Oh my goodness - another novel set on a remote island filled with locals and a few expats that features a murder. And of course the partner/friend/lover of that murder victim must come to the island to uncover what really happened. What a novel concept!

Done better than the last few - but nothing that was exceptional or revolutionary as far as mystery or storyline.

As a huge fan of Andrea Bartz’s work, I was really looking forward to The Last Ferry, but unfortunately, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While I continue to admire Bartz’s writing style—sharp, engaging, and full of suspense—the plot didn’t do it for me this time. It just didn’t hold my attention in the way I expected.

I also struggled to connect with the main character, Abby, which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. Without that connection to the protagonist, the tension and twists that I usually enjoy in Bartz’s novels felt less impactful.

That said, I still respect the author’s talent and will definitely pick up her next book, but The Last Ferry didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It wasn’t my favorite, but if you’re a fan of Bartz’s work, it’s still worth checking out to see if it resonates with you differently.

murder, anaphylaxis, drugs-issues, self-harm, physical-abuse, mental-abuse, queerphobia, forced-outing, alcohol-issues, suicide, drowning, thriller, mystery-fiction, suspense, grieving, grief, fiancée, isolated, islands, Wisconsin, Mexico, language-issues, apparent-accident, expats*****
Abby leaves Wisconsin to visit the place in Mexico where her fiancée, Eszter, died in an apparent accident despite having no Spanish. The once thriving island is now deserted by most tourists but has a small group if expats who are able to help Abby to grieve but raise questions about that "accident". The story is most definitely a suspense thriller worth reading.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books via NetGalley. Avail May 20, 2025.
#TheLastFerryOut by Andrea Bartz @andibartz #novel @penguinrandomhouse @#BallantineBooks #physicalAbuse #mentalAbuse #NetGalley @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #crimeFiction #MentalHealth #depression #grieving #alcoholissues #anaphylaxis #drowning #drugsissues #forcedouting #murder #queerphobia #selfharm #suicide #suspensethriller

I enjoyed the book but it took me some time to get k to it. The beginning set the scene and helped understand the storyline. But the middle, while Abby was on the island, was drawn out. It took a while to get to learn what really happened with her partner. The last several chapters were quite suspenseful however and I enjoyed the ending.

This was my first Andrea Bartz read and I am hooked! I am not normally a fan of slow-paced books (blame the ADHD, I suppose) but this one kept me interested the entire way through! I love the way Bartz really enthralls you into the setting and atmosphere of Isla Colel within the first few chapters - truly capturing the essence of this island as if you were there yourself!

I very much appreciated the queer representation in this book and felt like we were given great insight into the many different relationships and dynamics of them throughout the book that play a role in the overall story development.

The Last Ferry Out is a thriller about grief, loss, betrayal and learning how to pick the pieces back up. Thank you to both NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for providing me an advance reader copy of Andrea Bartz's latest thriller, The Last Ferry Out, in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was a pretty good read. I enjoyed how it told the story in different point of views. This book involves a surprising twist at the end and dives into how lies could destroy you. I thought it was a good thriller and didn’t leaving you questioning why.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of Andrea Bartz's latest #thriller, The Last Ferry Out, in exchange for an honest review.

#TheLastFerryOut is a captivating thriller about heartbreak, death, and betrayal, set against the alluring, albeit hurricane-ravaged, backdrop of the fictional tropical paradise, Isla Colel. The novel follows Abby, a grief-stricken fiancée who travels to the remote island where her partner, Eszter, died, determined to decipher her final text. What begins as an innocuous trip for closure and possible insight regarding the days prior to Eszter's tragic death, evolves into a deadly quest for the harsh truth, which ultimately reveals that Abby was engaged to a virtual stranger.

The story flits between the past and the present, and is primarily told from Abby's perspective. Only a handful of chapters are narrated by other characters, including Eszter, some expats, and random islanders. This leads to my sole gripe with the novel, a few of the expats, and ironically, secondary characters, were a tad underdeveloped.

Abby, the protagonist, was otherwise compelling. Her emotions were palpable, which made the character believable, even if a reader cannot relate to her or her obstacles. I also enjoyed the cultural details included to describe Eszter's background and upbringing. The Hungarian phrases peppered throughout the story were a nice touch. Furthermore, the tension between the locals, the expats, and any outsiders (read: tourists) strengthened the eerie and unsettling atmosphere that pervaded the story.

Finally, Andrea Bartz crafts such visceral and gorgeous prose, I would read her novels for that reason alone. Although I loved the concept behind The Spare Room more, this might be her best novel yet in terms of execution. Five stars for brilliance!

This was a fun book and it really kept me guessing for most of the book. I liked the flashbacks and different character point of views. I worried it would be hard to follow but it wasn’t. I thought the setting on the island was fun and I liked all the ex pat characters, and the final twist at the end.

Too slow. I was sure I must be at the end, but was only 30% through. It just didn't hook me and the story didn't feel strong enough.

An enjoyable read with unexpected twists all over the place. Great characters and setting as a woman tries to unravel the mystery of her fiancé's death. A

Amazing ending!!! Did not expect such a shocking ending due to the minimal shocks throughout the story.

I always enjoy a book on a mysterious island and this did not disappoint. I really did feel like I was there with Abby and the rest of the backpackers. That cliff was scary!

What didn’t enjoy was how Ezsther‘s family, especially her father was sort of left off the hook by Abby and Abby even sympathized with him. He wasn’t involved in her death but he had no redeaming qualities at all. He was careless and craven about his work, he was mean and demanding to his whole family. I never got a sense of why Ezsther would want to have any relationship with him and that ends up being quite a thread in the book. He should have had some sort of positive qualities if we were to believe a grown woman would want to spend any time with him. At the same time, he didn’t seem rise to a level of abuse where you’d feel that she couldn’t leave or break free. It was odd and dragged down the book.

The Bartz sisters can do no wrong, and this outing from Andrea is no exception.
I felt immediately connected to Abby and Eszter, and loved the back and forth from the present to the past to open up more of the story.

The island felt like it's own character, and the atmosphere was so perfectly described I could almost imagine myself there.

Twisty, turny, full of secrets love and hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of Andrea Bartz’s book The Last Ferry Out. A great thriller. Abby arrives at a remote island off Cancun, to try and discover what really happened in the untimely death of her fiancé Eszter. A little naive and trusting, Abby befriends some old friends of Eszters. A few twists, along the way. A solid 3 stars.

I'm a huge Andrea Bartz fan, so I was excited for the opportunity to read this book. It was a bit disappointing for me. It is very atmospheric and there are multiple timelines but it was a bit slow

This was a decent thriller. I didn't care for the ending that much and the pacing was inconsistent at times. I have enjoyed other books by this author more. Overall, good but it's a bummer when your favorite character is the dead one.

This was a wonderful read. I did make the mistake of starting it at night and staying up way too late because I had to know what happened next. Great twists and turns—I love a mystery that I don’t figure out early!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC! I was so excited to read this, however it was a DNF for me. It was too slow and didn’t grab my interest at all. The cover is stunning, which is one of the reasons I gravitated towards reading it.

Andrea Bartz writes really good thrillers! I have enjoyed all her books. They are a good amount of twisty and make you guess!

Woman travels to little Mexican island to learn about the circumstances of her fiancé's death. A solid read, lots of secrets to be uncovered, well written. The different timelines a perspectives were interesting and kept me engaged, but it dragged on a little and felt too long. Thanks to #netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.