Thanks to author/publisher for ARC of the book.

The book was not quite not what i imagined it to be. It was much better. I had picked it up thinking it was going to be light right considering the main character is a stand up comedian. However it brings to light a major issue which is gaining momentum world wide.

The twist at the end where Dana discovers truth was quite the unexpected twist. Really liked the book and plan to go back and read the other title by the author

The title was very clever:as a stand-up comic and as a woman in Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” type story,it was fascinating! You hear more about rape and abuse now.I realize that this is an important issue;but now people come out of the woodwork.After thirty years,they come forward.It is not fair for the victim,but just the accusation is enough to ruin the accused’s life-even if he or she is not guilty.The book is well-written and thought out.It was very interesting,and the characters felt real!I plan to read her last book and I would recommend this one.

This book is totally different from what I was expecting. I liked it, but not as much as I was hoping to...it’s well written with a good cast of characters, but it was slightly confusing for me at times. Overall though, I enjoyed it and I’ll definitely read more by this author.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It was definitely a book that kept you thinking! I would definitely recommend this book to fellow readers. Thank you!

In the year of time's up and me too, Gentry is pulling no punches and I love it.

A quick read and interesting premise.

Dark and convoluted with a main character that was hard to feel sympathy for. A retelling of Strangers on a Train with today's technology playing a prominent role.

This novel is not just a riveting, darkly humorous thriller, but a viscerally honest look into the misogyny baked into every layer of our society. Even if you're not interested in the cultural commentary, you will also find yourself laughing out loud, staying up past your bedtime to see what happens next, and forcing yourself to slow down to savor the book as it races to a surprising and subversive conclusion.

I have never read a novel that illuminates the dark corners of female rage as precisely and candidly as this amazing thriller. The author explores every point on the harassment spectrum--from the "can't you take a joke" variety, to the casual grope, to rape, and honors the unique trauma and emotional experience stemming from each type of encounter. As someone who has been assaulted and still castigates herself for freezing instead of fleeing, seeing an explanation for why we default to this behavior was exceptionally validating and healing. You will find yourself underlining passages because finally, someone put words to the amorphous feeling of rage and defeat a lot of us feel in the face of this culture's treatment of women.

I was fascinated by the author's exploration of the unique struggles of the standup grind for women. As a fan of standup, all of the experiences she describes rings true with articles I've read from comics and journalists, and she's able to add an even deeper emotional intensity to the exhausting experiences women face. What's incredible to me is that our main character comes to a similar revelation that we just recently saw real-life comic Hannah Gadsby share with us in her Netflix special Nanette, which I think speaks to the universality of this experience. It's incredible to a see a novelist and a real-life stand up have such independently profound revelations that dovetail together in describing the fear and pain women deal with on a daily basis, but also the ferocious strength we have to face a world hell bent on keeping us down.

I hope I don't do this novel an injustice by focusing on the political aspects in this review; those just were personally very salient to me and her mastery in elucidating it is unique to a lot of contemporary fiction. This is a first class psychological thriller that features perfect plot pacing, characters who are unique and intriguing, and a fantastic conclusion.

*This novel was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Dana Diaz is a stand-up comedian, fighting it out for fame in a tough, competitive market. The author stresses that comedy is traditionally a man’s world, and Dana is a small, Latina woman trying to make it big. She definitely had it rough in Los Angeles, where she was harassed and assaulted, so she returns to Austin where things are a bit calmer. There she meets Amanda, a computer programmer, by chance at one of her shows (or so we are lead to believe…). From then on, the story gets crazy. I really liked this book, up until the very end, where I thought it began to drag a bit. This book is filled with twists and turns and surprises I didn’t see coming. It might not be my favorite recently read book, but definitely worth reading if you like to be kept guessing.

Great characters, fast paced story and a nice unexpected twist. I read this in about a day and a half. Couldn't put it down.

Dana Diaz is competing for the Best Comic in Austin but she feels like she is bombing. No one is laughing at her jokes, until one woman begins laughing. She is appreciative that the woman is "saving" her and they meet at the bar after her set. Amanda begins telling Dana about an abusive relationship she was in and because Dana had a similar experience with a man, they quickly bond and become friends. They decide that they want to exact revenge on these men, which is where is goes sideways.
In the midst of the #metoo movement and all things Harvey Weinstein (one of the characters reminded me of him) this is a timely novel that addresses some tough topics. Lots of triggers here for assault and/or rape.
I did enjoy the story up until the last 10% or so. I wasn't real sure how the story resolved itself, but maybe this will be made clearer with editing as I read an advanced copy. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so excited for this book. But it just drags - sadly. the premise is great, but the characters are flat and one dimensional. it's very slow to start and hard to keep interested in as the main character rehashes things in her head over and over with little dialogue.

Last Woman Standing is a twisted, twisty tale set in the world of stand‑up comedy. (Aside: being an author can be tough at times, but boy I'm glad I never aspired to be a comedian!) Dana Diaz is doing it tough when she meets Amanda Dorn, a friendly face in an unfriendly crowd, drawing confidences about sexual harassment in their respective male-dominated work worlds. Amanda's plan to each go after the other’s assailants spirals until it's hard to know who Dana should be more afraid of and how she can get out of this dangerous mess. Likened to Patricia Highsmith's classic Strangers on a Train, Last Woman Standing is clearly of the #metoo era. I enjoyed the read.

An interesting update to Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, I had high hopes for Last Woman Standing which starts in the backstage world of the Austin stand-up comedy scene (I'm also a fan of HBO's I'm Dying Up Here), but was disabused of this about a quarter of the way into the book when I realized that it was just a hook to hang the plot on. Perhaps Amy Gentry began the thriller with the world of stand-up in mind, but #metoo came along and walked away with the rest of the story.

There is a LOT of plot here, but essentially we come down to #metoo meets Strangers on a Train -- two women fed up with mistreatment at the hands of men have a go at each others' enemies list -- or do they?

Unlikely connections, plot holes, loose strings and red herrings abound. This is an OK book that could have been a much better book with some tighter editing -- especially at the end, which does go on.

Amy, you have a better book in you. I'm rooting for you, girl.

First, from a technical standpoint, there were some formatting issues with the ARC copy (but that can happen). Chapter cut-offs were sometimes unclear, and there were plenty of unnecessary hyphens indicating page breaks that weren't there.

However, the story was captivating, quick-paced, and threw a pretty significant curveball that made this a binge-worthy read. As you read, you get the sense of the ante being upped, in terms of these two women doling out revenge on one another's behalf. The agreement seems uncomfortably lighthearted for one, but it isn't long before it becomes apparent that this is very real and serious for the other (who is tech-savvy, connected, and unafraid to cause chaos and harm). The fact that the protagonist is a stand-up comedian does give a bit of dark humor to the story, but this author also does a good job of bringing focus around to the harassment and assault that women commonly face on a day-to-day basis.

Dana Diaz and Amanda Dorn meet and hit it off, sharing war stories about being women in male centric jobs. Dana is an up and coming comedian and Amanda is a computer programmer. Dana confides she was actually assaulted and Amanda suggests they get revenge on the men who hurt them. Amanda will go after Dana’s attacker and Dana will go after Amanda’s. It sounds like a good idea at the time (probably why this gimmick has been used in countless books and movies), but things get murky fast. Just how much does Dana want revenge, and at what price? Gentry takes an old plot line and breathes new life into it by using the Me Too movement. Timely and shocking