flight Risk book review

Flight Risk Is Definitely NOT a holiday read!

Australian intelligence officer Ted Roberts is hauled in by the boss and told that a full Garuda flight has gone missing on its way to Indonesia. Just like that, out of the sky. Gone. Roberts is dispatched to Jakarta to investigate what happened and to locate this plane which has hundreds of souls on board. Whilst investigating this tragedy, another plane disappears from the radar and then another. Yep. This book is not for anyone who is scared of flying, it will play with your fears like a fat cat and a doomed mouse.

But, we aren’t done yet! Roberts needs to get home after his investigation from a deserted JFK airport (I’ll let you read and work out how he ends up there), he spots something strange. An odd exchange between a pilot and a cleaner.  He decides to follow his gut and switch his flight from Sydney to Kiev at the last minute. He has a hunch that this is the next plane to go down, so he takes the gamble in the hope of avoiding further catastrophe.

Duffy’s Thoughts On Flight Risk

Ted Roberts is a great character and could quite easily become a favourite. Imagine 007, without the women (realistically you don’t have time to get laid when thousands of lives are at risk from an international incident, right?). Then give him some Liam Neeson ‘Taken‘ swagger and then add an Australian accent. Now you see why I LOVED Ted Roberts and can’t wait to read more about him.

The pace of Flight Risk doesn’t let up and at times triggered my own flight or fight anxieties. The plot gets you thinking and is unashamedly ripped from the MH370 headlines. What really happened? Were sinister forces at work? If so, why can’t we find the perpetrators? Could it happen again? What is there to gain? Could it happen and on multiple flights?

Author Michael McGuire has done his research and handles the possibilities with realism and care, details no doubt picked up from his work as an aviation reporter for The Australian in the ’90s. It’s an ambitious, original thriller and will now have me watching everyone a little more closely when I’m checking in at the airport. If you are after a smart, thought-provoking thriller, Flight Risk should be the one to start you off in 2019.

Published by Allen & Unwin Jan 7 RRP 29.99

So, start your year with Flight Risk. A sharp, edge of your seat thriller. Assume the brace position.

Flight Risk Michael McGuire