With beautifully haunting writing, <b>Our Last Wild Days</b> tells the story of a reporter estranged from her home town, returning to care for her mom, but finds herself in the middle of figuring out how her childhood best friend would up dead in the Bayou.

I though the writing flowed really nicely in telling the story. You really get the moody, gritty vibes of this close-knit community through the gator hunting, journalist investigating where cops don't seem to be, and the varied and interesting group of characters we meet.

Slow-burn thrillers are a different genre all on their own, and Anna Bailey is very good at building this type of story. If a deeply complex mystery unraveling its multitude of strings bit by bit is something you love, this would be right up your alley.

Grateful to Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley for an ARC to read.

There is no doubt Ms Bailey's atmospheric descriptions and meticulous world-building bear reading, if for nothing other than to truly get into metaphoric (and literal) weeds of a community most of us would have at best a surface-level understanding from aerial videos of the Katrina floods.

But therein lies the quandary: the deeper the author delves into the abject, unredeeming, almost hopeless poverty of the murky Louisiana bayou, the more uncomfortable it is for the reading - perhaps it is the consequence of trying to flesh out way too many characters but it was hard to find humanity in perhaps all but two of the characters who ultimately led me to wonder who or what to root for.

Or perhaps I was hoping for a more Jane Harper-esque take on the small town/back of the beyond murder/drama - one that sets out the ruthlessness of an unforgiving environment in vivid detail but pairs it with at least a few people who present with thoughts and feelings one can relate to, and in whom therefore we are invested enough to want to wade through the dismal environs to however their story concludes.

A good, educational read, but for me, probably not one I'd delve into while on a sunny beach holiday.

My gratitude to NetGallery for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a melancholic mystery novel. The atmosphere is created so well since it's Southern gothic at its finest. Jacknife is such a captivating place. It's dark, stifling, and almost suffocating, both in its weather and in the expectations of the town. Even though this novel starts off really slowly, as soon as the first murder occurs, it's hard to stop reading.

It's been a long time since I've fallen in love with both the main characters and the secondary characters but all of them were written with such poignancy. They felt like real people with real motivations and more often than not, I found myself hurting for them and wanting better.

I really enjoyed the mystery of this novel and I thought Anna Bailey had such a talent on making Cutter feel like such a vivid main character, even when she was no longer the main part of the story. I'm in awe of how good the writing was and how deeply I connected to this story.

I'll definitely be reading her future novels.

A bit slow for me, but I enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions. I didn’t like the constant mention of Loyal’s weight, and the romance that was thrown in at the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the eArc.

Our last Wild days

For those who love a Southern Gothic and atmospheric novel - this is likely an excellent choice.
Unfortunately, this genre isn’t for me. I don’t typically love southern gothic or swamp/bayou type settings. While there was good mystery and twists and good writing that I could appreciate, it took me a little longer to get through it and I think generally, it was just not quite the right niche genre for me. There were also some pacing issues and a lack of connection to any of the characters.

⭐️⭐️💫2.5 star

Thank you to Double Day Canada and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been thinking about the assortment of misunderstood characters that made up this book - he mysteries and assumptions that slowly and painfully get revealed. This is not a fast thriller but a slow burn of a book that keeps you turning the pages to see how it will all unfold. The writing is well done and the atmosphere created sounded beautiful and terrifying on every page.

This book felt like a darker, grittier, hotter version of 'Where the Crawdads Sing'. It touches on grief, guilt, the awful position poverty can force someone into, and how secrets and corruption can make a small town dangerous.

In the background is the environment, systematically being poisoned by the chemical plant while at the same time trying to kill you at every turn and to take back whatever man made objects it can get its hand on.

'Some people go through life like broken bones that haven't been properly set, never really getting better, just slowly racking up damage for later down the line.'

'No one hates a woman like a man who thinks he owns her.'

'The preacher's son rubs his hands over his arms like he's cold, even though the heat is thick enough you could lean on it.'

'When they get out of the car, the heat closes around them like the palm of some huge clammy hand.'

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Intense, thought-provoking, and atmospheric!

Our Last Wild Days is a dark, twisty novel that takes you into the lives of a handful of people, including reporter Loyal May, who, after returning home to care for her mother, finds herself obsessed with discovering what truly happened to her childhood friend Cutter, when her body is found floating in the river.

The prose is fluid and tight. The characters are conflicted, scarred, and relentless. And the plot is a compelling, sobering tale of life, loss, family, friendship, grief, guilt, denial, secrets, abuse, neglect, poverty, desperation, self-preservation, violence, redemption, and small-town dynamics.

Overall, Our Last Wild Days is a gritty, intricate, engrossing tale by Bailey that captivates from the very first page and ultimately leaves you pensive, unsettled and thoroughly entertained.

Holy man, this one was so slow for me. I feel like a mystery/thriller should grasp you pretty quick but this one was so dry and hard to get into. If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have not finished the book. It would pick up at times but I always felt like it needed more.

I did like the southern aspect of it and feel like that was done correctly but I just felt like the plot moved too slow to enjoy the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

This one was too slow for me.
Not enough thrill or intrigue in the first quarter of the book to keep me invested.
The premise was smart and interesting and the setting/ location was atmospheric but this one fell short for me.

Summary: Loyal May has returned to her home in rural Jacknife, Louisana, to look after her aging mother. Loyal hasn’t been home since she graduated high school and burned bridges as she left with a nasty article about her former best friend, Cutter (Marianne) Labasque. Loyal has contemplated reaching out to Cutter, but before she can decide Cutter is found facedown in swamp. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Loyal joins the staff of the local newspaper and is determined to get to the truth of why Cutter died, regardless of the dangers that lurk in the forest and swamp.

Thoughts: I had no expectations about this novel before going in since I knew nothing about it. However I was quickly drawn into Loyal and Cutter’s world: sub-tropical heat, the buzz of insects, the swish of alligators in the bayou and rural small-town life where everyone knows everyone else (or thinks they do). The Labasques are at the bottom of the pecking order in Jacknife and they know it. Having lost their parents at a young age, the three siblings grew up together in a ramshackle house by the swamp, hunting alligators and doing whatever they could to survive.

Poverty, drug addiction and despair are omnipresent in Jacknife, as is often the way in struggling small towns. While gossip about Cutter’s death is rampant, Loyal is certain that Cutter was murdered and she is relentless in her pursuit of the truth to the point of endangering herself and those around her. There are so many deep issues and themes running throughout the story – indifference to poverty and suffering, industries poisoning the natural environment, the scourge of drug addiction which feeds on poverty and hopelessness, and deep-seated corruption which allows those at the top to pursue their agenda while ignoring the needs of the townspeople. It is a well-written, atmospheric novel which delivers an immersive reading experience. 4.5/5

This isn't the mindless thriller I was expecting when I first saw it. Firstly, it's more of a slow-burn murder mystery, emphasis on slow. And secondly, this book has some things to SAY. I dug it. I dug it a lot.

I'm not a big reader of mysteries, because I don't really care about figuring out whodunnit. I'm more interested in how the writer hides clues than in deciphering them myself, if that makes sense? So I can't really speak to whether or not the mystery would be predictable to an avid mystery reader. I just know that, even though some of my early suspicions did turn out to be well-founded, Bailey did a great job of hiding clues in plain sight. I don't want to get too specific in case of spoilers, but if you get to the end and think, "But wait a minute, that scene earlier..." Nope, you just misread it. Clever!

I've seen some reviews that mention dangling plot threads, and yeah, I think there was one thread that was never completely tied off. That didn't bother me, though. Everything is at least explained, if not resolved.

As for what the book has to say... there's a strong message here about religious hypocrisy and toxic masculinity that I think is very well delivered. It all feels believable, and even familiar. Every single character is touched by it in some way. But rather than relying on cardboard villain stereotypes, Bailey does a good job of getting inside everyone's heads and exploring the ways that people convince themselves that they're the good guys.

The subtle but unavoidable message that resonated the most with me, though, was the environmental criticism that Bailey managed to thread throughout the novel. I was pleasantly surprised when the title turned out to reference environmental damage rather than carefree adolescence. The main message about hypocrisy and toxicity doesn't just pertain to human interactions but to our treatment of the greater natural world as well. The quote that the title comes from made me gasp out loud. On the whole, this book is beautifully written and offers the reader a lot to think about.

I absolutely loved this book. However, I seem to be in the minority on that? Most early reviewers give it 3 or 4 stars, and on some level I agree. There are plenty of flaws in this book, and I'm sure it annoys Americans that it's full of British spellings (but now you know how Brits, Canadians, and Aussies feel when you "correct" our spellings to yours in American publications!), but for some reason it really resonated with me anyway. Bailey's writing is clear, evocative, and sincere. The characters are well-drawn, believable, and show a satisfying amount of growth. The mystery has enough surprises to hold the reader's interest while being slow-burn enough to let us enjoy the scenery. I enjoyed every minute of reading it.

After Loyal moves back to her small hometown to take care of her aging mother, her childhood best friend turns up murdered. Writing for the local paper, Loyal takes it upon herself to figure out what happened and why.

This was such an immersive and detailed book that felt intentional and essential to the story and characters. It felt like you were right in the swamp with them. With alternating POVs, it moved at a great pace that kept me engaged and wanting to know what was going to happen next. A few twists I wasn’t expecting that tied up a satisfying ending. Would love to read more from Anna Bailey.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the ARC! Our Last Wild Days is out May 27th!

I saw so many great reviews of this book however it really wasn’t for me, in the end. I did finish it and it was okay. It was an interesting setting and the pacing was pretty good.

what I liked about this:
-the writing was evocative, heavy, and lush (though British spellings caught my eye a couple of times and gave me a little chuckle - because why is someone in a Louisiana swamp talking about 'tyres'?)
-the setting was impeccable, and almost alive enough as to be a main character. I could feel the opressive heat, the humidity, the droning of insects in my ear throughout the story.
-Loyal's grief over how she left things with Cutter was heavy and believable, as were the issues her mother was dealing with; her love for Cutter actually wove through the story in a way I really liked
-Sasha and Dewall. there was a hidden nugget of tenderness in there that unfurled (sorta out of nowhere) near the backhalf of the story

What I didn't love as much:
-I wish some of the characters had more weight to them. They didn't always feel fleshed out enough. Maybe it was because we kept switching povs, which I thought sometimes cut mounting tension
-why are they always nazis
-the story moved brutally slow at times. I'll be honest, if I wasn't reading this as an arc I might have put it down and forgotten about it around the 30% mark
-Cutter's death felt unearned, and inevitable. but like, heartbreakingly reflective of reality

This was a new to me author. I had seen an early review by a Booksta friend who said that it was an atmospheric thriller. And since I am craving thrillers right now and love to try new authors, I decided to request it.

Atmospheric it is. The setting in the south gave the eerie mood the backdrop needed for Loyal May to dig into answers of who killed her friend because it doesn’t seem like an accident to her.

Ok so I love atmospheric reads but it also has to keep moving. This felt so slow that I found myself not wanting to pick it up. The writing was good, just too much “extra” that could have been removed to keep the story moving faster.


That’s my opinion. I may be in the minority though. So feel free to check out other glowing ones.

I enjoyed this mystery and didn't figure out the end of my own (always a good thing to me). The Louisiana culture gave the story a good spin and I enjoyed the characters and their backgrounds

Our Last Wild Days is beautifully written and dripping with Southern atmosphere—you can practically feel the humidity and hear the buzz of the bayou in every scene. The setting of Jacknife, Louisiana, is a character all its own, with a sense of decay, secrets, and simmering tension that lingers on every page.

I really appreciated the emotional core of the story. Loyal May’s return home and her complicated relationship with her past felt authentic and layered. Her grief, guilt, and determination to make amends gave the book a strong emotional grounding, and I liked how the novel explored loyalty, memory, and the weight of community ties.

That said, the plot moved very slowly. While the mystery surrounding Cutter’s death initially intrigued me, it took quite a while for things to pick up, and some stretches dragged. The investigation unfolds at a pace that may test the patience of readers looking for a more traditional suspense narrative. Moments of tension were scattered rather than sustained, and I sometimes found myself wishing the story would push a little harder, or faster, toward resolution.

Still, if you're in the mood for a quiet, moody mystery with a strong sense of place and introspective character work, Our Last Wild Days has something to offer. Just don’t expect a fast-paced thriller—this one’s more of a slow, reflective burn.

A slow burn story about the bayou and all the shady people who live there. Since coming home to deal with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Loyal May finds her childhood friend dead. Her death is ruled a suicide but she doesn’t believe it. She wants to get down to the true reason to her friends death. A very slow burn story. Honestly I found myself getting bored and wanting to put it down. But you should try it yourself. I read so many good reviews after I finished but it just wasn’t really for me.

An eerie and atmospheric Louisiana backcountry murder mystery. Where the past will most definitely come back to haunt you. I enjoyed the descriptive writing of this one. Recommend!

Swamp Secrets: A Southern Gothic Masterpiece That Will Haunt You

Anna Bailey's Our Last Wild Days grabs you by the throat and drags you deep into Louisiana's darkest waters. This isn't just another Southern mystery – it's a raw, unflinching look at how secrets rot small towns from the inside out.

The story hits hard from the start. Loyal May comes home to Jacknife, Louisiana, carrying enough emotional baggage to sink a steamboat. When her old friend Cutter Labasque turns up dead in the swamp, she starts asking questions nobody wants answered. Not the locals. Not the law. Not even Cutter's own brothers.

Bailey writes like she's possessed by the ghost of Flannery O'Connor. Her Louisiana bayou isn't just a setting – it's alive, dangerous, and hungry. Every description drips with atmosphere thicker than Spanish moss. She captures the suffocating reality of small-town life: the whispered rumors, the old grudges, the way everyone knows your business before you do.

The Labasque siblings steal every scene they're in. Through their tangled relationships, Bailey explores addiction, loyalty, and the kind of family bonds that feel more like chains. Loyal May stands out as a protagonist who's refreshingly real – she's messy, complicated, and all the more compelling for it.

The pacing builds like a summer storm. Sure, it takes its time in places, but when it hits, it hits hard. Bailey doesn't tie everything up in a neat bow at the end, and that's exactly right for this story. Some secrets stay buried in the swamp.

Minor flaws? A few plot threads dangle, and the middle section meanders a bit. But these hardly matter when the rest hits so hard. For fans of Jane Harper and Megan Miranda, this book scratches an itch you didn't know you had.

Our Last Wild Days isn't just a book – it's a fever dream you can't shake off. It'll make you sweat, think, and leave you checking over your shoulder long after you've finished the last page.
4.5/5 stars