The Last One by Will Dean is a psychological thriller about Caz, who is on a cruise with her new love Pete. They have fun their first night on the cruise, but the next morning Caz wakes up and everyone is gone. The cruise ship is empty. I cannot give away much more of the plot, but suffice it to say, this is one crazy story. And I truly enjoyed it. It was so unique, so completely wild, and it kept me guessing all the way to the end. And that ending! Wow! Highly, highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

WOW! This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year! Unpredictable in the best ways! It grabs you from the first chapter and does not let go. Twists and turns all the way up to the last sentence. I found myself saying “WHAT?!??? with my mouth open over and over again. Solid 5 stars! Highly recommend!

*3.5 stars

Well, that was a grim ending.

This is a story that you need to go into knowing next to nothing, but also you need to know you'll have to suspend your disbelief (majorly).

This story was too long for my liking and could have been probably 100 pages shorter and been all the better for it.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was a slow read for me and very long and very detailed in the descriptions. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc!

first, i would like to extend my deepest appreciation and gratitude to netgalley, atria books, and atria/emily bestler books, for the advanced reader copy. i am a tad bit late with reading this arc, but i am glad i read it. 😁

3 ⭐!

i saw this book on tiktok as this reviewer received a physical arc and reviewed it. i watched it and was so interested in the plot that i hope that atria accepted me for an arc. i was so ecstatic once i got accepted and read it! 🚢🌊

let me say that the book had no reason to be so long. i felt like the author could've wrapped it up around 300 pages, instead of having it be around 400-500 pages. the first 40 percent of the book was very slow-burned, dragged-on-like. quite frankly, i was getting a little bit bored, but the short chapters made it convincing for me to continue on and finish the book. short chapters for the win! 🚢🥶

to talk more about the book without writing a 10-page in mla format about the book with sources, i would describe it as a big brother, 1984, survivor, squid games, the truman show, and the hunger games type of book. if you love the books/shows, then i think you would like this book. tie it together with the movie, "the titanic" due to the characters being in an ocean liner/ship, then that is how i can describe the whole book. 🏔✈️

the characters in the book, i did not relate to them or like them at all. one of them however, his name was smith and i found him to be the most relatable. the other characters wanted me to hate him, but i found him to be the most reasonable. this is a very intense book because if i were one of the characters in the book, i would simply break down and cry. but warning, there are some very serious topics/subjects in the book that should be approached with caution. overall, for the book being so long, the author had very bizarre stuff happening to these poor people who were on the ship and i just felt so bad for them. 🚣‍♀️🌊

all in all, i thought this book was okay and average. i did not hate it, but i did not love it. i wouldn't read this book again, but with that ending, however...i would be curious and open to reading a second book if there happened to be a sequel. once again, thank you to netgalley, atria books, and atria/emily bestler books, for the arc! also to will dean for thinking of this suspenseful, stressful, and unique plot line! can't wait to read more from him! ⛴️🌊

book has already been released on august 08, 2023! go get the book, if interested! :) ✨🤗🙌

I had such high hopes for The Last One since I loved First Born, and the novel started off great! Imagine getting on a cruise ship, only to wake up the next morning and everyone was gone? The premise of this "locked room" mystery was so unique, and I really liked the characters, or I liked to dislike them in some cases. The first half was extremely suspenseful. That said, I do think it got a little outlandish at a certain point, so I wouldn't say I loved the second half of the book. Because it felt so unbelievable, the suspense-level significantly dropped for me. Overall, the ending pulled it enough together for me to give it a solid four stars.

This was a book that totally went in a direction that I wasn't expecting. Cass, a hardworking restauranteur, is finally getting away on a much deserved dream cruise with her boyfriend, Pete. Having gone through the trauma of having her dad accused of fraud in her younger years, Cass has never felt worthy of good things. As she embarks on her voyage, she's starting to think that maybe she does deserve good things in life. Then, waking up after a good sleep, things seem off. Soon she discovers that Pete is gone and not only Pete but she can't find anyone else. What has happened to everyone else and more importantly who is steering the ship? A book with an interesting premise that has you questioning what is really going on. Then when you find out it becomes a social commentary and a horror novel wrapped up together. I enjoyed most of the book I just felt that it stretched the middle of the story for too long. The resolution to the conflict was somewhat disappointing and unrealistic. However, the ending had me looking forward to the next from the author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ecopy for an honest review.

A locked room mystery set on a cruise liner crossing from the UK to the US. This was an incredibly fun read! I didn’t love it but I definitely enjoyed the ride and the ending caught me off guard.

Intriguing reviews gave me the interest to try my second Will Dean book with the first being a little slow. I didn’t feel very invested in his characters but the creative plot for this one made it fun getting to the end. Without giving any spoilers, I did feel a big part of the story was very predictable. If the first two books for an author are just so-so for me then I will typically back off but this one hit a mark that I think will give his next book a try.

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

I want to thank NetGalley, and Atria Books, for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed the setting of this book as there aren’t many psychological thrillers that are set on cruise ships. The idea of being stranded on a large cruise ship had me hooked from the beginning. As someone who has been on this type of cruise before, I found it easy to imagine the ship and the characters.

However, I didn’t seem to connect to any character and I found myself bored and wanting to skip through certain parts. There were also a few dialogues in which I found to have been more descriptive and drawn out than they needed to be. There was a bit of repetition in dialogues throughout the book that I thought took away from the suspense because they didn’t seem to flow well as a believable conversation. It is a bit long and I think it would benefit from another round of editing.

Overall, I would recommend this book to fellow book lovers who prefer psychological thrillers. It wasn’t my favorite but I think a lot of readers will enjoy it.

I tried so hard to like this book. It just wasn't for me. The writing is fine, I just found it to be a tad too unbelievable and not my style. Thank you for the opportunity.

This thriller set on an ocean liner on the Atlantic has only four passengers, since the hundreds of others disappeared one morning with their luggage and personal effects, leaving the four alone to fend for themselves on a self propelling vessel bound for who knows where.

I thought at first this was sci fi or fantasy, but then the real world of today crept in to give a chilling take on reality and the people who are entranced by it. I kept reading as the challenges for the four ramped up to unbelievable levels, and the ending floored me.

It was a hard to read book, as it may have been the author's intention, but I can say I was intrigued but not entertained.

I've stayed away from thrillers lately but this premise was just too intriguing: a woman boards a cruise ship headed to New York with her boyfriend. She wakes up the first morning to find she is the only person on the entire ship.

The book dragged a lot in the middle. So much of Caz' inner dialogue is repetitive. Which I guess would happen if you trapped on a boat by yourself cut off from the world. But as a reader it really slowed down the story.

I hope someone I know reads this soon so we can discuss. <spoiler>The ending! what?!?! Is the boyfriend doing this all to her? why? was his family affected by her dad's gambling?</spoiler>

*Thank you for the advance reader copy of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley. I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.

I’d like to say I really enjoyed this book but it wouldn’t be honest… it never caught on for me, never drew me in, and I struggled to even finish it, as may be obvious by how long it has taken me to review it after receiving it. The writing was not bad, so I wouldn’t say I’d not read this author again, but the characters of this one were very unlikeable, the plot was flat, the story just wasn’t really believable as posited. Again, the writing was not bad, you weren’t distracted by typos and bad grammar but this just wasn’t for me, but I do appreciate the opportunity to review.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really like all the twists and turns in this book! I almost thought it was leading more towards historical fiction for the first few chapters but it quickly changed! It’s a psychological thriller set on a cruise ship where everyone disappears after the first night there except for four people who try to figure out what’s going on and where everyone else went. It felt pretty original and had some big twists that I never saw coming. I also felt like the ending was perfect for how the whole story went! I would definitely recommend if you like mysteries and thrillers!

The Last One by Will Dean. This book was NOTHING like I expected. I mean NOTHING. I was SHOCKED! Definitely the most shocking book I read all year. SO many twists and turns and they literally didn’t stop until the last word on the last page. I loved everything about this book - the characters, the plot, the twists. It was truly a unique book! One of my favorites this year! Thanks NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!! 5 stars!!

Caz is excited for the vacation of a lifetime with her partner. They are traveling aboard the RMS Atlantica. The first night of the trip is perfect, they have good food, they dance, and they make new friends.

When Caz wakes up the next day something is off. Pete is missing. When she goes to find him, she realizes to her horror that the ship is seemingly empty. The Atlantica is cruising through the Atlantic Ocean, unmanned and shes alone. Unfortunately for her, being on the abandoned ship is only the beginning of her terrifying journey.

Ah, this thriller is probably one of my favorites of the year – I loved it that much and I’ve read a few books. My favorite type of thriller is a locked room or there about – and this one was basically that just based on a cruise ship. Cruises always freak me out a little in general, just something about being basically a floating city in the middle of nowhere. When I first picked this one up I cried a little inside because it is about 450 pages, but it was such a fast paced read that I didn’t even noticed because I just flew through it. My absolute favorite part of this book was the ending. Just YES! I’ve seen some reviews say they hated it – but for me it was *chef’s kiss*, just perfect.

If you are looking for an unputdownable locked room thriller, then pick this one up.

Thank you so much to Atria Books, @atriabooks, and Netgalley, @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC of The Last One by Will Dean.

I am genuinely torn if I should be rating this book 1 star or 5 stars. The premise sounds immensely intriguing - Caz wakes up the first morning of her luxury cruise vacation with her partner, only to discover she is completely alone on board the ship. All other passengers and crew have vanished without a trace and she is left to unravel the terrifying journey that is about to begin.

With this description, I found myself immediately drawn into the suspense. However, nothing is what it seems… I am wondering if the way the book is described is to draw us in and align us more with the experience of deception and deceit that Caz experiences in the story. The parallels of thinking I am going to be reading one thing and it turns into something completely different, and the experience of Caz in this book, are not lost on me.

In my opinion, the way this book was written has two sides. On one hand, chapters are short with cliffhanger endings and I felt like I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Although it’s a fairly long book, it flew by and I was fully absorbed in the heart-pounding suspense. On the other hand, I found it to be lacking in the character development and dialogue. At times, I found myself wanting to skim chunks of Caz’s backstory because it was so utterly repetitive. It also felt disjointed and I feel it didn’t flow with the storyline taking place.

As a fan of Will Dean’s previous books and this genre as a whole, I devoured this book. But as a psychotherapist, I found the exploitation of a character’s mental sanity and well-being to be grotesque. The ending of the book solidified this for me.

Thank you so much for the copy! I enjoyed the atmosphere descriptions throughout and could really picture everything. The book did drag
on for me at time and felt the beginning was slow to grab my attention. Interesting read but felt the pace could have been a little faster to further gage my interest and attention

I am having a hard time deciding how to review this book. There were times I really enjoyed it and other times I did not enjoy it. The concept was completely different from most thrillers and I think it was a well written book. It was an interesting read, that's for sure!