This book was pretty good. I liked his first book and I felt like this was a good follow up. I would recommend if you liked first born.

I really liked the idea of this story as it definitely is terrifying at the thought of it. I feel it was a big long winded at times just for the ending to wrap up too quickly. Overall, I liked it.

I have heard so much about this seen so much about this that when i got to read oh boy was i blown away. I never read anything from this author but wow i loved it such an interesting story. One i would love to read over and over. I would read another like this from this author for sure.

Caz is so excited when her boyfriend, Pete, takes her on vacation aboard the luxury cruise liner, RMS Atlantica. They have a great first night, but when Caz wakes up the next morning and reaches for Pete, he's not there. As she leaves their room to look, she realizes that the ship is empty. Not empty, as in the passengers are elsewhere, but empty empty. No passengers, no crew. The giant ship is in the middle of the ocean, and Caz is all alone on it. I won't say much more to avoid spoilers, but this is a crazy read. It has a tense, eerie feel-- you rarely get a "locked cruise ship" story, but that's what we have here. The story certainly keeps you wondering, and it offers an interesting, timely commentary on society. I won't say on what. ;)

I found this book hard to put down, and the story is really unique. Those are all major plusses. It goes a little off the rails as it continues, though. And there are a lot of unresolved plot points that made me feel as if the story didn't truly finish. (The actual ending is also cray cray.)

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.
I believe this is my first Will Dean book and from the beginning I was hooked. I loved the short chapters and the suspense being built on this cruise ship. You really do have to suspend your belief reading this though and let the book take you for a ride. I liked/disliked every character in this book at various points, with the exception of Smith. Didn’t care for him at all lol. The ending really lost me though. That was really my only disappointment and I wished there was more resolution.

One of the craziest books I've read, this is a locked room mystery on a cruise ship. Unlikeable characters, crazy plot twists, it's one of a kind and deserves a lot of buzz!

OH MY GOSH I really liked this book! It had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!

The Last One
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Will Dean

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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.

My Thoughts: First and foremost, you have to suspend belief some for this book. At first, I was like what? It took awhile to get connected and on page and with the character(s). The synopsis is short for a reason, actually, I did not even read it going into this book as I loved the last Dean book, “First Born.” Caz wakes up after a wonderful night with her boyfriend, Pete, on a luxurious ship, all alone, she soon realizes. She explores the ship to discover any clue as to why the entire ship is abandoned. Then a series of things happen revealing the real premise of the story.

The story is narrated solely by Caz, in her perspective. You really do not get a grasp for the story until about a third of the way in. I will try to vague up the details to not spoil the reading adventure. I can say it has been awhile since I was taking on a “reading adventure,” but this story really does. Our MC, Caz, has had a hard life and I did relate to her character. There was one character that rubbed me wrong most of the story, but in the end, he/she surprised me. The characters were well developed with depth, banter, mystery, and really were creatively designed. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and absolutely brilliant. The characters are built up, the plot is delivered in many twisty layers, the pace and flow were right on, the twists were intense, and the ending is a two part. You really had no clue as to what would happen next. The story had an ending that you thought was the ending, then another late twist that was mind-bending and thought provoking.

This book has been released as “The Last One” in the US market and “The Last Passenger” in abroad markets. This was a long read or listen at 448 pages or almost 13 hours, and at times, you thought what else could happen? Overall, I did enjoy this read and would definitely read other books by Dean. Since this is on the longer side, it might be easier to follow along in the audiobook. The reviews have been mixed with either loving it or hating it, I think I fall in the middle, while I loved most of the book, there were parts that I did not like. I recommend giving it a try and going in as blind as possible.

Caroline (Caz) and her boyfriend, Pete, embark on a cruise from Southampton to New York. The first night on the ship is a pleasant evening filled with good food and company. But, when Caz wakes up the next morning Pete is gone and she soon discovers that she is on a deserted ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Is it a bit farfetched? Yes (maybe?). Do you have to suspend disbelief? Oh, yes. But, all I can say is Wow! It was such a compelling book. The story grabbed me from the beginning and just didn’t let go. And if you realize this book will provide entertainment and not necessarily realistic, then you’ll be happy to go along for the ride.

My description was a little deceiving in that Caz isn’t completely alone on the ship. The characters are so well-described, the tension on the ship is palpable, and the descriptions of the events are very well-done. I swear, at times I could almost fell the ocean spray. This is a book I thoroughly enjoyed simply because, at least for a while, I was as mystified as Caz about the mysteries surrounding the ship. And don’t get me started on the ending. Sometimes I can’t help myself and I read the last chapter or two. This time I didn’t and I’m so glad I restrained myself.

This is a great book for a lazy summer day. It’s entertaining, well-written, the chapters are short (although I found it nearly impossible to read just one), and the action nearly non-stop. I really enjoyed it! NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This story is rough. It is extremely fast-paced and completely entertaining, but it has an absolutely ridiculous conclusion. I finished reading this and felt disappointed. It teeters between the thriller and horror genre without settling on one. I wish it would have pushed itself into the horror genre with a bit more action and gore, then the ending would have been more satisfying and, honestly, believable.

Guys, holy guacamole!!!

What an insane read. This book gave me all of the Ghost Ship/Survivor/Titanic like vibes and I am here for every single bit of it!

I devoured this in about 2 days. I was so intrigued with where this was headed and how it was going to play out that there was no way I was waiting to find out.
The twist and turns and surprises just kept coming and man oh man was it so enjoyable!

My first read from Will Dean and I will absolutely be checking out more!
If you haven't read this one yet, bump it up your TBR!

Major thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC copy - out now!!!

This book is so creepy. Exactly the way I lie them. I loved how the author paced this so well as pacing is EVERYTHING to me. Particularly well depicted as Caz searches and slowly begins to understand what is happening.

At times, later on the author gets bogged down a bit, but overall this is a very clever, creepy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC.

This book was wild. As with many others, I fear that too much of a review will give it away. All I know is this was twisty, I did not know where it was going, and the last chapter had my mouth agape. Can't wait to read more Will Dean!

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️.5 stars! I really liked the premise of this book, and some parts of this book were good, but overall it didn’t grab my attention the way that I wanted it to. Caz and Pete were taking a much needed vacation and Caz wakes up the next morning and everyone is gone and she’s trying to figure out what happened and where did everyone go, including Pete. This book started off really good, and I was excited. As I continued reading, I realized that it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Will Dean and the publisher for this eARC!

I found this story captivating from the very beginning. Holy smokes- I could never imagine being the only one on a huge cruise ship. It created an eerie atmosphere despite the cruise ship setting. As the story progressed, the captivation held on but I also felt unsettled reading about Caz going without food and other horrific things happening on the ship. I realized then that I became very invested in this story! BUT WHAT ABOUT THAT ENDING? I needed more and ultimately it made my rating of 4.5 round down to 4.

The Last One is about a 49 year old woman named Caz who goes on a cruise ship with her boyfriend Pete. This is supposed to be a nice holiday for the couple. They enjoy their first night together on the voyager but by the time Caz awakens the next morning, Pete is gone along with a thousand other passengers and staff. This story follows Caz along with three other survivors and their time on the ship. Caz does a lot of reminiscing about her father and the turmoil she experienced growing up. While this story has a great plot, it feel a little flat for me. The characters were not that interesting to me. There was some repetition that got to be a bit much. But the twist at the end was quite shocking. Over all this book was a 3star book for me.

This was quite the page turner! I loved all the twists and turns and thought that some parts were so suspenseful! I definitely stayed up late at night reading this one because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

This was going to be a five-star read until the very end. Everything was wrapping up nicely, and then there was a big twist thrown in that I didn't care for.

I definitely recommend this one and think it's best if you go into it blind!

Thank you, @Netgalley, @atriabooks, and the author for the #gifted e-arc of this book!

4.5 stars rounded

This book was a fun read, even though I guessed the ending before it was revealed. I love when a thriller/mystery takes place in a completely different setting than most do (basically not a married couple in a house), so it was intriguing to read what Dean did with this entirely different set of circumstances. Also now I never want to go on a cruise ship again.

This was such a surprise! I’ve never read something like this and look forward to your back log. Thanks!

Caz is ready and excited to embark on the cruise liner RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete for some relaxation. All of that changes once she wakes up the next day on the cruise liner, alone. Pete is missing, along with all the other hundreds of passengers that were on board just the night before. Confused and terrified, Caz wonders the ship looking for answers and what she finds will put her very own life in danger.



This is a really good book to just dive into without knowing too much. It’s a great shock and captured me right away. The author does a good job of building the tension and the whole book is just one wild ride. The beginning initially captured me but as the story goes on it did seem to drag a little in some parts with some explanations being a little too far fetched for me personally. Keeping this review a tad short because I don’t want to spoil but this was a very unique read though that did keep me on edge and invested! Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title is now available to purchase.