Again, Andrea Bartz shows she's a master of this form. One of my favorite things about her writing is how the setting becomes, in a way, a character, creating unique twists and eccentricities that end up being vital and require absolute attention - not that it's hard to pay attention when you have a book like this, where every character jumps off the page and feels full, and a compelling, twisty, interpersonal mystery that feels so, so real.

Does she even have the capacity to write a less than stellar book? I doubt it.

Abby receives devastating news.⁣⁣
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Abby travels to where the tragedy occurs in search of answers.⁣⁣
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Abby encounters a mysterious yet engaging group of individuals and discovers that the answers she finds only lead to more troubling questions.⁣⁣
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Will Abby find the truth she so desperately needs or will it remain forever hidden behind the clouds of secrecy surrounding Isla Colel?⁣⁣
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If you're looking for a captivating read that expertly weaves mystery and human emotion, "The Last Ferry Out" is a must-add to your bookshelf. From the very first page, you’ll be drawn into Abby’s journey as she seeks answers in a place shrouded in secrets.⁣⁣
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What sets this book apart is its relatable characters. You’ll find yourself empathizing with Abby and her newfound companions, rooting for them as they navigate their own personal struggles. The author’s skillful crafting of each character invites you into their lives, allowing them to linger in your thoughts long after you’ve turned the final page.⁣⁣
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Overall, this book was a quick, enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from Andrea Bartz in the future. ⁣⁣
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Thank you to @andreabartz, @ballantinebooks, and @netgalley for providing me with this advanced readers copy to read and review.

I found this book really disappointing. It had an interesting premise, but the pace was all over the place. I also found the main characters to be quite irritating the more she was featured. I found her to be selfish and annoying, as well as unrelatable

Flew through this book so quickly! Love the setting of the island and all of the characters individually. Was so excited all the way through the book, and was sad for it to end. Definitely a 5 star read for me!

A quick, solid, and entertaining read, with a unique cast of characters and a mystery that continues to unfold until the final pages.

Overall I liked the book but at times it seemed to drag on. I liked the last half of the book the best.

Thank you Netgalley, Andrea Bartz, and Penguin Random House.

This story is about a woman, Abby, who travels to Isla Colel, an island in Mexico, to try and find answers about her fiancée Eszter's death.

As Abby befriends a group of expats, who Eszter also knew, she becomes more and more suspicious about Eszter's death, especially after one of her new friends claims to know more about Eszter's tragic passing, but then disappears. Abby knows people are lying to her, but she's not sure who's lying and who she can trust.

There were a few slow paced parts, but overall I enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing and wanting to know the outcome of what really happened to Eszter.

Started slow but really picked up once the reveals started happening! Really enjoyed the second half!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an e-arc.

I'm a big fan of Andrea Bartz's writing, so I was very excited to get an advanced copy of The Last Ferry Out. This one has the suspense and layered plots of her previous books, set on a beautiful island and with a broad cast of interesting characters — each of whom could be guilty. Multiple POVs are normally a really, really hard sell for me — and a book with this many perspectives is usually a DNF — but Bartz makes it work. Each perspective is purposeful and although there are a lot, it was easy to follow them. Unsurprisingly, I tore through this book and am already excited for her next one (hint, hint, Random House).

This was my first Andra Bartz novel and it will not be my last. I loved the setting and side characters. Abby trying to find out some answers about her fiance after she died. I wanted answers too! There were some twists in the book that were good and I thought the book was pretty engaging. I really liked the ending of the story.

Abby goes Tsla colel the island where her fiance died, she wants to retrace his last days. but she begins to suspect his death was not an accident.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books, for sending me over this ARC. The expected publication day is May 20, 2025.

This was just what I needed. This book pulled me right in. I loved the atmosphere and setting on a tropical island. Throw in a murder and a few twists, and this one surely had me hooked. The ending was top-notch and the perfect curveball. If you love a good twist thriller, add this one to your TBR. Four stars. ✨

On a trip to the tropical paradise where her fiancée died, a young woman begins to suspect the
death was no accident — and the killer’s still on the island.

What to expect:

🏝️mystery/suspense
🏝️multiple points of view
🏝️various timelines
🏝️murder?!
🏝️eerie isolated island
🏝️family drama
🏝️secrets

As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for this ARC for review. I have read many books by Andrea Bartz after being introduced to this author from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club. So of course seeing her releasing another thriller for 2025, I wanted to get my hands on it as this author is on my automatic read/buy list. This book is no different. Abby comes to Isle Colel to find some answers as her fiancé, Eszter, was here visiting when she died unexpectedly. Sure, Eszter had a severe allergy, but there’s no reason she should have died. The island is nothing at all what Abby expects and as she meets the people Eszter was spending time with, nothing more as her fiancé made it seem. What was going on here?? This was a fast read and kept me guessing to the end.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is such a fun read! The characters are so well done—flawed, funny, and totally relatable. They felt like real people I could hang out with. Bartz nails the dialogue, making it sharp and snappy with the perfect balance of humor and suspense, and the pacing kept me turning pages without even realizing it.

Her writing style is super easy to get lost in—light but still thoughtful, pulling you into the story without feeling heavy. The setting is also a big win, giving the book a cool sense of place that you can practically feel. Overall, I had a blast reading this! The twists were great, but it was really the characters that made the book so enjoyable!

Andrea Bartz masterfully crafts a suspenseful, atmospheric thriller brimming with tension, intrigue, and danger.

Loved this book from start to finish (and definitely don't want to visit any islands right now though!!)

A suspenseful read, and compelling characters made this an entertaining and engaging read. Sorry it’s over!

The Last Ferry Out follows Abby as she arrives on Isla Colel to retrace the last days of her fiancée, Eszter, who died of anaphylactic shock while on the island. Once Abby meets a group of local expats who Eszter had befriended while on the island she starts to grow suspicious that maybe the story of how Eszter died isn't quite true.

I had such high hopes for this thriller but unfortunately a lot of the story didn't work for me. There were quite a few flashbacks that were completely unnecessary and only served to disrupt the pacing of the story. Adding to the pacing issues was the exhausting inner monologue of our characters. Social issues and character's back stories seemed to hold equal weight to the main plot of the story and it ultimately took up too much of the story. Adding to my issues was that Eszter and Abby did not seem to have a great relationship and so it was hard to be invested in outcome of the story.

However, I did enjoy the setting and when Bartz was focused on the thriller aspects this book shined. There were a few moments of this story that had me on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen next. If the ending had been stronger I think I would have given this book a slightly higher rating but I was left wanting more of a resolution.

If you don't mind a meandering sort of thriller then I think this book will work for many people. I have many of Andrea Bartz books on my TBR so while this book didn't work for me I am interested in reading more from her.

2.5/5 rounded up.

I found this to be so slowly-paced that really did have so much potential.

Spooky, stormy island, a mysterious death, secrets, suspicious and unreliable characters. So much potential! But I think this has taught me that I like thrillers where things are actively happening, you're not just sitting around waiting for answers.

The characters were also so boring. I could not get invested in them AT ALL. And I think it is so important to make characters engaging in thrillers and mysteries, but authors don't really tend to focus on that.

Great spooky vibes for that remote island, but everything else really was lacking.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

“The Last Ferry Out” was an acceptable mystery thriller. It may be that I’ve just read so many just okay books in a row that I’m not being fair with it. Abby is on a tropical island investigating the death of her fiancée Eszter, and trying to piece together her last steps.

Andrea Bartz is an excellent novelist and I loved her book We Were Never Here. However, The Last Ferry Out was too complicated for me. I only kept reading it because I wanted to know what really happened.