The Last Witness came as a bit of a surprising read. What was originally pitched as a thriller turned slowly into horror.

Claire McFall easily pulled me into the story. A group of teens, seemingly irresponsible and eager to get away--some more at odds with each other. It started out like many other thrillers. McFall's writing style is readable and easy to digest. There were several elements at play, and they gave a slow build to the rising actions. Hints were dropped, but none so blatantly obvious that it spoiled the final twist.

I really enjoyed the characterization within this book. Originally, I thought it would be the stereotypical teens getting up to shit plotline, but I left the book surprised. Heather as our main character provided a lot of solid details into a tall tale. The way in which her cast of side characters--Emma, Dougie, Martin, and Darren--spoke and interacted with each other had me entirely convinced and believing. At times, I found it a bit harder to believe they were all teenagers; there were a few lapses where dialogue or action would make it appear they were older. For the majority of it, however, this was not an issue that could not be overlooked.

I struggled a bit in the final acts. The pacing fell off a bit, perhaps to prolong the story when it could have potentially been slightly more condensed. However, the final twist made up for that slow fall. Without spoiling much, I will say things were not what we readers were lead to believe. McFall did an extraordinary job with leading us on and dipping our toes into the entrapment. I closed the book and had to stew in my thoughts a bit just to grasp that genuinely unexpected ending.

My biggest disappointment was mostly the mismarketing that had nothing to do with the story, but I still feel the need to point out. This is not the average thriller, it is absolutely horror. Yes, some things did not turn out to be a certain way in the end, but that does not remove the overarching genre from it.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book. It's a solid story that you won't be expecting. For that, I give it a starred rating. I am glad to have picked this up, and I would not say I waited for nothing. There could have been slightly better aspects in regards to pacing and age characterizarion, but the positives vastly outweighed the negatives.

Well that was a ride! Plowed through it in one sitting, and it's definitely one that makes you think you are reading one genre and it turns out to be something completely different. Very interesting twist!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Oh my word. I freaking loved this book. This was a trip right up my alley. I don't read a lot of thrillers but I definitely want to read more now. I am all for stories about campers that go missing because of something in the woods.

The Last Witness is told through varying chapters labeled "then" and "now." In the now chapters, our main character is in some sort of asylum or mental institution. We're never really told what exactly it is, but it's clear that the patients there are all unfortunately suffering from some sort of mental ailment. During these chapters, Heather's psychiatrist is trying to get her to agree with his own version of events. She intern covers her own version of events in the other chapters and I really liked the contrast.

I did not want to put this book down, especially after I got about a third of the way into it. I love how the disappearances and various mysterious events weren't rushed at all. I've read a lot of books that rush through these types of moments and I really dislike that. McFall took just the right amount of time between and with each event to really set up the atmosphere. Nothing was rushed or dragged on unnecessarily.

The last 50 or so pages are quite a ride and I WAS HERE FOR IT. The last few pages left me stunned and just stuttering in shock. I'll be checking out what else McFall has written. Definitely grab this book and give it a try, it's worth your time!

Review will be live on my blog on 5/17/20

A creepy, chilling story about what goes wrong to a group of five friends, camping out at Black Cairn Point. The dual narrative really allowed for a build of tension, the Now chapters happening at just the right time to cut the build of the Then chapters, making you eager to keep reading, desperate to find out what happens next and what will befall the campers. I found myself diving headfirst into the story, breath coming rapidly as I panic alongside the characters. I was worried that the ending would ruin the story, that it would fall flat and I would feel let down by it. But boy was I wrong. I loved the twist, I loved having that additional eery chill to leave the story with. I can't wait to read other Claire McFall novels now.

This book was unexpected and wonderful! I loved how it was told going back and forth from when the events were happening, and a year later, when she's accused of killing her friends. We saw it unfold, and we got her thoughts about them after the fact. It worked really well with this story!

The set up for this book takes a while. Things don't start going really wrong until around the halfway mark. But the atmosphere was dark and chilling, and I wanted to know what had happened to the group, so it was pretty compelling to keep turning the pages!

I wasn't sure whether or not this was a paranormal book. Since she is saying that there's a malevolent spirit and all that killed the rest of her group. But that's not really mentioned what it was when it was happening, and wasn't really explained in the year later. Yeah.

My one complaint was I wish the ending was longer, to explain the twist fully. Because I can kinda plot out what really happened, but I'm not totally sure, and I would've liked a few more details to flesh it out! I loved the twist, which is why I wanted more of it!

All in all, this was a twisty, dark, and wonderful book and I really enjoyed it!

3-4 stars! While this book was definitely chilling and scary at times, other parts were confusing and not my favorite. I think for the most part it was well written and offered plenty of suspense and scares. I do think it was one that was easily put down, which is why I lean more to a 3 star, but the good parts made me level up a bit! I think if you like scary stories, with thrills & chills you’ll enjoy this book!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

This book was dark and creepy but so fun to read. We have 5 friends who go on a camping trip and all is fun and games until they each go missing. The story takes many twists and turns and I never really knew where it was going. I will say even though this book had many cool aspects, such as the use of dark magic, it did drag on a bit at times. Also, with it being a young adult thriller, sometimes things came across as too convenient and easy. All in all this was a solid read and I would recommend it.

Heather and her best friend Emma with her boyfriend, Darren, Dougie and Martin are on their way to Black Cairn Point to celebrate Dougie’s birthday. They will be camping on the beach. From the beginning, Darren who has the car is being a jerk which causes tension and separates the friends from each other. They go hiking discovering an ancient burial site that makes Heather uncomfortable. When they return to the camp, Martin is upset and goes off for a walk by himself. He doesn’t come back. Why? Did something happen to him? As time passes, there are only two survivors left. One is unconscious and the other is Heather who is passed out when found. Heather is questioned by the police as she is conscious and Dougie is in a coma. The parents of the friends think Heather killed them. Why would she do that? What is going to happen to Heather?

The novel starts with the awareness that something is wrong, but what they don’t know. The author’s writing is full of tension as it made me why and what was going to happen. It is a suspenseful thriller that has an ending that will surprise you. I had no idea of the ending until I read it!

Wow. I don’t even have any words for this book. I will start by saying that I really enjoyed it. At times I was confused and not sure what to believe, but for the most part, I knew everything that was going on to be true. I did get pretty scared at times because there were some pretty creepy parts. I loved that we were in Scotland. I kept forgetting until they would. Mention it, and I kept thinking how cool it was.

We follow Heather as she deals with what happened at the campsite with her friends. We go from now and then. What I thought was interesting was the demonic part of the book and all the craziness that happened. The author did a great job of totally sucking you in the story. It was hard to put down. There were so many times that I wanted to scream how bad an idea the characters had, but then they ended up making an okay decision.

Heather and Dougie were my favorite characters. They were just so easy to like. Martin too.

I definitely didn’t expect the end, but I did appreciate it. I wish I could get more into it but I can’t! I hope you enjoy this book as I did! Comment below with your thoughts so we can talk about all the craziness that happens in this book.

It is difficult to find the right balance in a thriller of characters that you like, but are also at least a little bit suspicious of; the right atmosphere/setting without too many setups; and the right pace. I think that is maybe even a little bit more difficult in a book targeted at a YA audience. Overall, this one hit the mark.

The pacing in the book is slow, so may not suit all readers, but would be good for fans of Ruth Ware. Definitely more in the moody/gloomy than out and out scary or creepy category.

I always find it difficult to review this style of book because everything feels like a spoiler. It was a very quick read, and perfect for a gloomy day curled up under a blanket.

I received an E-ARC for review from NetGalley.com. I absolutely loved this book. The summary is kind of vague and I really didn't know what the book was about when I started it. It was so much better this way. There were so many great twists and turns and oh my god moments. It was just amazing and such a wild ride. I really enjoyed it if you couldn't tell. I really want to explore more from this author especially if she has any other thrillers out. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

This book was such a surprise! 

We follow a group of characters on their way to a camping trip on the beach, and right away things start turning for the worse.. 

This is a book that genre-hops so gracefully that you don't see it coming! From a contemporary setting to a psychological thriller and even through a moderately-chilling horror show. I could not put this down as soon as I read the mind-boggling first chapter. It sucked me in and the ending dug it's teeth in harder than I could've imagined! 

I gave this one 5 out of 5 stars. I definitely recommend ignoring the synopses because this is a book that you NEED to go into blind! Every twist and turn will drag you through the sand until the gut-wrenching end! (which, even to this day, still shocks me!) A definite re-read!!

What about the synopsis won me over? The first line: “a group of friends awake a malevolent spirit bent on revenge.” From there I was like, “Sign me up please!” I want to say that I loved The Last Witness, but I sadly didn’t. The Last Witness has A LOT of potential and it was set up to be an amazing thriller, but it fell short.

The story is told in a both before and after in alnternsting chapters. In the now, Claire is currently in a psychiatric hospital of sorts awaiting Dougie to wake up from his coma and prove that she isn’t insane. The before tells the story leading up to the now, the camping trip and everything that happened to cause Claire’s sanity to be questioned.

One of my biggest issues with this book that it isn’t until you are about 25% through that we actually learn that The Last Witness is set in Scotland. I don’t have an issue with books taking place in other countries, I love it most of the time but I’m instances like this it changes a lot of the setting. I also struggled with the supernatural aspect, I feel like it was just thrown in there with no explanation. The only explanation being the broach they found on their hike. There is no explanation on why the spirit is angry or any history regarding it.

I am glad I stuck through this book because I was not expecting the plot twist at the end of the book. A lot of my original issues with the book where cleared up because Claire isn’t as reliable of a narrator as she is thought it be. So my advice is this: read closely and look between the lines.

Overall I’m bummed I didn’t love The Last Witness but I can see why tons of people are going to love this book.

I really enjoyed The Last Witness by Claire McFall. What should have been a get away for five friends at the beach turns in to a suspense filled paranormal nightmare.

When Heather and her friend's Emma, Dougie, Martin and Darren make camp on the beach at Black Cairn Point it quickly becomes apparent that some of them have other thoughts in mind. Finding that Emma and boyfriend Darren wanted to take sometime alone the others set out for castle ruins Dougie had told them about. What they find there is not a castle but a pile of rocks with a small entrance.

Taking an artifact Dougie found from the rocks entrance the group heads back to camp for the night. No one knew what waited for them tomorrow. One by one they each begin to disappear. Heather is sure it has to be a curse for taking the artifact from the ruins.

Claire McFall builds the suspense slowly, letting it creep in to your subconscious, putting you on edge. Perfect blends of supernatural and historical keep the story moving at a brisk pace. The story moves between Heather's present and the camping trip.

I did feel that the ending was lacking. I got the what, but not really the why of how it all ended. Really wish there had been a little more there.

Over all really well written. Perfect for suspense fans or those who like a good ghost story.

I love a wonderful suspense story, and this one keeps your attention! The back and forth time frame, keep you guessing about sanity narrative will definitely engage the reader!

I am disappointed in this book.

I did not feel that "thrilling" feeling at all and found the plot kind of boring and slow moving.

I really wanted to love this book, but I could not wait for it to end.

No one believes Heather about what happened on the camping trip she took with her friends: not the police, her parents, or the psychiatrist at the mental hospital she is being held. They all want to know how three of her friends went missing and the other ended up in a coma. She won’t change her story and when her doctor tries to talk about it, she refuses to talk. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t remember…

The Last Witness is told in alternating timelines between Heather’s “Now”, when her doctor is trying to get her to talk, and memories of “Then”, the weekend of the camping trip itself. At first, I didn’t know if this alternating timeline worked for me. I felt that the Now sections with the psychiatrist didn’t really add to the plot. While they did get more important as the story continued, I am still questioning if they were necessary.

One thing I did really like about this story was the setting, specifically the camping element. I am always drawn to this in a story, especially a thriller as I like the isolation it creates. I think the author did a really good job of explaining all of the coincidences in the book to make the isolation believable.

I think that a lot of people will like this book, but about halfway through it took a turn I wasn’t expecting towards elements that I am not a fan of in books. I think I will definitely be in the minority about this opinion, and even though I didn’t love where it went, I still think it has very good plot twists and was very fast-paced.

What truly brought this book down for me was the ending. I feel as if it was supposed to be shocking, and while it was, it felt rushed and still left quite a few holes. If it had been stretched out even just a little more, I think I could have really liked the book.

This book was so good!!! It was chilling and intriguing.

When Heather goes in a camping trip with her best friend, Emma, Emma’s boyfriend, Darren, Heather’s crush, Dougie and his best friend, Martin it seems like it will be a fun getaway to celebrate Dougie’s birthday. But after a creepy campfire story and a trip to a sacred ritual burial site, things start taking a turn for the worst. When her friends start to disappear, Heather has to hold on for her life.

Told between present time, with Heather institutionalized and the past, during the ill fated camping trip, we get a unique look into the events as they unfold. This was a twisty and delightfully creepy tale. I am eager to read more from this author!

Great premise, but didn’t quite fulfill what it promised to driver. When I should have been hooked on the thriller and supernatural aspect, I was annoyed and wishing things would just move along.