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)
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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.

First, this book was such a fast-paced, nail biting read. I have been looking forward to this book for a couple months and to finally read it and for it live up to my expectations was completely phenomenal!
Secondly, the absolutely loved the characters in the story and I grew completely attached to each and every one of the them.
Nonetheless, I can’t wait for this book to come out because I’m ordering me a copy immediately just to have on my shelf. What a great read. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

The plot in this book is unlike any book that I have ever read. I will say despite the rating, I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time, and there was something that made me keep reading to see how everything was going to shake out. I just didn't love the way everything wrapped up. Maybe I was over thinking it but I was disappointed in the build up. Without giving anything away, I also didn't like the ending :/ There was a lot of potential here, but I felt like it wasn't delivered.

Caz and Pete are on their way to New York via The Atlantica. A new experience in the travel industry that is supposed to be unlink anything you have experienced before. They have a wonderful time exploring the ship on their first night. They have a great dinner and go to bed only for Caz to wake up alone. She looks around for Pete, and in the process realizes that she is completely alone on the ship. There are no captains. No deck hands. No nobody. Where did everyone go? What has happened?

She runs into someone named Danny when she is looking for food. They in turn run into Francine and finally Smith to round out the group of 4 that are the sole survivors of whatever has happened. They are in survival mode when the power goes out. They realize that they are on a reality TV show of sorts that has tasked them each with a challenge that they unwittingly signed up for when purchasing their tickets. The overall winner gets $5 million. The others get $50k each. What are each of them willing to do to get this money? What have they been through to be where they are now? What is really happening here?

This book reads like an episode of Survivor with the added element of the dark web. Again, there was something about it that kept me wondering what was going to happen but I was not a fan of how everything "wrapped up." I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a long-time fan of Will Dean's Tuva Moodyson's mystery series; he's a master of creating a sense of place and then plotting a story that takes full advantage of the setting. And not for nothing, Tuva is an unforgettable and deliciously flawed heroine. I was excited to see he was tackling a locked-room mystery aboard a ship, and The Last One surpassed my (high) expectations. I'll be recommending this book on the 11 August episode of my podcast 'The Library of Lost Time.'

Loved all of the twists and turns in this story! Knocking off a star since I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style itself or the way the backstory was interwoven throughout the narrative, but I still really enjoyed myself and flew through this one!

Goodness I hated this book. I started skipping pages just to figure out what happened. I thought this would be a mystery and it was actually… Hunger Games? It was horrible and I have no words for the ending it was so bad.

I went into this book almost completely blindly. I had never read anything by this author but the cover and title intrigued me. We quickly learn our characters and the odd situation they’ve found themselves in…a situation that gripped me and kept me up all night reading! After we find out the truth, we get one final plot twist that was simply chef’s kiss. I will definitely be seeking out more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis of this book is short for a reason! The first twist hits about 1/3 of the way through the book and will ABSOLUTELY SHOCK you, and then the twists KEEP ON COMING!!! This book is 400+ pages but doesn’t at all feel that long because you will want to read it in one setting. I literally could not put it down and was hooked from the very first page. I won’t say too much else because you want to go in completely blind for maximum impact of the jaw dropping and heart pounding twists. This book is an absolute must have, and you want to add it to your August TBR and preorder now!

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. What a story! Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed how the story was going to go. It makes you wonder if there are companies and people out there that are sick enough to do these things. When Caz wakes up alone on the Atlantica, she has no idea what is in store for her. And neither do we as readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This totally missed the mark for me! I was so sucked in until the admiral appeared, then it just became dumb! It drug on and on and the end was just not great!

This was a wild ride. You go into this book thinking it's one things and honestly it's not...it had me guessing and I couldn't put it down.

This was the scariest book I’ve ever read. I read a lot of thrillers and watch a lot of horror, but this is it. I already have an aversion to boats, especially CRUISE SHIPS, now I have more fears😆

Who wants to get on a ship full of people and sail across the ocean, unable to get off, small rooms, germs, a mile of black ocean and sea creatures beneath you? NO THANK YOU. Now I can add the chance of psychological torture to that list.

Perfect summer read for the beach, as long as you stay on the sand and don’t go for any boating adventures.

Thanks so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the chance to get a jump on this book!

Wow! This book was so hard to put down! I kept waiting for the plot to become boring or predictable but loved every twist and turn that kept coming. It really kept me guessing motives and intentions the whole way through. A bit of shock and horror along the way this was an awesome summer read! Thank you netgalley and will dean for the arc!

"The Last One" by Will Dean follows Caz and Pete as they embark on a luxe cruise aboard the RMS Atlantica. However, their dream vacation quickly turns into a nightmare when Caz wakes up to find Pete mysteriously missing and the ship eerily empty. This should have set the stage for a thrilling and suspenseful tale, but unfortunately, it falls flat.

One of the main weaknesses of "The Last One" is the lackluster character development. Caz, as the protagonist, feels underdeveloped and lacks depth, making it challenging for readers to connect with or invest in her journey. The supporting characters also suffer from a lack of meaningful development, reducing their impact on the story.

Furthermore, the pacing throughout the book is inconsistent, with prolonged periods of stagnation and moments that feel rushed. This imbalance hampers the flow of the narrative, undermining the potential for building tension and suspense. As a result, the story struggles to maintain readers' interest.

The central mystery of the empty ship fails to live up to its initial promise. The reveals and twists lack originality, and the resolution feels hurried and unsatisfying. The lack of payoff and the missed opportunities for deeper exploration of the mystery leave readers feeling unfulfilled.

While the setting of the deserted cruise ship offers potential for a menacing atmosphere, it ultimately falls short. The descriptions lack vividness and fail to create a strong sense of place or imbue the story with the desired eerie ambiance. This further diminishes the tension and fails to fully immerse readers in the setting.

In conclusion, "The Last One" by Will Dean disappoints with its underdeveloped characters, inconsistent pacing, lackluster mystery, and subpar execution of the setting. While the initial premise held promise, the eventual result falls flat, leaving readers unsatisfied. Regrettably, this 2-star novel fails to deliver on its potential and offers a reading experience that lacks the desired thrills.