Final Call

Final Call is Alex Lake's eighth psychological thriller. Lake is a British writer who now lives in Maine. The book was published on June 8, 2023. 

The publisher's summary:  

They thought it was a simple flight home. The pilot had other plans…

A moment of calm

Heading home after a conference, the senior leadership of a global corporation relax on their private jet ahead of their Christmas break.

A flash of fear

But their peace is shattered when they realise their jet isn’t taking them home. Instead, it’s heading east—out over the Atlantic Ocean.

A journey of terror

And things go from bad to worse when their pilot tells them she is going to crash into the ocean if one of them doesn’t confess to murder…

Final Call is a spellbinding read. The author had my full attention from the first page. After beginning the story I did not notice the passage of time until I had already read half of the book. I finished it in one sitting completely enthralled by all of the suspense that I just lived through in this story. It is simply superb.

The main character is the villain. Stacy Evanston lost her daughter and husband in a fire that destroyed their home. The police thought she also died in the fire but didn't find her body. Her daughter Cherry became deathly ill at school and almost died from sudden onset liver failure. Three other children in her school also got infected from something but they passed away. Stacy believes that the fire was an attempt by someone to silence her from asking questions about what happened to the children. While Stacy is a victim of something, no one really knows what, she sets out to get revenge on whoever killed her daughter. 

I believe the CEO of a food company was a secondary character even though she made up much of the action in the story. The food company was based in Barrow, Maine where the Evanston family had been living. Stacy believes the food company is at fault for the children getting sick but does not know what or how they were involved.

The setting of a flying plane inched up the suspense. There is a limited amount of fuel on the plane so the occupants have to quickly figure out how to survive the flight. This is where the truth is finally revealed and believe me, this was one wild ride.

5 out of 5 stars.