Will Dean keeps you guessing all the way through The Last One, Twist and turns throughout the entire book that keep you on the edge of your seat and very hard to put down. Thank you to Simon & Shuster, Will Dean and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller full of twist!

This book had me hooked from the beginning!! So many awesome twists and turns ! The story was easy to follow and loved all the characters especially Caz! Definitely give this book 5 stars !

I've been mad lately at books that hold back critical information just to keep you reading. This book proved it can be done well - very well. Since the characters were just as in the dark as I was, the playing field felt even and I was fully into it.

This is billed as a locked-room mystery and I have generally thought that means someone in the room (or on the boat) with you has committed a crime. It's a way of limiting the suspect pool. This was a different situation, where the characters were locked in, definitely, but not in a way where one of the people there could have orchestrated the whole thing. Speculating as to what on earth could have happened was interesting. I loved the cruise ship setting and the contrast between luxury accommodations and the terror of being far from land. I could have done with less commentary on the clickbait economy and reality TV, but otherwise I could think of nothing else until I finished reading the whole thing.

I felt like this was much longer than it needed to be - it was slow to start and felt drawn out at times. The basics of the story are definitely creepy and eerie (being stranded on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean), but it missed the mark for me on being a captivating thriller. The ending seemed to wrap up quickly and then leaves the reader in a cliffhanger that seems predictable.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for a copy of this to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC and thank you to Atria for the physical ARC!
You know those cheap kindle books you see on Amazon that are always described as “a heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, unputdownable thriller”? This book actually earns that description. I cannot get across enough my inability to put this book down. Between the short chapters and twists at every turn along with never knowing what’s coming next, I was constantly putting my hand over words so that I didn’t read ahead. This was such an engrossing novel and I recommend going in as blind as possible. This was unique compared to every other thriller I’ve read this year! I wish I could give five stars but for reasons that are spoilery, so I won’t list them here, it didn’t hit that level for me. 4.5 stars though! Don’t miss this one - releases August 8, 2023.

While I thoroughly enjoyed First Born, I was less excited by this book.
I started it and then read the synopsis. Ok so it’s not a thriller that I’m used to.
Hunger Games vibes, ok, know what to expect now, once I realized the full premise I could continue.
But the ending? No, made me mad.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this one!

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*

This is the first book I've read from Will Dean (I requested it based solely on the cover design and plot summary) and wow was I impressed! The writing was a little choppy for me at first (not sure if it was because the author is from the UK and I'm from the US) but once I got used to how he was moving along the story, I was hooked.

The book starts with our protagonist Caz getting on the RMS Atlantica for a trip with her boyfriend, Pete. It's supposed to be a romantic getaway but it quickly takes a turn when she wakes up the next day to find her boyfriend, along with everyone else on the ship, is gone.

There is quite a bit of her backstory mentioned throughout, which brought some depth to the character and a little bit of a reason behind her motivations later on, but some readers might find it to be more info than they needed.

I can't get into the details of what I really loved about the story without spoilers, but I will say there are quite a few twists and turns. There is always something happening and I felt like I flew through the book trying to find out what was going on. The ending will likely be divisive. I enjoyed it, but other might not.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It hooks you quickly, is fun, atmospheric and a great read for the summer. Not sure I'd recommend reading it on a cruise though! I look forward to checking out more books by the author.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

This book was one hell of a wet and wild ride and I was SO here for every minute of it. When I tell you that the synopsis of the book is masterfully written to not give anything at all away after the first 20ish pages, I am not exaggerating. I totally think thrillers fall victim to their own marketing when a synopsis gives away 90% of the story and then the book itself ends up being underwhelming, but this book really kept it's readers in the dark and kept slapping them with wild twist after twist.

Similarly, I don't want to talk to much about it but if you enjoy books that slowly feed you small pieces of the story before having a grand-er reveal at the end, definitely pick it up! this book was action packed, claustrophobic, and truly feels like you're riding a hellish roller coaster underwater. Not to mention the ending absolutely wracked my brain and had me yelling "WHAT THE HELL?!" during my lunch break at work....in a good way. I've loved both of Dean's books that I've read and can't wait to explore more of his backlist.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for my review copy!

About 3/4 through this book I would have said I am not sure if I loved or hated this book. It definitely gripped me immediately. It was a very good, very unique concept and it was more or less well paced and well written. It was wild start to finish and the hits just kept coming. My jaw legitimately dropped multiple times and sure some of those times were because the twist was comically bad but other times it was true shock. The main problem I have is that at no point in this book did a single character act or think in a logical way. I almost had to pretend this book was set in an alternate universe where logic simply didn't exist. If your favorite part of watching b horror movies is yelling at the characters not to split up or go in that room then this book is for you. If you like characters that act with even an iota of rationality then this book will piss you off. Also this author does not understand contract law and I know that probably doesn't matter to most anyone else but it was just another little illogical cherry on top for me.

I really don't know if I recommend this book or not. I did have a good time reading it for the most part but I also had a bad time reading it. There were times I thought it was 4 starts and times I thought it was two stars. It was a roller coaster but never tied together in a satisfying way and then I was personally victimized by the ending. I want other people to read it so we can be mad together honestly.

Thank you to Atria Books and Net Galley for this ARC.

I was lucky enough to get approved for the ARC copy of The Last One two days before I left for a cruise! Let me tell you... this book will have you staying up all night reading. I could not put this down and what better time than to read it on a cruise! I 10/10 recommend!

I can’t say much about this book because it would be a spoiler. This book opens up with Caroline “Caz” going on a cruise on the ocean liner Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete. They enjoy a nice evening of dining and entertainment and call it a night. When Caz wakes up the next morning she realizes she’s the only one left on the ship and the story evolves from there. I did not see the twists and turns coming in this book and it was a hard read for me to put down. I loved the short chapters and the mini cliffhangers at the end of each one. It made the book feel like it was going by much faster for a longer book. Also, what was that ending?! I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Within the first few chapters I had zero clue how this book was going to come together and how they would explain what had happened. While I appreciated the uniqueness of this storyline, it was too far fetched for my liking. I think I literally rolled my eyes at the last chapter 🙄 I had an okay time reading this book but it’s nothing to write home about unfortunately.

Whoooooa. I needed days to process this book before reviewing it. This book was INSANE. I finished it within a few hours because I literally couldn’t put it down.

The gist of the book is a woman named Caz goes on a cruise with her boyfriend. She wakes up the next day to everyone, including the crew, gone while she’s still in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The twists and turns gave me whiplash throughout in the best way. My only criticism is that we could’ve saved ourselves 50 pages without repeatedly hearing about Caz’s father and sister over and over. Can’t wait to read more from Will Dean.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

I Loved The Last Thing to Burn by this author, it was my favourite read in 2021. This book was so different from that in a very good way. This review is going to be scant in detail because I think the reader should try going into this one knowing as little as possible because you don’t want to spoil the surprises this one has in store for you.

I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t flip the pages fast enough, the plot is very intense and the story is so engaging that the pages practically turn themselves. My heart was pumping so fast and found myself holding my breath. I love when a book can evoke such a rush in me. This book was also very sad at times. I felt heartbroken for the characters. Loved learning about each character’s personality along the way, it is told from Caz’s point of view with a lot of internal dialogue.

This is an adrenaline rush locked room thriller that is over the top in the best way possible. So entertaining and very cleverly done. It is just short of five-hundred pages but it didn’t feel that long, it kept my butt in the chair and I managed to read it in a couple of sittings.

Now for the reason of the half-star taken off. There is sort of a two-part ending and the first ending disappointed me, a lot. The second ending was an amazing cliffhanger and I am so hoping for a book two!

I am a huge fan of this author. This book is on the longer side but is worth reading. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Highly recommend!!

The Last One is a wonderfully tortuous nightmare wrapped inside a horror show produced in the depths of hell. It’s The Twilight Zone meets Survivor in another devilishly crafted fever dream of a novel from Will Dean, cementing him as one of the best suspense thriller writers in the business.

Caz Ripley boards the luxury cruise liner RMS Atlantica for a dream vacation with her new partner. However, when she wakes up the next morning the ship is deserted. A thousand passengers and crew have vanished into thin air. No people. No baggage. No access to food or water. How will she survive? As Caz explores the ship while trying to come to terms with her harrowing circumstances, she comes to realize she’s not alone and this frightening situation is actually much more terrifying than she could have ever imagined.

This novel is fiendishly good. Dean doles out small nuggets of information, changing the game along the way and keeps the big picture hidden until the perfect moment for the big reveal. As such, it keeps your mind flip-flopping between multiple possibilities on what’s going on and who’s behind it. Which adds to the torment you feel through the characters. Characters, by the way, with great depth based on complicated pasts and conflicting personalities forced to work together or perish separately.

Furthermore, thanks to Dean’s depiction of the cruise ship created in the ninth circle of hell, he’s single-handedly ensured I’ll never step foot on one ever again. I’m still reeling and gobsmacked by the trials and tribulations Caz must endure and the complete destruction of her mental health for however long she has left to live. But holy crap is it an incredibly insane, intense and petrifying novel that can’t be put down. It’ll freak you out while entertaining you. Which given it highlights that exact concept – the human race’s capacity for pure evil and those who are enthralled by it – makes for a compelling and thought-provoking read that goes far beyond the scary storyline.

Just make sure you’re reading this one with both feet firmly planted on solid ground. And if you’re crazy enough to read this while on a large body of water…well…don’t say you weren’t warned.

😬REVIEW😬
The Last One by Will Dean
Out 8/8/23 (thank you @atriabooks #partner)
•
Well, there’s a lot here. Do I like the premise? Yes. Did I enjoy some parts of the execution? Yes. Did this book need to be over FOUR HUNDRED pages? No.

I’m not against long books. I’m against supposed thrillers being this long. There is no thrill in a 3 hour horror movie, nor a book more than 350 pages. This dragged to the point where I didn’t even care about the characters and the ending felt like a major cop out.

Sucked in by the plot, but the drawn out execution did not work for me. And this also reminds me why I’ll never cruise 🤣

This was a great read! I'm not delving into the plot because I don't want to give anything away. I'll just say reading this book is like riding a rollercoaster while underwater. It's full of thrills, chills, claustrophobic at times, other times I found myself holding my breath, afraid of what was coming next. I loved every minute! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this title.

So honestly it started off intriguing then I started to lose intrest. Felt repeative and alot of background noise. But I kept going amd I'm glad I did. Twist and turns, some heart wrenching moments. On the edge of my seat. It just kept getting better. The ending has me guessing what's next.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4!

Caz is ready for the trip of a lifetime - her boyfriend Pete has taken her on a transatlantic crossing on the RMS Atlantica. The food is great, the cruise liner is beautiful, and she's excited for one of her first vacations in a while. However, when she wakes up the next morning, she finds out that everyone - including Pete - is gone. But where did they go? And why is she still stuck in the middle of the Atlantic?

This book gave me "The Drift" energy - I was stressed. I think it's best that the description is as bare bones as it is because every part of the book was a WILD ride. I think where it lost me at times was that it was a bit repetitive and I did just kinda want answers but I did read this book extremely fast with my jaw dropped the entire time. I thought this was a very unique thriller idea and I would definitely be interested in what Will Dean writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.