Book Review: Her Last Flight

By Jessica Oravec

Janey Everett is a photojournalist who captured everything she could during WWII including a broken heart and a Pulitzer Prize for one of her photos. Determined to find her next big break, she sets out to discover what happened to Sam Mallory, a forgotten aviation pioneer. His plane and his remains are discovered in the desert sands of Spain, and Janey wants to tell his story.

To begin, Janey sets out after Irene Lindquist, a woman whom she believes is actually Sam’s old flying partner, Irene Foster, who disappeared years ago. She finds Irene in Hawaii, flying locals and tourists around the islands. There, Janey confronts Irene, who is finally ready to share her story. Told from the perspectives of both Janey and Irene, author Beatriz Williams’ Her Last Flight is a story of triumph and pain, daring and heartbreak, a story that shows that being a celebrity is not all it’s cracked up to be.

In an interview, Williams shared her desire to tell the tale of a female aviator who vanished at the height of her career. But, since she is a writer of historical fiction, she didn’t want to tell the story of THE female aviator who vanished without a trace. So, Williams created the character of Irene Foster, who decided to disappear to avoid fame and take her shot at true love.

Her Last Flight takes readers on a journey thousands of feet up in the air, as they feel the exhilaration and the fear of flight in the early days. Though it’s not the story of Amelia Earhart, Irene shares the same energy and determination and the same hopes, fears, and dreams. Join Irene and Sam, as they take on the world in their flying machine, and join Janey on her transformative journey, as she confronts her past and begins to see a way to the future.