Mile High is Rebecca Chance’s 8th book – she writes British bonkbusters, so American readers can be forgiven for not recognizing her name. Books about rich people behaving badly, usually multiple characters with overlapping storylines and sumptuous sex. On several levels, this one doesn’t disappoint, but I certainly wouldn’t call it my favorite of hers either.
Recently, Chance has been moving more towards romantic suspense but wants to keep straddling her bonkbuster pedigree. This book manages that to a certain extent, but the only real crazy characters are a few of the flight attendants. I will admit to reading her books for those crazy kooks, so I missed them this time around.
The plot is convoluted and simple at the same time – a debut luxury flight from London to LA, chock full of the rich and the famous. On board are three huge celebrities – a Beyonce/Selina type, a Carey Mulligan type and a Jamie Oliver type. There’s also an elaborate hierarchy amongst the attendants (that dynamic was great to learn about) and power structures between some of the passengers. Additionally, there’s a stalker to the Beyonce/Selina one, and a murderer on board we know LAPD are waiting for but whom we don’t know the name of.
The structure of the book is split between flashbacks and time on the flight. Chance does a great job of weaving things together, with a healthy dose of misdirection to go along with the mystery. I thought for sure I knew who the stalker was, but she threw a wobbler and surprised me completely.
If you enjoy light, glamorous romantic suspense, I’d give this one a go. There are two supremely satisfying happy endings for two of the celebrities (one of which is F/F and one is M/F and both are cross-cultural) and the mystery is a fun one. The bonkbustery aspect is not nearly as fun, so know that going in. If my expectations had been adjusted, I may have enjoyed this more.
Overall, however, I’d say this is a great way to spend a few hours with a fizzy cocktail in hand.
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Further Reading:
- Time Magazine’s list of best plane books
- Bonkbusters and Beyond
- Rebecca Chance’s website
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I bought my own copy of this book.