This book is intense, exciting, and full of action and plot twists. The writing is smooth and flows easily from one scene to the next. The main character has a complicated past that adds a level of mistrust to everyone she meets and is explained gradually throughout the book. There's an underlying sense of doom, especially the first half of the book, that adds tension to the whole story.
From the book description:
When Caz steps onboard the exclusive cruise liner RMS Atlantica, it’s the start of a vacation of a lifetime with her new love, Pete. On their first night they explore the ship, eat, dance, make friends, but when Caz wakes the next morning, Pete is missing.
And when she walks out into the corridor, all the cabin doors are open. To her horror, she soon realizes that the ship is completely empty. No passengers, no crew, nobody but her. The Atlantica is steaming into the mid-Atlantic and Caz is the only person on board. But that’s just the beginning of the terrifying journey she finds herself trapped on in this white-knuckled mystery.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The premise of this book is super cool, and there are so many twists and turns and things go differently than what you even think they might. I think going into this one with a wide-open mind and just letting it take you on a wild ride is the way to go. Satisfying but crazy ending. I recommend this for sure. I generously received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

The Last One by Will Dean is a heart pounding, edge of your seat mystery thriller that will have you filled with adrenaline the entire time. Caz and Pete, her somewhat newish boyfriend, embark on a once in a lifetime luxurious transatlantic cruise to New York City. They spend their first night exploring and planning their vacation while enjoying their elegant dining and dancing experience. However, the next morning Caz wakes up groggy and can not find Pete anywhere. In fact, while searching for him she quickly realizes that no one is on board and that she is alone. Quickly her sense of dread increases and she must try to figure out what is happening and where the other 1000 passengers and crew disappeared to.

What I liked about this book:
-the fast paced short chapters that ended with cliffhanger or a twist
-sense of doom, claustrophobic as well as the fear of the unknown
-ingenuity of the characters to survive and thrive despite their circumstances
-locked room aspect
-highly original plot
-social commentary about our society and the effects of social media and reality shows
-the luxurious yet creepy abandoned cruise ship with no electricity, heat or access to food, highly atmospheric setting
-twists and turns that kept me engaged and wanting more
-THE ENDING!!

What I disliked about the book:
-my only minor complaint is how Caz felt so obligated to pay back her dad’s past bad deeds, I feel she didn’t need to carry around all that shame and guilt nor is it her responsibility to repay it

My rating: 41/2 out of 5

My final takeaway: Wow this book had me shook, I did not see how it would play out at all. For the best experience the less the plot is revealed the better. This unputdownable popcorn read and would make an excellent blockbuster summer movie. Highly recommend!

Trigger warnings: gambling addiction, suicide

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this eARC which will be released on August 8, 2023.

Caz is looking forward to a trip of her lifetime aboard the cruise ship RMS Atlantica. But waking up the next morning she finds herself alone on this huge ship, steaming across the ocean. An intriguing narrative, there are many twists and turns for Caz to solve this mystery.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the copy of this book.

DNF at 30%. I tried the audiobook of this one, because I just haven't had a lot of time for physical books this summer. I'm not sure if it was that the narrator was an older woman and the main characters are definitely not old women and that threw me off, or this story isn't for me, but I just could not get into this one. I was ready to DNF at 15%, but wanted to give it some more time because I read some reviews that said it's fast-paced and twisty, but I am not finding it to be either of those things.

Such a fresh storyline! I went into this book blind as the cover caught my attention immediately.

This is the first book by Will Dean that I’ve read and likely will not be the last. It really held my interest, I’d definitely recommend it to someone who wants to read something a little different.

Publication Day: August 8, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

The Last One by Will Dean is one tangled twisted journey of epic proportions. It is tense, quick and anxiety inducing in a delectable way. The story started with a bang and I had no clue at first where it was going. Then the momentum built to a crescendo and I had to remind myself to breathe. Parts of the story aren't exactly believable but very immersive and easy to get completely lost in. It's well worth dipping your toes into and then jumping right in.

Caz and her partner Pete are on board the luxurious cruise liner RMS Atlantica. Their first evening is spent ogling and exploring and discussing plans for the next days such as trying out various restaurants. There's nothing like that anticipation of adventures amidst lovely surroundings. However, the next day dawned like a bad dream. Pete was missing. After a rudimentary search, he wasn't the only one...or thing...missing. But there had to be a logical explanation. Right? Wrong. What had seemed so wonderful the day before spelled doom now. Caz couldn't leave even if she wanted to.

Locked-room mysteries are my wheelhouse and this one has thrillery elements to it as well. The Last One is one you pay attention to...if you blink you'll miss something so keep your eyes peeled. Though a few situations aren't surprising others are and the story is so well written that the paths to the conclusion as well as the characters are as important as the fabulous ending.

If you seek a ride twistier than a rollercoaster (more like hall of mirrors illusions) which gives discomfiting glued-to-your-seat vibes, this is for you. Buckle up!

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this transfixing book. Once on the ride I hung on and didn't let go!

The Last One is one heck of a trippy experience. It was supposed to be a trip of a lifetime, a chance to relax for Caz and her boyfriend Pete. But when Caz wakes after the first night, Pete isn’t in bed with her. He’s not out on the balcony. He’s not anywhere. In fact neither is anyone else! As Caz searches the ship, desperate to discover what happened to her fellow passengers and crew and to figure out why she was left behind. When I first started reading The Last One it gave me the vibes of a classic episode from the Twilight Zone. Even when Caz stumbles upon others that odd vibe continued. I’ve been on a fair number of cruises over the years and can’t help but wonder how I’d react in this situation. This was a wild story and I’m delighted to say it was constantly surprising me. If you like something a bit out of the box, this is a trip worth taking. I’d like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Last One.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3D4C80P4NO03D/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Caz boards the RMS Atlantica with her partner, Pete and 1,000 other passengers. They spend their first night attending a safety briefing before dining and chatting with other passengers. The next morning, however, Caz awakens to find Pete missing from their room and she wanders into the hall to find he's not the only one gone. The ship is completely empty!

This book is the definition of unputdownable. I INHALED it. Perfect for fans of Lost, it kept me wondering what the actual heck was going on and frantic to solve the mystery. The plot left me deliciously unstable on my feet and musing to myself what I would do if I found myself in Caz's shoes. My heart was racing and the pages were flying until I reached the positively glorious ending of this twisty, locked room thriller! I will be thinking about (and talking about!) this book for months.

My sincere thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. These opinions, and this book hangover, are my own. What in the world can I read next?

This book is 100% best to go into blind. I was absolutely blown away by shock after shock after shock. I can’t even say anything without giving away any of the plot, but I would highly recommend! While the ending had me about throwing my kindle, I still can’t stop thinking about it, and it definitely did its job keeping me hooked and thinking about it long after I was done! Also, pretty sure I’ll never step foot onto a cruise ship after reading this! So reader beware if you plan to take a cruise anytime soon 😂

Thank you NetGalley and atria books for my arc in exchange for my honest feedback!

Deceptive Description Mars Otherwise Still Intriguing Tale. Straight up: The description of this book (which can change at any time, but my commentary here is accurate to the one that exists at the time I write this review) is NOT an accurate depiction of what this tale actually is - and this blatant deception is the reason for the star deduction here. The description leads the reader to think this is going to be some kind of ghost ship type story, or at least a far more mysterious adventure than it turns out to be. Instead, we get (without going *too* deep into spoiler territory)... more of a social commentary disguised as a mystery thriller.

To be clear, the story we get is actually *good*. It is a heart-pounding, balls to the wall, never want to stop reading thrillfest where just when you think you know what is happening... you realize you don't have a freaking clue. But just like with the 2010s era "Robocop" movie, don't lead me to believe I'm getting one thing and then give me something that is not only not that thing, but something very different than my expectations were when you told me I was getting that thing.

Even the writing structure is interesting here, choosing for 130+ shorter - sometimes barely a single page long, even in Kindle form - chapters, perhaps as a crutch to help "sell" the pacing. But every single chapter does end on a bit of a stinger/ cliffhanger that entices the reader to actively go into the next chapter right this second... even as smart readers quickly realize exactly the mechanism being used here.

For those who want a mysterious action thriller with a side of social commentary that will leave you breathless and desperately wanting the next chapter (or perhaps even a sequel)... this is absolutely a great escapist Summer Thriller kind of read that would play well in Summer Movie Season on the silver screen - it has that same kind of "you absolutely need to suspend all disbelief, but if you do, you will be rewarded with one *hell* of a ride" quality.

Overall, truly a great read for what it actually is - but what it actually is is *not* what the current description leads the reader to believe. Very much recommended.

Everyone strap on your life preservers because you're in for a long ride.

Caz and her hopefully soon to be fiancé embark on a luxurious cruise to America. However, something is awry as the next morning after they set off, Caz is alone on the ship. Or so she thinks.

This book is long; too long. Parts of it are so wordy and don't contain any useful information that it's hard to stay involved in the story. I think at least a third of this could be cut out and the story would be much better (and shorter!). It took at least a third of the book for anything exciting to even start happening, so don't expect a rocket from the get go.

I wanted to ooh and ahh at the plot like many reviews I've seen, but truthfully....I guessed most of the "big reveals" long before they happened. It was hard for me to get real excited for them when I already figured what they were. I hadn't anticipated the conclusion, however, but it felt contrived to me. It feels as if the author got tired of writing this and stuck something on at the end for the "intrigue." I just couldn't get behind that ending at all. It made everything else in the book seem cheap and was an extremely unsatisfying way to wrap this up.

There were parts of the story that did feel stressful or emotional, but it quickly got lost in the sheer amount of fluff that happened immediately after. This one wasn't for me, which is unfortunate, but you can't enjoy them all.

Thank you to Emily Bestler, Atria Books, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this read. This was quite a read. Interesting right from the start. And game shows...I enjoyed that part. Good read.

The Last Thing to Burn was one of my favorite reads of 2021, so my anticipation for Mr. Dean's new novel was at an all-time high. Unfortunately, I felt that this title was riddled with cliches and required way too much suspension of disbelief. I'm sure there's an audience for this, I am just not it.

I just don't know about this one. This book is not what you think it is. In a lot of cases that's fine, great even. But not here.

I loved Will Dean's The Last Thing to Burn, so I was super excited to read The Last One - especially after reading the premise - a woman awakens to find she's all alone on an ocean liner in the middle of the Atlantic.

My mind ran wild with ideas of what it could be - it was a dream, a hallucination, an experiment, something supernatural - but I never once guessed what it was.

In the interest of spoilers, I'm not going to say anything about the plot, but I'll say this: given what it was, it could have been done better.

Idk if this book was more of a nightmare for me or the characters in the book. It's like you're watching a locked-room horror movie, where when each twist comes you sit there and say "this cannot be happening" while the characters continue to do dumb things even though they know they shouldn't. The whole thing was just too absurd for me.

Ultimately, The Last One started off good, but soon became strange, and just gets more unreal and ridiculous as the book goes on. It just felt like a big waste of time.

Thank you to Atria Books, Will Dean, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and given voluntarily.

1 ½ stars

Recommended for fans of: the tv show Persons Unknown (2010)

This book was, well, a lot and if i’m being honest, it drained me of my energy every time I picked it up. My first and probably biggest complaint is that this book desperately needed to be told in a MULTI-POV format. Not only did it become boring to read everything from Caz’s POV after awhile, when a group of strangers are stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food, no water, and no way to escape, I want to know what is going through everyone’s head!

Back to being drained of my energy, this book made me feel like I was right there with these unfortunate characters on that miserable cruise ship. Don’t get me wrong though, I do think that’s good writing! I want to be absorbed in what I’m reading, I want to feel like one of the characters, but this book made me want off that cruise ship more than the actual characters did. It was dreadfully long and for no reason at that.

Overall, I did enjoy it. I know it sounds like I didn’t but in all honesty, it was a good book. The plot was intriguing and suspenseful at times, all though it wasn’t original, I think the author did a great job creating their own version.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Loved this book! The beginning was kinda slow. I think the whole book could’ve been shortened to make it a thriller. It was more of a mystery than A thriller to me, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was great; I need a sequel!!

Count me into the group who has enjoyed this wild ride. Although there are a few plot holes, it is a fast-paced, engaging thriller and I finished it in less than a day.

Caz and her boyfriend Peter are on a cruise from England to the US, enjoying the amenities of a high end cabin. On the first night they go to sleep after dinner, and Caz wakes up alone. Peter is gone, as is his luggage. When she goes out to see if he's somewhere else on the ship, she finds the ship empty. Every single person is gone. How and what happened?

I think readers should go into this book knowing only the bare minimum about the plot. Just know that everything gets explained decently well and that no paranormal/supernatural phenomena are involved. There are some really good twists and turns and it kept me thoroughly and completely glued to the pages to find out what exactly would happen.

If you like surprising, fast-paced thrillers, then this is certainly a unique one. Suspend your disbelief and grab hold of your life vest for a wild ride!

**4.5 Stars**

Caz has just boarded the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend, Pete for a long overdue holiday. After their first night on the ship, she wakes up to discover that Pete is missing. On further inspection, she finds that everyone is missing. She is the only one on the boat. It’s still cruising, full steam ahead across the ocean. She could have never guessed the events that would unfold next.

Ok, I was sucked in by the description of this book but I can confidently say, anything that I thought might happen, did NOT happen. This book was WILD. I don’t want to spoil a single thing, but I’ll just say that every chapter had me literally staring at the book with my jaw unhinged. I couldn’t put this down! I found myself thinking about “what was happening on the boat” when I wasn’t reading it.

The ending was a SHOCKER. After everything that happens, I felt it was a little over the top which is why I knocked off a half star. I will be reading everything this author has written and will write because his mind is incredible. I would consider this a mystery/psychological thriller and it’s a GOOD ONE.

Thank you to Netgalley, Will Dean and Atria for my ARC. My thoughts and opinions provided in this review are honest and voluntary.

Wow! Immediately I was intrigued with this one! Thousands of people board a cruise ship heading to America. When Caz wakes up, she finds she is all alone. Everyone else has vanished with their luggage. Mini bars are empty in the rooms. What happened to them? Why didn’t Caz wake up to the commotion?

This is one where I don’t want to give too much info. It is better to go in knowing only what I mentioned above. Trust me, the short chapters and intense action happening on this boat will keep your attention!

The ending has been receiving mixed thoughts. When I read the last line my jaw dropped and I said “WTF?!” I talked to multiple booksta friends about it. Most were not fans of the ending, but I don’t mind a cliffhanger once in awhile, so I enjoyed it. I am hoping there may be a sequel in the books, because the end sets it up to happen!