The book was beautifully written. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

I did not finish this book. I do not want it to count against my NetGalley percentage so I’m going to leave feedback anyway. As a F/M reader I prefer my MC’s to also be F/M. It’s just a personal preference. I don’t mind any extra characters are M/M or F/F, however I just love to know up front if the main characters are not M/F relationally.

Andi is super talented and I’m sure she will find the right people to read and love this book! Her writing style is lovely and she has such an eloquent way with words.

I try to control myself, but somehow I ended up with a bounty of ARCs coming out of the holidays that I didn't even ask for! I have some self control, I didn't say yes to all of them, but I'm like a kid in a candy shop. So thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read another new book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a huge fan of the really popular thriller/mysteries, but every now and then I find myself with one, and it satisfies a little itch if it is done well. And this one did that well enough, at least a 3.25. A group of ex pats living in a tropical paradise got me to yes. The pace of the book is fairly slow, but hey, we are on island time! The timeline shifts back and forth from present to past and the POV shifts across several characters.

What if everything you thought was true in your life turned out to be a lie? That's what Abby comes to believe after her fiancée dies tragically and preventably on a solo working vacation to a tropical island. Nothing is as it seems - take my word for it! Everyone is hiding something, and by one their secrets are exposed, but will it be in time for Abby?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. The Last Ferry Out follows Abby to a small Mexican island with a tiny community of ex-pats living out their dreams. Abby goes to Isla Colel on a grim mission - to find out what happened to her fiancee, Eszter, a woman that she had been with for a few years before Eszter went to the island - supposedly to write. After Eszter's death, Abby starts failing at work and doesn't expect any help in finding the true story of what happened from Eszter's family. The book is a slower-paced story at the beginning but it was intriguing enough to want to finish. I liked the idea of the small island, the tension of Abby's interactions with the ex-pats and the way her suspicions kept changing.

Fabulous. This book had me hooked from the start. Loved how the author told the story through the perspective of several narrators. And no, did not expect the ending....an ending I do believe Agatha Christie would approve of.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this novel. The characters were likable and lovable. My heart broke for Abby and her journey for healing and closure. The first part of the book included a lot of information about Ezster’s past and her families history that seemed irrelevant to the plot or storyline though. It felt like filler. The fist 1/2 of the book was a slow burn, but once the twists started, they didn’t stop and I was completely engrossed and couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened with Brady and Ezster!
The ending did feel a bit predictable, but with all of the twists and turns, I was shocked at the reveal… and then the epilogue hit it home!

Very twisted and compulsive. Romances was a bit of a surprise. Never knew what was going to happen and it was very suspenseful. Felt a little slow at times and that made it drag a bit

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and of course Andrea Bartz for sharing this advance copy with me in exchange for my honest review. The Last Ferry Out will be available May 20th, 2025.

Fun cover! I really thought I was going to get into this one, but I found it to be just... fine? There were absolutely enjoyable parts (island life, right!) but I found the many characters lacking depth - or maybe I just didn't connect to any of them, especially the main character Abby, well enough. Somehow I found it slow, even though many of the chapters ending in dramatic cliff hangers. A little 'meh' I guess.

A solid if slightly slow-burn thriller about Abby, a grieving woman who’s fiancé Eszter has tragically died of a severe allergic attack. The story takes place on a scenic, atmospheric island off the coast of Cancun and centers around a number of expats living on the island who knew Eszter before she died. Abby arrives after Eszter's death, hoping to resolve what happened and move on. The timeline moves back and forth from past to present, offering both Abby and Eszter's POV. With plenty of twists and the usual unpeeling of layers, this is an intriguing, slow-burn story about two women as they explore their identities and learn about secrets they each hold.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to preview The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz in exchange for my honest review. This was my first time reading Bartz; I requested this based on the good reviews of her previous books. The story takes place on a small island off the coast of Cancun with a cast of locals and visitors from around the world (the "expats") following the death of one of the visitors. The main narrator, Abby, travels to Isla Colel to spend time where her fiance, Ezster, recently died after a severe allergic reaction.

I had a hard time connecting with Abby, which made it difficult for me to empathize with her grief. Outside of that one issue, I enjoyed the twists and turns that led Abby to discover what happened on the island and learn more about what Ezster was planning for their future. This isn't the type of thriller where you're constantly guessing what will happen next or unpeeling layers of mystery surrounding previous events. It's overall pretty straightforward events and mistakes that led to Ezster's tragic death.

The Last Ferry Out is a solid read for fans of a good mystery, especially one that takes place in a stunning island locale.

This might be my new favorite by Andrea Bartz! Eszter was on vacation when she suffered an anaphylactic reaction. After the passing of her fiancé, Abby goes to Isla Colel to retrace Eszter’s last few days. She meets a group of expats who knew Eszter and it seems that Abby’s version of events isn’t exactly how things played out. Determined to get to the truth, Abby starts digging a little deeper and finds herself not knowing who she could trust.

I think this was a little nostalgic for me, since I used to travel a lot and meet up with random groups of people and could relate to the fluidity of the lifestyle and the feeling the island gave the expats. I was engaged from the start and the little twists kept me intrigued. I was not able to guess the twists either, but found them plausible, which is something I need in a thriller. While there were a couple things a little far fetched, the pace of the storyline allowed me to overlook those details, though did knock the rating down a tad. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book. I enjoyed the story and meeting this cast of characters on this secluded island. The mystery did feel predictable to me (both the red herrings and how it all played out in the end), and the dialogue felt very fake especially in the first half of the book. Overall a fun ride but after loving The Herd by the same author, I was a bit disappointed by this one.

The plot sounded intriguing. It began with a remote island that attracts expats trying to get away from it all. Each of the expats have secrets of their own Of course there’s a death. It’s a remote island. Ezster was found dead in her room. . Was it an accident or was it murder? Abby, Eszter’s fiancé, takes the ferry to the island to get closure by speaking to the other expats. She finds more questions than answers as she talks with the islands inhabitants. . Who can she trust? Why did Ezster select this particular island to regroup? Was there a deadly secret that Ezster was keeping from Abby? The plot comes together at the end with a bit of a surprising twist. It took too long to get there.

The Last Ferry Out was just a 3.5 read for me. Nothing spectacular. A slow start that began to pick up the pace as pieces fell together

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The timeline of this story moves back and forth from past to present, offering multiple POVs- Abby and Eszter’s. The book was decent, with plenty of twists, but the pacing was too slow for my liking.

I did love the character development and the “who done it” aspect. Unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of Abby; I never felt connected to her.

Although there were twists, none of them floored me. The twist that revealed what happened to Eszter fell flat for me. Overall, this was not a book I’d read again. 2.5⭐️

This is the first book I have read by Andrea Bartz. Honestly, I don’t know if I will try another. This just falls flat. The plot sounded interesting, however the characters were simply boring and whiny. By the end, which I struggled to reach, I didn’t really care what happened on the island to any of them.

Abby's fiance has died on a small Mexican island from a food allergy. Abby travels to the island to try and find answers from the locals about Eszter's death and closure for herself. Once there, she meets an eclectic group of ex-pats who all appear to have something to hide and who all befriended Eszter. As the days go by, Abby is putting together clues that not only did Eszter lie to her about her time on the island and her intentions there but that the locals know something about her death that they are not sharing.

I found the first part of the book a bit slow going. There were too many pages devoted to Abby's crying and despondency about losing her fiance. Once the clues starting adding up, this became a fast-paced mystery with a surprise ending. Chapters switch back and forth between Abby and Eszter as well as change time periods; from "before Eszter's death to Abby's investigation. The tropical location is well depicted.

In The Last Ferry Out, Abby is visiting Isla Colel, off the coast of Mexico near Cancun, where her fiancé Eszter spent her last weeks before her sudden death due to an allergic reaction. Abby is retracing Eszter's steps in an attempt to understand both her sudden death and to cope with her tragic death by getting closer to those who were with Eszter in her last days, a group of expats who call the small island home. As Abby works to piece the puzzle together, she is able to also process and mourn Eszter's death.
I saw another reviewer for this book call this an uneven thriller, and I certainly agree. As I read the book, I kept waiting for the "thriller" part to happen. The plot never really seemed to jive with me as a thriller and nothing felt particularly mysterious either. Both Abby and Eszter are young women who appear to be struggling to understand themselves and for me this book was more about them exploring their identities, and for Abby to learn to move on from her grief over the loss of Eszter. There's a brief scene towards the last 1/4 of the book that is tense and involves some physical danger, but not enough to merit calling this a thriller, in my opinion. Overall, I just felt like this book didn't quite understand what it wanted to be, and it left me confused as a reader. The writing was just fine, and I did read the whole book fairly quickly, but it wasn't my favorite, nor do I think it will be particularly memorable. It was fine.
Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

ARC Review: The Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz

Andrea Bartz once again proves her mastery of the psychological thriller with The Ferry Out, a chilling and atmospheric novel that grips readers from the very first page. This is a story of grief, obsession, and the eerie isolation of paradise turned prison.

Abby’s journey to Isla Colel is meant to bring closure, but instead, it unravels a sinister mystery that refuses to stay buried. Bartz crafts an intoxicating setting—a hurricane-ravaged island with a dwindling population and a ferry that barely runs—heightening the novel’s claustrophobic tension. The island, much like its inhabitants, is steeped in secrets, and every interaction brims with unease. The expats Abby befriends are alluring yet unnervingly indifferent, and as she digs deeper into Eszter’s death, the creeping paranoia seeps into every page.

Bartz excels in creating a protagonist who is both determined and vulnerable. Abby’s grief feels raw and palpable, making her desperate need for answers all the more compelling. As the mystery deepens, so does the danger, and Bartz expertly unspools suspense with a steady hand, leading to shocking twists that will leave readers breathless.

With its evocative setting, a tightly wound plot, and a slow-burn sense of dread that crescendos into a thrilling climax, The Ferry Out is a must-read for fans of twisty, immersive thrillers. Bartz delivers another page-turner that lingers long after the final chapter, proving once again why she’s a powerhouse in the genre.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Abby travels to Isla Colel to gain closure following the death of her fiancée, Eszter. But Abby soon discovers Eszter had not been completely truthful about why she was on the island and her life. Desperate to unearth the truth, Abby digs deeper into Eszter’s visit to the island and the expats that came across her.

I love Bartz’s writing and there was potential in the plot, but throughout the book I never felt a burning suspense or urgency… from the writing or the characters. I also loved the atmospheric setting of Isla Colel; from the beaches to the cuisine to the expats, it was all fantastic. Could literally feel the ocean breeze on my face.

Unfortunately, I was waiting for the ‘AHA’ moment, once it was revealed what truly happened to Eszter, but for me it fell flat. No ‘twist’ shocked me. For everyone on the island being a suspect, any fear that was meant to be felt by the reader did not translate. I wanted to like Abby, but I really did not feel a connection to her; you’d think after losing her fiancée it would be palpable, but I was unable to garnish any sympathy. The pace was slow, picking up towards the middle-end; I think I wanted more shock and awe and this just didn’t give it to me.

Bartz presents a captivating thriller that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. If you enjoy a narrative filled with suspense and surprises, this book is essential reading!