Can someone please explain what makes the bayous of Louisiana such a perfect setting for a murder mystery? I have admittedly never been to Louisiana -- and live in an urban city, which is probably the furthest thing from a bayou -- and yet I was able to picture this setting perfectly thanks to Anna Bailey's exceptional writing. Our Last Wild Days was a quintessential "atmospheric novel" and certainly not one to sleep on this summer!

With Our Last Wild Days, Anna Bailey confirms her place as one of the most compelling contemporary voices in literary fiction. Following the critical acclaim of her debut novel Tall Bones, Bailey returns with a haunting, richly atmospheric tale set in the sweltering isolation of Jacknife, a fictional town nestled deep within the Louisiana bayou. Her sophomore effort is a piercing, multifaceted exploration of grief, estrangement, and the corrosive weight of collective silence.

At the heart of the novel lies the death of Cutter Labasque, a member of a reclusive family of alligator hunters who eke out a precarious living at the edge of society. When Cutter is found dead under suspicious circumstances, her estranged friend Loyal—a journalist recently returned to Jacknife to care for her ailing mother—feels compelled to seek answers. As Loyal navigates the community’s indifference and unspoken hostilities, Bailey peels back the layers of a town poisoned not just by the runoff of a local chemical plant, but by generations of trauma and neglect.

Bailey’s prose is both lyrical and unrelenting. Her descriptive abilities evoke the oppressive beauty of the bayou with cinematic clarity, drawing readers into a place that feels both timeless and forsaken. Yet, the novel’s power lies not only in its setting, but in Bailey’s skillful interweaving of broader social issues—reproductive rights, addiction, environmental degradation, domestic violence—into the narrative fabric. These themes emerge not as overt commentary but as organic extensions of her characters’ lived realities.

The Labasque siblings, orphaned and bound by a fragile network of shared history and unspoken pain, form the emotional nucleus of the story. Bailey renders their lives with empathy and nuance, avoiding melodrama in favor of subtle, character-driven tension. Their marginalization by the town mirrors the ways in which rural, working-class communities are often ignored—by institutions, by neighbors, even by literature itself.

Despite the bleakness of its subject matter, Our Last Wild Days is anything but ponderous. The plot moves with a quiet urgency, its emotional stakes intensifying with each chapter. Bailey’s pacing is deft, and her dialogue sharp, making for a novel that is as gripping as it is thoughtful.

Ultimately, Our Last Wild Days is an unflinching study of human endurance and the ways communities fracture—and occasionally heal—in the wake of tragedy. Bailey has not only met the high expectations set by her debut, she has surpassed them, delivering a work of deep resonance and remarkable literary maturity.

Our Last Wild Days takes place in the Louisiana bayou. Loyal and Cutter grew up as childhood friends until they had a falling out and Loyal moves away. But, when Loyal comes back to visit her mother, she arrives just as Cutter is found dead in the swamp.
The storytelling is incredible. I got completely drawn into this world. If you loved Where The Crawdads Sing, you'll absolutely love this book. It gave me similar vibes.

📖 Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve realized lately that I’m weirdly drawn to books set in rural Louisiana. Especially if there’s a hint of magic or folklore involved. This one did the trick with a setting of a dead body found in the small town swamps, and everyone has a theory about what happened.

The characters in this story were so well done, with the author giving us enough back story to understand why some acted the way they did. There was a lot of back and forth of who to trust, leading to a pretty good twist. I felt so much sadness for Cutter and her brothers, who were orphaned and treated as outcasts in the community. It takes tragedy for people to understand them, only after assuming the worst for most of the story.

They also did a great job of writing the this rural area and helping you picture the town of Jacknife. From the woods that feel haunted to the swamps filled with gators, I could sense the unease of the surroundings throughout the story.

If you want an atmospheric small town mystery, give this one a try when it releases on May 20,2025!

Thank you to @atriabooks for the advanced copy on @netgalley in exchange for my thoughts!

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of OUR LAST WILD DAYS by Anna Bailey in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and try to stay safe, sane and happy out there.

This book had amazing descriptions which transported me out of my comfort zone visualizing the large alligators and creepy bugs in the swampy lands of Southern Louisiana. It made me nervous, giving me the heebie-jeebies. You really felt like you were there.

That’s not all. Many of the characters were sketchy and I wanted to read this quickly just to get away from feeling of being immersed in the hot, sweaty town of Jacknife.

The story was a complete adventure with Loyal May trying to solve a murder. She had returned from her job in Houston as a reporter to take care of her mother who had early signs of dementia. And now she was working at the local newspaper digging up clues of how her childhood friend died. They said it was a suicide.

This story was beautifully written yet it made me apprehensive – people living on the edge with illegal drugs, beatings like it was an everyday thing and a plastics plant with less than desirable conditions. It wasn’t a place where I would want to spend time but a perfect place to try to hide a crime.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 20, 2025.

This was really atmospheric. I didn’t really buy that Loyal would come back and do this all for Cutter, especially after the article, but it’s fiction I guess. The book kind of made me curious about alligator meat???

Thank you, Atria Books, and NetGalley for letting me review this book.

This book was full of twists, suspense, and thrill, that you can feel and envision.

I love the author’s writing style. Very descriptive, where I could visualize as if I was in the book myself. You come to know the characters so well, creating an immersive reading experience.

This book was so easy to get lost in for hours, with its fast-paced tension, making the plot unfold that much easier.

Arc review • pub date 05.20.25

My first Anna Bailey book and I enjoyed it!
A woman is searching for answers after her friend is found dead in a Louisiana bayou.
Nobody seems to care, not even her family, and her childhood friend Loyal is desperate to uncover the truth.

This was the most atmospheric book I have read in quite sometime. Incredibly vivid details make you feel like you’re right there in Louisiana.

The story is deep and will pull you in immediately. I think this one will be an instant hit!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC

I enjoyed this one immensely it was well written with an evocative setting and characters that pull you in and keep you engaged throughout
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

This was my first book by Anna Bailey and I really loved her writing style. Very descriptive, I could visualize clearly what I was reading.

Packed with tension, this storyline goes to a small community, bringing back an unsolved murder and its mysterious twisty events.

Thank you so much to Atria Books for this eARC.

Highly recommend.

This was a beautifully written book. The only thing more vivid than the setting were the characters and both worked together in a way I which they felt so intrinsically linked to each other. It’s very refreshing to see a modern murder mystery in which the plot focuses on the characters and character relationships than how many twists and turns it can pack in. If you like more literary leaning mysteries than give this one a try. A very talented author I will be keeping an eye on in the future.

The character development in Our Last Wild Days was very well done. You come to know them as real people and it makes for an immersive reading experience. Anna Bailey also tackles some tough topics (homophobia, women’s reproductive rights, police brutality) in some subtle and not so subtle ways. I only wish the pace had been a little faster.
Very solid read overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book!

Definitely add this book to your list! A wonderful story based in Louisiana bayou. Loyal is a reporter who’s returned home to watch after her sick mother but when one of her old friends is found deceased. She digs for details to figure out what really happened. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Loyal goes back to her hometown in Louisiana to take care of her mom. She’s been a “big city” reporter in Houston and has gone to work for the small town newspaper. Soon after returning, she finds out that her best friend has been found dead in the swamp and Loyal begins to uncover secrets. This book was not really a mystery, and it was a little slow for my taste but if you like slow burn Southern Gothic, this is probably right up your alley.

I ran through this one quickly. It was dark and heavy about a woman who comes back home right when her best friend dies. It really sucked me in.

Our Last Wild Days is one of those stories that slowly gets under your skin—the kind of mystery that’s less about shocking twists and more about the emotional echoes of a life left unfinished. Set deep in the swamplands of rural Louisiana, the novel follows Loyal May, a young woman returning to her hometown of Jacknife to care for her ailing mother. But her homecoming is clouded by tragedy: her childhood friend Cutter Labasque is found dead in the bayou, and the town is quick to call it suicide.

But Loyal knows Cutter. Or at least she did, once. And while their friendship ended in betrayal years ago, Loyal can’t shake the feeling that something about Cutter’s death doesn’t add up. As she digs into the murky circumstances surrounding it—alongside a few misfit colleagues at the local paper—Loyal uncovers a tangled mess of corruption, secrets, and long-standing resentments that the town would rather stay buried.

This book shines in its atmosphere. The setting is rich and vividly drawn, full of Southern gothic flavor and slow, sticky tension. You can practically feel the humidity and hear the hum of insects as you follow Loyal through crumbling houses, foggy bayous, and backroom deals. Bailey does a fantastic job of exploring the social and environmental decay of a town left behind—and the pain of trying to make peace with your past while living in its shadow.

The pacing isn’t fast, but it’s deliberate. The emotional weight builds as Loyal confronts not only the truth about Cutter’s death, but also the guilt and grief she’s carried for years. The mystery unfolds with a quiet intensity, making it a rewarding read for those who love slow-burn suspense with strong character development.

If you’re into literary mysteries with a gritty edge, complex female friendships, and atmospheric Southern settings, Our Last Wild Days should absolutely be on your radar. It’s moody, introspective, and filled with the kind of ache that lingers long after the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance reader’s copy!

I have a lot of positive things to say about Our Last Wild Days. The setting (the small town Louisiana Bayou), the interesting and colorful characters, and the vibes. The plot was absolutely top notch too - I love that for a thriller, the plot ended up being something totally believable but also twist that I didn't see coming at the end. The way Bailey weaves in the elements of the folklore of the cajun culture was perfection.

Unfortunately, I struggled with the pacing overall and found my mind wandering quite a bit throughout. Something about the actual writing style didn't fully resonate with me and I found it difficult to connect. There were a few instances where the setting, timing switched up without warning and I had to take extra time to get my bearings which also took me out of the story.

Overall, Our Last Wild Days is super solid for a crime thrillers and I know many readers are going to love this atmospheric read.

An interesting and suspenseful dark read. A plausible plot for what happens to those people who society deems unworthy of investigating and investing time to know the truth of what happened to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So many adjectives come to mind when I think about describing this book- atmospheric, gripping, tragic, mysterious, gruesome, dark, and unlike anything I have read before. I hadn't yet read anything by this author before requesting this ARC, but I think I have become a fan. This book's contents are disturbing at times but it's like that train wreck you can't look away from.

The characters are written strikingly well, you feel their pain along with them as they strive to put together the pieces of their lives. The kind of lives they are living are rough and unfiltered, Anna Bailey brings readers along on an adventure into the Louisiana swamp where both a murder mystery and deeper, darker town secrets are lurking. Piece by piece the mystery becomes clearer and it's an incredibly gritty journey to get to the truth.

There is a lot of violence in this book including police corruption and the death of animals, so please be mindful of the contents before choosing to read. Regardless- Step into this novel with an open mind- it gets pretty wild pretty quickly and will take you on an adventure that you likely can't predict.

Ranking this book at 4 stars based significantly on creativity and how much I don't think I will ever forget what I read in this novel.