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!

The Last Ferry Out will keep twisting and turning until everyone seems like a villain and no one the hero. It definitely has all the warnings that the author gives in the intro. It is quite enjoyable to absorb.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this thriller when Abby travels to the Mexican island where her fiancée Eszter took her last breaths. Told in dual timelines, The Last Ferry Out tells the story of Abby’s investigation into Eszter’s death and the mysterious last message that she received from her that indicated there were secrets in their relationships. The other timeline moves backwards in time and explores Eszter’s time on the island, her relationship with Abby, her relationship with her strict immigrant family, and more.

The cast of side characters is quite entertaining as well and will add to the veil of uncertainty readers feel as they try to determine the exact circumstances behind Eszter’s death and whether Abby is safe on the island.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy!

A Solid but Uneven Thriller from a Favorite Author

I’ve been a fan of Andrea Bartz’s work for a while now, so I was excited to dive into her latest thriller. A remote, storm-battered island? A fiancée’s mysterious death? A group of enigmatic expats with secrets to hide? It all sounded like the perfect setup for a locked-room-style mystery. And while there were definitely moments that delivered on that promise, overall, I found myself wishing for more.

The island setting was beautifully eerie—Bartz captured the desolation and danger of the place so well that I could almost feel the damp air and hear the ominous silence. That part kept me hooked. But the characters didn’t quite click for me. Abby’s grief and determination were relatable in some ways, but her choices sometimes felt hard to understand, which made it tricky to root for her. The alternating timelines and multiple perspectives added depth, but they occasionally felt jarring and slowed things down.

That said, there were some genuinely gripping twists, and I appreciated the way the book explored themes of love, loss, and trust. Even though the pacing dragged at times and the ending didn’t have the impact I was hoping for, the story still had enough tension to keep me turning pages.

While this wasn’t my favorite Bartz novel, I’d still recommend it to anyone who loves a moody, atmospheric thriller. There’s a lot to admire here, and it’s clear Bartz knows how to craft a suspenseful tale—I just didn’t connect with this one as much as I hoped I would. Three stars, but I’m still excited to see what she writes next.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine Books for sharing this anticipated thriller's arc copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Abby’s fiancé, Eszter, passed away unexpectedly while visiting a small island, Abby is left with countless questions. On top of the grief she feels, she’s also iced out by her fiancé’s family because they didn’t approve of their same sex relationship.

•Unsatisfied with the story of Eszter’s death, Abby decides travels to the same small island. Upon arrival, Abby is immediately greeted by the kindest people she’s ever met— almost too kind. For the next few days, she retraces Eszter’s steps in hopes to find answers.

•Thank you to Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Andrea Bartz for this ARC. It was fast and intriguing. It will become available on May 20, 2025.

Synopsis

When Abby made the decision to visit Isla Colel, she had no idea what she might discover. All she knew was that she needed to confront the place where her fiancée, Eszter, had lost her life in hopes of understanding the tragic events. The island turned out to be completely different from her expectations; once a lively tourist destination, it had been devastated by a hurricane a few years back, leaving it nearly deserted with only a handful of locals and expats. The ferry that used to run daily to the mainland now operates just once a week. While there, Abby connects with a captivating group of expats, but her discomfort grows when one of them claims to know the truth about Eszter's final days. Just as she is about to meet him, he mysteriously disappears from the island. Days pass without any sign of him, and the other expats seem disturbingly indifferent to his absence. As Abby digs deeper in her search for answers, she uncovers dark secrets, hidden histories, and a tangled web of deceit, fueling her determination to uncover what truly happened to her beloved. The more she immerses herself in the tight-knit expat community, the more she begins to suspect that one of them may be responsible for Eszter's death.

My thoughts
The timeline of the story moves back and forth from the present to the past, featuring multiple perspectives, including those of Abby and Eszter. I enjoyed the book overall; it had plenty of twists, but the pacing was a bit slow for my taste. The character development was strong, and I appreciated the inclusion of LGBTQ+ representation. I was intrigued by the challenge of determining who was honest and who was not, and the ending caught me off guard. All things considered, it was a good read, though not my absolute favorite.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to reviews this ARC.

Unfortunately, this book felt like a slog to get through. I couldn’t get invested in any of the characters and the pacing felt slow. It picked up a bit around 30% but the last 25% or so I lost interest.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Bartz's books so knew this would be another to rave about! Abby and Eszter are recently engaged when Esxter goes to the Gulf of Mexico with plans to build The Haven, a hotel/refuge for immigrants. Abby gets a frantic text from her that reads, "I need to tell you something" so Abby immediately books a flight. But when she arrives there has been a tragedy and she is left to piece together the events that led up to this, compounded by the fact she doesn't speak Spanish so she must find people who do. It's a wonderfully convoluted tale of intrigue that vacillates between the "now" and "then" as we witness each woman's attempts to do what is right and adapt to circumstances--most of which are out of their control!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Not my favorite Bartz novel, but definitely not the worst (her last one was mind-bogglingly hard for me to like). This story was a good one, but I did feel like the alternating perspectives felt off at times. For example, we get one of Rita's, which felt out of place. I also didn't love Ezsther's POV because it felt like the way we saw Abby was not the way she was supposed to be viewed. She was supposed to be this funny, likeable, gregarious character and I didn't get that at all. Overall, a decent read, and I'll keep reading Bartz's books.

When Abby’s fiancée dies on a small island thousands of miles from home, Abby travels there to find answers. The book was good, twists and turns but a very slow buildup. The characters were developed well, in my opinion. The random kiss between Abby and Amari didn’t do anything for the plot and could very well have been left out. I like the representation of LGBTQ+ characters. All in all, the book was good but not my favorite. 3⭐️

(3.5 rounded down) I read Andrea Bartz’s “We Were Never Really Here” back when it was published in 2021 and felt mostly negative towards it. I found the writing to be mediocre and the main character felt unrealistic. I really did love the concept in that book, though, which is why I gave this new one a try. I’m glad I did! Bartz seems to have more of an authorial voice in this novel, and I found the characters to be better developed. After losing her fiancé Eszter, Abby decides to visit the location where Eszter died, an isolated island with very few residents and minimal access to the mainland. Once there, she befriends a group of expats but becomes increasingly suspicious about her Eszter’s death and who may have been involved. The timeline switches from present to past and there are various perspectives, including Abby’s and Eszter’s. The location was also an interesting one. Seemingly once idyllic, this island is now lonely and unkempt, and feels both dreamy and hostile. I sped through this - the pacing is fast and the writing is tense. Would recommend if you’re in the mood for an atmospheric thriller.

Suspenseful the whole way through! Loved this isolation thriller and I was actually spooked several times when reading!

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz due to be published May 20, 2025.
When Abby decided to come to Isla Colel, she wasn't sure what—if anything—she'd find. She only knew that she needed to see the place where her fiancée, Eszter, died, to try and make sense of everything that happened. It used to be bustling but now is quiet. Abby befriends a group that knew Eszter trying to find out what happened. Was it an accident or something else?
This book kept my interest the entire time. I tried to figure out which of the “friends” were telling the truth and which weren’t. Although at times it moved slowly, I enjoyed it and would read more of Andrea Bartz’s books!
#NetGalley #AndreaBartz #StormPublishing #TheLastFerryOut

Although I’ve loved this author in the past, the content in this book was just okay for me. I’m sure it will be ideal for others, so you should definitely give it a try for yourself!

Abby finds herself traveling to the remote island of Isla Colel, a quiet paradise tucked away from the noise of the modern world, in search of answers about her fiancé Eszter’s life—and her untimely and mysterious death. Eszter's sudden passing was attributed to a fatal reaction to her food allergies, but the circumstances surrounding it never quite added up, leaving Abby with questions that only Isla Colel and its inhabitants might be able to answer.

Upon arrival, Abby is struck by the island’s peaceful allure and its quirky community of expats who seem to have dropped out of contemporary culture to embrace a slower, more idyllic way of life. They welcome Abby with open arms, and she begins to feel like she might finally uncover the truth about Eszter. But beneath the island’s serene facade, cracks begin to show.

Brady, one of the locals, hints that he knows something important about Eszter's death and promises to tell Abby the truth. But before he can share anything, he mysteriously vanishes. The Airbnb owner of the home where Eszter once lived seems unusually cagey, dodging Abby’s questions and evading her attempts to dig deeper. The more Abby uncovers, the less she feels she can trust anyone on the island.

Just as Abby begins to piece together fragments of Eszter's life, a massive storm barrels toward Isla Colel, cutting the island off from the outside world. With time running out, Abby must not only race against the forces of nature but also face the unsettling possibility that someone on the island might want her to stop asking questions—for good.

With its lush tropical setting, eccentric characters, and a slow-burning mystery that builds to a pulse-pounding climax, this thriller is gripping even if it isn't as tightly plotted as it could be. Perfect for fans of atmospheric suspense that keeps you guessing until the final stormy twist.

#RandomHouse #IslaColel #AndreaBartz #thelastferryout