The Last Wife by J.A. Baker is a gripping and engrossing page turner. From start to finish, the atmosphere is eerie and danger's lurking around the corner. When Fiona realizes she's the only wife on the island and so many young women died in the past couple of years, her curiosity is piqued. Did they perish during the pandemic? Or, is there a sinister reason behind their deaths?

I loved the island part of the story - an isolated community and no women around, it certainly brought about an eerie feeling. What I didn't find convincing enough: Fiona's past -the reason she and her husband decided to make a fresh start. Well, given that this was a creepy thriller, I was under the impression Fiona and Neil got away with murder and were making a fresh start at Winters End. (Don't shoot me for expecting an evil protagonist.)

I loved the storytelling. The mystery behind the mysterious deaths of women on the island kept me guessing till the end. The book is divided into two parts. I loved Part II better than Part I because this is where the action and suspense is at an all-time high.

The ending was spine-chilling. Though we are given a gist of what made the perp a monster, their identity was a shocker. Also, they had some weird connection with the island and it's people. I didn't see it coming and I was pretty much shocked when their truth is finally out.

Though the book is divided into two equal parts (19 chapters each), I wish Part II was longer. A bit more about Fiona's struggle, perp's past and some more backstory on perp's previous victims would have made this a 5-starrer read.

Overall, this was a good and gripping thriller. Kept me hooked from start to finish. Excellent character portrayal and shocking turn of events at the end.

This is my first taste of this authors work and I have to admit I did enjoy it.

Fiona and Neil believe they have found the perfect place to make a fresh start, leaving behind the guilty secrets. They arrive at Winters End, a remote island and it is not long before they experience a frosty welcome from the locals. Someone in particular wants them to leave and Fiona senses that they are fully aware of their guilty secrets. Neil is not so sure and feels it is just Fiona’s mind playing tricks with her.

This is a good read that got better the more I read. Very atmospheric and good strong characters.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Winters End should have been the perfect place for me and my husband Neil to start again. To leave the terrible secrets and guilt of our past far behind us.

But from the moment we arrived in the small, isolated community, it becomes clear to me that we are not welcome here. That someone wants us to leave…

I’m certain that everyone knows our secrets – knows who we really are. But how can that be?

This is my sort of thriller. I love J A Baker's writing, and devour the speed of her plots. I never work out until the end exactly what has happened, and this was no different. A great book, from start to finish

I really tried this one. It was exceptionally slow and did not scratch that thriller itch I was looking for. I DNF'd this book but made it through enough that I am able to give a semblance of a review. The story was slow and did not get to the point quickly. It was incredibly frustrating, too! I was really hoping for a slow-burn, but it just ended up being slow. This one was not for me, unfortunately.

Wow! That kind of left my head spinning. I could not for the life of me figure out why there seemed to be very few women on this island. I was scratching my brain, totally creeped out, until it finally all came into place. This kept me turning pages long into the night, trying to sleuth it all out. There isn't much new to discover in thrillers as they are out in droves right now, but I found this one was done very well!

Such a great thriller!! The concept was very unique which I loved. I’ve read a lot of thrillers and I really enjoyed how fresh and new this one felt.

I thought the pacing was really good and the story flowed really well. The writing was excellent and it felt like all of Baker’s writing decisions were very intentional and helped the story progress.

I enjoyed that the book was split into two parts. Part one only has Fiona’s POV. But then part 2 starts after Fiona is taken and has 3 different POV’s. You still get to see Fiona’s and what she is going through. But you also get her husband Neil’s POV of him searching for her and also the POV of the killer that takes place in the past to show his story as well.

The only thing I would change is more of an explanation of the villagers strange behaviors. It makes sense that they would be wary if all their wives were killed. But we only learned about Vince’s wife and now who all the other women were in relation to the villagers. Like we’re they just trying to scare her off because all wives are killed? Did they know more than they let on?

This was my first book by J.A. Baker and I cannot wait to read more of her books!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an eARC book of The Last Wife.

I just reviewed The Last Wife by J A Baker. #TheLastWife #NetGalley

This book held a lot of promise. However, it really dragged. This couple essentially shuns themselves because she's "done something horrible" and when you find out what that is, you realize it's very vanilla for this type of book.

Then she notices things going on around the island, but it takes half the book to finally get to any action. And then it's glossed over.

I really wanted to like this one. I did.

Big thanks for the ARC!

I received an ARC copy through Netgalley of the Last Wife by J A Baker.

This book was suspenseful throughout! The mystery surrounding why no women remain at Winters End island had you wondering the entire read of what sinister thing could have been going on and who or what could have been behind it. The characters that were native to Winters Island were hostile to newcomers Neil and Fiona, who just wanted a new start. Will they unravel the mystery before it is too late, or will they succumb to whatever it is that does not want them on the island?!

I do wish the book got a little more into the couple's past, as it seemed like an integral part of why they moved, but I feel like it was not explained or spoken about much .. and when it was revealed it didn't seem like too bad of a scandal.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and towards the end, I was reading so fast to figure out what the hell was going on on the island!

This story was set in to two parts. I felt part one was quite slow. Fiona has a lot of long inner dialogue which was at times a bit boring. I found myself thinking how long she would be stood in front of someone without speaking or just staring in to the ether.

I liked the setting of an island. The fog, the bad weather and the clicky locals. It made it more atmospheric. The residents of the island are all very rude and although a couple of them are explained, the rest are not. I don’t know why it was ignored. I would have liked more of an explanation.

The second part picked up and it became more of a thriller than a mystery. I liked that Neil became more supportive and assertive. It was a good climax and was overall an enjoyable read.

This book was slow at first. I had a hard time wanting to read it, as I kept getting annoyed at the author hinting at something happening, and then never giving more details. Once we started learning more about the move, why they were in the island, and some of the creepy things they started noticing, it did seem to pick up some, but I didn’t feel myself being pulled to it. I did like the overall story, and I was okay with the twists at the end.

In The Last Wife we follow Fiona and her husband Neil as they move to a secluded island (Winters End) needing a fresh start. Fiona starts to notice that there are hardly any women on the island… She then starts to receive messages telling her she should leave the island before it is too late. What is really going on here? Is Fiona safe or should she pack up and leave?

I found this book to be quite slow in the beginning. It only started to slightly hook me in chapter 4/5 and then about halfway it picked up. I found a lot of the characters inner dialogue was repetitive and it also left a few details unanswered. I also found the island in general hard to visualize, perhaps an accompany drawing to emphasize the layout would have been neat.

Overall, the story had a great plot and the twist was pretty good! Once you get to the big event it is hard to put down as you’ll want all the answers.

Thank you Boldwood Books & NetGalley for this advanced copy and for trusting me with an honest review.

What a thrilling book filled with tension, a deep and unsettling sense of foreboding accentuated by skillful foreshadowing and palpable , edge of the seat expectancy fueled by evocative descriptions of the harsh, inclement terrain of the secluded island Winters End. Fiona and Neil are desperate to fit in and to make the island - so unlike their previous home - their sanctuary. The combination of the harsh environs, Fiona and Neil increasing desperation and the overpowering sense of a very real, yet unidentified danger lurking just out of reach makes this a tense and compelling psychological thriller. - one which will grab you by the throat and keep you turning the pages well into the wee hours.

You will pick this book up thinking it is a straight forward thriller book about a woman moving to an island community with her husband. It is not that. It is weird. It is the weirdest book I have read all year.
I am a girl's girl so I would have left five minutes into noticing there were not a lot of other women but our girl doesn't get that option and it gets stranger and stranger.
Also Neil is great. It was refreshing to see a flawed husband who is not at all evil.
The ending was wonderful too.
Wonderful book.

The Last Wife:

Fiona and her husband Neil move to the small island of Winters End after a scandal. But what they both realise while there is that something is amiss. The population of women on the island is almost none, and the men on the island keep warning the couple to leave while they can. Fiona forms a friendship with the only other female on the island and after some time Fiona and Neil’s relationship is put to the test one more time. After Fiona goes searching for clues something unthinkable happens and Neil needs to try trace his wife’s steps as her life could depend on it.

I am really enjoying thriller and suspense books right now. I like trying to figure out the ending or how close I come to it. I found this story to be easy to follow and the struggles in the relationship were well represented and how the couple needed to overcome the past to move forward. The creepiness of the people of Winters End just added to the whole narrative and in the end, there was defiantly a part I did not expect. Towards the end I did put some clues together but the outcome did not fully register until the end of the book. There was also a missing element at the end that wasn’t explained which made me think what happened to certain people. I would recommend this to others who like to suspense and thriller type books.

As per usual thank you @ for supplying the ARC of this novel which is out today (SmileFACE). Follow @ for more books that are similar. Available on Kindle

The Last Wife by J A Baker kept me up all night, unable to put it down until the final heart-pounding twist.
The writing is suspenseful and engaging… Baker can open such a gripping, intriguing and exciting read.
I thought the characters were great, the plot was excellent and the style of writing was perfect.
I will defiantly pick up another book by Baker in the future.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank You NetGalley and Boldwood Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an of this book for an honest review:

I felt this book started off with great creepy vibes, but ultimately it was not a book for me. I felt the atmosphere of the isolated island they couple lived on, and how creepy it's residents were. Immediately it became clear Fiona and Neil were not wanted. The book caught my attention. There was also a mystery of what exactly the couple was involved in prior to their move to this island that was so bad, they were clearly running away from something.
Sadly, once the situation the Fiona and Neil was revealed of why they were "running away" to this creepy island, it just didn't seem so terrible. it felt very vanilla. I also felt the "creepy vibes" lasted way too long in the book. Finally when the big thrilling part occurred I thought that part would be exciting however, I felt those parts were too drawn out also. In a high stress scene instead of more action we were in the characters thoughts about how they would value the little things in life. And although i understand when major traumas happen in our lives we do gain perspective, but not in the middle of the emergency. It really took me out of the most action packed scenes.

Slow burning thriller that had me hooked! This was my first book by this author and I am hooked on the writing style & how the author developed these characters!!! 5/5

I'm a big fan of Baker's writing so was looking forward to reading this and I think this is probably my favourite book of hers. Set on the small island of Winters End it's full of disquieting atmosphere from the start.. Everything seems to be against Neil and Fiona's hope for a new start - the weather, the weeds and the surprisingly hostile islanders. Some great creepy scenes and well drawn characters make this an addictive read that will have you racing to the end.

This one sounded right up my alley. Fiona and her husband move to Winters End, a small island where they can hide from what they did. The locals are unwelcoming and it's not long before she realizes that there are almost no women in the small town. The local cemetery is filled with gravestones, most of them recent. It's an atmospheric, slow burn that held me interest most of the way through. The revelations -- both of the awful thing Fiona did and of what happened to the local women left me a bit underwhelmed. It's a solid read, but nothing unique.

I love this author and her latest book was a nice surprise. Darker than some of her books. Fiona and Neil are moving to an isolated island in the North Sea. Winters End is going to be a new start and hopefully to save their marriage. So why does Fiona has this feeling of impending doom as steps off the ferry. Why are the locals so unfriendly and why are there more women buried in the graveyard than men???. A slow burner but then it really picks up pace. Atmospheric, chilling and so good!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.