Flying Solo

About This Audiobook

Linda Holmes’ *Flying Solo* is a quietly electric return to small-town roots, where the past hums just beneath the surface like a radio tuning station. Our protagonist, Ellen, flees Chicago after heartbreak—only to crash-land in her sleepy Maine hometown, a place she swore she’d never stay long enough to unpack emotionally. But Ellen’s not just passing through. The town’s full of ghosts, including her estranged mother’s unsolved disappearance, and the only way forward is to sift through the wreckage of what she left behind. Holmes’ prose is sharp but tender, balancing humor and ache with the precision of someone who’s perfected the art of making heartbreak feel like a warm blanket. It’s the kind of book that sneaks up on you, leaving you with a lingering sense that you’ve just eaten the best meal you didn’t know you were hungry for.

Narrated by Julia Whelan, this audiobook becomes something even more intimate—a confessional whispered into your ear. Whelan’s voice has this rare ability to shift between Ellen’s sharp, self-deprecating wit and the brittle vulnerability of her grief without missing a beat. The production enhances the claustrophobia of small-town life, where everyone knows your business and secrets fester in the hum of a refrigerator in the dead of night. It’s not just a story about returning home; it’s about the terror and relief of realizing home wasn’t what you thought—and that’s okay.