I'm the outlier- the person who just couldn't keep reading this admittedly well written and twisty novel clearly grounded in real life because I had had enough of the abuse - emotional and physical- of young women. I'm not a prude, I read a lot of thrillers, but I had not anticipated the graphic nature of what was ahead. Shay's college room mate Clem hung herself when they were in school and now, eight years later, Laurel, her other best friend, has done the same thing. Shay herself has married Cal (is he a good guy?) and moved with him to Texas but she's compelled to go back to New York after Laurel's death, where she meets up with Jamie, her childhood BFF who now does true crime podcasts. They team up to investigate Laurel's murder and along the way, Shay tells Jamie the story of how their lives were perverted by their fourth room mate Rachel's father. She finds that someone (is is him) is continuing to prey on young women to satisfy the twisted needs of older men. I quit at about the 50 percent mark because I didn't see this lightening up and sensed there was more bad stuff ahead. Thanks to Neutrally for the ARC. A rare pass from me.

This one was very intriguing in the beginning. The middle was okay, but after 48% - 69% it was dragging but I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out the ending and to end the book. The twist was shocking and I didn’t see it coming.

⚠️ lots of trigger warnings: Rape, Suicide, Subs, Doms.

Shay is a 30 year old woman with an unbelievable history. While in college she and her 2 best friends got wrapped up with a man named Don. When the friends both die from apparent suicides, it is up to Shay to find out what really happened to them both. With the help of her childhood friend, Jamie, they will go down a long, dangerous and scary road.

If you are fan of true crime podcasts and cult culture, you need to read this book now! Cults are fascinating to me, perhaps because of the psychology behind what happens to people that join one. This interview style for the podcast in the book gave great insight to the why for these women. Fantastic read!

I picked up this book after reading Ashley Winstead's "In My Dreams I Hold A Knife" and WOW. While this book was much different than her last thriller but it was still filled with unexpected twists. This is not for the faint of heart - and the trigger warnings are there for a reason. I read this book in just 2 days (although there were moments it got so terrifying that I had to put it down for a few minutes) - it truly pulled me in! But I did find it a bit repetitive, I'd recommend for anyone who loves true crime podcasts and fast-paced thrillers with a twisty ending. I'd chop off 1 star just because of the repetitiveness and how disturbing it got at times.

Holy moly what did I just read?!?! I enjoyed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife so I had to pick up The Last Housewife which is out August 16th.

I think it’s probably best if you go into this book blindly so I’m going to skip a synopsis. I would advise reading the trigger warnings first though!

This one is CRAZY! Honestly I have never read anything like it before. Told from one POV in dual timelines this story is a slow burn psychological thriller. It made me think of manipulation and peer pressure in a whole new light. I think this book was way too long though. 😆 y’all know I can’t do slow burns. If you are a true crime fan be sure to check this one out!

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookmarked for the E-ARC!

What’s you’re least favorite household chore?

Shay Evans is a well-to-do housewife who left her past behind her after graduating from college. But that past comes barreling into focus 8 years later when her favourite true crime podcast (who just happens to be hosted by her childhood best friend) does an episode about the death of her college roommate, Laurel Was her death a suicide, like that of her other college roommate? Or is something more sinister afoot?

With the help of the podcast host, Shay returns to her past in order to uncover the truth behind Laurel's death. Could it have something to do with the seductive, privileged world she was thrust into during college? Shay must confront her own past to unravel the mystery and find justice for Laurel, and herself.

Wow! What a dark, kinky read that draws you in right from the start. This book is unlike any I've ever read. It touches on an underground cult-like world that I've never seen represented in a book before. It was absolutely not what I expected when I started reading it, but I really enjoyed it.

Shay's openness about her past when talking with Jamie really drew me in. I loved the layout of the chapters, flipping between a narrative vs. interview. I couldn't wait to read the next interview and found it propelled the pace of the book forward rapidly.

The more Shay learns about the cult-like lifestyle that Laurel seems to have been tied up in (pun intended), the more it seems connected to her past. Watching her confront her own truths and demons was empowering. The characters of this book were well written, and it is a mystery I would absolutely recommend to others!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

I rate the Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead a 5/5.

I was left speechless and with chills after finishing this book. I’m honestly still trying to gather my thoughts and feelings 😂 I’ve truly never read anything like this before and I loved it so much.

I’m used to reading really dark and graphic thrillers so I wasn’t put off by that but the underlaying subject matter and WHY this story is being told is what really pushed me over the edge into this being one of my favorite books ever.

I’ll just say this- if you can handle this book, you NEED to read it.

Wow! Another great read by Ashley Winstead that I couldn't put down!

Shay Evans leads a relatively normal "boring" life in a Texas suburb married to a wealthy man who works in finance that she barely knows. It's a conventional relationship, but it is steady -- so completely opposite to her past.

Shay's relationship and whole life is turned on its head one day when she tunes in to her guilty pleasure -- a true crime podcast put on by an old friend, Jamie. Jamie pleads with Shay to reach out to him so that he can solve the death of Laurel -- Shay's old college roommate. The police have ruled Laurel's death a suicide (Jamie doubts the truth of this), but only Shay knows Laurel's dark past; a past she knows intimately because Shay was there for it. Shay answers the call and reaches out to Jamie and finds herself in New York chasing down her old demons. What follows is like Alice falling down the rabbit hole as Shay finds herself back in a dangerous world she escaped several years ago -- a world run by a seductive man she knows too well. Shay will do anything to see justice for her wronged friend, but will she get sucked back in to a world she barely escaped the first time?

This book touched on many taboo topics -- sex, cults, gender roles, and more. I found myself unable to put it down and wondered what kept Shay going. The dynamic between her and the other girls.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Winstead is officially an auto-buy author! This novel is gripping and doesn't let go.

4-4.5 stars....

This was very fast paced, and I couldn't put it down, as soon as I started!

I will say with all the trigger warnings, and reviews, I expected it to be VERY DARK - however I was a little let down, because it never got that intense, or too dark? (for me) That was my only issue - it was a little hyped, so I expected a little more and kept waiting, but never thought it reached that level of intensity. (I've read way darker thrillers). I loved the first half, the second half wasn't as strong, but overall I flew through this one! Exactly what a propulsive thriller should be!

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead is an intensely dark and sinister thriller that I could not put down.

Since the traumatic events of her college days, Shay Evans has built a quiet suburban life with her husband in Texas. Her one guilty pleasure is listening to a true crime podcast called Transgressions. One night, Shay learns via the podcast that Laurel, her best friend from college, has passed away on campus under suspicious circumstances.

Shay and the host of the true-crime podcast team up and try to find the truth behind her death. But the more they investigate, the more bewildering and terrifying the situation becomes, and they see what’s beneath the polished surface of upper-crust society.

This compelling thriller follows Shay’s POV with podcast transcripts mixed in.

From the title, I thought this would be something like a neighbourhood drama or the typical unreliable housewife who self-medicates. But then I remembered this is an Ashley Winstead book, and she doesn’t do typical. Sure, this book may start in the suburbs, but the overall scope of it is huge. It even gets a bit cinematic. I’d love for this to get adapted to the big or small screen.

The ending was literal perfection. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it worked for me.

As I mentioned, this book dives into some dark topics, which may be triggering for some readers. There’s a whole list of content warnings at the beginning of the book.

The author’s debut In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was one of my top thrillers of last year. I think it’s safe to say that The Last Housewife is my favourite thriller this year. AW has fast become an auto-read author for me, whether that’s romance or thriller, I will eat it up.

If you enjoy dramatic twists and don’t mind suspending disbelief once in a while, then you’ll likely love this as much as I did.

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

my initial thoughts:
what the fuck just went on in this book

i am not a thriller reader - if i am, it's the typical dark academia thriller. this book???? oh my god. it was intense, dark, and had a genuinely fucked up cult. (which apparently this is loosely based off a real cult?? anyway im disturbed)
i had no idea what this book was about going into it, i loved winstead's first two books and was excited for another book of hers, she's an auto-buy author for me. it sucked me in completely from the first three chapters, i was desperate to know what was going on and as i kept reading i couldn't walk away. i needed answers just as badly as shay did.

i really wish i had more thoughts and maybe i will after i sit with this book for a bit but holy shit.

thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Premise: Shay is on a mission to dismantle the violent, patriarchal cult that she escaped 8 years ago to avenge her best friend’s death. After reporting her case on his true crime podcast, Jamie (Shay’s old friend) joins her as they try to uncover the truth.

I had to sit on this review to gather my thoughts and I STILL don’t even know how to put it in words. This novel is dark and heavy and digs so much deeper than an ordinary thriller. It’s terrifying because so much of it is ingrained in reality. The theories of philosophers such as Aristotle play a major role; the author does a phenomenal job weaving their ideas throughout the novel, going beyond another cult thriller. Misogyny, the power imbalance between men and women and the perception of women as submissive are also strongly explored.

Shay’s story was told through interview transcripts with Jamie and I always enjoy any bit of Epistolary story telling. The format worked so well in sharing her past experiences in the cult. The trauma and violence that is depicted is not easy to read and I can understand how the subject matter won’t be for everyone. I’d compare it to a dark thriller, with strong scenes of violence against women.

This is a book that will leave me thinking for days, weeks, months on end. There is SO much to unpack here. I strongly recommend reading the author interview at the end where Ashley gives further education on her research in Philosophy and she explains the themes so much better than I ever could.

Read if you like:
🎙True Crime Podcasts
🚩The Handmaid’s Tale
📘 Dark thrillers (ex: Pretty Girls)
🏴‍☠️ Stories about Cults

⚠️🚨 There are many trigger warnings and thankfully Ashley lists them on the very first page.

This book was fantastic. It was my first book I've read from Ashley Winstead, but I cannot wait to read more.

Shay Deroy, a writer from Texas, heads to New York last minute to see if she can find out more about her best friend's death. Laurel Hargrove, Shay's college roommate and best friend, hasn't spoken with Shay in a decade, but has suddenly committed suicide in a way eerily similar to another friend and roommate of the girls. After hearing a plea from a childhood friend Jamie on his podcast, urging Shay to reach out if she might know more information about Laurel's death, Shay makes it her mission to determine if Laurel's death was a murder.

From here, we plunge into the seedy underground of the elite and privileged where Shay is tossed mercilessly back into the past life she was trying so hard to run away from. Through all of it though, she finds her voice as a woman.

This book was a fun, feminist, masterpiece of a thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. I can't wait to recommend it to others!

It’s hard to find the words for this book. It’s horrifying but also was a page turner. I would like to say it’s unrealistic but I can totally see this truly happening. These are some really important topics. That’s why books are so amazing. We can talk about and think about these things through the lens of fiction. Check CW before reading.

I loved this dark thriller! There were many parts which were hard to read because they were so visceral but I read on because I was transfixed by Shay's story. I loved the journey she went on as she learned more about herself and found her strength. The true crime podcast interviews between Shay and Jamie were a nice touch. I won't say anything more because I want to avoid spoilers.

Ok, wow. Like most books, I don't read the full synopsis. When it comes to thrillers, I really want to go in with little understanding about the plot.

This one wasn't what I expected.

Deep, dark, and oppressive...I saw these words used to describe this novel and I had to include them in my own review as well. There's not much I want to say to avoid spoiling this for everyone else.

But it is dark.

Wow.

Ashley Winstead writes thrillers I crave: brilliantly paced and written, pitch-perfect atmospheres, and twisty beyond belief.

This one got me.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the eARC via Netgalley.

Content warnings were provided at the beginning of the book. I hadn’t seen that before and at first I thought it was very thoughtful! Then I got into the book and realized it’s also VERY necessary. There’s some seriously dark and potentially triggering content in this novel. So I’m going to kick off my review the same way that the book did:

CW: Suicide, rape, physical violence, sexual violence, trauma, self-harm, misogyny, gender essentialism, drug use. (I’d like to add cultic abuse, torture, brainwashing, and degradation of women to that list.)

I like thrillers and I like books about cults – but this one was not really my cup of tea. It’s hard to say what exactly bothered me without spoilers but I’ll give it a shot – the progression of certain events in the past timeline seemed unrealistically rushed. It seemed like things escalated too quickly, and it made suspension of disbelief more difficult. Maybe it’s the current political climate but lately I’m really not in the mood for gender essentialism nonsense and extreme misogyny, which played a big role in the book. And some parts touch on a kink that squicks me out pretty hard and that made me dislike it even more.

Overall, it’s a pretty good book, with a few really great twists and a good ending, but there were some parts I found implausible and others that I really did not enjoy, so that knocks the rating down. 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3, but I may very well bump it up to 4 at a later date if I’m in a better mood.

Not even sure what genre to put this in but I know that Ashley Winstead is an amazing writer and my new auto-ask author! What a story! So visceral and heartbreaking.
Shay Deroy (nee Evans) escaped a cult w/ her best friend Laurel when they were in college. After graduation, the girls went their separate ways and haven't spoken in 8 years. When Shay learns that Laurel is dead through her favorite podcast, she returns to her old college town to figure out what happened. The police say suicide. Shay knows better. With the help of her childhood friend, Jamie (and favorite podcast host), Shay is determined to lay her demons to rest and get justice and revenge for Laurel. Way easier said than done...

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an e-arc of this brilliant novel.*

Holy mother of mind blowing books! The Last Housewife is dark and gritty and shocking and emotional! I’m a little bit scared of Ashley Winstead right now… not going to lie. I love Shay and her flaws and weaknesses and strengths. I love Jamie because Jamie is just amazing. I went through every emotion under the sun and I’m sure my face had every expression possible while reading this one! Some of it is so horrific in the best possible way. Does that make my mind as messed up as Winstead’s? 🤔
At any rate, this is her best book yet and I LOVED In My Dreams I Hold a Knife!