Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books for a chance to read this.

🏝️mystery/suspense
🏝️murder?!
🏝️eerie isolated island
🏝️family drama
🏝️secrets

While this book was indeed suspenseful and had the island vibes i didnt quite get some of the characters. Some of them just annoyed me and not loving the storyline with them. The book was indeed suspenseful and wanting to know who Abby can and cant trust. Discovering the secrets and the lies throughout and putting them together like a puzzle piece was satisfying but for me it was not a book for me i did enjoy parts of it. But now one i would pick up again.

Read this if: you're into twisty mysteries, small-town secrets, and amateur sleuths who don’t know how to take a hint

This was a genuinely good mystery—plenty of twists, lots of misdirection, and harder to figure out than I expected. The story keeps the tension high, and the isolated island setting adds an extra layer of intrigue.

That said… the protagonist, Abby, tested my patience. She comes on very strong and inserts herself into every situation like a bulldozer. While she’s ultimately right about her fiancé being murdered, she’s so pushy and overbearing that it’s hard to believe anyone kept talking to her. Honestly, if I lived on that island, I probably would’ve shut the door in her face.

I also wish we got more background on why the island was such a secretive paradise—people are willing to do a lot to protect it, but the book doesn’t fully explore why it’s worth all the drama.

Still, if you’re in the mood for a mystery with a strong sense of place and a plot that’ll keep you guessing, this one delivers—even if the main character might drive you a little nuts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine / Random House Publishing for the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

Abby is sure that when she arrives at Isla Colel she will get real answers about her fiancée’s tragic death. When she arrives she befriends a group of expats that seem to have secrets of their own and getting off this island may prove deadly.

The setting of this book was absolutely gorgeous. The descriptions Bartz used made me feel like I was there with Abby digging around for answers. Trapped on an island is one of my favorite reading niches so I knew this book was going to be good from the description.

The Last Ferry Out was ok. First- I appreciate the authors note mentioning content a reader should know will occur and to proceed with caution if any of that is bothersome.

In short, the main characters fiancé mysteriously dies on an island and she goes to find answers.
One thing I dislike with authors is weird names or spelling of names, like the Hungarian spelling of Esther. Maybe I missed that the character was Hungarian. We had Wisconsin and the island, some Spanish speaking. Just go with Esther or ester.

The novel itself was a bit slow. The time periods jumped a lot. Every chapter seemed to be a different time period or a different POV.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Ferry follows Abby visiting an isolated island in Mexico trying to uncover the secrets of her fiancé’s death, and her final text “I need to tell you something.”

It is clear to me that the author is an extremely talented writer, and thrillers are just notoriously hard to nail. I had a problem with Abby who was supposed to be a genius coder, but made a lot of questionable and foolish decisions. The book was so jam packed with red herrings that the actual twists fell a little flat. A lot of themes and ideas were mentioned briefly but never enough to feel relevant or necessary to the book.

I really did enjoy the setting of the book, the different tropical island locations felt realistic and beautiful, especially with a tropical storm rolling in. I’d give this book a solid 3.5 stars with plans to read more from Bartz’s backlist.

I’m a big fan of Bartz. Love her writing style, and the way she creates these eerie and somehow familiar spaces for her books. She delivered the expected atmospheric mystery here.
I love her description of the island, and the strong characters she placed there.
When Abby’s fiancé (Eszter) is found dead on an island in Mexico her life is thrown upside down.
She travels to the island to put together her last few days, and the lies Eszter was tell her Abby before her death begin to reveal themselves.
This story had a lot of promise. I usually enjoy multiple POVs and timelines, but this one threw me off every time it switched. I also felt like the ending didn’t have the effect I was expecting.
All in all this didn’t blow me away like We Were Never Here, but I felt moments that were close and it’s still worth the read.
Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Thank you @prhaudio @ballantinebooks for a copy of The Last Ferry Out.

This was an atmospheric slow burn mystery of what happened to Eszter on the small isolated island of Isla Colel. Abby goes to search for answers to understand what Eszter was doing on the island and the people she connected there.

The island is small and remote and Abby meets the group of ex-pats that befriended Eszter. The story is a very slow burn with multiple POVs and lots of hidden agendas.

The island is a big part of the plot and it felt very ominous. I enjoyed the aspect of Abby dealing with her grief by connecting with these ex-pats.

Dani Martineck, Imani Jade Powers, Natasha Soudek was a great cast of narrators and made following the POV easy.

I've enjoyed a few of Andrea Bartz's previous books and was excited to receive an advanced copy of the newest one -- and I overall really enjoyed it. It's very fast paced, and switches between narrators and time periods which makes you just want to keep reading.

I really loved the island setting -- I loved how everyone knew each other, and how peacefully the expats were accepted in to the community. Made me want to go there!

I found Abby to be pretty annoying and make some truly questionable decisions -- I wanted to shake her -- but I really enjoyed all the side characters and getting to know their backstories.

The ending of this didn't hold up for me, but overall that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book -- it is a solid page turner and very engaging.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

The Last Ferry Out can be described in one word: unreliable.

A locked room (island) mystery, told in multi POV and flashback/current time jumps, we follow Abby as she investigates the untimely and accidental death of her fiance Eszter on a remote, tropical island in Mexico. What seems like a pretty straightforward death by food allergy becomes the crux of a web of lies, half truths, and deceptions that unravel in the three days Abby is on the island.

I found this book...lacking. The premise is great - this sudden death and a cast of characters with secrets makes for an intriguing plot. But I found these characters really hard to root for - at times I was even bored with the story. Around the middle of the book I almost DNF'd, and only continued out of the sheer determination to prove myself right on my hunch about who was involved. (I did, in fact, prove to be right in the end). I was really shocked by feeling this way - I typically love Andrea Bartz's work and eat them up, and I think this might be my least favorite of her works so far just from the sheer inability to care about the characters.

Overall, there's nothing necessarily wrong about this book - it just didn't do anything for me.

Pretty good read overall. I thought I knew what was going on but nice twist there that I didn’t see coming.
I liked the characters in the book.

First book by this author and it was decent. Lots of unanswered questions which kept me guessing. But not one of my absolute favorites. The book held my interest as one of the characters was from Wisconsin and being a Wisconsinite I loved that! But definitely would recommend this one if you like suspense and thrillers. #TheLastFerryOut #NetGalley #RandomHouse. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC!

3.5 rounded up

Andrea Bartz is honestly a hit or miss author for me- I have both hated and loved her previous works. This one was solidly in the middle!

If you need a super quick page turner, this is the book to pick up. I didn’t want to put it down and the little looks into the past kept me guessing as to what was happening and added to the story. The main character was often making some questionable choices which was hard to watch but I could see why her grief was affecting her decision making.

The end was a little out there and if you don’t mind that, I think you’ll enjoy this one. I was definitely surprised by a lot of the twists!

I look forward to reading the author’s next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Overall I liked the book but the story moved very, very slow. It took until about 80% of the way through for anything exciting to actually happen, and when the twist was revealed it was a bit lackluster. I did really like the author’s writing style so I’d definitely want to read more by her, this one just missed the mark a bit for me.

This is a bit slow. It is also classified as a thriller. I would classify it as a mystery. There is not a lot of intensity until towards the end. I did enjoy the setting of the remote island off the coast of Mexico. It is full of lies and who did what to whom!

Andrea Bartz's *The Last Ferry Out* is a gripping psychological thriller that masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth. Set on the hauntingly desolate Isla Colel, the narrative follows Abby, who journeys to the island seeking closure after her fiancée Eszter's mysterious death. The island's eerie atmosphere and a tight-knit expat community shrouded in secrets create a palpable sense of unease.

Bartz's prose is vivid and immersive, painting the island as almost a character in itself, with its post-hurricane desolation and enigmatic inhabitants. The story unfolds through multiple timelines and perspectives, adding layers to the mystery and keeping readers engaged. Themes of grief, identity, and the complexities of relationships are explored with nuance, offering more than just a conventional whodunit.

While some readers have noted a slow start and underdeveloped secondary characters, the novel's latter half delivers compelling twists and revelations that reward patient readers. The emotional resonance and atmospheric setting make it a standout in the genre.

Overall, *The Last Ferry Out* is a compelling read that balances suspense with introspective storytelling, earning a solid four-star rating.

This book offers a heartfelt exploration of grief that, while challenging to read at times, provides an honest and meaningful perspective on loss. The subject matter is heavy and emotional, which made it difficult for me to fully get into the story.

However, the author’s raw and sincere portrayal of the grieving process is commendable. It captures the complexity and depth of mourning in a way that feels genuine and relatable.

Overall, while it wasn’t an easy read for me, I found it to be a worthwhile and thoughtful experience. It’s a meaningful book for anyone looking to gain insight into the many facets of grief.

So fell in love with the vibe of Isla Colel with all its mysterious eeriness and beauty. The pacing had me reading quickly completely engrossed at times and then it seemed to put the brakes on and slow down at others. I keep rethinking what seemed to cause this roller coaster effect. I honestly did not find any of the characters very likable- they all seemed to have their own issues and hangups , which explains why they all ended up there. The ending did answer some of the questions I had about why some acted the way they did.
The cliff climbing section was brilliant as I found myself tensing up as I continued to read. Also loved the descriptions of the hotel. Abby finding the brochure was the perfect hook. Great idea for a novel with a fantastic setting.which afforded me hours of enjoyment.
Many thanks to Andrea Bartz, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this novel and keeping me entertained as I floated in the pool. Great summer read!

A deep and twisty mystery surrounds Isla Colel and Eszter Farkas’s death, one that her fiancée Abby is determined to bring closure to. After Eszter dies of a fatal allergic reaction alone on the island off the coast of Cozumel, Abby takes a trip there to bring closure to her grief and relive her last few days. What she finds instead is more questions that have Abby questioning who her fiancé really was and who she can trust on the island. The author does a fabulous job with the multiple point of view narrative, and it doesn’t become a distraction from the story, but rather enhances it.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the arc of this story in exchange for my review.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is set on a remote island recovering from a hurricane. Abby is mourning her fiancée’s sudden death, which grows more suspicious as she investigates. The island’s atmosphere is vividly drawn, making you feel right there. The story moves at a steady pace—slow for some, but rewarding for fans of character-driven mysteries. Bartz keeps the answers elusive, adding to the suspense.

After the death of her fiancée, Abby travels to a remote island off the coast of Mexico in hopes of finding closure. I enjoyed the premise and setting of this story. It was well constructed and very atmospheric. It features multiple POVs and a somewhat variable timeline which helps pull the story forward and creates a more twisty plot line. The pacing was a bit off- very slow to start and then more rushed towards the end. I also felt like a few plot points felt more repetitive than necessary. Overall this was a fun read that I would absolutely recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers!

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.