I was excited about this one from cover and description. I thought this would be gripping, locked room thriller but it had more emotional trauma and drama in it. Abby goes looking for answers on how her fiancé died and goes to the last spot she was at. She tracks down the expats that were her friends. The expats all have secrets they are hiding. She realized that she didn’t know her fiancé as well as she thought.

This has two time lines and it is a slow burn. It takes place on a remote island with a storm approaching so it gives it an eerie feeling but didn’t wow me. Didn’t love any of the characters and found it depressing.

The Last Ferry Out is a gripping thriller with a dual timeline and a grieving partner. Abby needed to see the place her fiancé, Ezster, died to try and overcome the overwhelming grief. Isla Colel is not what Abby expected - it is not a tourist destination, but rather a place for people to hide, and hide their secrets. Abby meets and befriends a group of people who knew Eszter, and before she can get answers from any of them, one suddenly disappears from the island. Abby goes on a mission to find out what happened to Eszter and the missing man, and uncovers dark secrets, lies and people who might not be who they said they were.

This was a quick read, and I enjoyed the character and the twist at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC!

Abby found in Eszter, everything she wanted in a life partner. So when, Eszter unexpectedly dies while visiting Isla Colel, Abby is wrecked by grief and decides to see where Eszter passed and try to make sense of it. Abby wasn’t expecting the warm and friendly group of expats living on the island. They share stories about Eszter, trying to help Abby with her grief. But when one of the expats, Brady, messages he needs to tell her the truth, then disappears, things begin to unravel. Why is no one looking for Brady or seem to care that he has disappeared, why does Abby get the feeling people are withholding the truth from her, is it possible one of the group killed Eszter, with Abby’s anxiety growing, she becomes more suspicious and wonders if she is next to die?

This is an intriguing mystery, well-crafted with plenty of suspense and twists. I have not read Andrea Bartz before but I enjoyed her writing style. She does a wonderful job of using the characters background to set up twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, don’t miss out!

Andrea Bartz has done it again! The Last Ferry Out is a propulsive thriller about a woman trying to find out the truth about her fiances untimely death.
After losing her fiancé, Eszter, Abby heads to the secluded island where Eszter died to find answers. Abby is convinced she isn't getting the whole truth from Eszter's family. While digging around on the island, Abby begins to suspect that Eszter's friends from the island aren't being truthful either.
Being stuck on an island, during a storm, without phone service, the truth starts to come out.
I was hooked from the very beginning and loved the wild ride. This is exactly what I look for in a thriller!
The Last Ferry Out will be available on May 20, 2025.

The Last Ferry Out is an intriguing mystery and an easy read. I was glad to read it thru NetGalley and finished it quickly because I needed to know the ending. It covers a lot of current issues while hooking you on the mystery.

This is a mystery, this is a story of losing your love and trying to understand what happened and what formed her and what formed yourself. It is a story of personal growth and understanding.

Abby's journeys to Isla Colel to uncover the truth behind her fiancé Eszter's death . As she meets the group of expats who were close to her fiance the plot thickens when Brady, one of the expats, mysteriously disappears after texting her to meet him with something important to share.

The secrets that Isla Colel holds are slowly unveiled, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat! I just had to know what really happened to Eszter and Brady.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted mystery with rich characters and an unexpected ending. It's a captivating read that you won't be able to put down!

I was so happy to get this as an ARC because I had it on my list of books I was looking forward to reading this year. I LOVED the premise and the setting of the island. The book had a really interesting set of characters that were all hiding different things for their own reasons. Loved the main character and I loved the alternating viewpoints of our main narrator and her deceased fiancee. Well paced and tightly written with lots of different moving pieces coming together in the end, in a way that made sense! Would love to read more from this author!

Ever set out to solve a unsolved mystery? This book was quite the journey and kept me turning pages throughout. Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

Abby goes to a remote island to seek closure after her fiancé’s death, but ends up with a lot more questions. This was twisty and delightful, although it was stressful to read! It did a good job of showing the emotional side, while still providing a solid mystery!

This book was an absolute page-turner that kept me up all night, unable to put it down. Abby’s character is incredibly relatable as she navigates the heart-wrenching mystery of her fiancé's death. The diverse and endearing group of expats she encounters adds depth and intrigue, making their journey together unforgettable. The story masterfully kept me guessing until the last page, unraveling twists and turns I never saw coming. A captivating read from start to finish!

This was a fast paced, suspenseful, entertaining read that I didn’t want to put down. It follows grief stricken Abby as she tries to follow her fiancé’s last days in a remote island. It’s a great read that keeps you entertained. Highly recommend!

This is my second Andrea bartz book and now I have to go sing her praises in my thriller Facebook groups cause she knocks it out of the park every time. I highly recommend this or any of her books.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book, as well as the premise. Abby travels to a remote Caribbean island to investigate the death of her fiancee, Eszter, who supposedly died from natural causes. The island appears idyllic, but all is not as it seems, and we are left to wonder whether the residents are helping or sabotaging Abby's investigation. The pace was a little slow, and I found some parts repetitive, but overall an enjoyable read.

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

The Last Ferry Out is one of the books I struggle with leaving a review for. I could not feel connected to any of the characters and the storyline was very slow for me. The ending is worth the struggle though. A lot of what were loose strings get tied up.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine / Ballantine Books for an ARC.

This was an interesting read. It was a thriller of sorts, but more character driven and less action oriented. The story slips from different character points of view to advance the story. It is also tinged with sadness..for what could have been for the main character. If you are looking for an action packed, fast paced book this is not the one for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the advanced reader copy.

I really enjoyed Andrea Bartz's other novels, so I was excited to see she had a new one out. Abby heads to a tiny island near Cancun, Mexico, to learn more about the death of her fiancee, Eszter, who supposedly died from an allergic reaction. When she gets to the island and befriends some of the ex-pats that Eszter got to know, Abby finds that her fiancee was hiding several secrets, one of which may have gotten her killed--and perhaps by one of the expats Abby has gotten to know.

THE LAST FERRY OUT had the same queasy atmospheric quality that Bartz's other novels have, but the story didn't hang together as well as the previous novels. The secrets Eszter hides, and Abby's investigation into them got too convoluted for me to maintain interest in. I'll still look forward to the next novel from this author, though.

The Last Ferry Out is out on May 20, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'The Last Ferry Out'  by Andrea Bartz - expected release date 05/20/2025

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a few of Bartz's previous books. Her writing is solid and very descriptive (sometimes overly so). I loved the way she described Isla Colel though, I could picture the creepy, desolate island, and felt like I was a witness to Abby's foreboding first impression. I felt dumb not knowing what 'expat' meant, I had to look it up, Bartz used that word A LOT. Overall, the plot was eh, the characters were eh, I didn't really connect with the book. It seemed like a lot was happening but it was a lot of fluff that led up to multiple weird twists regarding how Eszter died and how it was handled. I didn't expect anything that came out about her death by I wasn't overly impressed by any of it either. Bartz waited too long to present what really happened (Epilogue). Rating a 3 because her writing really is good, even if the plotlines aren't the most exciting.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz just wasn't my cup of tea. I can't say there was anything bad about it. The plot was perfectly fine; the characters were fine. I just didn't get pulled into the story and didn't find the characters or the plot compelling enough to care what happened next. Reading it was a bit of a slog for me.

I truly enjoyed reading this mystery! Set in Isla Colel (where everyone there is hiding something). I really liked following Abby on her journey as she connects with Eszter’s friends trying to figure out her last days. It kept me guessing the whole time! 📚✨ #TheLastFerryOut #BookReview #AndreaBartz