Lots of triggers abound in this thriller - it basically encompasses true crime and a sex cult! I did enjoy this thrill ride and all the twists and turns, but if still fell a little flat in some areas. The beginning was a slow burn, but once I got about 50% through it the pace really picked up. I felt a little disconnected from the characters as some of the descriptions were surface, not too deep in nature. Overall, a solid thriller read. Thankful for the ARC!

THE LAST HOUSEWIFE REVIEW

rating: 4.5⭐️
genre: suspense thriller
read this if you liked: In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

review: After reading (+ loving) In My Dreams I Hold a Knife last year, I was anticipating The Last Housewife. Let me just say, even with the content warning page, I was not prepared for just how dark this one was! Did I love every minute of it though? Absolutely! The subject matter was heavy and Winstead did a fantastic job of writing about this group of individuals and didn’t shy away from it at all. You can tell she did extensive research on this book. The character development is top notch - there is so much depth to each and every character in the book. One of my favorite parts of this book is how it’s told in transcripts from the podcast - it adds an interesting layer to this story and I loved that information was slowly revealed this way! I’m sure this book won’t be for everyone, but if it’s on your list definitely give it a shot (just read the trigger warnings first!) oh and if you read it, make sure to read the author interview at the end - it really made me appreciate this book, the author and the characters even more!

Such a weird book. It was constantly changing - the pyschosexual nature of the book was a bit odd as well. It felt like watching the Kardashians - the entertainment factor gave it a higher rating than the quality of the actual book.

Thank you to the publishers at Sourcebooks and Netgalley for my copy of The Last Housewife.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🎧 like podcasts
🛏️ enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey
😤 hate being submissive
👯‍♀️ would avenge a friend

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

Shay hasn’t seen Laurel since they graduated college 8 years ago, but when she hears about her death on her favorite podcast, Shay decides to avenge her death, no matter the consequences.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Shay is a married woman who one day hears about her best friend Laurel’s death while listening to a podcast run by her oldest friend, Jamie. Flashing back to the suicide of her friend Clem, Shay thinks something strange is happening so she calls up Jamie and meets him in New York, determined to get to the bottom of Laurel’s death. The police are calling it suicide but Jamie and Shay think otherwise. As they begin to sift through Laurel’s past, Shay starts to open up to Jamie through his podcast and share her past trauma and transgressions. Will they get to the bottom of Laurel’s death or will Shay be sucked back into the world she thought she left behind?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I really wanted to love this one. The hype was real, but unfortunately this one was a huge miss for me. Shay was not a believable character in any way, shape, or form. Every thing she does is the opposite of what a normal person should do. Especially since she claims that she is “out” from the cult world and understands what Don put her through was wrong.

Also, why is she so obsessed with finding out what happened to Laurel when they haven’t spoken since the day they graduated from college 8 years prior? I am not sure anyone would jump at the chance to revisit past traumas for someone they hadn’t spoken to in years.

I didn’t enjoy the telling rather than showing happening throughout the story. I really love flashbacks, and would have preferred for them to feel in the moment, rather than in the past. It helps bring me further into the story.

It took me almost a week to read this one and I think it’s because I wasn’t heavily invested in finding out what happens. Shay was incredibly lucky in so many ways that it just didn’t feel plausible. I love a good cult book, but this one missed the mark for me.

I gave this book my very best college try. It was so SO slow, and not exactly thriller worth. It's almost as if the Handmaid's Tale and Fifty Shades of Grey had a baby. And it's an ugly one. Very NXXIUM sort of stuff going on, and not exactly inspired. Just all around not great.

You know what is a killer combination for a thriller? Strong female lead + amateur investigation + cults + deadly twists. The Last Housewife has all these plus some more!! From the title don’t mistake this to be a domestic drama-type thriller, this is far from the drama. It’s a well-written propulsive story with twists you wouldn’t see coming. Definitely one of my top reads of 2022.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley for the e-arc.

The Last Housewife is definitely in the running for my best book of the year! It is a new favorite for sure! I was really impressed with In My Dreams I Hold A Knife but this just surpassed any expectations! This is gritty and explores such dark and complex topics very well. Ashley Winstead is officially an auto-buy author for me!

actual rating: 5/5 stars

ahhhhhhhhhh! i absoutely adored this book. this review is a bit hard for me to write just because i relate to the content of this book so much but it truly is a masterfully written book. this is the type of thriller that mean something to me. the normal domestic thriller doesn't do much for me anymore but a thriller that is profound and says something like this one are the types of stories i want to be consuming

starting with shay, the main character, i love how unreliable she became throughout the course of the story and the fact i didn't trust her at some parts, makes the messages of this story even more profound. her desire and need to avenge her college friends and not only find out the truth behind their deaths but to also get revenge for the trauma they've experienced in their past was amazing.

i loved the mixed media elements of this story and how a podcast was incorporated. the way that ashley winstead wove the podcast into the story was expertly done and it didn't seem like some ploy to be able to slap that buzzword onto her book. it made sense with the plot and made the experience more immersive. there is also some flashbacks that occur later on in the story and the contents of this book plus the flashbacks made it feel like a way way way better version of the show cruel summer.

i also really enjoy cult books and media. i've never quite read a cult like this but it was just mind-blowing. this book was really cathartic for me personally as someone who has experienced grooming and emotional abuse. i feel personally nobody truly understands the impact that grooming and abuse can have on people unless they've been through it but this book was perfect in how it shows it always lingers

the ending was literal perfection but won't work for all readers

thank you to SOURCEBOOKS, ashley winstead, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

The chokehold this book has had on me is crazy! It starts off hot from the very beginning! Its a great mystery/thriller.

The content in this book could be very triggering for some readers. I couldnt help but keep reading and being drawn in from curiosity. Although it was a great and fast paced read, I do prefer The Last Housewives from her previous work. Over all 5 out of 5.

Absolutely loved this! From the minute I started this book, I could not put it down. I love how the story dives right into the main character investigating her friends death. This kept me on my toes and as usual, Ashley Winstead throws those twists and turns at you! I could not get enough of this book! I will recommend this to all of my friends!

The Last Housewife is an amazingly disturbing, beautifully written novel by Ashley Winstead.

Ashleys ability to write empathy, terror and excitement in chapter is incredible.

This author is an auto buy for me.

I propulsive novel filled with a dark and twisty plot. This took me awhile to get through, but I did ultimately really enjoy it. I think I liked the premise a bit more than the execution, but I would still definitely recommend this book to other people. It's filled with trigger warnings, so that's important to note. Also, I think that the middle dragged a bit for me, which is why it took me so long to finish.

4,5 rounded up to 5. I absolutely devoured this one! I loved In My Dreams I Hold a Knife so when I heard @ashleywinsteadbooks had a new thriller coming out it was a drop everything book for me. This one was absolutely nuts and it’s one I will be recommending to my friends who enjoy darker reads. In fact I’m loaning this to my sister in law right now, and am so excited to share it because I been wanting her to read this one for months!

I think this is a great book to go into blind so keeping it vague, but if you haven’t already def make sure to add this to your TBR!

This is hands down probably one of my few five stars or more if I could give it!! This is one of the most intense, dark, jaw dropping mind blowing books ever and I’ve read a lot of books. Right as soon as I’m introduced to Shay a new house wife after quitting her writing job living in Texan suburb still listening to podcasts as guilty pleasure. Shay left her last behind living under the radar using pen names for her writing gigs, lost connections with her old friends. But her past is is about to catch her. This is seriously one of the best books I’ve gotten my hands on so thank you so much NetGalley! This was my favorite approval!

Well this book gave me nightmares for a week (but it was worth it?). I really enjoyed this book. I read it in a few hours because I just could not put it down. It was creepy and disturbing. It made my skin crawl more then once. It is one of those books that has themes that are just so wild... but you know they happen every day which makes it all the more creepy! Happy I read, would def recommend!

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

hooked every single second. I loved this so much and just want to talk about it, dissect it and scream it from the rooftops forever.

This is a well-written book about a group of girls who are unwittingly entangled with a charismatic leader of a sex cult. I found the story drew me in and was tactfully written (despite the subject matter), Definitely thrilling and enthralling!

I liked her first book better than this one but enjoyed the true-crime podcaster storyline. A good thriller with a decent twist.

This. Book. Is. Amazing! It had me searching for past work by Ashley Winstead, it was truly that good. A twisty novel that I could also see as a movie. Highly recommended!