Disclaimer: I received a free unedited ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, in exchange for an honest review. This book is due for publication in September 2025.

Camden Baird’s The Last Morning is a gripping thriller with an intriguing mystery at its core. As a debut thriller novel, it delivers a well-constructed story that keeps the reader engaged, with suspenseful moments and a compelling twist. The prose is generally strong, making for an enjoyable read.

However, there are areas that could be improved. The ending feels a little lacklustre, though the twist does redeem it to some extent. Some of the characters—particularly the father and ex—are deeply unpleasant, but not in the satisfying way where you love to hate them. Instead, they come across as frustrating and difficult to invest in. Since I read an unedited ARC, I noticed some mistakes, but I’ve chosen to overlook those as they will likely be corrected before publication.

Overall, The Last Morning is a solid thriller debut, and I enjoyed reading it. I’d recommend it to fans of the genre who appreciate a well-paced mystery with a few unexpected turns.

Sadie’s daughter goes missing on the first day of Kindergarten and an Amber Alert is instantly sent out. Sadie and her husband Allen are frazzled and cannot imagine why anyone would take Emma.

I read this book in a day and didn’t want to put it down! I was constantly wondering who did it and what their motives could have been. The author wrote this book well- leaving hints, but never giving away too much. I will definitely be recommending this to friends!

I couldn't get into this one, the story was slow moving and the writing style just wasn't working for me. Unfortunately, I had to DNF.

Thank you to Netgalley, Camden Baird, and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review. Apparently this author has written many books but this is her first thriller. I think she should stick with whatever the other genre is she writes because this was a mess. All the italics!! There were way too many. And I think it would read better had it started at the beginning and played out til the end. The constant back and forth was not it. And the writing was off. It’s marketed as an adult thriller but the writing is more goofy teenage. For instance, she writes about two people getting “in the sack” and someone saying a man’s name gives him a hard on (insert very large eye roll) The twist was kinda meh too. I just don’t think this author is for me.

I could not put this book down! A mother puts her child on the school bus for her very first day of school ever and 48 minutes later, she learns that her daughter never made it to school. So many suspects…the ex-wife, the kindergarten teacher, the registered sex offender or the father?

I loved the short chapters told from alternating perspectives throughout various timelines, all these threads weaved together to create an amazing story. With the end, came a twist that I never saw coming so be prepared for your jaw to drop!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF after two chapters. The writing style just isn’t for me, but I know some people will enjoy it!

The story premise sounds good, but I feel like it could have have a better opening.

ARC Review:

Holy cow! This was a book that is fast paced, and gets your heart pumping!

It takes place over the course of multiple days and multiple points of views.

Chapters are fairly short and this book is easily crushable. I started on a Friday morning and ended on Sunday evening.

I could not for the life of me figure out who did it until about 80% into the book when it was confirmed.

So happy I got the chance to read this book and so excited for it to come out in September for everyone else.

THE LAST MORNING
ARC review • pub date 09.16.25

My favorite thing about reading psychological thrillers is being stressed out.. if it doesn’t stress you out a little bit then it’s not a good thriller 😂 this one had me biting my nails needing to know what happened, and the more pages I turned, the more I changed who I thought the culprit was.

Emma is sent on the bus for her first day of kindergarten, then a few minutes later her mom, Sadie, gets a call that Emma never made it to school.

As a mom this book gave me so much anxiety. I loved the multiple POV, intertwined with flashbacks, and it was a good guessing game throughout the whole story. The ending was a bit odd to me, but regardless it was a great thriller!

4⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC

Imagine putting your five-year-old daughter Emma on the bus for her first day of school. Sadie is sad and not sure if her daughter is ready for school. Then her cell rings. Why isn’t Emma at school? Sadie cannot fathom what happened. Emma was on her school bus! This is the most devastating thing imaginable, and Sadie is remarkably close to losing control.
There were many potential suspects. No one had any reason to take Emma, however, her parents were a different story. Whether real or imagined, an awful lot of people disliked Allen for various reasons( I did too). But kidnapping his daughter? Sadie doesn’t escape criticism either. After all, she is the second wife and there are those who dislike that fact.
You’ll need to read The Last Morning to see if Emma is found, and if so, whodunnit and why. I didn’t love one character’s choice at the end, but the ride and my morning exercise, reading this on my treadmill, kept me flipping pages on my Kindle.

The Last Morning delves into the traumatic ordeal of Sadie, whose deepest fears are recognized when her 5 year old daughter, Emma disappears on her way to kindergarten. The story unfolds through multiple narratives and perspectives, which makes it quite interesting and good character development. The point of view from each main character allows the reader to really hone in on the intricacies in his/her actions and thoughts. As the investigation into Emma’s disappearance advances, the roster of suspects continues to expand, illuminating individuals from the past with hidden agendas. The plot is compelling and replete with unforeseen developments, which made it so that I couldn’t put the book down. The use of multiple viewpoints was effective in sustaining the suspense. The unrelenting pace and captivating plot twists will keep all readers engaged. This was a suspenseful read, that underscored the emotional upheaval of a family distressed by the kidnapping of a young girl, every parent’s worst nightmare.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my review.

“It doesn’t matter where you live. Scary people are everywhere. Even in the nicest stores, best neighborhoods, and finest schools. Sometimes they’re right under our noses, where we least expect.”

Emma never arrives for her first day of school, despite Sadie seeing her off at the bus that morning—and no one seems to know where she is or why she was taken. As fear and desperation mount, Sadie and her husband Allen are forced to confront their own secrets and the people closest to them, digging deeper into tangled motives and dark pasts that may hold the key to Emma’s disappearance.

I’ll admit this story starts off as a slow burn, but the missing-child premise immediately hooked me. Once the pace picks up, it’s one twist after another—every reveal made me rethink what I thought I knew. The multiple POVs and shifting timelines added extra layers of intrigue, giving me a 360-degree view of the mystery. By the end, every clue and unanswered question meshed together seamlessly, leaving me stunned (and more than a little relieved to see things tied up so well). As a relatively new reader, The Last Morning stands out as equal parts realistic and chilling, earning my first-ever five-star rating (technically 4.5 rounded up).

If you enjoy domestic thrillers, mysteries, or suspenseful stories that escalate from a simmer to full boil, The Last Morning is definitely for you. Expect emotional intensity, as the plot centers on a missing child—plus darker elements involving potential predators. The multi-POV structure keeps you guessing about each person’s role in Emma’s disappearance, making for a tense, addictive read. Thanks to Camden Baird and NetGalley for the ARC—every twist made this well worth my time.

Trigger Warnings: Abduction/Kidnapping, Violence, Mental Health Issues

So far, it is exactly what a thriller is. The suspense is high, the secrets are mounting, the pace is fast. I don't completely relate to the circumstances of the main characters so it was quite hard for me to really immerse myself in the emotions of the characters.

I don't have a visceral connection to the events of potentially losing a child when I don't have one. Even in light of that, the book still describes this experience honestly and authentically. The frantic need to find her, the panic, the overthinking. I think it can get very visceral for people who have kids!

The most grating element of the book so far is the multiple POVs because it's jarring to be changing perspective so quickly and so soon. In my opinions, its deliberately like that so it's harder to figure out who's done it or keep track of what's been revealed while still keeping that tension, mystery and suspense. I respect it. Though I don't particularly like it.

Overall though, a pretty solid thriller full of secrets (BIG one at the end) and suspense was through the roof.

A fast-paced thriller with constantly switching perspective. This book is perfect for a quick weekend or getaway read.

Sadie hates the idea of sending her only daughter, Emma, to her first day of kindergarten. Sadie just knows something bad is going to happen, and all her worst fears are realized when Emma gets on the school bus but never arrives at school. Cue a storm descending down on her family as the police rush to find the missing girl and Sadie learns that those living around her may harbor their own dark secrets.

The Last Morning has everything you'd expect out of a psychological thriller: a variety of suspects, each of them keeping secrets, and many twists and turns as the days tick away. With short, propulsive chapters, the novel races from start to finish as everyone rushes to find the missing five-year-old. The plot is succinct and with each chapter switching perspectives, the reader gets a look into all of the lives that Emma touched.

The novel does a great job of holding in its secrets, bleeding them out slowly as the tension builds. If you're looking for a quick, surface level read, this one might be for you.

Because other than the plot and pacing, this book lacks just about everything else. The writing is dry and melodramatic, the characters just caricatures of real people, and, well, I'll get to my last criticism in a moment. If I'm honest, I would have DNF'ed this after the first chapter if I hadn't been graced with an advance reader copy.

The writing. It's very formulaic; if I didn't know better, I'd almost guess it had been written by AI. Sadie does this. Allen does this. We both do this. Over and over and over again. I needed some variety, some spice, some active voice. I'd expect this variety of writing from someone who writes as simply a spare time hobby; it's not what I expect from a standalone, published piece.

The characters. They were all cardboard cutouts and simultaneously all the same cardboard cutout. They don't act like real people. Their actions are over the top, and they never have real conversations with one another, just surface level chatter. Once again, they act exactly like I'd expect an AI would design them to act. They follow a sort of cookie-cutter mold of their title: the mom cries, the dad's hiding an affair, the half-brother hates his sister for existing. We see into the character's thoughts quite a lot in this novel, and they all think almost exactly the same. There's so much hate and secret vendettas in each of the characters. I suppose it could make the novel as a whole more interesting, but I just found them all to be deeply unlikable. I don't think any of the characters ever had a nice thing to say (or think) about one another.

The characterization is really my biggest gripe about this book, and the second is how deeply unsettling I found mental health to be portrayed. It's not uncommon to see mental health used as a plot device in books and tv, especially in thrillers like this one. The perpetrator had this disease and it caused them to do x, y, and z. Of course, the media always cranks that concern up to 100 and shows the absolute worst of the person who has it. This novel does the same thing, except it felt like every character had something going on with them, and they were never portrayed in anything but a heinous light. Instead of moments of, hey, maybe we should get this person help, they're called weird or off or problems. Even when they're not the big bad at the end. I don't know. Mental health is definitely a plot device, and when used correctly can still be respectful of the millions of sufferers. I felt nothing respectful about the way the characters were portrayed in this novel, nothing redeeming, and, once again, feels like AI grabbing onto caricatures rather than creating nuanced writing.

I'm not going to get into the ending, but I didn't like it, and I'll leave it at that.

So, the novel had potential. The plot is generic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In the hands of someone else, I could have maybe, probably enjoyed it. This book just isn't it, and I recommend giving it a hard pass.

Review: The Last Morning by Camden Baird

Camden Baird's debut psychological thriller is a gripping novel about the haunting tale of a family shattered when their five-year-old daughter goes missing on the first day of school. With multiple POVs weaving together an intricate web of suspense, Baird masterfully keeps the reader on edge, questioning every character’s motives and unearthing dark secrets along the way.

The novel’s greatest strength lies in its unpredictability. Just when you think you have a handle on what’s happening, another twist throws everything into question. The shifting perspectives add depth, giving insight into the raw emotions and hidden agendas of each character. Baird’s writing is immersive, capturing the frantic desperation of a grieving family while slowly peeling back layers of deception.

The pacing is relentless, with short, tense chapters that make it nearly impossible to put down. The psychological depth of the characters—especially the parents, whose grief and guilt manifest in disturbing ways—adds a chilling realism to the story.

For fans of dark, twisty thrillers like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train, The Last Morning is an absolute must-read. Baird crafts a harrowing tale of loss, suspicion, and the devastating truths that lurk beneath the surface of a seemingly ordinary family.

5/5

A mother’s worst nightmare: her daughter is missing on her first day of school and no one can seem to find her. Who is to blame? The crazy neighbor? The sex offender by the school? The two faced teacher? Her husband’s ex? And they all seem to have a connection to one person: the husband.

This book was very dark and very twisty. So many twists, I had to rethink everything to follow. It was an easy read. The wife/mom seems a little too innocent and I don’t really think there are THAT many people with big secrets all connected to one person but it did help the story along.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and Camden Baird for the ARC. All opinions here are my own.

This gripping novel follows the alternating perspectives of multiple characters as the mystery of Emma, a kidnapped five-year-old girl, unfolds. The shifting points of view keep the reader engaged and constantly reevaluating their assumptions. Just when I thought I had figured out who the kidnapper was, new evidence emerged that made me question everything.

The story is filled with unexpected twists that kept me turning the pages, making it a fast and easy read.

Read as an ARC.
Who took sweet Emma on her first day of Kindergarten? Your mind and heart will both be racing through the entirety of this book trying to figure out who committed this unthinkable crime. Every chapter will have you pointing the finger at someone else and as the story unravels you begin to realize almost every single person has motive and opportunity to do it. Then tie in the multiple twists at the end and I guarantee your jaw will be on the floor!

This book was full of surprises. From the very beginning I was hooked! There were twists and turns throughout the whole novel. Definitely kept my attention until the very end!

What a wild thriller! I was convinced so many times that I knew what was going on and was wrong every single time. Such a well-written story with twists and turns that I could not anticipate. The ending REALLY threw me for a loop.

I really liked the mystery behind this plot. There was multiple POV which I love and it jumped timelines which made it a little hard for me to follow. I loved that we got to see so many different perspectives and it kept me guessing as to who was bad and who did it!