This one succeeds at being an incredibly atmospheric story with its remote island setting and secretive cast of characters. The plotline is a little muddy with the back and forth between characters and time, and I didn't feel like Abby and Eszter's voices were differentiated well. The ending satisfies, though.

HOLY COW! I finished this book in one day. Well, I finished it in one sitting to be exact. I. devoured this book. This is Bartz at her best! It’s a fast paced, thriller that you just can't put down. Her characters are very relatable and the book has an even pace. I will recommend this book to all of my colleagues and blog followers! I am so excited that my book club picked this book to be June's book!

🥜🥜🥜 / 5

THE LAST FERRY OUT by Andrea Bartz

thank you to @netgalley and @ballantinebooks for early access to the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

quick thoughts:
⭐️ 3/5
🕵🏻‍♀️ woman visits the place where her fiancé mysteriously died to find out what happened
🎢 suspense thriller
✍🏼 multiple POVs, short chapters
🏝️ set on an island in Mexico
🤷🏻‍♀️ others might enjoy it more

i was so excited about this one because i loved WE WERE NEVER HERE but somehow haven’t picked up another by her until now

🎶 “i should’ve given you more kisses and hugs whenever i could” (translated)

i hate to say that this one was just okay for me. i thought it had so much potential with an intriguing set up, but it unfortunately fell flat. i didn’t find myself shocked by any of the twists, the pacing felt off, and it was kind of difficult to follow at times with so many characters and POVs to keep track of. i might’ve enjoyed this one more if i were just getting into the genre, but that’s sadly not the case

i did enjoy that this story touched on love, loss, and grief, and i love andi’s writing, so i absolutely will read more of her work! this one publishes tomorrow, so please let me know if you end up reading and enjoying it!

4.0 stars
A twisty tropical thriller, The Last Ferry Out was a fun adventure where everyone on the island has secrets and their is one way on and off the island. Abby is visiting Isla Colel four months after her fiancee was found dead on the island. Abby is struggling to move on and wants answers about Eszter's death. Soon after Abby arrives on the secluded island she finds the expats that Eszter befriended and things go sideways from there.
I loved descriptions of the island and felt like I was transported there. The book explores relationships and how well you know your partner which I enjoyed. The story also explores how far would you go to protect a place that allows you to have a clean slate and enjoy an island unspoiled by tourism.
I love thrillers where all the characters are suspects and the The Last Ferry Out fit the bill.
This thriller was a little slower burn than I like but overall 4 stars.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this would be the perfect book to keep me company for some house chores. I love the premise of Abby investigating her fiancée’s suspicious death on an island. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the fast paced thriller I expected from the description - this is much more of a slow paced suspense. I ended up deciding to dnf. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook.

This book had all the ingredients I usually love…a secluded island, an exclusive retreat, and the promise of a slow-burning mystery. But unfortunately, it just didn’t come together for me.

The story starts off very slow, and I found it hard to stay engaged. There were a lot of interactions between characters for the first 20% of the book, but not much actually happened, which made the first half drag on. I kept waiting for something to happen or for the suspense to build, but it took too long to get going.

The concept really intrigued me, and I was hopeful it would pick up, but even when things finally started to unfold, I never felt fully invested in the characters or the plot. I wanted more tension, more urgency, something to pull me in. Sadly, it just didn’t deliver the thrill I was hoping for.
2⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for allowing me to read and review this book.I finished this book in a day. It’s a fast paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller that you won’t be able to put down.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is a thriller that will have you questioning how well you really know your partner.

Abby was supposed to have joined her fiancèe Eszter on the island of Isla Colel. Instead, Abby is on the island alone, trying to process the tragic death of Eszter, who died of anaphylactic shock mere feet away from her EpiPen. Abby finds this manner of death suspicious because Easter was vigilant about keeping her EpiPen near her at all times. Now on the island, Abby is trying to retrace Eszter's last days and find the group of expats that Eszter was close to, Abby finds herself with more questions than answers. The more Abby digs into the expats and the island, the more secrets she finds and realizes some secrets should stay silent.

This was definitely one of those slow burn reads with a cast of suspicious characters. Bartz’s description of the settings was well crafted and had me believing that I could be on the island too. The characters are well written and feel realistic. Overall, this book was a great mystery with emotional depths that pull you in. I highly recommend this books.

Tense, atmospheric, and full of suspense, The Last Ferry Out brings Andrea Bartz back to her thriller roots with a gripping tale of love, loss, and secrets on a remote island. If you loved We Were Never Here, this one delivers that same immersive feel—set against a storm-battered, isolated backdrop that adds layers of tension to every chapter.

Told in dual timelines with multiple points of view, the story is expertly woven, gradually building into a twisting, page-turning ride. The island setting was a standout for me—it felt claustrophobic and eerie, the perfect stage for a slow-burning mystery. Bartz crafts an atmosphere of unease that seeps into every scene, matching the stormy weather and emotional turmoil of the characters.

While the plot was strong and the pacing picked up in the second half, I did find the beginning a bit slow and the ending slightly underwhelming compared to the explosive climax. Still, the LGBTQ+ romance added emotional depth, and the final twist brought the perfect, satisfying surprise.

This is classic Bartz: unsettling, smart, and packed with secrets. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with rich settings and layered storytelling, The Last Ferry Out is well worth the read.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! It was a little slow in the middle but I did enjoy the characters and the setting. Learning about why her fiancée disappeared kept my interest. I did guess one twist but the others were surprising. I can always count on her books to get me reading! 3.75 stars!

I knew I wanted to read this one based on the locked-room style setting, the promise of suspicious characters and a woman on the hunt for answers after her fiance's death. All of those things are right up my thriller-reader alley.

What I wasn't expecting - but LOVED - was just how much I found myself wrapped up in the story. I think this was a “right book at the right time” moment for me, I finished it in a matter of hours while on vacation and am pretty sure I gave my sister dirty looks anytime she tried to talk to me (to the point that she read it immediately after I finished). Be warned, it is quite the flow burn, but I found it drew me in so much that it became very bingeable.

The promise of suspicious characters completely paid off, as sooo many of the people on the island came there looking for fresh starts from their pasts. Combined with the locals, who have mixed feelings about the expats and tourism, I never felt like there was anyone I could trust. Abby is a character who makes bold, and somewhat questionable decisions, but what I liked is that that was a core part of who she was and how she was experiencing her grief, so her sometimes crazy decisions didn't feel completely out of nowhere.

The ending has stuck with me long after I finished this one. Just when it seemed like everything was all wrapped up, more clever twists kept coming.. and, to me, the twists felt grounded in the plot and left me with that satisfying feeling that, if I looked back through the book, I would find all the breadcrumbs leading to the ending.

The Last Ferry Out has a great premise and takes place in an enticing setting. Abby travels to Isla Colel, a tropical island where her fiancée, Eszter' died. I enjoyed the premise of a woman searching for answers on an island with only one ferry going in and out on a weekly basis. I loved how this created a sort of trapped feeling which I enjoy in books. Plus, another person goes missing, well I thought this would be a slam dunk for me. Unfortunately, it was missing that little bit of something as well as a faster pace which would have earned this book a higher star rating.


I found this book to be slow moving, and I struggle with slow burns. I wanted things to hurry up quite a bit while reading. Some of those characters including Abby annoyed me at times. Hey, it happens we aren't meant to like them all. What I did enjoy was the setting, the atmosphere, the mystery, the secrets, and the twists.

The book is told mainly in the present but goes back and readers get to see Abby and Eszter together. This book looks at love, loss, secrets, and grief.

This was a solid three-star book for me. Enjoyable yet too slow in parts for me. Others enjoyed this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Abby travels to a remote, hurricane-scarred island seeking answers about the death of her fiancée, Eszter, who died alone on the island four months earlier. While Eszter’s death was “officially” from an allergic reaction, it left Abby with questions and the need for closure. With the infrequent ferry service keeping her at bay, Abby explores a small, secretive expat community who knew Eszter and she unearths hidden truths about her partner's life. The situation grows far darker than it originally seemed when one expat mysteriously vanishes after claiming to know details of Eszter's final days. Abby's pursuit shifts from finding closure to finding a potential killer.

Andrea Bartz absolutely nails destination thrillers. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the backstories of the expat community—every character was equal parts sus and intriguing. My main critiques are that the pacing felt uneven at times and I found myself wanting more closure from the ending, which felt a bit abrupt after such a detailed build-up. Overall, it was a fun read, and I'd highly recommend it for beach readers. This novel releases TODAY, May 20!

I loved the setting of the remote island, and on paper, with the secrets, lies, and mystery elements, I felt like this should be something I really enjoyed. However, beyond the descriptions of the island, which I did like, I found myself sooo bored. I think this slow-burn mystery was just a bit too slow for me.

Abby just wants to know what happened to Eszter. She knows that it is impossible that Eszter died from an allergy attack. Eszter was always ready and was extremely careful when it came to eating anything so her dying by an allergy attack just doesn’t make sense. Abby is hoping by going to the island where Eszter died she and meeting the people she was hanging out with she might get some answers but honestly Isla Cola seems to have more questions than it does answers. Everyone that Abby meets seems to have a secret, are they secrets that deal with Eszter or are they just running from their past. Only time will tell. This is a gripping novel that has multiple twist and turns that will keep the reader guessing. Not everything is as it seems can Abby figure out what truly happened to her beloved Eszter before it is too late.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz was unfortunately a DNF for me.

This had all of the promising elements of a winning story for me - a remote island, a mysterious death, secrets, mystery, and a mysterious text message. Unfortunately, I found myself too disinterested with keeping track of all of the moving characters that Abby talks to in trying to find out what happened to Eszter, her fiancé, to feel any real motivation to keep reading the story.

I didn't feel any connection to them and after having an intense description of the location and characters in the beginning, it felt like all of the buildup was unnecessary to move the plot? This wasn't for me. This was a slow burn mystery that had just too much slow burn.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Last Ferry Out releases on May 20, 2025.

I truly enjoyed the setting of this slow-burn thriller. I loved the remote Mexican island setting with the tightly knit and very secretive population. The main character, Abby, is traveling to this island because it is the location where her fiance recently passed away. She was told she tied from an allergic reaction, but something feels very off to her. Once she arrives, things fail to add up, with Abby having more questions than answers.

I had much higher hopes for this book. I really struggled to stay engaged throughout the book and I felt that the thriller aspect was not very intense at all., if anything, it was a little boring at times. I will continue to read her books, but this one didn't do it for me.

thank you netgalley for this arc, all opinions are my own.

Abby travels to a remote island to try and settle herself with the death of her fiancée, Eszter. Instead of finding answers, she finds a lot of unanswered and contradictory questions. Normally, this is the type of book that would suck me in. But somehow this one didn't. It felt like the story dragged on while the writing decided where the story was going. Adding to that was a lot of what felt like backtracking to fill in gaps and explain (overexplain) things. You know I am not a fan of that technique and this was no exception. For a quick summer read, this will work since anything you might miss will be told to you, but don't start expecting a solid taut thriller.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you Ballantine Books for the advanced reading copy!

This one started out strong for me -- I am always here for a creepy, remote island and a time jump, and this book had both. The setting felt so visceral and real, Bartz did a great job of truly painting a picture with this one. There were a number of important characters, but it didn't feel difficult to keep track of them while reading. Plus, the red herrings just kept coming and I was suspicious of EVERYONE by the time this book was done. The time jumps seemed randomly placed at times, but I enjoyed them anyway. It helped that most of them took place in my home, Wisconsin, which is always fun to read about in fiction! This book wasn't as crazy/twisty/creepy as usual for either Bartz sister, and there were moments it felt slightly repetitive, but I still really enjoyed it throughout and would read anything this author writes!

An eerie island and a slow unravel of secrets.
After the sudden death of her fiancée, Abby travels to a remote island off the coast of Mexico where her partner spent her final days. The island is quiet and full of whispers. With a ferry that rarely runs and locals who aren’t quick to trust outsiders, Abby finds herself surrounded by secrets… and maybe danger too.
The pace was slower on this one, especially early on, but there is a haunting atmospheric vibe.
If you’re in the mood for a slow building mystery with some island isolation be sure to pick this one up!