This one kept me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea what the heck was going to happen next in this book. Nothing is what it seems, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to think about boarding a cruise ship without thinking of this book. The mystery was surprising in nearly every twist and the characters were compelling enough that I was invested in what happened to them.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book went in a direction I didn’t think it was going. Overall enjoyed it. Just wasn’t my favorite

This book's premise was incredibly engaging, and I truly enjoyed the majority of the book. It was creepy and atmospheric and everything I want a book like it to be. I also didn't figure out the ending, and the ending really did surprise me (and made me a little mad). Very interesting book, and very well written.

TW: Language, drinking, toxic family relationships, gabbling addiction, death by suicide, dementia, drug addiction, racism, classism, adoption


*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: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.
Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 448
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. The story was interesting
2. Short chapters
3. Liked the authors writing style

What I Didn't Like:
1. So much bickering
2. Plot lied to me
3. Too many plot holes
4. Characters making endless decisions

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer - I write my reviews as I read along}}

I loved the idea of a person alone on a ship and everyone has disappeared. Reminded me of Stephen King's The Langoliers (from his story collection Four Past Midnight) . Only in that story a woman wakes up on a plane and everyone is gone.

One of the complaints I have about this book is that I wish that Caz had spent more time alone and trying to figure things out before coming across other people. I wanted that atmospheric feeling of isolation and to be frightened about what was happening, but it was cut too short when she found other people.

I wish we could have more of a sense of Caz as a character before we are introduced to more characters. We learn things as we go along with everyone else but I wanted her to be set apart from them so I cared more about her as the main character.

Okay cool we are introduced to the jerk of the group.

Omg this has turned into your standard story of a group of people not knowing what is happening. This whole plot was a lie. She was like alone for 20 minutes. I spend more time alone on a weekend than this story promised.

Where is all the food? They were able to start fires but they can't cook any food?

So they are being held on the ship and being watched by an audience. The voice didn't say who was watching though, so assuming they wouldn't starve them is interesting. I'm assuming that they are hoping they eat each other.

These people are WAY too calm for what is happening to them.

I just think it's odd that all of them would stay on this where they are being held hostage without any decisions before they are put in this situation. At least one of them would leave. They just keep saying that they can't be held here against their will but they have been for days while they were starving and thirsty.

How are they not creeped out that there are other people on the ship that were able to give them the food that they ate? It just feels like the characters are just so dense when it comes to things.

Okay so I guess it's a dark web type game. I don't understand what the point of them having everyone (crew & customers) get on the ship and just to keep 4 people for the game. How could you get so many people to just abandon their cruise so that a few people could be on a game show? Not only that the amount of effort and energy to remove those many people. No one asks Michelle how they made everyone leave.

This whole time they are starving and they just now when they are so hungry and have lost weight and are weak decide they are going to eat the dogs food. Why??? Why do they care so much about the dogs enough that they are willing to starve. They are ready to let themselves just die.

I understand that the ship is freezing but put on more clothes and cover up. Our ancestors survived before fire was even a thing but these people act like it's the end of the world.

There were so many things that happened in this book that just made no sense. If this is the dark web why would people post it on YouTube? Why would they announce to the world that there was a contest? Why would they give the contestants a chance to get off the ship before and then afterwards?

Don't worry everything is fake and it's a TV show. I mean what would they have done if someone killed another person for food or for the chance to win? I know Daniel and Frannie were actors but they didn't know what Smith and Caz would do when pushed. Or maybe when Caz of Smith jumped from a giant cruise ship.

Final Thoughts:
Sigh. This book frustrated me to no end. Where was the threat? Everything that happens in this book is a result of them choosing to stay on the ship and of them killing scaring themselves. They did dumb things after dumb things.

What was the point of the bodies in the ballroom?? Why fake that??

Omg the stupid plane ending where everyone is gone!! Please please tell me how you empty a plane in the air in the 5 minutes of someone being in the bathroom???

I did really enjoy how fast paced the book was and the way the author wrote, I just left this book with even more questions. So many questions.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

THE LAST ONE
Will Dean

A weeklong getaway. Endless, dizzying days at sea. Nothing but blue for miles around.

“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Sounds like a nightmare!

Caz is stranded at sea. There is no food, there is no water, everyone else has vanished and she has no idea how to get help. And as the plot unravels, we learn just how nefarious her time at sea will be, what’s at stake, and what she’ll have to do to get off of the boat.

What we won’t know until the very end is why.


THE LAST ONE quickly turned into a survival of the fittest situation at sea and I was on the hook. It was so much fun to put my detective cap on and try to solve the mystery along with the passengers on the boat. There is a bookish puzzle (no spoilers) to solve and a bigger overarching mystery. All of which led to my enjoyment of the book.

I had fun with this latest from Will Dean and recommend it to readers who love to solve mysteries and who are easily able to suspend disbelief. Because there is a lot to get over with this storyline. But if you can look past the unbelievable, I think you’ll enjoy THE LAST ONE.

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced copy!

THE LAST ONE…⭐️⭐️⭐️

The premise for this book was so intriguing and then it went in a direction I did not expect.
There were parts that didn’t always work for me but I was a fast paced, fun thriller that kept me turning the pages.

Wow, what a page turner. I kept me wondering just where this was going. Lots of twists and I didn't guess the ending at all. If you like psychological thrillers with a completely different twist, I think you're in for a treat. 4.5 stars rounded up for originality.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! This book had me HOOKED! I had no idea the wild ride I was in for. This gave me Black Mirror vibes with an air of Alice in Borderlands. And that ending...This is a must read if you enjoy psychological thrillers!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Emily Bestler Books for an Advance Readers Copy (ARC)!

Will Dean is an auto-buy author for me so I’ve been itching to read this book! While I prefer not to go into books blind, I didn’t have much choice with this one. Everything in the synopsis describes just the first few chapters and then the rest was a mystery. Lucky for me, I love both locked-room and survival thrillers, so this was right up my alley. I was so intrigued by the plot that I couldn’t put the book down. I just had to know what was really going on. Thank goodness I waited to pick this up until I was on a break from work because I stayed up way too late binging this one!

While it may be a tad far-fetched for some readers, I was entertained by every single page. The twists and turns were so shocking and original that I had no clue what to expect as the story progressed. The ending may or may not have maxed out my anxiety, but that’s proof that it was the ultimate suspenseful thrill ride! If you haven’t read this one yet, I highly recommend it, but only if your schedule is clear because you won’t want to stop reading!

Wow, this one was a page turner!! I could hardly put it down, I had to keep seeing what would happen next. And, very scary to think that something like this could actually happen in the world we live in. Highly recommend as a great suspense read.

This was such a good read but also felt that it was a little bit too long. What a crazy ending to the book - didn't see it coming!

I was really excited going into this one. An abandoned cruise ship, the final girl, what more do you need? A lot more actually. I quickly lost interest after the reveal at the beginning. I feel this was way too long for the story. The ending didn't work as much as I would think it would. I was a little furious after the last two pages.

This was a fast-paced read with a super intriguing premise. The plot is like Hunger Games mixed with a cruise line and social media. I deducted a star for the ending which I found to be ***mild spoiler***





Like the ending of a 5th grader’s essay where they say “It was all a dream.” I wanted more from the ending without taking the easy route to explain everything that happened.

This one was hard for me because it was so far from reality, I had a really hard time connecting and finishing. I felt like the best way to describe is that it was just bizarre.

The Must Read Thriller Books of Summer 2023

The Last One by Will Dean

Cruises are creepy AF, and unfortunately, you don’t even need to venture into fiction to find horror stories of unfortunate souls falling overboard and being left behind in a luxury boat’s wake. But what if the reverse happened?

In Will Dean’s summer thriller The Last One, Caz (short for Caroline) wakes up on the first day of her romantic voyage on the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete to discover that not only is he missing… but so is every other fellow passenger, and every member of the crew. So is the Atlantica a (figurative or literal) ghost ship, and she’s the only one haunting it? Or is there some massive conspiracy at work to make Caz feel the gripping terror of being truly alone in the middle of the sea?

This started off hot and while the plot seemed a bit unrealistic I still enjoyed reading it. The ending though was too much for me and made me throw my kindle. I would still read more by the author.

Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me and was a DNF but I am sure other readers will feel differently! Thank you for the ARC!

What did I just read?
It’s like everyone’s worst fear coming true.
I was completely immersed and terrified at the same time.
My exact words when I finished the book!…what?! So stupid! Haahaa!! That ending!

I simply cannot recommend this book enough. The book was propulsive, the plot was engaging, and the ending left my jaw on the floor. If you are searching for the next great thriller, this is it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 rounded up. This just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, so I didn’t really care what happened and it made me not want to pick the book back up. It was also waay too long.