Easter has died and Abby returns to determine what happened in her last days of life. How did it all go wrong? What did she want to share? Befriending expats, Abby begins to dig and not everything is as it seems.

I was thrilled to see a thriller book that had a lgbtq relationship as part of the plot. The main character, Abby, sometimes got on my nerves at times because of how blunt she was with her questions to others. I was kept guessing until the end of this book.

ARC copy courtesy of Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine and NetGalley. Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I stoppef at 46%. It's very slow. I didn't have a connection to the main character. I feel like there was too much detail on insignificant things (botany, terrain, etc). If it was faster paced, I think it would have enjoyed it. I did like the storyline of trying to uncover the mystery of a death. It just was poorly executed in my opinion.

I really wanted to love this one and it had so much potential, but it was a little too slow for me. I had a hard time feeling invested in the story or the characters, and at times I questioned whether I wanted to finish the book.

I did enjoy the setting and feel the author did a great job of making the island come to life. The island almost felt as much like a character as the actual characters themselves. There were definitely some places where the setting felt so eerie that I found myself feeling a little spooked too, which I love in a good thriller.

I think for me where this one fell short was in the pacing. The twists were enough to keep me intrigued and reading, and I enjoyed getting some alternating POVS, but overall the reveal of Ezster’s death just felt a little meh to me. While not necessarily predictable, I still found myself wanting more. The final big twist at the very end was more satisfying, but the rest was very middle of the road.

Overall I would still recommend this, but only for a reader wanting a very slow burn, more-suspense-than-thrill read!

A grieving fiancee travels to paradise to visit and mourn the death of her future wife. What starts out as a trip to find closure leads the reader on a goose chase of twists and turns. The more that Abby tries to uncover, the more it seems her fiancee's death may not have been accidental as well. Throw in meeting a group of her friends who all seem to have secrets of their own, Abby is left wondering if she can trust anyone at all. This was an entertaining read, but not my favorite by Andrea Bartz.

I enjoyed this one! From the start I was drawn into what caused Eszter's death. The isnland seemed spooky and the people Abby interacted with seemed suspicious. This book was filled with different timelines and povs that helped explain what happened. This one had me hooked from start to finish.

I really do enjoy Andrea Bartz books and was excited to read her new one set in a remote Mexican island. This isn’t my favourite of hers, but it was an entertaining read once it got going. It was a slow burn and took quite a while for anything much to happen. If I had been in a different mood I think I might have enjoyed it more, but it was not the right head space for a slower pace. I will definitely still look forward to this authors future books.

I really enjoyed the setting and the descriptions of the island, sounds like a paradise, apart from the dying! i really couldn’t warm to Abby at all, she was not easy to like and some of her decisions were just off.

Thanks to Random House Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book to read. Out on May 20th.

A twisted mystery set on a tropical island with some interesting characters. I enjoyed this book and the descriptions of the island make me want to visit.

this thriller has the perfect set up- remote island, mysterious death, a group of people with secrets to hide but sadly it didn’t hit the mark. Some parts really captured what we love to see in thrillers, while others made it a struggle to not only follow the story, but connect with characters. There were some really great twists i never expected, but i struggled with the timelines and numerous POVs which made me had to return back a lot to try to recall what I already read.

really great pieces of the story and writing, but overall fell a little flat for me.

An entertaining murder mystery. While this book was well written, I found it difficult to stay on track. But.... I was happy I stuck it out until the end.
If you enjoy a moody thriller, this book is for you.

Overall this was an enjoyable, atmospheric murder mystery. A little slow at times, but the short chapters made it easy to breeze through. ⛴️

Bottom line - an entertaining thriller to pack for your summer vacay!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for the advanced reader copy! You can grab The Last Ferry Out on May 20th.

3.5 stars The Last Ferry Out is not only a murder mystery but an examination of grief and loss. Abby is devastated when her fiancée Eszter unexpectedly dies from anaphylactic shock while abroad on a remote island, Isla Colel. Determined to find answers to Eszter's death, Abby travels to Isla Colel to ingratiate herself with the other expats that Eszter spent her time with. She suspects foul play as Eszter was always prepared with her epipen. All of the expats behave suspiciously at times, so Abby doesn't know who she can trust. She suspects that the killer is still lurking on the island. Abby's visit on the island alternates chapters with the evolution of Abby and Eszter's relationship, which added depth to the storyline.

This is a solid thriller that I enjoyed and was riveted by certain parts. It is atmospheric where you can get a sense of weather and setting very easily to feel like you are there. It is very much slow burn, but it is filled with tension that kept me turning the pages. I recommend this one if you like slow burn atmospheric thrillers that examine the history of a romantic relationship.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Andrea Bartz for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Although it had some interesting twists at the end , this was just too slow for me . I could skip pages, or even chapters and not miss much 🤷🏼‍♀️
I also didn’t like Abby . She felt a bit controlling and overbearing when it came to Eszter and their relationship and that just rubbed me the wrong way 🤷🏼‍♀️

I have enjoyed other books by thus other much more than this one .. I will certainly continue to read her work

Abby isn’t sure if she can move on after her fiancé Eszter tragically dies. She was visiting Isla Colel when it happened. An allergic reaction, just one of those terrible, terrible things. But where was the EpiPen that she always always carries? Abby heads to the island, desperate for answers.
Abby soon meets a group of expats who live on the island. While she wants to trust them, certain things make her unsure if that is a smart idea. When the author reveal arrived (I assumed that was the only one at the time), I thought, OK, not as twisty as I hoped. All I will say is there was more coming.
I wanted this to be a treadmill read but found it a bit too slow. It wound up taking me longer to finish since I already had my couch reads planned. Not my favorite book by this author, but as I mentioned, I thought the final twist was good. 3.5 stars.

I liked the plot of this book and the short chapters. I felt like I was stuck on a ride I couldn't get off of with the pacing. It was sporadic and very slow in spots. Overall a typical thriller that didn't wow me.

The author really had you asking how well do you know the people you think you know. When what seems will be a nostalgic reminisce of a relationship turns into the character asking was it really the relationship our character thought I was on the edge of my seat.

This was unfortunately a slow read for me, but I did slog through to the end because I wanted to find out what the secret was! I will say that the ending was pretty satisfying and worth the wait.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz was fast paced and exciting. Tourist town filled with many suspects and uncertainity. I devoured this book in less than three days and I am an absolute fan of all things Bartz.

Secrets. It’s not always easy to get people to open up when you need answers.

The main character, Abby, was visiting a small group of English-speaking locals on a beautiful small island off the eastern side of Mexico. She went there to experience the last place where her 27-year-old fiancée, Eszter, visited. Abby was told that her true love died from a severe allergy attack at the Airbnb.

The setting of this island was described as a place with great beauty with the high peaks overlooking the ocean. It would be on anyone’s vacation list. However, some of the issues weren’t as lovely. There were a number of hot topics: drugs, emotional abuse, corrupt politicians and the effects of hurricanes.

When Abby met Eszter’s friends, she naturally asked questions about her last days. However, there was a feeling that they were hiding information. She felt like there were lies everywhere. You could feel her high anxiety levels. It also bothered her immensely that Eszter’s parents didn’t accept their relationship.

The book was so smoothly written that I started to drift in a few places. The chapters were short with unexpected twists. I thought I figured out how it was going to wrap up, but I was far from it. I will put the author’s other books on my list.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 20, 2025.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was a bit slow for me at first but the more I got into it the more hooked I became. Good choice if you are looking for a thrilling summer read. Nice twist, I would recommend.