This book was recommended in one of the groups I'm in and i just had to request it.
Such a hard book to read. Sad that this happens in real life. Couldnt put this one down. Well written and the ending was something else.
Pick this one up you won't he disappointed

Thanks to the Author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book..

In Will Dean's series starring deaf Swedish journalist Tuva Moodyson there's often a sense of creepiness or even claustrophobia in the rural setting, enclosed by wild forest that has a sense of Grimm's fairy tales.

In his first standalone, Dean dials up those ingredients to 12. The Last Thing to Burn is an intimate, intense psychological thriller set among bleak British farmland. Lenn and ‘Jane’ are a farming couple living in isolation on the Fens, a wide-open landscape of browns and greys near the English coastline. But only Lenn is there by choice: Jane is really Thanh Dao, a Vietnamese immigrant living a harrowing life in an open prison. Escape seems impossible: attempts have harsh consequences.. It’s been a damp, dreary, despairing life for several years. When ‘Jane’ falls pregnant, she must risk everything.

Dean has crafted a superb thriller about identity, control, and courage where the pages whir by even though the subject matter can be quite traumatic. It’s a strong character study of a victim of human trafficking, humming with tension. The Last Thing to Burn has echoes of Stephen King’s Misery, with its claustrophobic, isolated setting and twister power dynamics, while being its very own thing.

An intense read; tough in places, but recommended.

This was a crazy creepy book! Taking a hair raising look into the likes of trafficking and holding captives. It brought some difficult feelings to the surface.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a tough book to read, definitely triggers and really heard subjects. The book seems realistic, I guess this could have happened, and it probably does happen, I just prefer not to know about it if it does.

The author keep me turning the pages, it was suspenseful and there was redemption, although not enough nor exactly what I would have wanted it to be if I was writing the book.

It's hard not to let my dislike of the subject matter and triggers color my perspective of the book, but the author accomplished what he set out to do.

This book was a difficult read but the author drew you in with beautiful descriptions of the landscape and heartbreaking scenarios that have you putting yourself in Jane's (that's not her name) place. Two young women, sisters are recruited to leave their home and go to England. They believe they will have jobs as housekeepers when they arrive but "Jane" is imprisoned by a man who marries her in a ceremony she does not remember and then keeps her in a desolate farm where she has no hope of escape. Until she learns she is pregnant and another woman is taken. She becomes more determined to save others from a fate she has been suffering for the last seven years.
Some readers may be triggered by physical and emotional abuse but this is a story that needs to be told with increasing human trafficking occurring worldwide.
Thank you to both #netgalley and the publisher for the free advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Deceived by human traffickers, a young woman called "Jane" finds herself held captive on a remote farm in the UK. Abused and tormented for seven years, "Jane" is on the verge of giving up when she discovers she is pregnant. Determined to save her child, Jane begins to plan her escape. When her captor imprisons another woman she will have to determine if she is capable of saving them all.

The Last Thing to Burn a compelling new thriller by author Will Dean. Dean takes a break from his Tuva Moodyson series to bring us this powerful standalone novel about a young woman's determination to survive. The novel begins with a young Vietnamese woman, Thanh Dao (aka "Jane), attempting an escape from a remote farm in the UK where she has been held captive for seven years. Told from Thanh's perspective, she reveals her past combined with her current struggle for survival. This novel does contain material that may be triggering for some readers including: abuse, torture, addiction, and rape. This highly suspenseful novel had be on the edge of my seat...I couldn't put it down...a must read for 2021!

This was a tough book to read, it was about sex trafficking even though it doesn't specifically state that in the synopsis. There are many trigger warnings related to that. However, the writing kept me turning the pages, so I guess it accomplished what the author intended.

Keeping in mind the horrible subject matter, the writing was good, the suspense kept rising and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. It was dark, gritty, suspenseful and creepy. The author made you care about all of the characters except for one and explained that character in a manner to try to get you to feel sorry for him. I was surprised when a character was revealed which led to an ending that while a just ending, left me a little unsatisfied. I was hoping for more retribution.

I am having a hard time assigning a "star" rating to this book as I need two star scales. One for subject matter and the other for the "thriller/suspense" book. Even though I had a hard, hard time reading it, I thought it was well written and deserves 4 stars.

A gritty, dark thriller, the first half is a torturous setup leading to hair-raising suspense. Although the outcome is predictable, the route it takes is exciting and fascinating.

I really enjoyed this one!

While I did find it to be very similar to "Room" in many ways, it was unique enough to hold my attention and written in a very compelling style that made it difficult to put down.

I really only have one small criticism. It bothered me through the entire book that the man lives in a decrepit farm house and eats cheap frozen foods and doesn't seem to spend money on any creature comforts even for himself, and he tries to keep a low profile on the small farm community.....but he drives around rather conspicuously in a Land Rover. Possibly this could have been fleshed out with the storyline concerning the human trafficking-- maybe he's the king pin? ...but then his needing help with the computer and not having a head for details doesn't really make sense.

What an outstanding introduction to a thrilling novel.

After reading my friend’s review on goodreads I thought maybe I’ll give this book a try.

I’m. So glad that I did. It was deep and intense and and heart wrenching but well worth the read.

On an isolated farm in the United Kingdom, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years ago. When she discovers she is pregnant, she resolves to protect her child no matter the cost, and starts to meticulously plan her escape. But when another woman is brought into the fold on the farm, her plans go awry. Can she save herself, her child, and this innocent woman at the same time? Or is she doomed to spend the remainder of her life captive on this farm?

I enjoyed this haunting, chilling, yet gripping read that is reminiscent of Room and Dear Child. Well-written and unputdownable!

Wow!!! If you are in a reading slump, choose this book as your next read when available. I absolutely loved this book. I could not quit reading - just one more chapter - it kept me up way too late in bed reading and taking it all in. It's not a light read - it is very disturbing but about an important issue. It's creepy and dark, sad and scary, but also about love and resilience. The story is about 2 sisters from Vietnam brought to the UK illegally. They thought they were being taken to the UK to work so they could send home money to their parents. However, they were being sex trafficked. The author does a fantastic job of describing everything. You can feel and picture the places and characters and you can somehow smell the dank darkness and even some of the things about the characters that he describes. I thought this book may seem too much like the book Room - it's not. The story will keep you reading - finding out what happens to Thanh, her child, her sister, and the stranger (who as an "extra" character in this book that becomes just as important to you in this story). You will be rooting for these women and you will hold your breath waiting for the comeuppance of the monster that holds them captive. This is one book I will be recommending to everyone. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book - it's a winner.

I enjoyed this book very much. The character were rich and I could feel their desperation. I could smell the stench of the farm and bodies while reading this.

I really enjoyed Will Dean's writing in his Tuva Moodyson series, so I knew I wanted to read this stand-alone as soon as I first heard about it. I mean, have you seen that blurb?! A man keeping an illegal woman trapped in his home, pretending to be his wife... That most definitely sounds like a rock solid premise to build your story around. I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy my time with The Last Thing To Burn, and my instincts turned out to be absolutely right. You will want to clear your schedule for this one, as it will be REALLY hard to stop reading before you reach that final page. Unputdownable indeed!

Like I said, the premise itself is rock solid. While you can argue that nothing much is going on, as it is basically the two main characters inside the same house in the middle of nowhere during most of the story... But its power is in its simplicity. With other distractions stripped away, the sole spotlight is on that house and what happens inside. This gives the story an even bigger impact, and the descriptions of the tired house and its surroundings most definitely set the right tone for the story. An air of desperation, loneliness and a hint of foreboding... You will know things will escalate, and the future seems bleak, but you won't be able to stop reading to see if things will improve against all odds.

The Last Thing To Burn is a character-driven story, and the focus is mainly on Thanh (Jane) and her 'husband'. We see the events unfold through Thanh's eyes as we learn a little about the past, but mainly about what happens in the present. It's a truly terrifying and inhumane situation she finds herself in, something so hopeless that it is hard to imagine how she could ever find a way out of it all... Plot developments and twists will arrive along the way, both showing her strength and moral dilemma as she considers the consequences of her actions if he finds out. The last part of The Last Thing To Burn definitely amps up the suspense and action, and I was literally biting my nails as I kept turning those pages. The ending was more than satisfying!

All in all The Last Thing To Burn is a brilliantly written, atmospheric and suspenseful character-driven thriller and a title to watch out for in 2021. Enjoy thrillers and wonder what to put on your wishlist for next year? You have found your next addition.

I have not read anything by this author before, but that will change.

Jane (not her real name) is married to Lenn (not her real husband). He acts like they are a couple, but she is his captive. This book will tear at your insides for the horror of Jane's daily life. Her hope. Her hopelessness.
She is a powerhouse of a woman, a true survivor.
As she battles through her daily horror, treading the line of behaving and trying to save herself, a new woman comes to the remote farm.
The last part of the book, as reveal after reveal uncovers what has been hidden, I was not able to put it down until I had devoured the last pages.
The characterisation of the two main characters - Jane & Lenn - deserves a special mention.

A truly special book about the terribleness of humans and the ability to survive.

5 stars.

Talk about a page turner! From the moment I picked up this book, I had a hard time putting it down. The mistreatment and fear that Thanh-Dao lived with on a daily basis is hard to imagine but based on the current news regarding human trafficking it is all probably frighteningly true.

You are also given insight as to how a victim can appear to be living as if they choose the life they are in but then you realize the power a captor can have over a person by using your pain, hope and fears to keep you there and control you..

This book lets you know that there is evil in this world and that you can find hope and possibly survive even under the most hopeless circumstances.

I only wish we knew more about her captor, but I’m sure that could be another Thriller of a read by the author!

Oftentimes, in both fiction and non-fiction, human villains can be more terrifying than the supernatural kind. And sometimes, the scariest monster isn’t under your bed. He’s in it.

The Last Thing To Burn, which reads more like a memoir than a piece of fiction, opens with Thanh-Dao, a young Vietnamese woman with a hobbled right ankle, running down a dirt road through farm fields, pursued. The man she’s fleeing from is her husband, Lenn. And we soon learn both Thanh-Dao and her sister, Kim-Ly, have arrived in modern-day England through a human-trafficking ring. They’d agreed to come to England under the promises of a better life, but two were instead separated and sold to despicable men.

Back to the pursuit: Thanh-Dao is captured by her barbaric husband and returned to their obscure cottage on a remote farm. Thanh-Dao—restrained by Lenn in his ramshackle, rotting cottage—is forced into compliance with stringently restrictive, almost impossible to follow rules. Chief among them is the coercive demand that if she ever wants to see her sister again, she will comply with all of his whims, otherwise, the other man in possession of Kim-Ly will have her deported in shame back to Vietnam.

Importantly, in coming to England, Thanh-Dao had brought a very limited number of items. And each time a rule is broken, Lenn will burn one of these irreplaceable keepsakes. Hence the title of the novel.

The Last Thing To Burn is bleak, filled with ups and downs. Though thankfully, when it comes to the brutality of Lenn and his behavior toward Thanh-Dao, Dean avoids salacious descriptions of sadistic depravity in overly exploitative detail. Still, the turmoil and torturous life of Thanh-Dao feels real enough. Dean describes just enough to keep the story compelling without turning this novel into something more depraved.

Readers who enjoy classics like Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews should find The Last Thing To Burn interesting and compelling. A well-written domestic thriller.

The Last Thing To Burn was provided by NetGalley via Mystery and Suspense Magazine for the agreement of a fair review.

This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com.

Brutal and unflinching. This is the book ROOM wants to be when it grows up. Recommended first purchase for all collections.

"...and I sit feeding my daughter and planning his death."

One of the best written survivor stories!

Damn, the whole time I was just numb thinking about what the main character had to go through ever since the first page until the last few pages of the book. It gave me nightmares. It gave me chills. It gave me actual pain.

Yes, pain. A whole lot of it. Physical pain while reading this story. It's 99 percent pain throughout the entire read because the victim and later on victims, another added victim, with another added one, were suffering through immense torture. What a creepy creep!

But this is the kind of read you just cannot stop reading because the writing is really calm and intense in a way that wouldn't leave you in peace unless you know what happens in the end.


***Trigger warnings for all kinds of assault and neglect.

Inhuman treatment I would say.

But yes, this story provides hope and yes, more power to the survivors who have had enough willpower in them to come out of the inhuman situations barely alive.

Kudos to the author for such a gripping read. It's just too good I say.

That ending is so damn satisfying!!!!!

Summary: Two Vietnamese sisters are trafficked to a rural farm in the UK. As one sister is seemingly released and free the other is being held is a very sadistic depraved life by and even creepier psychopath with Mommy issues. The man uses threats of deprivation and tranquilizers to keep her hostage and the young women must overcome a brutal life to attempt an escape before abductor takes everything from her.

Comments: A stand alone thriller from acclaimed author Will Dean. Dean lays it all in what human trafficking and human depravation looks like. A deeply disturbing account he somehow, very successfully, compels the reader to keep turning pages. I couldn’t put it down no matter the life distraction. Well done Mr. Dean.