Thank you to the author and publisher for an arc copy provided by net galley.

I enjoyed the book, it’s a mix of thriller with some romance. I’ve given it a 3.5 * because it starts off a little slow and the thrills mostly come near the end. Still a good read!!

While I was intrigued by the concept of this book, it feels a little flat for me. I was looking for a little more drama and instead it just felt more chaotic. I also thought the last chapter, the reveal, should have happened 50 pages earlier, so as a reader we could have more context. It was still an entertaining read.

Very unique and atmospheric murder mystery. My rating ended on 3.75 stars rounded to 4.

I loved the story and setting of the novel so much and found myself excited to read about the island and the mysteries it held. It was a very long but easy read because of my shear need to know the truth.

Where I found this novel lacking was our characters. I had no connection to anyone and that made it hard to care about their wellbeing.

I would recommend to anyone looking for a very twisted and suspenseful murder mystery.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.

*The Last Ferry Out* is a gripping and atmospheric read, blending suspense with emotional depth. Set against an ominous backdrop, the story follows characters facing impossible choices as they attempt to escape before it’s too late. The tension builds steadily, and the vivid descriptions pull you into the setting.

While some moments feel slightly predictable, the novel’s strong pacing and well-drawn characters make up for it. *The Last Ferry Out* is an engaging, thought-provoking read that lingers after the final page.

Abby is geiving the death of her fiancée Eszter while on a trip to Isla Colel, a small island in Mexico. Abby is looking to find why this happened to Eszter and to get to know the expats that Eszter was with the last 2 weeks before her death. The more Abby hangs out with the expats the more she is convinced that they are not telling her the whole truth. They are known to keep their secrets close to their hearts. When Abby recieves a cryptic text from Brady to meet him the next morning , she finally thinks that she will get the truth. When Brady is a no show to their meeting spot the other expats blow her off. Now Abby is trying to piece together the clues to not only find where Brady might be and the truth about Eszter's death. This is a quick read that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Ballantine Books for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel.

This is a thriller that held my interest and attention to the end but left me feeling a bit disappointed.
The story was intriguing- Abby goes to a remote island where her fiancée recently died. She is hoping to connect with those there who knew her and learn more about her life and death.
The characters are a band of expats and locals who are living in paradise but had their economy ruined by a devastating hurricane. Conveniently this makes it very hard to get on and OFF the island - hence the title. The characters all felt unreliable and there were so many twists at times there were just too many …. Sometimes a good story can just feel overdone. The ending was difficult for me.
I did joy the atmospheric setting to this book. The writer did a great job conveying the dangers and suffocating feeling of being trapped on a remote island.
This is a writer who I feel has lots of intriguing ideas and has a style which is pleasant to read so I would be interested in more from .

A well written F/F romance that is ALSO a murder mystery? Say less. I was so excited to read this on the premise alone.

The last ferry out is such a twisty journey! I got whiplash from most of the pace but it got a little slow in the build up. Abby is trying to find answers about how her partner spent her last days before a tragic death. She runs into the same group of expats and suddenly nothing is the same. This is my first book from this author and it was a fun quick read. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this preview.

This one was not working for me. I suspect it's the author's writing style that I don't enjoy. The plot felt very slow and repetitive also.

“The Last Ferry Out” is by Andrea Bartz. This book checked a lot of checkboxes for me - remote island, expats with secrets, and a mystery to solve. However, I found myself underwhelmed. The island is described well - danger lurking along cliffs, overwhelming dampness, destruction from the past hurricane - but while that kept me engaged, it wasn’t enough. The pacing of this book was extremely slow for a good chunk of the book, though things did pick up near the end - but at times it felt like a slog to get the plot moving forward. Abby, the main character, just didn’t click for me - maybe it was all her introspection, maybe it was that for a person who regards data (numbers, facts, patterns) as how she sees the world, she certainly used some curiously colorful phrases when describing things. This book also has multiple points of view, which sometimes felt like they hindered the over all story instead of enhancing and moving the plot along. I had high hopes for this book, but it didn’t work for me. However, slow-burn mysteries are not always my cup of tea. If those are your jam and if you like atmospheric books this might be one for you to pick up. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I’m willing to pick up another book by her - because I found the writing style enjoyable.

The Last Ferry Out had an intriguing premise that kept me reading, but overall, it felt bogged down by extraneous details and characters who didn’t add much to the plot. The pacing was slow, and while I stuck with it to uncover the big secret, the journey there wasn’t always engaging.

Some character elements felt forced or unnecessary—like the reveal of Rita’s real name, which was presented as a cliffhanger but ultimately had no real impact. Pedro, too, seemed like a background extra, present but not particularly relevant. The novel’s central twist was well thought out, but getting there required patience.

If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with layered secrets, this might still be worth a read, but don’t expect every thread to tie together in a meaningful way.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is an atmospheric thriller that’ll have you hooked from the start. While sometimes I can’t get into atmospheric thrillers - too much focus on the setting and not the characters - I loved every minute of this story. The setting and scenery details were perfect. I felt like I was in paradise while reading; (besides there being a potential killer/killers) it had the perfect amount of suspense and island-ly vibes.

Eszter and Abby were engaged and about to be married when, during a trip, Eszter tragically died. Devastated and rejected by Eszter’s family, Abby decides to go to the island where her fiancée took her last breath, determined to retrace the final days leading up to her fiancés death.

But everyone on this island is hiding a past that they’d rather forget. A community of expats, they don’t care what you did in your past or where you come from. Everyone gets a fresh start here.

Memorable: the convos when they were all stoned. Totally geeked out over that.

Loved all the characters, the culture, the scenery. Prob one of my favorite books by Bartz. A solid mystery with plenty of secrets and suspense. While the suspense isn’t heavy the mystery behind Eszter’s death and the people on the island help build an undercurrent of apprehension.

In traveling to the remote Isla Colel, Abby hopes to uncover more information surrounding the untimely death of her fiancee Eszter. What she doesn’t anticipate is the amount of information that had been hidden from her. Abby befriends the expats who spent Eszter’s last days with her and finds herself becoming more at home with them as well. When one of the group members reaches out to Abby saying he wanted to tell her what really happened to Eszter and promptly disappears, Abby is left reeling and chasing after the dark truth. What really happened to Eszter? And will Abby escape the island or find herself falling victim to the mysterious ways of Isla Colel.

This thriller pulled me in from the start, I love a good Andrea Bartz novel! The pace and development of characters felt appropriate for the most part, but some slow development in other areas. The plot and twist, as it unraveled, was not at all what I expected. I finished the novel and was left relating to Abby’s feelings of grief and loss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the advanced reader copy! You can grab The Last Ferry Out on shelves near you on May 20th, 2025.

#netgalley #ARCreader #2025reads #andreabartz #thelastferryout

An eerie, isolated island. A missing loved one. Multiple POVs. Secrets.

Andrea Bartz's "The Last Ferry Out" is a very enjoyable read. It is a mystery but with beautiful storytelling of grief, love, and loss. The cast of characters, all with something to hide, were gripping. I was so excited to find out what each of their ~true~ stories were. I loved Bartz's descriptions of the island—a very atmospheric novel!! Overall, this was my first Bartz book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

4.5⭐️ I really enjoyed this. It kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages so fast!

Abby goes to Isla Colel to get closure and to try to find answers about her fiancé who died there four months earlier. The more she uncovers, the more confused she becomes about who her fiancé was and the people who knew her on the island. When she misses the ferry to leave the island because of a storm, she fears she won’t make it home alive.

This was fast paced, and so fun! I loved all the characters and how they added to the story. This was also just soooo well written. Bartz definitely has a way with words. And THEN, the epilogue! Whew, what a treat this was!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Abby’s fiancée dies on the tropical island of Isla Colel .
Abby goes to the island to visit where Eszter spent her last days. While there her friend Brady disappears and she gets a sense that things are not what they seem. This was a great story and had my attention from start to finish. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this eARC that will be released May 20, 2025!

After the tragic death of her fiancée, Eszter, Abby travels to the remote Isla Colel to try to come to terms with her loss. Hoping for more clarity about Eszter’s mysterious last days on the island, Abby tracks down the small group of expatriates who befriended Eszter only to have more questions arise about what Eszter was actually involved in. Unsure who to trust, Abby finds herself drawn deeper into the group, even as she feels danger surrounding her.

Bartz has fashioned a tale that is as lush and deadly as the nature preserve at the center of island life. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Balentine Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This is a thriller that would have been better as a novella. While I enjoyed the twists, it felt too long of a journey. Because of this, it was hard to connect with the characters and to feel the love Abby and Eszter shared. Once I got to the reveal, it was a little underwhelming. 2.5 stars rounded up.

I was hooked on the plot of this story from the beginning. It’s a pretty solid mystery and had me guessing till the end. The author did a really good job of throwing me off course and having multiple suspects. I usually love books told between multiple timelines and can follow when jumping around, but for some reason this one was just a little confusing to me with the back and forth between timelines and points of view. I must say I was very surprised by the ending and overall enjoyed this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book

Not sure why I didn't dive righ5ninto this one, but boy did I enjoynthe read.

So many good books out there and I highly recommend this one.