inspired story where greed and complicated families converge in a deadly plot. Innocence, once lost, can never be recovered.--James L'Etoile, award-winning author of River of Lies and Face of Greed Award-winning author Anne Da Vigo's newest thriller brings readers a dark, twisty mystery of youthful longing, obsession, love, and the power of family to shatter or heal our lives.
It's 1955 in Denver, Colorado. Hannah Brightman is a lonely 17-year-old still mourning the death of her mother and at odds with her father's new family. One frigid winter night at a skating party, she meets Jack, a handsome married man.
Flattered by his attention, Hannah begins an affair, but quickly realizes Jack is a violent man nursing deep, long-held grievances.
The clock is ticking as Hannah struggles to break off the relationship, but Jack lures her further into a vortex of greed and revenge. Can she extricate herself before he launches his plan?
Night Flight is a mystery inspired by a real crime almost forgotten today--one of the most horrendous mass murders of the 20th century.
Some books pull you in with a mystery. This one pulled me in because I couldn’t stop worrying about Hannah.
Anne Da Vigo’s Night Flight, published by Quill Driver Press, wasn’t a book I picked up because everyone on Bookstagram was talking about it. I actually had the chance to meet Anne a while back and hear a little about her path to becoming an author. I remember thinking how interesting her story was, so when I saw this one, I wanted to see what she’d written.
And then Hannah got ahold of my emotions. Hannah is seventeen, grieving her mother, frustrated with her father, and trying to figure out where she belongs. She makes some choices that had me wanting to reach into the pages and redirect her entire life. Not judge her. Just gently reroute her.
Because wow. The minute Jack showed up, I got suspicious. Hannah, unfortunately, did not.
The thing that worked for me was that this never felt like a book about a crime. It felt like a book about a girl who was lonely and hurting and trying to be seen. The mystery is there. The suspense is there. But I wasn’t reading to solve anything.
I was reading because I was worried. At one point I caught myself saying, “Hannah, what are you doing?” out loud —-To a book.—In my house. Where Hannah could not hear me.
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“There are some mistakes you can’t take back.”
That pretty much hangs over the entire story.
I also loved the 1950s setting. Not because it was flashy, but because it felt lived in. The details were there without taking over the story. And knowing this was inspired by a real tragedy made everything hit a little harder.
By the end, I wasn’t thinking about the mystery nearly as much as I was thinking about Hannah. Those are usually the books that stay on my mind after I turn the last page.
Have you ever gotten so invested in a character that you completely forgot you were supposed to be paying attention to the plot?
It was a great read. I had forgotten about the incident even though I grew up in that era in Colorado. It took me back in history and reminded me of many things about Colorado. The Author obviously did a great deal of research......looking forward to her next thriller. If you have not done so, read Anne DaVigo's 2 previous thrillers......Thread Of Gold and Bakersfield Boys Club.
Loved this story, yet another wonderful thriller from Ms. Da Vigo.
The protagonist, Hannah Brightman is 17, still reeling from the loss of her mother and her father's starting a new family too soon after. Teenagers often make questionable choices, but some have more potentially dire consequences than others. This book weaves together a coming-of age story with a real-life tragedy caused by the bad decisions of the real life person of Jack Graham, who wouldn't take responsibility for his own life, convinced that short cuts would get him where he wanted to go - no matter the costs to others.
The intersection of fact and fiction is handled seamlessly, and we accompany Hannah as she struggles to learn from her mistakes and to stop Jack from carrying out the vague but clearly harmful plan she realizes she may have inadvertently been a party to. It's quite a ride!
I read this for a book club, knowing nothing about the story. I went on an amazing journey with teenaged Hannah, watching as her significant role in a horrific tragedy unfolded. Part thriller, part coming-of-age, the story is set in 1955 Denver, Colorado. Based on a true event, the author made the human aspect of a tragic event gripping and moving. This is not a disaster story, focusing more on Hannah's life, having lost her mother, and dealing with an emotionally distant father and difficult step-mother situation. The historical background felt realistic and researched. Hannah's path to her own healing touches other lives in unexpected ways.
This story is based on a fictional family in the midst of real, historical events from the 1950s. Hannah, a teen dealing with grief from the death of her mother and her fractured family, makes some poor decisions until she finds herself in over her head. At that point, I began to root for her as she tries to extricate herself from the mess she's gotten herself into. I loved the rich details from the fifties, the character development, and the focus on Hannah and her family rather than the violent man who tries to victimize her. I admire Da Vigo's research and storytelling and highly recommend this book.