Couldn’t really get into this one! The twists did not surprise me, but I also didn’t feel engaged enough to care about them. I think I am just a non-thriller fan this days

🏝️ W I L D W E D N E S D A Y review 🏝️ featuring “The Last Ferry Out” by Andrea Bartz!

MY RATING: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Abby is grieving the loss of her fiancé Eszter and travels to the island she tragically passed away on in order to find some answers. The last message that Abby received from Eszter was “I have to tell you something” and without ever getting an answer she decides to investigate into Eszter’s final days.

Isla Colel is a beautiful and isolated island that was once bustling and is now destitute after getting hit hard by a storm and never recovered. Abby meets the island’s ex-pats that were friends with Eszter and tries to piece together the puzzle.

But the group of ex-pats are tight lipped and act on edge when asked questions! Everyone had their own experiences with Eszter … and seem to be stalling when it comes to telling the truth. The more Abby digs around, she uncovers dark secrets, spiralling lies and sketchy intentions … but not just belonging to the ex-pats … but also her former fiancé 😬

Abby begins to suspect that Eszter’s death was not an accident and she could now be on the island with a KILLER! Will she figure out the truth before it’s too late??

😘 I loved how shady, unpredictable AND unreliable the characters in this book are and enjoyed learning their secrets through multiple POVs! The shocking twists and emotional rollercoaster that readers are put through is WILD! The mix of thriller/suspense weaved together with trauma/grief is masterfully written and keeps you glued to the pages.

Thank you kindly to @andibartz @ballantinebooks @penguinrandomca @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases on May 20, 2025!

This was a dnf for me. I normally only read this genre but I found the writing didn’t captivate me enough to read further than I did.

I loved We Were Never Here so this was a must read for me. The setting was perfect and helped set the mood for this one. I loved the characters and couldn't put it down. It was the perfect vacation read!

Eszter went to the island to work on a project and never made it home. Abby visits the island to try to piece her last few days to help her move on but she finds out more than she ever expected. Isla Colel was once a bustling tourist hub, a hurricane a few years earlier left it a shell of its former self, with only a few locals and expats remaining. Even the once-daily ferry to the mainland now only runs every week or so.

There, Abby befriends the same group of expats as Eszter, Her unease surges when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter's last days and then he vanishes from the island. The other expats are chillingly cavalier about his disappearance. Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to her fiancée. And the deeper she gets to the group, the more she suspects one of them is Eszter's killer. The story is told by both characters and Abby and Eszter and their time on Isla Colel leading up to Eszter's death.

Tense, atmospheric, and deliciously twisty, *Last Ferry Out* is a gripping thriller that will definitely keep you guessing. Andrea Bartz delivers another winner, transporting readers to a crumbling island paradise laced with secrets, suspicion, and simmering tension. Abby’s emotional quest to uncover what really happened to her fiancée is both heartbreaking and pulse-pounding. With a haunting setting, a cast of enigmatic characters, and Bartz’s signature psychological insight, this is a must-read for fans of suspenseful, character-driven mysteries.

This book was al about setting and atmosphere. Bartz really captured how the island was extremely desolate and dangerous. I could picture myself there and not wanting to be there based on the deed you could feel just by her words on the page. The main character made some questionable decisions that even when in deep grief were hard to understand. overall the book was good and I enjoyed the twists added in. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Tropical paradise meets slow-burn suspense in The Last Ferry Out. Andrea Bartz weaves grief, secrets, and queer love into a haunting mystery you can almost feel sunburned reading. A little slow at times, but the vibe? Worth it.

Abby is grieving the loss of her fiancé Eszter who died on an island due to a medical emergency. Abby goes to Isla Coliel to get some closure and to try to understand what Eszter was doing on the island. As soon as Abby arrives she is drawn into the island and the group that Ezster was a part of. I found this story engaging and I felt that it immediately left me with questions. I felt myself grieving with Abby and wanting to know what really happened to Eszter. I enjoyed learning about the island and the different characters felt mysterious. I would recommend this book to those that enjoy thrillers and mysteries that are set in an island setting.

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 was a slow burn mystery. I was really engaged in the beginning, but it was very slow and drawn out in parts. I was looking for excitement and drama. This book does have twists and turns and ending I didn’t see coming.

I'm always ready for a good thriller. This one has the makings of it but I felt disconnected to some of the story and the characters. I think maybe it's because this book read a lot slower than I was expecting. Normally thrillers read quickly but this one developed slow sometimes to the point where I wanted to stop reading.

The setting is mysterious and eerie (everything I could ever want for a thriller) but the characters are mid. They're hit or miss and I didn't fully connect to Abby. I do appreciate her grief and her determination to uncover what happened to her fiance.

I just think it could've had more punch and action throughout and I would have been more engaged.

Thank you to Random House-Ballantine for the eARC of this book.

Losing someone you love is awful. Not being there for the person's death increases the pain. And then to find out that everything you thought to be true about the relationship may not be so, well that is just inconceivable. When Eszter dies in Mexico, Abby drops everything to find out what happened and what Eszter's last moments were like. The people in this small Mexican town are welcoming enough. But can Abby trust any of them?

A really different story, wonderfully told, often suspenseful, and totally absorbing. This is one not to miss.

This one was a bit rough for me. The first 60% of the book was just the same run around from the same people saying they don’t know anything. It didn’t make for a very engaging story. The end was good,but it was such a struggle to get there.The first part of the story could have used so much more action and development.

I have loved Andrea Barttz’s books in the past but o just kept waiting for something to happen in this one. I really could not get into it and it seemed to take forever for the story to really pick up.

The Last Ferry Out is a thriller with emotional undertones. I’m not really a big fan of books that deal with grief so this may not have been the best one for me, but I do appreciate what the author did here and how she made the story not only suspenseful but emotional in a way too.

The story revolves around Abby who recently lost her fiancé. Wanting answers, she travels alone to the island where he stayed and meets a few expats who seem to have had some contact with them. With that, she’s essentially weeding out what really happened and us readers are along for the ride. There’s definitely a great mix of characters here and quite a few I didn’t trust which made the book suspenseful. The pacing was a little slow at times but overall, this book was entertaining.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 rounded up)

Abby returns to the Mexican Island where her fiancée died of anaphylactic shock. She wanted to see the last place her fiancée was alive and talk to those who knew her there. As she meets the expat community, she starts to think more happened then meets the eye. While I was interested in the mystery of what happened, I was disappointed in the ending. It wasn’t as nefarious or accountable as I had hoped.

Abby travels to a tropical island off the coast of Mexico called Isla Colel. It is the place her fiancée, Eszter, died a few months ago and Abby is trying to find a way to come to terms with her death so she thinks meeting the people Eszter may have been in contact with and hear stories they might have will help with her grief. The stories or random answers Abby encounters make her think she may not have known Eszter as well as she thought. The chapters are short and have different POVs and different timelines. The island is described well and you really get a feel for the remote setting. Abby meets a group of expats on the island that knew Eszter and she is drawn to them but she is also confused by some of the things they say. Abby realizes that this group has a lot of secrets and she is determined to find out more of what happened the last few days of Eszter’s life. This book was a quick read and interesting. A bit repetitive in parts, but overall it held my interest. I give the book 4 stars out of 5,

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 20, 2025.

Usually enjoy Andrea Bartz’ books but this one seemed to struggle until it took off at the end. Lots of repetition at the beginning with somewhat confusing distractions and overlays. Once the story kicked in, it was fast-paced, intriguing and difficult to guess the true villains. Mixed review for me based on the differences in the beginning versus the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Absolutely love the colors of this cover! I also really enjoyed the setting of this book on a remote Mexican island and getting a glimpse into the expat (or is it immigrant) community.

It started a little slow for me, but once I got to maybe 60 percent through, I was very much rushing to the end. I wasn’t exactly invested in most of the characters which is why I think it took me so long to get through the first half. I enjoyed that all the loose ends and red-herrings were explained and I wasn’t left with any questions.

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

This one really surprised me! I really liked it. Kept my guessing the entire time. They’re my favorite kind of books when I don’t know how it turns out!

A young woman named Abby visits Isla Colel, where her fiancee, Eszter, died months ago. She meets a seemingly-charming group of expats who also knew Eszter, but finds that there may be more mystery surrounding Eszter's death than she realized -- and the expats may be involved.
What I liked: I loved the atmospheric description of the island - a bioluminescent bay, a mysterious closed resort, a storm on the way.
What I disliked: At first, I enjoyed Abby's relationship with the other expats, who are alluring but enigmatic. However, I soon found some of the POV switches to other island residents confusing and annoying. The book also seemed to be trying to make statements about too many different things, making it less enjoyable for me.
Overall: A fast-paced, compelling read, but not my favorite.

Thanks to and NetGalley for providing the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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