Five years ago, Theresa went to a beach house with her three friends where they meet the charming Patrick. Later that night Patrick murders her friends and attempts to murder Theresa. Now, five years later Theresa (who now goes by Tessa) is stuck in fear and have severe PTSD. In order to help overcome her intense fears, Tessa decides to book a month long trip to the same island where her friends died and stays even in the same house.

Staying at the house isn’t easy for Tessa and weird things keep happening in the house; footsteps walking on the porch at night, her next door neighbor screaming and then disappearing and doors becoming unlocked even when Tessa knows she locked it. Everyone tells Tessa she is paranoid because of her past attack and the trauma she has associated with the house but Tessa knows that there is something off and there is someone that is watching her.

This book was suspenseful and eerie. However, there were so many times something spooky was happening and it ended up being nothing that I started to feel less on the edge of my seat because I knew nothing was going to happen. I will say the ending was well done and there wasn’t a moment in the book where I knew exactly what was going to happens until the very end. Overall, this is a good psychological thriller and a decently fast- paced read.

The Last Girl Left by A.M. Strong and Sonya Sargent is so, so good! Don’t read this at night. My heart was pounding, and what was happening was just plain scary.

When a woman returns to the scene of the horrific mass murder that shattered her life, the nightmare begins again.

Five years ago, Tessa Chamberlain was the lone survivor of a beach house massacre that left three of her friends dead. Now, she’s going back to face her fears.

Renting the same beach house where she almost died, Tessa returns to lonely Cassadaga Island. But as the fog rolls in and the nights grow longer, she wonders if she made a terrible mistake. There are footsteps on the porch, creaks from the second floor, and an unsettling feeling of being watched.

I never had a clue who the culprit turned out to be. The Last Girl Left would make a great movie.

I highly recommend this book. Overall, The Last Girl Left is a satisfying page-turner of a thriller with good twists and turns, red herrings to keep you on your toes, and scary moments.

#TheLastGirlLeft #NetGalley @AmazonPub

If you survived the thrill of watching 'The Scream' series and all the American slasher movies, its time to relive the thrill with some scenes in 'The Last Girl Left'.

The book narrates the ordeal of "the woman who survived the Sunset Cove Massacre". It has been 5 years since her college friends were murdered by a sadistic young man in a beach house in Cassadaga Island while they were vacationing with no mobile phone network.

Now five years later, Tessa Montgomery is still stuck with the survivor's guilt. She still hear the dying screams of her three friends at night. On top of that, she is haunted by the thoughts of the serial killer, Patrick Moyer, who notably is now dead. She sees him peering under the bed at her with a leering grin on his face.

That's not it. Tessa is keeping much more haunting memories at bay with the help of a dam of amnesia. What will happen if the dam broke?

What will happen when she goes back to the same beach house where the tragedy took place? Who will she encounter there? Will she survive? Why would she go there in the first place? What will be the fate of the lone girl who survived a sadistic ripper?

To unravel all of these mysterious questions and to see Tessa fighting her past demons, get your hands on one of the freshest-looking copies of 'The Last Girl Left'.

To read the full review, visit my blog: https://bibliosbookwormblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-last-girl-left.html

I truly loved this book. I was hooked from the first page. So many twists and turns I didn't see. This was a real page-turning murder mystery thriller. Tessa is a hero. What she endured at the hands of others would leave most others, self included, completely shut down and hidden away from the world forever. I highly recommend this book and am so grateful for the opportunity to read this before being published. I only spotted just a few minor grammatical errors, and they weren't enough to detract from the story. This book ranks in my top 5 read this year.

If you look up “thriller” in the dictionary there should be a picture of the cover of this book!!! What an edge of your seat ride! You can’t help feeling for Tessa and her sad and violent past. Really makes you jump from who you think is involved to the next twist. Great descriptions of the setting and also the cast of characters. Will be an awesome book club pick too!

The Last Girl Left is an electrifying novel of psychological suspense from the first page. Tessa Chamberlain is our brave young protagonist who survived a horrific mass murder that occurred five years before the story starts. But then she decides to go back and face her fears rather than letting them stomp all over the memories alone: it's a lonely beach house on remote Cassadaga Island off the coast of Maine.

A deserted beach house, a foggy island: the atmosphere of dread and tension is utterly sensational. The author has done brilliant work in this respect. When Tessa develops alarming incidents, the reader is more deeply engrossed in the mystery. The pacing is excellent, as suspense rolls steadily through the work and Tessa's past fears gradually become her present reality.

Tessa's character is well rounded, her fragility and determination giving the reader someone to root for. Tessa's memories of the original massacre are intertwined with her tale in the book. It provides an extra layer of tension and emotional depth to a straightforward story.

The storyline keeps you off balance with unexpected twists that come to an alarming denouement in which everything turns out not as imagined.

Without losing sight of its excellent storyline and fully formed characters, the novel receives a star less for some fairly predictable plot points that weaken the entire effect of suspense.

Overall, The Last Git is a page-turner for the lovers of suspense. The haunting exploration of trauma and resilience will stick in your craw well past the last page. Four stars out of five.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

The first part of this book was a little repetitive and slow for me. However, the last part picked up quickly and I ended up staying up late to finish it. I think this atmospheric thriller is well worth the read. Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer, A.M.Strong and Sonya Sargent for allowing me to read this ARC.

Theresa Chamberlain is the sole survivor of an absolutely horrific ordeal five years ago. She is determined to get her life back and decides to spend a month alone at the same beach house where she almost died. She hears footsteps, feels like she's being watched and has an overall sense of utter creepiness from the moment of her arrival.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are all written in such a way that no one, even Theresa (who changed her name to Tessa) seems overly reliable. The police chief is a condescending jerk always calling Tessa "little lady" and other things that diminishes her feelings. The twist isn't as shocking as it was probably intended to be, simply because I felt like clues were left if you paid attention and read between the lines.

Overall, the creepy atmosphere and general sense of "WHY would you do this to yourself, Tessa?!" makes the story move. The chapters are short and it helps keep the suspense and engagement up.

This is a nervewracking story filled with a sense of suspense and almost continuous tension.

Tessa is the sole survivor of a beach house massacre on Cassadaga Island  off coastal Maine, where three of her friends were killed 5 years ago.

Unable to cope with the continuous sense of fear and trauma that this experience has left her with, Tessa feels compelled to take the (perhaps ill advised?) step of returning to the scene of the crime in the hope of purging herself of the feelings that the aftermath of the tragedy has left her with.

But arriving on the island after the summer tourists have left, she discovers that a series of peculiar incidents begins to take place - including a sense of being surveilled, and strange noises from other parts of the building she is staying in.

The question is, is it all in her imagination or does she actually have reason to fear that this time around, she may not leave the island alive?

This is an absorbing story, and successfully holds the reader's attention. There are plenty of unexpected elements which makes it hard to guess what is actually going on. Definitely worth considering for thriller lovers.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

This was a very tense and dark read for me that definitely made me feel nervous at points. I enjoyed the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next.

I read the John Decker monster hunter series by Anthony M. Strong but haven't read any of the books co-written by Stong and Sargent so I was excited to read this. Tessa is the only girl that survived a murderous rampage at this beach house on an island in Maine 5 years ago. Her life has been a struggle since then and she decides she finally needs to do something about it so she is going back to the island to rent the exact house where the nightmare happened. It's off-season and not much happening on the island this time of year. Will she finally be able to put it behind her? Will her questions be answered.? Will she meet anyone on the island? You will find out why she almost has to go and what happens to her. Crazy things start happening and she isn't sure if it's real or in her head. I don't do spoilers and I will just say expect anything, is anyone safe in these authors books? I really had no idea who was doing anything or who to trust. I read on my kindle and normally read about 15 to 20% a day but I could not put the book down and read the last 60% last night. A great book and I will definitely read more of the books written by this couple.

This book caught me hook, line, and sinker. From the opening chapter to the end, it had me guessing and completely enthralled. Tessa survives a horrific attack that kills 3 of her friends and has to live with the major PTSD each day. To make some money and try to jumpstart her healing journey, she returned to the scene of the crime. The Last Girl Left has all of my favorite ingredients for a "can't put it down" thriller. Thanks NetGalley and the publishing house for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Girl Left releases April 23, 2024

The Last Girl Left feels familiar. The books that come to mind are 'When She Returned' by Lucinda Berry and The Inmate by Frieda McFadden.

I think, when I am back in the mood for psychological thrillers, this will be a book I'll pick up again. As a mood reader, this book took a lot to keep me engrossed. I definitely think my thriller readers will like this one. I just felt it took a little too long to get to the 'point' and the point was a bit dull.

The Last Girl Left takes you on a suspenseful journey through the life of Tessa Chamberlain, the only survivor of a horrific mass murder. I do feel this novel is well-written with tension-filled scenes and eerie ambiance, but some aspects feel predictable and lack originality. The setting is atmospheric, and the character development is compelling, but the lack of surprising plot twists hampers the overall experience.

A solid 3-star book, in my opinion.

I would describe this book as a thriller with some horror mixed in. Tessa is the lone survivor of a mass murder that killed her three best friends, They were in college on a spring break trip. After the death of her friends,Tessa is extremely traumatized and lives with her sister unable to hold down a job or leave the house. She finally decided that she wants to go back to the crime scene and gets a book deal along with it. While back at the house, she keeps getting spooked and meets some interesting people in town. I found this book was long for the amount of action that it had. I also did not like most of the characters

A great suspense read. It felt like someone was watching me from inside the book. I did think that the ending was a little abrupt, but it was overall a good book.

This was a very unique and unexpected story! It definitely held my interest until the end but i feel it was just a little too long, especially in the middle, and was bogged down with Tessa’s “thoughts”. But definitely a really good read that I would recommend. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

Tessa has returned to the island off the coast of Maine where three of her friends were murdered. She’s come back during the cold, dark days of winter to try face the fears she’s been trying to outrun for five years. But with the freezing winds and empty desolate island, she begins to wonder if she would have been better off leaving the past buried. Better the past then Tessa herself

This engaging story invites readers in, skillfully introducing a sense of doubt around each character, including the main protagonist, whose sanity is left uncertain. The unexpected twist, though not easily foreseen, adds complexity, prompting reflection after finishing the book. While the conclusion may raise questions about the main character's established history, the overall experience is quite pleasant.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Last Girl Left releases April 23, 2024

2.5

Tessa is the lone survivor of a mass murder that left three of her friends dead while they were vacationing on Cassadaga Island.
Five years later with no progress made through therapy, Tessa has decided to face her trauma head on by returning to the place where she was almost killed.
When her sister refuses to fund Tessa’s month long trip, she reaches out to a publishing house and offers them the exclusive rights to her story with the stipulation that the first draft must be completed while staying at the beach house where the murders happened.

Will Tessa be able to overcome her fears long enough to recount her experience in great detail while learning how to write a novel for the first time? Or will the remote setting paired with her paranoia and frightening memories of that fateful night get the best of her?

If you’re looking for your next serial killer thriller, this might be the book for you. However, I personally felt that it was a little too long in comparison to how little actually happened.
Nothing particularly shocked me, and there wasn't enough focus on her inner healing/closure or writing process.

cw: mentions of past rape