First off, thank you to the publisher for my ARC. Though I received an ARC, all thoughts are my own.

Our main character is Abby, who visits a remote island in Mexico to retrace her fiancée Eszter’s last days and her seemingly accidental death. Told from multiple POV’s, we learn things are not as they seem.

The book started off really slow for me. There was a mystery for us to solve, but it took Abby a lot of time and unnecessary filler to get us there. I enjoyed some of the twists and turns, but feel like there were so many things cooking at once that some of the twists I found interesting were kind of rushed to a conclusion at the end. I didn’t love the main character or most of the side characters, which may have also contributed to how frustrated I was with the pace. I did enjoy the big reveal at the end, but just felt like it took too long to get there.

This may have been a DNF for me under normal circumstances, but because it was an ARC, I felt like I needed to give it a fair shot.

Overall, I still would recommend it, but not if you want a complete speed read.

Unfortunately this wasn't for me. The premise was very interesting and I was excited to read it, but overall the book just had too much unnecessary information. The beginning of the book didn't dive into the thrill quick enough, so I was never gripped by the story and ended up I'm just not caring.

The story goes from the POV of two characters to the POV of many by the end, almost making it feel like the reader was never given the chance to see what was coming.

Last Ferry Out releases May 20th, 2025!

Thank you Net Galley and Random House for the ARC to review!

Really enjoyed this ARC! The plot kept moving along and when the twists came, I was like “what?!?!” Will definitely recommend this one once it comes out!!!

This was not it! The answer to the mystery seemed thrown together and the plot twists just seemed forced. I really enjoyed this author’s previous work, but this fell flat. I’m giving it two stars because it was fast paced and I’m sure other people will like it, but not for me.

Two biggest cons for me:
1. The timeline seemed weirdly jumpy and I don’t just mean the actually past and present chapters. The current day with Abby seemed to happen through more than a couple days because the pacing felt weird.
2. There was no distinction between Abby and Eszter’s chapters. I had to go back several times to see who I was reading as.

This was a DNF for me at 25%. I found the pace slow and just could not get into the story and characters.

I will not be posting a Goodreads review for this book since I did not finish it.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for the copy of The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz. It took a while to get fully invested in this book, but once it caught my attention, I raced through it to find out what had happened. I loved the characters, and the setting made my wanderlust kick in. I can’t go into details at the risk of spoiling the amazing reveals, but I can say it has been a long time since I have been so astonished to learn everyone’s secrets. 5 stars

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

I feel like the story on this book takes a long time to become interesting. In the beginning I was more like - why am I reading this? Abby goes back to the island where her fiancé died in a mysterious way, hoping to understand more why she was there and what exactly happened. But then she finds out more interesting things. I guess I only got interested about halfway through the book.

4.5 stars

What a nice, original thriller!

Abby's fiancée died four months ago while spending a few weeks on an isolated Mexican island in order to finish her capstone project in a peaceful location free of distractions. Eszter had died from an apparent allergic reaction. Now, Abby herself travels to Isla Colel in an effort to feel closer to her lost love, to see how she spent her last days alive, to understand how the unthinkable could have happened. As Abby meets and learns the secrets of the island's residents and the group of expats who have fallen in love with the desolate locale (as well as the blank slate it offers), she begins to see that she never knew the woman she loved as well as she thought she did.

Abby was a wonderful main character, a grieving woman who learned to survive by being bold and valuing efficiency. Eszter was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants, and desired her parents' approval despite their strictness and unyielding expectations. Isla Colel was a beautifully evocative setting, with the fonda, tropical beaches, limestone cliffs, and bioluminescent bay...and also with the abandoned resort hotel and rusting comm tower lending a more menacing air.

Just before her death, Eszter texted Abby, "There's something I need to tell you." The mystery of this story stems from Abby trying to understand what that might have been, and as she talks to the people her fiancée spent her last days with, it becomes clear that someone knows more than they're saying. This was a refreshingly unique and decently smart mystery/thriller. Some readers are happy with the works of certain prolific authors who can't be bothered to fact check the details in their books or to worry that the plot makes sense, as long as they're telling an interesting story. To me, this book was a cut above that type of thing, for sure. And then just when you think it's over and the resolution complete, out trots a twist that is just ::chef's kiss::. Good stuff!

My review has been posted to Goodreads, and I will share it on my blog on May 20th, and my Bookstagram account around that same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballatine Books for this ARC.
Expected publication
May 20, 2025 by Ballantine Books
2.5 ⭐

I am typically a fan of island mysteries and while the author nailed the scene, the story and characters themselves fell flat. Had this not been a gift, I, more than likely, would not have finished. The expats all seemed like lazy beach bums, Abby was there to research her fiancée's death, but instead seems enamored with them. Most of the book is confusing; too many unnecessary characters, too much unnecessary background, and past and present POV's. If there was more of a focus on Abby, her fiancée and 2 other characters, maybe this would've changed the book for me. I did stick with it as I really did want to know what happened and the last 25% was much better than the first 75%. I've read other books by this author, so I am sure I will read another. This one just didn't do it for me.

Part mystery, part thriller, part romance and full finding yourself after love and loss. I was invested from the start, seeking to find which characters were reliable and what would be unveiled. A page turning read with more complexity than meets the eye.

Another destination thriller from Andrea Bartz! This time, we travel to a tropical and faraway island of Mexico, where we are thrown into a suspenseful thriller involving a passionate LGBTQ couple, a mysterious group of expats, and friendly locals. A tropical destination escape for readers who love twisty suspense. You won’t want to put this novel down!

I have mixed feelings about this book. Part of it kept me up late at night going from chapter to chapter but other parts were deeply unsatisfying. Abby started off as a compelling character but that quickly dissolved for me. I did think the epilogue was thought provoking. 3.5 stars but rounded up the 4 for this review.

"The Last Ferry Out" was an enjoyable thriller with plenty of surprises. I was certainly not expecting Eszter's death to occur in the manner it did, or the people involved in the cover-up and the reasons for the cover-up.

This was an excellent little mystery read. My first experience with this author and I will definitely be back for more. The author was able to build up the suspense of the plot without being overly graphic or too dark. The build up of secondary characters was thorough without feeling exhausting. Would definitely recommend.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

A secluded island, a vanished man, and the lingering mystery of a fiancée’s death—this book had all the right ingredients for a gripping thriller. Unfortunately, instead of an edge-of-your-seat mystery, it delivers a meandering, overstuffed narrative that struggles to stay afloat.

The story follows Abby, who travels to Isla Colel in search of answers about Eszter’s death. The island, once lively, is now a ghost of its former self, inhabited by a strange mix of expats who all seem to know more than they let on. The premise is solid, but the execution? Not so much. The first chunk of the book is bogged down by excessive descriptions and backstories that add little to the tension. Multiple POVs—Abby’s present-day investigation, Eszter’s final days, and even chapters from other island inhabitants—only make things more confusing rather than intriguing. And while the setting is atmospheric, the pacing is painfully slow, making it hard to stay invested.

Then there’s Abby herself. She should be compelling as a woman on a mission, but her immaturity and lack of direction make it difficult to root for her. She’s supposedly out to uncover the truth, but half the time, it’s unclear what she’s even trying to accomplish. The book’s twists are predictable, the dream sequences feel like cheap misdirections, and by the time the story finally picks up, it’s already too late.

This book had great writing and I was interested from the beginning. However it was just so slow. There were times where it was engaging, but it took a really long time to get to anything happening. I was having a hard time finding any of the side characters likable. Overall the story was unique. So I have to give points for that, but I felt the book was just too long for the plot.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for this arc opportunity!

I'm a fan of Andrea Bartz books and was very happy to get an early copy of this one. I enjoyed it but the pacing was a bit too slow for me. I thought it was solid, descriptive writing, but the story could have inched along a bit faster. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

My Thoughts

Abby and Eszter are 2 sides of a coin, both deeply passionate driven young women but while 1 is an exuberant extrovert the other is a thoughtful introvert.

Classic case of opposites attracted to one another.

What happens to Eszter is only a small part of what Abby slowly uncovers as the story goes backwards and forwards in time using each woman’s point of view.

Twist at the end was a different one than I had expected but at the same time it was also part of what I suspected early on.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

I really enjoyed this book and stayed up later than I should’ve to see what was going to happen! The story centers on Abby, whose fiancée Eszter dies while vacationing alone on a remote Mexican island. Abby shows up there a few months later and meets the group of ex-pats that Eszter had befriended to try ti get some closure. Once she starts talking to people, it seems there is more to the story and Abby isn’t sure who she can trust.

While the story is primarily told in the current timeline, there were flashbacks to previous times during Abby’s and Eszter’s relationship. I wasn’t sure those were necessary because the characters were well developed, but I ended up enjoying the brief glimpses in their relationship that highlighted how much Abby grew through the course of the book. I really enjoyed the red herrings and thought there were a lot of options as to what secrets the islanders were keeping. When the truth came out, I appreciated how it came together in a way that made total sense. The pacing of the book was a little funny at times, with major events happening quickly while often more time was spent on Abby’s inner dialogue. There was also a weird chapter where Abby is exploring the ruins of the old hotel and it is riddled with unnecessary metaphors- I am all about atmospheric abandoned places but that chapter was overdone. I liked the way the story ended and was surprised by the twist in the epilogue.

Overall, I thought this was an engaging and suspenseful read and I had trouble putting it down. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.