I liked this thriller story! It was very full of twists and turns, and that it was so engaging, it kept me hooked the whole way through. I did want to finish this book all the way through to see what was going to happen!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

A haunting trip to a hurricane-ravaged island turns into a gripping search for truth in The Last Ferry Out. As Abby uncovers secrets about her fiancée’s death, the isolated expat community grows increasingly sinister. Andrea Bartz delivers a taut, atmospheric thriller filled with suspicion and danger.

3 stars

I don't know what this says about me, but I seem to love the idea of solving a personal mystery in a faraway location, at least in fictional scenarios. That's what drew me to this most recent effort from Andrea Bartz, and it's that aforementioned setting that I found most captivating throughout the read.

Abby, the m.c., travels to an island to make sense of a shocking event: her fiancée's unexpected death. As these things tend to go, Abby ends up with more questions than answers for a great deal of this read, and she encounters many characters and new details that lead her in and away from the correct direction.

I enjoyed the setting and elements of the plot, but I struggled with consistent engagement and pacing. Transparently, these challenges mirror my experiences with some of this author's other efforts. Readers who have a different incoming relationship to this catalog may expect a more successful result here.

This is an interesting concept with some appreciated representation. While it isn't my top choice from Bartz, I will come back for future reads.

Fast paced, suspenseful, and entertaining. I didn't realize this contained queer romance which I typically would steer away from. So while there were small parts that I had to skip due to this, I still enjoyed reading this book. I devoured this is one day. I love the setting of a remote Mexican island. The mystery surrounding Eszter's death kept me glued to the pages. I enjoyed trying to determine who I should and shouldn't trust, just as our MC Abby also struggled. The ending had a sweet and heartfelt touch to it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book so much. But the story dragged for me. And wasn’t as much as a thriller as I thought it would be. More of a mystery.

This book was quite different from the previous books the author has written. This book was more of an atmospheric, at times emotional mystery with a heavy focus on love, friendship, loss, and the feelings of not always being accepted. I prefer the edge of your seat, provocative thrillers the author has written in the past. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Ok, whoops, this jumped to the front of my TBR, even though it doesn't come out for months, because Andrea Bartz always delivers with the suspense! I wanted a popcorn read - as in, the kind that makes you feel like you're in a movie theater with a giant bucket of popcorn.

The size of the cast of characters did make me with I could see them like a movie (I'm terrible at picturing anything in my mind), but it's mostly a small core group that is relevant and I was able to get a handle on everyone.

I don't want to get too into the ending, but I appreciated that it went in a less horror-movie direction. Often, locked room (or island) thrillers become a situation where everyone around you is a sociopath and that wasn't the case.

I absolutely couldn’t put this book down—I devoured it in one sitting! The tropical, stormy setting of Isla Colel was vividly atmospheric and perfectly complemented the layers of suspense and intrigue in the story. Abby’s journey to uncover the truth about Eszter’s death kept me hooked with twists I didn’t see coming and emotional depth that added so much to the narrative.

Andrea Bartz has delivered a masterful thriller with compelling characters and a pace that doesn’t let up. The balance of suspense and emotional resonance makes this book stand out in the genre, and I believe it will resonate strongly with readers who love psychological thrillers with depth and complexity.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this advance copy! I’m confident this book will be a hit with thriller fans.

This is a fairly standard “white lady thriller”, very atmospheric, fantastic red herrings. Some of the pacing felt a little uneven — I was surprised how much happened in one day — and Abby’s high tech job didn’t seem to mesh with some of her choices and the way she spoke. BUT, easy and escapism enough, perfect for upcoming summer beach reads.. I will definitely seek out more from this author.

I was drawn in by the first few pages of The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz. I did not expect the story to go where it did after these first few pages. The characters are likeable, yet mysterious. There are many red herrings, as well as twists in the story that I did not see coming. The story flows nicely theu the multiple timelines. 4 stars

I love the crazy plot twists that this author infuses into her books, I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for a while. I really loved it and I’m so grateful that I got the chance to read it!

I really liked the setting of this book. The island provided a sense of suspense and anxiety when the story fell a bit flat. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and everyone was identified as being untrustworthy.
The main mystery involves what happened to Abby's fiancee. We know she died of an allergic reaction, but many questions and suspicions remain. I thought the premise was interesting, but it was a bit slow at times. I continued reading because I wanted to know what happened, but it wasn't overly pressing at the same time. I wasn't emotionally involved enough with the characters. I found Abby especially to be a bit abrasive.
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Abby heads to Mexico, where her fiancé died, in order to get some clarity and answers regarding her death. The island she visits is not its once glorious state after a hurricane upends everything. Of the few remaining expats there, she meets one who seems to have some answers, but he disappears and the others are nonchalant about his disappearance. As Abby starts to dig deeper, she becomes convinced the group of expats knows more than they are willing to admit.

The setting in this book is very well-written; a great atmosphere is created of this island and the eerie remnants of what was and now is. I could not really relate to any character, whether it was Abby or the expats; the grief and loss scenes were fleshed out well, but Abby was hard to rally behind. I enjoyed the different timelines and I liked the perspective that that provided. There were also some decent twists in this book, so the reader did not easily figure out the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Andrea Bartz always has a way of making me feel so anxious I need to put down the book for a minute but also so engrossed in the story I cant wait for more. Ever since I read "We Were Never Here", Andrea has been on my auto read author list, no synopsis needed, and "The Last Ferry Out" did not disappoint. From the island scenery to the unexpected twists, this book was a fun ride!

I'm not sure about this one. The whole "isolated island with secrets and sketchy expats" vibe was totally my thing, but somewhere along the way, it just didn’t fully deliver. The setting was gorgeously creepy—think rundown paradise with hurricane vibes—but the pacing? A little all over the place.

Abby’s journey to uncover what really happened to her fiancée had some solid moments of tension, and I was definitely flipping pages to figure out what was up. But Abby herself? Girlie made some choices that had me going, “Really??” And don’t even get me started on the expats—they were shady in all the right ways, but also felt a little too one-note sometimes.

Also, the big twists were cool, but they didn’t hit quite as hard as I wanted them to. Like, I wanted gasps, and instead, I was like, “Oh… okay.” But hey, I’ll give props for the atmospheric writing and the whole "who can you trust" game—it kept me guessing, even if the payoff wasn’t totally there. All in all, it’s a decent thriller if you’re into moody settings and messy secrets.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley Random House Publishing for the eARC.
Abby is heartbroken, her fiancee, Eszter, died unexpectedly on a trip to a small Mexican island. She's determined to find out exactly what happened and travels there. She meets a group of expats who knew Eszter and tries to find out the truth by befriending and questioning them. She's grieving and stressed out and doesn't know who to trust. And did Eszter betray her?
I liked the book to begin with, but as it continued I did get a little restless and wanted the read to hurry up and answer my questions. The ending was a surprise.

I’ve read everything Bartz has written but this ended up being my least favorite. Too much of a slow burn, with the “mystery” really not being all that compelling until the last 25%. I pushed through to get there but just didn’t feel intrigued enough by the plot the way I normally do in her suspense novels!

The Last Ferry out is another winner from Andrea Bartz. Beautifully written, the story follows data scientist Abby as she unravels the mystery surrounding her fiancee's death. Family drama, an eerie, isolated island, and plenty of twists and turns makes this one a must-read for psychological-suspense lovers like me! Highly recommend!

This was one of my most anticipate Mystery/Thrillers of 2025. Andrea Bartz is quickly becoming a automatic pick-up for me and I enjoyed The Ferry Out. The story takes place from multiple POV's and time periods but we mainly follow Abby and Eszter a newly engaged couple who live in Madison, Wisconsin. Eszter who has severe allergies died while on Vacation in Isla Colel a secluded island outside of Cancun. Abby who was supposed to meet her there takes a trip a few months after her death still distraught and grieving. She thinks visiting the island and meeting some of Abby's new friends will bring her answers or closure.

The story is a unique and interesting one. It's more of a character driven novel than a straight thriller and I loved the unwinding of Abby as she discovers the betrayals and secrets that her partner was keeping for. The remoteness of Isla Colel and the storms that trap our characters on the island without a way out were great plot points. I didn't see the twists coming and there were a few good red herrings. However we don't get very much depth from most of the expat friends of Eszter and most of them are pretty unlikable. There also seems to some unevenness to the story and that grip that some Thrillers have on you where you can't put it down, escapes you as we get some unnecessarily extended background on family history.

3.5 Stars

This is a really well thought out and plotted mystery. While I went in expecting a thriller, I would say this is more of a character driven novel. While there is a plot to move things along, we also spend a lot of time exploring grief, ambition, friendship, and family relationships. I enjoyed it.