Customer Reviews

Last Flight Out

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"Last Flight Out" is a non-stop action ride that will keep you guessing up til the very end. Danielle Reynolds is a powerful force. She wants to be independent and in control of her own life after the bad hands she was previously dealt. To work in her chosen career of advertising, she finds that she needs a way to bring additional funds to to the table. Enter the night life of a call girl. By day, leading ad executive that hurridly moves to a fairly lucrative VP position...by night, call girl for some of the biggest players in politics and , unbeknownst to her, the Mafia! As with all things that seem to good to be true, her two separate lives begin to converge, with her ending up under the thumb of one Michael Cardoni. The things he expects her to do and the way she is treated leave her wanting to escape it all....but how? Where can she run that she won't be tracked?

Just try to guess who the good guys versus bad guys are...it will make your head spin! Author Shirley Miller weaves a tale of lies, manipulation, and intrigue just right for fiction fans of today. With characters you'll love one moment and hate the next, it's a fast paced story you won't soon forget. You don't have to take my word for it though....recommended for adult fiction and crime fiction readers.....happy reading!

Dual lives are not all that uncommon. "Last Flight Out" follows Danielle, an aspiring career woman who finds herself rooted in the criminal underworld of Chicago as she tries to push her legitimate career further. An unwilling participant, Danielle looks for anyway out she can while retaining her own career and most importantly her life. "Last Flight Out" is an enjoyable read of being a professional woman faced with the corrupt.

Last Flight Out by S. J. Miller is an intriguing novel that will keep readers turning the pages with anticipation. The story moves at a fast pace, and the characters are realistic with each one having distinct personalities that set them apart from those around them. The author has managed to write this novel so that readers don't see or feel her presence woven within the plot--a skill that many authors lack.

Danielle Reynolds, the main character, is a young woman from Vermont who eventually moves to Chicago where she expects to find better opportunities in the field of advertising. It is the sixties and she had quickly learned all about discrimination in the workplace; however, she is determined to succeed because of her talent and expertise. Unlike others, she refuses to sleep with the bosses in order to have a successful career. She loves advertising; it is exciting and challenging.

Eventually, Danielle has a great title, but she discovers that she can't live on the salary that is one-half of what her male counterparts earn. Having majored in accounting and business administration in college, she had used these skills to supplement her income as she pursued her advertising career back home. But Chicago was different! She quickly learns that small businesses are using computers and accounting software instead of part-time accountants. Frustrated, she knows she has to earn extra money! But how? The young woman doesn't plan on becoming a professional escort or companion--but she doesn't stop it from happening. She is very selective, seeing only prominent men who are referred to her through a trusted contact. Being discreet is crucial; even her married boyfriend doesn't know about her second job. Danielle manages to detach herself from the physical though she does become close friends with a few of her clients--some of them politicians.

Allow me to insert a flashback to the first chapter of the book where readers find Danielle rushing to the airport so that she can board an airplane to LA. She is fleeing Chicago--a city she loves--in fear of her life. She knows Michael's men will be looking for her with murder on their minds. Regardless of what she might have meant to this powerful man, she understands that the "family" comes first and that she is expendable. She knows too much.

Danielle ponders as to how she had come to the place where a man, who placed little value on human life, owned her, protected her, and at times, even shown her some tenderness. Admittedly, she had often enjoyed his lovemaking, but her journey had led her to an unwanted lifestyle that was very dangerous. It seemed impossible that the nice girl from Vermont had been betrayed by so many men that she had trusted; she could no longer tell the good guys from the bad ones. Danielle had backed away from her married boyfriend in order to save him and his family from being killed. Michael chose the men that could be in her life--usually for his own purposes--however, eventually he demanded that he be the only one. He watched her every move, and she lived in fear. She found herself in a situation where murder, the Mafia, political corruption, the Chicago underground, "family" disputes, drug dealing, etc. was the norm. But soon she would be in California where she would make a new start. Once again, she would be free--at least that's what she believed.

Although Last Flight Out is a "quick read" book, it is mesmerizing, and I have no hesitation in highly recommending it to readers of this review. I eagerly await a sequel to this novel by a writer whom I expect to become well-known.