A woman is trapped, held captive on a lonely farm in flat fen land, constantly under watch for signs of attempted escape or rebellion. She dreams of escape but every time she steps out of line, one of her last remaining possessions is burnt by her captor. She finds that she is pregnant and her thoughts of escape return, but another woman arrives on the farm and her plans are thrown into jeopardy.

I haven't read any of the author's previous works but had seen a lot of positive advance press for this one and was pleased to get a copy. Wow, was it tense in places!! The book really transported me to the isolated farm and I really felt our main character's desperation as she weighed up what to do and how she could possibly get away from the situation she was in. Comparisons have been made to "Room" by Emma Donaghue but honestly it took me back to The Collector by John Foyles a little more, a book that I found thoroughly unsettling.

I got through the majority of the book really quickly and found myself really drawn to pick it up. I ended up reading it in a children's play area at one point after my youngest had fallen asleep in the buggy and was honestly a little surprised to look up and not find myself on flat fens!

As I got towards the end of the book, my kindle was showing how long was left....40 minutes....30 minutes.....not a problem to finish in one sitting. And yet.....I couldn't it took me a couple of days to get through that last bit because I could hardly bear it. I had the ending I wanted desperately for those characters in my head and absolutely no idea what the author had decided to do! I ended up having to tell my (uninterested) other half what was happening in an attempt to prepare myself. No spoilers here, you'll have to read it to find out!

During the great 2020 Lockdown I devoured Will Dean's Tuva Moodyson books; absolutely loved them. This is quite a change in direction, and although gripping and just as well-written, I couldn't say I really enjoyed reading it. As a thriller it was actually quite masterful, relying mainly on control and intimidation from past events to create an atmosphere of terror, by a monster distinguished by his ordinariness and tendency for quiet. For me it added up to more of an unnerving read, than a thrilling one.

Holy smoke, is this novel worthy of best-seller rank and book awards! An absolute favorite of the year so far for me, and one that I will be talking about and recommending till the cows come home.

I went in knowing only that it is reminiscent of Emma Donoghue's "Room" and Stephen King's "Misery"—which it is in ways—but it is a remarkably unique story that holds the reader captive like narrator "Jane," a modern classic-type heroine whose altruism and mettle as she clings to her identity and the hope of escaping her captor is astounding.

Topical as the central theme is, it's best not to know anything about the plot beyond what is provided in the blurb. Just pick it up and read it.

I did in one sitting. With my heart in my throat. And with the inclination to shout warnings at the Kindle screen as though it were the TV, when the storyline reached the crescendo. (If it had been an audiobook, I'd have been listening with splayed fingers over my eyes—the writing is that visual.)

Engulfed from the opening chapter by "Jane's" sense of urgency and longing, I was unable to pace myself, and had a book hangover after finishing the visceral, highly rewarding read.

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Thank you to Emily Bestler Books/Atria and NetGalley for an advance copy.

The extraordinary lengths we will go to in order to protect ourselves and our children is exemplified in this gripped thriller from Will Dean. Knowing that human trafficking is alive and well in today’s world doesn’t make it any easier to read about this fictional account of a young immigrant woman held against her will by a depraved man and his accomplice. Seven years after her capture, pregnant with her abducter’s baby, the whole sordid situation begins to unravel when a newcomer moves into the area and stops at this farm looking for a place to board her horse. Her disappearance is noted, and a search begins

The dichotomy Author Dean shows in the character of the abductor when he is indifferent to the suffering of the women versus the soft feelings he begins to have for the baby is extremely well done, The two women, and their resourcefulness to save themselves and the baby is nothing short of astounding. Hats off to Will Dean for an extremely well written novel, the plot of which will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.

Loved this book. Fast paced and full of twists.....absokutely gripping and a muat read! Go pick up this book!

I have loved Will Dean's Tuva series for a long time, but my absolute adoration for his writing is cemented with The Last Thing to Burn. Will has a way of grabbing the reader right from the very first sentence and not letting go until the very last. The Last Thing to Burn book is terrifying in the all of the best ways. The kind you almost don't want to know what happens next, but you also can't look away, because you absolutely must know what happens. This is definitely a one-sitting book.

Wow this book is enjoying and getting. A look into human trafficking/enslavement and what one woman has to ensure.

Jane (not her real name) is Vietnamese woman and a slave to a farmer named Lenn. He's a cruel man... Burns her already few possessions for infractions/slights to him. Every month, for one week.... She gets a room to herself. Then it's back in his bed.

When she falls pregnant and ge8t daughter Huong arrives, she vows that her daughter is here and hers alone and will not let Lenn have power over her.

When a second woman is captured and brought to the farm- Jane finally sees a chance to change her life.

This was so sad. It gave me feelings of claustrophobia as most of the story takes place in a small house. I feel every fear Jane did.

The Last Thing To Burn, by Will Dean

Short Take: I couldn’t stop till I finished this one, and I never want to read it again.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello my beloved nerdlings! It’s been a hectic few days here in West Nerdlandia, but I am happy to report that a) I survived both interaction with other humans AND being out of my cave, and b) it turns out that sparkly blue polish is surprisingly flattering to my toes. Who knew?

In other, less happy but maybe more interesting news, I just finished The Last Thing To Burn, and let me just say that it’s a soul-bruising experience. Jane (not her real name) and her sister Kim-ly were smuggled into the UK from Vietnam. Kim-ly was sent to a nail salon, where she works long hours to repay her debt to the traffickers, and Jane (real name: Thanh Dao) was sold to a sadistic man named Leonard.

Lenn’s cruelties come in a variety of flavors, from the physical to the psychological, and although Jane tries to escape many times over the years, he’s always one step ahead of her. But when [spoiler], the stakes go into the stratosphere, and she needs to try one more time.

The Last Thing To Burn has been compared to Room and Misery, and… yeah. Plot-wise, Last Thing is kind of a carbon copy of them both. I honestly don’t know why I’m not more mad about that, because if there’s one thing that chafes my nethers, it’s a lack of originality.

And yet.

Mr. Dean’s Jane/Thanh is our narrator, and her voice is heartbreaking. She’s terrified every minute of every day, and in agonizing pain, and forced to cater to the whims of a deeply disturbed man, but she still fights to hold onto the shreds of herself that remain.

Last Thing is a short-ish book, lean and mean and without a wasted word, a quick, breathless read. Lenn’s brutalities are horrific and are going to linger in my thoughts for quite a while, but somehow, the descriptions don’t feel gratuitous or torture-porn-y. I love that Lenn isn’t some criminal mastermind with an unlimited budget and PhD in sociopathy, but rather, he’s a guy who has a certain cunning and lack of conscience. The world is full of Lenns, rendering him all the more terrifying.

And last but not least, the secret revealed in the end was so perfectly hidden in plain sight that I never even expected its existence. Absolutely freakin brilliant, and I want to say a whole lot of things about it, but I don’t want to get within sniffing distance of any spoilers. Just trust me, y’all, it’s fantastic.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and some slightly dusty hard candy from a hidden stash).

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this book. This is a gripping story that pulls you in and hits you right in the gut. I was rooting for Jane to get out of her situation to save herself and baby. This is a story about human trafficking so it’s a sensitive subject and may have triggers for some people. It’s not an easy read but I wanted to finish this book.

This is a dark, compelling read that surprised me at several turns. Jane - but that's not her name, she's Thanh Dao- has been held captive by a man who bought her for years now. He hobbled her by breaking her right ankle after one of her escape attempts. he's got cameras inside the decrepit house,. and he rapes her three weeks of every month. And then she gets pregnant. And Cynthia shows up at the door. Both changes the dynamics in the house. Every time she does something he doesn't like, he burns something she owns- she started with 17 items- and he threatens to have her sister who is also in the UK deported. The birth of baby Mary (but that's not her name either) changes Thanh's world in ways she didn't expect. No spoilers from me as this deserves to be experienced the way I read it, without a clue of how things would evolve. Human trafficking is evil and Thanh's captor is incredibly cruel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Dean has written an impressive page turning novel of resilience and determination.

Terrified, never any peace or lack of fear. ‘Jane’ had been a prisoner of the monster who’d kidnapped her and taken her to his farm on the isolated fens of the United Kingdom for over seven years. The letters she received from her sister kept her sane as she cooked, cleaned and did everything she was told. She’d learned the hard way that if she didn’t do as he told her, she suffered badly – her misshapen and incredibly painful ankle was proof of that.

When ‘Jane’ discovered she was pregnant, then having her baby daughter with no outside help, she knew she needed to escape. She’d tried before but this time she had her child to save. But when another woman was kidnapped and kept in the cellar, she knew the three of them needed to get away from him. But could they? She was desperate but determined – Thanh Dao (not Jane, never Jane), baby Huong and the girl from the cellar. Would she ever be reunited with her sister, Kim-Ly?

The Last Thing to Burn is the story of Vietnamese sisters kidnapped and smuggled into the UK. Author Will Dean has created a psychological thriller which is incredibly different and had my heart in my throat, the pages flying by as I needed to find out what would happen. A heart wrenching scenario; the years of captivity; the horrors she went through on a daily basis – does this sort of thing really happen? Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book literally had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This was a difficult, horrifying read about human trafficking and enslavement! "Jane", not her real name, has been living the past 7 years as the wife of a farmer, Lenn". She cannot leave the small isolated cottage, and is to do everything by Lenn's rules. Cooking, cleaning and anything you can think of. If she doesn't listen to him, or dies anything he doesn't approve of, he will burn each of her prized possession, one by one!

"Jane" has a newborn, and now Lenn has a new captor. She is going to stop at nothing to help her, the baby, and his newest victim to escape this horror! I can't believe how intense this book was. Especially the last few chapters. I couldn't put it down until I got to the end!

Be warned beforehand of the triggers this book contains: human trafficking, rape, physical and emotional abuse, psychological torture, to name a few.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and the author for the gifted digital copy! All opinions are my own!

My name is not Jane. Repeating that over and over probably kept some of her sanity in tact. The title was perfect in describing how the captor kept his prisoner in his control.

The Last Thing to Burn gave me anxiety almost through the entirety because it was so horrifically possible in these current times. The entire book had just a few characters and most everything took place inside the home so the reader is able to see story very clearly.

I enjoyed the build up to the end and the emotional roller coaster with Jane and her baby but some parts of her knowing the baby's needs and the baby's health with all the animal pain killers she was ingesting, seemed a bit unrealistic.

Overall, it was a quick read that kept the reader going, hoping for a positive outcome to the victims and a hideous ending to the psychotic captor.

This was a super quick, captivating read about human trafficking and the terrible people that control them.

“Jane”, not her real name, has been with Len for the past 7 years. She thinks about escaping daily, but is afraid her younger sister will get sent back home before repaying their “debts” for being brought from Vietnam to England. She is able to deal with the day to day until she becomes pregnant and Len captures another woman. Jane knows she needs to escape to keep all 3 of them safe.

I really enjoyed this book. Since it was on the shorter side, I was able to fly though it. It was so interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are definitely some trigger warnings so please be aware before reading this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Jane lives a simple life as a farmer's wife. Each day blends into the next as she follows a mundane routine of cooking and cleaning. Her husband, Leonard, works all day in the fields and rules his home with an iron fist. He punishes Jane for any act of disobedience by burning her prized possessions, one by one. What makes this punishment all the more harsh is that Jane is a victim of human trafficking and hardly has anything to call her own other than some letters from her sister and an old copy of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Leonard keeps her captive in the isolated farmhouse where she is monitored by security cameras that record her every move. After exhausting all attempts to escape in the first few years of her captivity and suffering a terrible injury to one of her ankles, Jane has more or less become resigned to her twisted role as Leonard's wife. That changes when Jane becomes pregnant.

Determined that her daughter will not grow up to be preyed upon by such a monster as Leonard, Jane again begins dreaming about escaping one day. Things get even more interesting when her husband kidnaps a local woman and keeps her in the cellar below the farmhouse where is forced to endure unspeakable horrors. Kidnapping and holding Jane against her will was easy enough since she was a Vietnamese woman who had been smuggled into the country illegally. There was no one looking for her when she went missing. It's an entirely different ball game with Cynthia, Leonard's latest victim, who is on the nightly news and has become the focus of local law enforcement. He's starting to feel the pressure and it's not long before Jane realizes that this situation might provide her with her one and only chance for freedom, if she's brave enough to risk everything and try.

When I first heard about this novel, it was being compared a lot to Room, which I read several years ago. I have to say that I enjoyed both novels, but The Last Thing to Burn was so much more engrossing to me. I practically devoured it in one sitting. Kudos to Will Dean for being able to write about such a mundane existence without actually boring the reader. There was always something going on to keep me turning the pages. While there were instances of abuse mentioned in the novel, I appreciated that they were more alluded to rather than described. I was already unsettled by Jane's situation and I think gratuitous descriptions of rape would have made this too much for me to stomach. If you are looking for a thrilling page-turner, look no further!

*Thanks to the author, Atria Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read The Last Thing To Burn

A young woman held prisoner on an isolated farm ... a man keeping her prisoner ... a bay born out of abuse ... time is running out

This is a very powerful story about human trafficking. I was so worried about Jane ( not her real name ) and her baby that I read this in one sitting ! The book lost me a little at the final developments towards the end though, but the ending was powerful and spoke of family and friendship .

What’s the last book you read in one sitting? It was this one for me, as soon as I started I was totally captivated. Check this out 👉🏻 “A woman being held captive is willing to risk everything to save herself, her unborn child, and her captor’s latest victim in this claustrophobic thriller in the tradition of Misery and Room.” 😱😭

This one is on the shorter side but it packs a mighty punch, it was nonstop fear for me and it was an incredibly difficult read. I was totally invested in “Jane’s” life, my heart was in my throat almost the entire time I was reading and despite the disturbing content I could not put this one down. It’s also very atmospheric and claustrophobic, I could easily picture Jane’s bleak surroundings and I could also feel her desperation and determination. Dark and harrowing for sure, but if you’re looking for a super fast weekend read this comes highly recommended by me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Thing to Burn is one of the darkest most disturbing books that I've read. It tells the story of "Jane" of a Vietnamese woman who was brought to England with her sister Kim-Ly with the promise of good jobs and a good life. Instead, she's become the victim of human trafficking, with no way out from the endless loop of her days and nights with Lenn, her torturer and abuser.

Because the story focuses on Jane's daily plight, Dean not only captures the bleakness of her ordeal, one that she's experienced for years now, but his writing pulls the reader right in and lets them feel the same sense of isolation, doom, and distress that Jane felt at Lenn's threats and constant horrors. The experience was heart-pounding and claustrophobic, and I truly marveled and how one woman could endure so much evil and still maintain her inner strength and sense of self.

This was extremely well-written and is a powerfully gripping read that brings to light the very real horrors of human trafficking.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

The Last Thing To Burn is a horrifying look at one woman’s struggle to survive human trafficking and it is a brutal look at survival when almost all hope is gone.

Jane (Not her real name) arrives to the UK with her sister, Kim Ly from Vietnam. After a few rough ‘jobs’ on various farms, she is separated from Kim Ly and taken to the isolated farm of Lenn. Lenn, who has camera’s watching Jane’s every move and doesn’t hesitate to punish her if he doesn’t like her behavior. Lenn uses Jane’s sister as a means of behavioral control, promising harm to Kim Ly if Jane doesn’t behave and Jane knows this is something that Lenn and his friends are fully capable of.

Seven long years go by and Jane becomes pregnant, Jane is mentally and physically traumatized by Lenn’s abuse but this pregnancy gives her new hope and a reason to survive, to escape. There’re a few wrenches that get thrown in Jane’s plan that kept me turning pages and at the edge of my seat but I’ll leave these for the reader to discover.

This is a tough book to read and yet, as I said earlier, I couldn’t put it down. Jane’s plight became my plight. I became invested in Jane’s story and I rooted for her through every indignity she suffered and hoped she’d hang in there one more day. Mr. Dean wrote an incredible story of survival through cruelty, bravery through intense fear but most of all, that of deep and abiding love at all costs.

My thanks to Atria Books for providing a DRC in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely a page turner. I enjoyed the read and the writing was very well done. I was invested in the characters and I really hated Lenn. I feel like there was something missing though. The author could have explored Lenn’s past. I would have also liked more information on how Cynthia got stuck there. It seemed a bit one dimensional-like everyone was just stuck on that farm and then they suddenly escaped. I felt like I was on the farm with them...but there could have been more to make them seem like they had a previous life prior to being captured. Thanks to the publishers for this ARC!