by Ariel Lawhon
With everyone onboard harboring dark secrets and at least one person determined to make sure the airship doesn't make the return trip, Flight of Dreams gives an utterly suspenseful, heart-wrenching explanation for one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth century.
On the evening of May 3, 1937, Emilie Imhof boards the Hindenburg. As the only female crewmember, Emilie has access to the entire airship, from the lavish dining rooms and passenger suites to the gritty engine cars and control room. She hears everything, but with rumors circulating about bomb threats, Emilie's focus is on maintaining a professional air...and keeping her own plans under wraps.
What Emilie can't see is that everyone - from the dynamic vaudeville acrobat to the high-standing German officer - seems to be hiding something.
Giving free rein to countless theories of sabotage, charade, and mishap, Flight of Dreams takes us on the thrilling three-day transatlantic flight through the alternating perspectives of Emilie; Max, the ship's navigator who is sweet on her; Gertrud, a bold female journalist who's been blacklisted in her native Germany; Werner, a thirteen-year-old cabin boy with a bad habit of sneaking up on people; and a brash American who's never without a drink in his hand.
Everyone knows more than they initially let on, and as the novel moves inexorably toward its tragic climax, the question of which of the passengers will survive the trip infuses every scene with a deliciously unbearable tension.
With enthralling atmospheric details that immediately transport and spellbinding plotting that would make Agatha Christie proud, Flight of Dreams will keep you guessing till the last page. And, as The New York Times Book Review said of her last novel, "This book is more meticulously choreographed than a chorus line. It all pays off."
"Lawhon threads many stories together, connecting passengers and crew and bringing behind-the-scenes depth and humanity to a great 20th-century tragedy - even though we all know the Hindenburg's fate." - Publishers Weekly
"A clever, dramatic presentation of a tragic historical event. Suspenseful and fun."
- Kirkus
"Ariel Lawhon has real vision and the writing chops to back it up...a fascinating blend of love and murder, big dreams and betrayal, history and pure imagination - I could not put it down." - Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants and At the Water's Edge
"A story so vivid, it is impossible to pull away. Mystery, romance – it is all here, told in a mesmerizing tale." - Kate Alcott, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker
"Intricately plotted and deftly characterized, this beautifully written novel is wonderfully satisfying - historical fiction at its best." - Alex George, author of A Good American
"It's a sign of an extremely talented writer who can take a story that's been told before and tell it in a completely new imaginative way that is so compelling and exciting." - Charles Belfoure, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Architect and House of Thieves
"A magnificent, tour-de-force story ... Simply spectacular - I've never read anything like it. Lawhon has written the book of the year. She's a writer to watch - now, and for many years to come." - J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of What Lies Behind
This information about Flight of Dreams was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ariel Lawhon is a critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been LibraryReads, One Book One County, Indie Next, Costco, Amazon Spotlight, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. Ariel splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.
Author Interview
Link to Ariel Lawhon's Website
Name Pronunciation
Ariel Lawhon: LAW-hahn
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