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!

This book was so good and incredibly atmospheric! I found myself chilly despite reading in 80 degree weather. I found myself feeling parched even though I was sipping on my emotional support water bottle or hungry even though I had just eaten. Will Dean does an excellent job of making you feel like you’re part of the chaos on that cruise liner. While the book was a little long and towards the end it dragged a bit, it overall had me absolutely mesmerized and I couldn’t get enough. Also can we talk about the ending? I literally yelled “WTF” and found myself desperate for more. As they say a few times in the book, “don’t trust anything you see or touch.”

I am so thankful to Atria Books, Netgalley, and Will Dean for granting me both digital and physical access to this twisty thriller before it published on August 8, 2023.

I wish I would have quit this book when I wanted to at 9%. This book is very long and quite graphic in it's descriptions. Basically, the potentially unreliable narrator is left on a cruise ship with some other potentially unreliable characters and bad stuff happens. I'd give more details, but spoilers. You never really get a chance to breathe, as it's just horrific situations over and over again. I know some people like that, but it's too stressful for me.

Did I stay up all night just to read this in one sitting? Yes. Yes, I did. My mind was blown so many times reading this! Oh. My. Gosh! The ANXIETY this book gave me is unreal! I love a story that can keep me guessing the entire time, always thinking I know what’s going to happen and then being completely wrong. This was a heart pounding, jaw dropping and intense story. I’m completely blown away.

Our main character, Caz, wakes up after her first night on cruise liner RMS Atlantica completely alone. Her boyfriend is nowhere in sight. She leaves her cabin to look for him only to discover there’s no one. The ship is abandoned. The luggage is gone. Even the captain and crew are MIA!

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but wow! I am so happy I didn’t look any details up on this book. I planned to read a couple chapters before bed and ended up finishing it all. Who needs sleep when there’s a suspenseful mystery like this?! The ending was amazing. The way I GASPED. Please read this book. It’s amazing. 5 HUGE stars from
me!! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for my ARC copy. My thoughts are my own.

📱”The Last One” by Will Dean

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Published August 8,2023

Thank you @netgalley for this early kindle edition.

Clever and insane, twists, turns, and backstabbing…”The Last One” is a roller coaster. Caz, not one for vacations or cruises decides the luxury cruise liner RMS Atlantica is the trip of a lifetime. The first night is perfect, with her and Pete eating, drinking and getting familiar with the expansive ship. When Caz awakes the next morning and Pete is gone, she begins to worry. When she leaves her room and finds the ship empty, as in no crew or other passengers- she freaks out.

This book was so bizarre! It is very hard to discuss this unbelievable, locked-room mystery without any spoilers. It has a bit of a Hunger Games and The Truman Show feel. 😉

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Will Dean's The Last One is a wild ride to say the least. Caz Ripley takes a vacation with her boyfriend Pete hoping for time with him and some time to focus on herself. When she wakes up aboard the Atlantica, not only is Pete gone, she appears to be the only person on the ship.

The story starts somewhat gently before it ramps up. Caz assembles a small crew of companions who find themselves facing down the elements and unexpected challenges in their attempt to survive the voyage.

The plot of this novel is driven, intense, and thoroughly unnerving. With every twist and turn the stakes rise higher. When it finally seems like things are evening out, it's turned on its head once again. This is the kind of story where you feel the fear and tell yourself it's only a book all the while knowing it's not that far off from being possible.

Dean crafts the world artfully, the ship a heavy character throughout. Seeds of distrust are sown from the very first page and even at the end it's impossible to know who was on Caz's side.

The only area this novel falls short is with its narration and dialogue. Caz, written in first person, is repetitive, morose, and ultimately she exists as a blurry figure. Sometimes she's a wallflower, sometimes she shows strength, but never does she emerge as a defined individual. She's constantly caught up on her father's gambling habit and never seems to recognize her emotional scars outside of this or focus herself into an actual personality. She is a victim of first person narration and it feels like her only purpose is to convey the story.

Meanwhile, the dialogue is unrealistic from the start. Characters don't have unique voices, they're an extension of Caz's narration. At times their wording was so bizarrely prose-y that I thought for sure the twist at the end would be Caz experiencing some 'third man syndrome' and they were all in her imagination.

Overall an excellent plot and top-notch thriller that's brought down by awkward dialogue and an unremarkable, flat first person narrator.

Caz is on a cruise with her boyfriend Pete, but wakes up one morning to find herself all alone on the boat. There’s no way to continue on with the plot without spoilers. What I can say is I was able to guess the plot twist to some extent. I kept wondering how in the world a girl on a cruise ship alone could be a 448 page book... regardless, it was WAY too long. I wasn’t interested until maybe halfway through. it started to pick up and then I just found the whole thing unrealistic and kind of dumb? there were plot holes and just generally did not enjoy this one.

thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!! I LOVED this one and have already recommended it to everyone who will listen. I love the setting (who doesn't love a creepy cruise ship vibe?!). So many twists and turns. Will Dean will become an auto-buy from me from now on! Thanks for an awesome read!

Mystery | Adult
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A locked-room thriller set on a cruise ship at sea, crossed with the Mary Celeste. Terrifying. Disturbing. Not sure what other words to use for this one. Caroline “Caz” Ripley boards a cruise ship in Southampton with her boyfriend Pete. It’s a serious step for a middle-aged couple on their 13th official date. They check in, unpack, take the mandatory evacuation exercise, and then enjoy dinner on the ship as it leaves port. When Caz wakes up the next morning, Pete is gone. Thinking he’s let her sleep in, she dresses quickly to join him for breakfast, and discovers a terrifying situation. She is alone on the ship. All the passengers are gone. There is no crew in the dining area. There is no crew on the bridge. I won’t say anything more to avoid spoilers, but I will say this is a riveting and deeply disturbing story of trust, terror, and psychological torment. I actually hated parts of it, rolled my eyes a couple of times, but I kept reading. My initial suspicion proved more or less correct, but then it goes way beyond into an abyss of what I consider to be abuse of this poor woman’s mental health. I’m not going to recommend it, because I think it’s too disturbing and too silly a premise. But absolutely some people will love it. It is a provocative novel of terror, a commentary on plummeting societal mores, and an absolute distraction from the fires, smoke, and drought that is my life at the moment. So I’ll leave it at that. The writing is a bit forced at times, but author Dean is a master at creating suspense and unexpected plot twists. My thanks to Atria Books for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62919433

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

Caz thinks she is taking a cruise with her boyfriend, Pete. When she wakes up on her first morning onboard, everyone is gone...including Pete. The ship is still cruising like nothing happened but all the doors are open and there are no passengers and no crew.

This is a twisty book that kept you locked in until the final sentence. I would say this is a suspension of reality book for sure, but it is very entertaining.

4.5/5 stars - what a wild ride! This book was truly a trust-nothing kind of story. I had no idea what to expect, and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

What to expect if you pick this up: Nothing is as it seems. I’ve heard some chatter on bookstagram about the first major twist (you’ll know when you get there), and while I wasn’t disappointed per se, I was kind of hoping for a different direction. I will say that once it was revealed, I did become really invested in the outcome. Pacing is great - there are plenty of twists and turns. Character development was also really good. You definitely care about the characters and how they bond.

You’ll be a fan of this if: You enjoy being kept in the dark, survivor stories, and fast-paced mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the opportunity to review this thriller!

I received this book as an ARC from #netgalley.

Caz has plans of going on a trip with her boyfriend, Pete via the ship, Atlantica. When she awakens after the first night, she finds she's alone aboard the ship, which is still traveling.

This book is the telling of what Caz experienced aboard the Atlantica.

The book is well written and compelling. It kept me engaged, but boy was it dark. I must admit I didn't enjoy the wrap up. I also saw the little twist at the end coming, so that was a little bit of a bummer.

#thriller #psychological thriller

The Last One by Will Dean tells the story of Caz who is going on a cruise with her potential soulmate level boyfriend. After the first night she wakes up and is completely alone! Her boyfriend and all the other passengers and crew have disappeared.

I enjoyed several things about this book. The first was the suspense. Not knowing what happened to everyone kept me reading. The twists were not expected at all. Some of them seemed unnecessary, but not in a bothersome way. I will say the final twist made me mad. I will spend days, possibly weeks, deciding if it was brilliant or ridiculous. Either way, isn’t it the sign of a good book that you’re thinking about it after you move on the the next one?