The Last 39 Seconds

by Michelle Gable

She Loved Him. She Knew Him. Didn't She?

Captain Duncan Abernathy crashed a plane on takeoff, killing forty-six people. The official cause? Pilot error. He used the wrong runway.

Indy Abernathy doesn't believe it. Her husband flew that route every week. He knew that airport by heart. He wasn't reckless. He wasn't careless. He wasn't the man they're saying he was.

But Duncan isn't here to explain.

Except… he is. From somewhere beyond reach, Duncan is still watching―desperate to understand how everything went wrong. Because he knows one thing for certain: It doesn't make sense.

As grief turns to blame and lawsuits mount, Indy vows to clear his name. But the deeper she digs, the more the story fractures―and the man she loved slips out of focus. Even Duncan begins to question his own story. Did a simple mistake cause the crash, or was it something much bigger? What really happened on that runway?

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

368 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 9, 2027

About the author

Michelle Gable is the New York Times Bestselling author of A PARIS APARTMENT, I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS, THE BOOK OF SUMMER, and THE SUMMER I MET JACK.

Michelle grew up in San Diego and attended The College of William & Mary, where she majored in accounting, as most aspiring writers do. After a twenty-year career in finance, Michelle now writes full-time. She lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, with her husband, two daughters, and what is quickly becoming a menagerie: one cat, one bunny, and a lab/jindo mix recently rescued from the dog meat trade in Thailand.

Michelle can be reached at www.michellegable.com or on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest at @MGableWriter.

Reviews

[Laura Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

You lost me when I was reading a book about a plane crash and multiple chapters focused on a Trans child. Like what?

[Nena Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story. I know some people have been confused because of the different pov's and alternate timelines, but I was able to follow it easily and enjoyed the book. Within the story, I felt that the husband when reflecting back on his left, at times I felt he was aggravated at his wife alot. That made me angry a bit for the wife lol but I really enjoyed this and I will recommend it

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from the perspective of Indy’s dead husband, this was such a unique book. I absolutely devoured it and was on the edge of my seat, constantly wondering where the story was going and what had really happened.

To be fully honest, I was a little disappointed by the ending. I think I was waiting for one more big twist or reveal that never quite came. At the same time, I’m not even sure what I wanted that twist to be, because the story had already taken me in so many different directions.

So while this wasn’t necessarily a favorite for me, I really enjoyed the experience of reading it. It kept me guessing, kept me turning the pages, and definitely made me want to pick up another Michelle Gable book.

[Dawn Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A plane crash- 46 people dead- is it a captain error?
Indy, the captains wife decides to investigate only to discover so many things she didn’t not know about her husband!
A husband that flew every week— going down the wrong runway? What was going on? Will she ever know?

[Kristen Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wasn't a fan of this novel. I did read the acknowledgements, which addressed that this was an old manuscript that originally got declined by multiple publishing companies, and to be honest, I agree with them. I feel like the author added the trans issues (this wasn't a hot topic back in the 2000s) to add more substance/get it published, but it just fell flat. We shouldn't be spending so much time on trans issues when the main plot is about a plane crash. In addition, the second-person POV is extremely distracting throughout the novel. I kept getting confused about the context of "you" when Duncan kept going between timelines.

That leads me to my next complaint: the book description makes it sound like Indy and Duncan are working together to discover the truth about the accident, but it's really independent timelines working to discover the same information. There's also so much of the spirit world that was left unanswered by the end of the novel.

I think that if the novel was more focused, it would've received a higher rating. We have some solid plot twists that were actually realistic, and the elements of the story, such as the afterlife and searching for answers, would've sufficed if the author allowed it to breathe more. This probably would've worked better as a short story (150–200 pages), as the ending was relatively lackluster despite all the research happening with the characters.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

I was immediately drawn into the book by the prologue, a plane crashes and everyone but 1 person survives. This story is told from Captain Duncans perspective. It keeps switching from past to present which got a little confusing trying to figure out what was going on but the book did keep me guessing. I had no idea what would come next. This isn't a ghost story per se, but more of what happens right after you die. Everything is tied in for the ending but I was a little disappointed because it fell flat. I think I was left guessing for most of the book and then when the ending came it just didn't have the same kind of energy. Overall I did enjoy reading this story and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

In The Last 39 Seconds, Captain Duncan Abernathy crashes his plane killing everyone but the first officer because they used the wrong runway. His wife, is trying to figure out what went wrong. Duncan was a great pilot, very straight arrow type guy so why would he make such a huge mistake at an airport he frequently flew into? Indy, his wife, tries to clear his name but in the process uncovers a bunch of hidden secrets.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

[Janet Fiorentino · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

When a plane crashes, people are quick to point fingers and assign blame. In The Last 49 Seconds, Michelle Gable explores what happens when those accusations may be directed at the wrong person.

Captain Duncan Abernathy crashes his plane during takeoff, but his wife, Indy, is convinced there is more to the story. A wife fighting to clear her dead husband’s name could make for a compelling mystery. Here, however, the story is also told from Duncan’s perspective, both in the afterlife as Indy investigates and in flashbacks to his life before the crash.

I liked the premise, but I struggled with the execution. I had trouble connecting with Duncan’s afterlife perspective, and the constant shifts between the past and present made it difficult to get into the rhythm of the story. I also felt the novel was trying to do too much, which ultimately kept me from becoming as invested in the mystery as I had hoped.

[Jessica Strawser · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a pilot's wife is left to piece together what led to his fatal airline crash that killed nearly everyone on board, he watches from his own trapped version of the afterlife, reeling in regret, guilt, and confusion about how things could have gone so wrong. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff, because The Last 39 Seconds is everything you want in a psychological thriller: An unforgettable narrator, a heart-wrenching mystery, and an unsettling sense that nothing is as it seems and no one is safe from the truth. Michelle Gable has outdone herself.

[Sheri Fields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this book. Let me first say I struggled with this book, I had to keep coming back and forth reading it and I was disappointed with the ending. This book is about a plane crash, the crash of Indy's husband, who was the pilot. The story goes back and forth between Indy and Duncan and trying to recreate the crash. Duncan and his guardian angel Missy Elliott. Pop in and out and Daisy his daughter can see Duncan still. I muddled through the book and maybe you will do better, as I say I felt disappointed.

[Caitlin Smith · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

4.25⭐️
“Grief is funny. It’s like an ocean. Persistent, vast. Sometimes calm and predictable, other times liable to topple you with a single rogue wave. Usually, the wave comes on suddenly, no time to evacuate.”
I was so intrigued by the premise and I was hooked from the prologue! It took a while to adjust to the writing style and what perspective we were in but once I was in I was IN, and the cliffhangers at the end of some chapters made me not want to put it down. I wish we had got more of a discussion on grief and how both his wife and children were coping in the epilogue.