Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I honestly don't have as much to report about this one as I expected too. I thought it was either going to be outlandish and awful or absolutely amazing. Life should teach me not to think in all or none's. However, this ended up being a DNF at 60 percent. It was missing something things I thought I would get from it. It does take place on an island however, up until 60 percent at least, the island doesn't really feel like it's relevant. The mystery of finding out exactly what happened to her fiancee is somewhat interesting, I just could not bring myself to care about these characters and that's usually when I call it quite. I just unfortunately felt bored and uninterested. This book is not bad by any means, it's not immature or outlandish, even to the point I may have enjoyed it more if it had some of that. My rule is if I no longer care about what happens to the characters in the end, I need to quit and here we are.

Andrea Bartz is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. In her latest book, The Last Ferry Out, bereaved protagonist Abby travels to a remote Mexican island intent on retracing her fiancée’s last days. She meets locals with whom she can’t communicate and a group of English-speaking expats who she believes know more about her fiancée’s death than they are letting on. 4.5/5 stars.

This was my first book by Andrea Bartz. I was so intrigued by the description of the book and it lived up to that for me.

The Book:
Abby's fiance died in a medical accident while working on a capstone project on a remote island in Mexico, Isla Colel. Four months following her fiance, Eszter's death, Abby travels to the island to see the place where she had been living and where she died - looking for places Eszter visited & the people Eszter was friends with.
As she gets to know people on the island, Abby starts to suspect that Eszter's death was more suspicious than simply a medical accident and starts to unravel secrets and lies - of people on the island and of Eszter herself.

My Thoughts:
I really loved this setting and the descriptions were rich enough that I could easily picture and feel this island.
I enjoyed the characters and their messy lives. I was curious throughout the book to find out what really happened to Eszter. There are some really great, tense scenes throughout the book!
This book is told through multi-timeline & POV, which I really enjoyed.

I will be sharing this review on Instagram Thurs May 1 and will add the link below after I have posted it.

Isla Colel, a small island where people go to escape, full of expats, is the site of the disappearance of Eszter. Abby's Eszter's fiancee arrives on the island with the intention of trying to uncover what Eszter's last days were like. When she meets fellow expats who all knew Eszter, Abby begins to feel like she is a part of those last days of Eszter's life. But some of the expats are cagey and avoid answering questions. When Abby receives a text from one of the expats telling her he needs to talk to her about Eszter, Abby feels like she will be able to connect the missing pieces. But when he goes missing, Abby is convinced something more sinister is at play. The web of lies Abby wades through will either give Abby the answer's she's searching for or put her in danger also.

The remote island location was very effective in this book. The description of the island and the atmosphere made you feel like you were there.

There book explored so many themes of grief, love and how it feels to lose someone that you love. It is never easy to accept loss, but when you suspect the person was taken from you it makes it harder. Then you investigate and start to worry if you really knew the person at all. Those are the emotions from Abby's point of view.

I found the story to be muddled and hard to follow, but there were enough twists to keep your interested. Even with the flashbacks, it was hard to imagine Abby and her partner together, which made it harder at times to concentrate on the crime. I also feel like there were quite a few characters. It was not what I was expecting, but was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to read and offer my thoughts.

Emotional and raw. Abby’s fiancé goes up missing and she goes to find out what happened. A slow burn.

Complicated characters with a lot going on. Be sure to read the triggers because there are quite a few.

DNF AT 20% because this book fell extremely flat for me. I have read a few of Andrea Bartz’s books and enjoyed them. They always have me flipping the pages, trying to guess what’s happening next. I was extremely excited to start this one but I quickly lost interest. The main character Abby didn’t feel like a well fleshed out character. I understood her grief but I didn’t understand her decisions. They seemed impulsive and random. I also felt like the story was moving extremely slow. Slow enough that I stopped caring what the next reveal would be. This one wasn’t for me but I’m sure her next one will be!

Not me over here trying to locate this fictional island on google maps lol. I found this novel incredibly engaging and really enjoyed immersing myself in the little island world. And while it wasn't meant to be, that eco-friendly yoga retreat sounded like a great idea to me...

📖 Book Review 📖 Andrea Bartz wastes no time jumping right into this action packed thriller and the fight for survival is on, and not everyone survives paradise. It has been four months since Abby lost her fiance to mysterious circumstances on Isla Colel, determined to discover the truth behind what really happened. The Last Ferry Out brings a page turning ride that keeps the reader guessing at every turn, trusting no one and desperate to know how Eszter really died. Grief is the cruelest emotion but there’s a sinking pit in Abby’s stomach that something foul is at play here and it makes for one amazing read…

Thanks to Netgalley & Random House- Ballantine for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed! Fast-paced & great setting. Had me turning the pages. Will definitely read more from this author.

I gave this book 3 stars. It was good! There were good twist and turns and overall a good fun thriller/mystery. I tend to be pickier when it comes to thrillers but I think this is a good summer read. It did take me a minute to get into it. It’s a slow burn. But overall decent.

Abby's arrival on Mexico's Isla Colel to retrace her late fiancé's steps leads her to the expat community her beloved Eszter spent time with prior to her sudden death. The more time Abby spends on the island, though, the more she suspects Eszter's accident isn't as cut and dry as she's been told. With a diverse ensemble cast of characters and lush tropical atmosphere, this suspenseful multi-POV story is packed with deep emotion and bombshell reveals. Fans of Alex Garland's THE BEACH, this is the wanderlust thriller you've been waiting for.

While I like some of this previous author's works, I really could not get into this book as much as the others. The characters were not ones you rooted for and the story was one I felt like I had read before.

For Fans Of: Lisa Unger, Ruth Ware
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘
Genre: 🔪 Thriller
Sub-Genre: Adult
Violence: 🪓🪓
Spice: 💋
Triggers: Self-harm, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, drug use, anaphylaxis

Synopsis: Abby travels to Isla Colel to revisit the days before her fiancée’s death. But she begins to suspect it was no accident and the killer may still be on the island.

Thoughts: An isolated, sparsely populated island offers a great locked room setting, & Bartz does heavy lifting with only a handful of possible suspects. At one point or another, I believe all of them capable. And when I thought I had finally cracked it, the author throws in some final twists. The story unfolds from dual perspectives—the deceased Eszter’s & the grieving Abby’s—and its shifting timeline allows Ezster’s death to be contextualized in the broader framework of their lives. Bartz could teach a master class on how to play with what’s hidden & revealed in seemingly innocuous biographical details. Perhaps what I enjoyed most about this unique thriller was its heart. Whether accidental or intentional, Eszter’s death is a tragedy. And in its aftermath, we see Abby deal with the grief of loss, the pain of unanswered questions, & the realization that great love does not equal perfect love stories. It’s strange to say a thriller surrounding a mysterious death left me feeling hopeful, but it’s true. The Last Ferry Out may have been my 1st Andrea Bartz novel, but it won’t be my last.

I really enjoy Andrea Bartz as an author and her thrillers are amazing however this was a bit more of a slow burn than I was expecting. The pace didn't pick up until we were about 55% through the book.

I did enjoy the set up of the description but the main character Abby did not grip me the way I would expect from an Andrea created Main character. She wasn't as lovable and likeable and made some infuriating mistakes putting herself in more danger than I would have liked for a character that knowing went to an island where she doesn't know the language.

The ending did have a twist that I was not expecting but I feel like there should have been a bit more foreshadowing about this one - it just came out of left field.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

📜Quick Summary: Would you return to the island that your fiance was found dead at? Abby cannot shake that her fiance’s death was not an accident, so she returns to Isla Colel. She’s determined to figure out what happened and when she meets a group of people, expats, who say they know what happened to Eszter, she has no choice but to follow these leads. But when the lead expat suddenly disappears, she’s starting to question the other people’s motives. Who’s telling the truth? What will she uncover? Are people trying to bury the truth, and possibly her?

❣️Initial Feels: Imagining this scenario, a loved one dead from an allergic reaction, hits deep when I have a daughter who also uses an EpiPen for food allergy issues. Abby is extremely brave in trying to really see what happened, and I’m worried for her as I turn the pages.

👀Trigger Warnings: grief, loss of fiance, asphyxiation, drug use, self harm, suicide, physical/mental abuse, queerphobia

📖Read if you want: short chapters, a skim the waters murder mystery, slow burn, atmospheric setting, to question how well you know people, remote island, f/f romance

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Abby’s resilience and self growth from the start to the end was beautifully scripted.

🗨️Thoughtful Words: “We leave everything we encounter a little bit altered, for better or for worse.”

“If you try to impress people into loving you, you’re telling yourself you aren’t loveable without those impressive things.”

💡Final Sentiments: Overall this was an easy to binge thriller, if you like the slow burn type of stories. The pace of events was decently laid out, although some parts didn’t quite fit for me, and the author did a great job of keeping me guessing and going back and forth on who could have done it. Although I flew through this book, I felt like something was missing. Certain parts kept me on my toes and then other times I was wishing for more. Bartz does a great job of creating an atmospheric setting, building the tension along the sights that are on this remote island. It sure made me never want to visit an island as remote as this. Some characters surprised me on the winding road to get to the end, and the story demonstrated not only a relationship kind of love, but a deep friendship type of love.

🌟Overall Rating: 3.75 stars


🔉Thank you to Andrea Bartz, Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this arc of The Last Ferry Out!

📘Grab yourself a copy on May 20, 2025!

Release: May 20, 2025
Author: Andrea Bartz
Publisher: random house publishing group

Rating: 3.75 ★ 

After the sudden death of her fiancée Eszter, Abby travels to the remote Isla Colel hoping to find answers. The island, once a lively tourist destination, is now nearly abandoned after a hurricane, with only a small group of residents left behind. Abby quickly falls in with a group of expats, but when one of them hints he knows what really happened to Eszter—and then mysteriously disappears—her suspicions grow. As Abby digs deeper, she uncovers a tangle of secrets and lies, and realizes that Eszter’s death might not have been an accident after all. Trapped on the island with no easy way out, Abby must figure out the truth before she becomes the next target.

The Last Ferry Out had a really intriguing setup: after a fight, Abby’s fiancée Eszter disappears on a solo trip to a remote island—and then mysteriously dies from an allergic reaction she normally would have been very careful about. Right away, you’re drawn into Abby’s grief and her need for answers, which leads her to Isla Colel, a lush but slightly menacing island full of ex-pats who clearly have secrets of their own.

This was definitely a slow burn—if you’re looking for a fast-paced, twisty thriller, this might not hit the mark. It leans much heavier into atmosphere and slow-building tension, similar to the vibe of White Lotus. There’s this constant sense of unease as Abby meets Eszter’s circle of friends, and you can’t help but wonder who’s telling the truth and who’s hiding something. The book did a good job of keeping me guessing, even if I had figured out a few pieces early.

I appreciated the island setting—it gave the story an eerie, claustrophobic feel that fit perfectly with the slow unraveling of the mystery. I also liked how the story flipped between the past and present, filling in Eszter’s story little by little. That said, I never fully connected with the characters. Abby and Eszter’s relationship didn’t feel all that believable to me; it seemed like they were trying to force something that wasn’t quite working, even before everything went wrong.

The ending felt a little open-ended, which I didn’t mind, but I did wish for something a bit more explosive after all the buildup. Still, Andrea Bartz’s writing is tight, atmospheric, and engaging enough that I kept reading to the very end.

Overall, The Last Ferry Out is a moody, character-driven mystery that’s more about the journey than a big shocking reveal. If you like slow-burn suspense with lots of atmosphere and don’t mind a bit of ambiguity, it’s worth checking out.


Favorite Quote:
"the weight of my secrets has always felt like a stone in my stomach, and it's only getting heavier."

If you want a fun thriller, overall I would recommend this one. Just because it wasn’t a 5 star read for me (I am picky) does not mean it won’t be one for you. This is a 3.6 for me so I want to round up to 4. Let’s get into it:

Things I loved:
-Cover is gorgeous. Seriously. I am getting distracted writing this review because I am obsessed with it.
-Definitely a fun beach read. I would give this to a friend.
-Writing style (this specially makes me want to read more from this author as I don’t know if I have read their work before)
-Premise
-A fun thriller

Things that prevented this from being a 5 star read for me personally:
-I am not sure if it was due to an abundance of characters, too many things happening, or not enough things happening, but my brain struggled to find interest as much as I wanted to in this. I still was intrigued enough to finish the book and enjoy it as I enjoy reading thrillers, but I think I personally struggled to keep up while also losing interest slowly. In a thriller specifically, I want to struggle to put the book down.

I would definitely recommend this as a fun beach read. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and your palms might get sweaty, but the book might be more entertaining than palm sweating heart racing vibes.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this free eARC in advance!! I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

i really enjoyed this book. it was a good, solid, mystery/thriller. i did feel like i wasn’t fully invested at some points, but would absolutely still recommend. the twists kept coming right up until the end and the epilogue was so good!

5/5 Stars – A Taut, Atmospheric Thriller That Keeps You Guessing

Last Ferry Out is Andrea Bartz at her absolute best—moody, suspenseful, and razor-sharp. From the first page, the setting pulls you in with its eerie, almost cinematic isolation, and the tension never lets up. Bartz masterfully weaves together emotional depth and psychological suspense, creating a story that’s as much about survival as it is about self-discovery.

The protagonist is complex and relatable, making every twist hit harder. The pacing is spot-on, with just enough quiet moments to breathe before the next gut-punch reveal. And that ending? Perfectly satisfying without being too neat—exactly what a thriller should aim for.

This is a must-read for fans of smart, character-driven thrillers with a strong sense of place and emotional stakes. Bartz delivers another winner.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.