The Last Ferry Out is the latest dark and twisty suspense novel from Andrea Bartz. I’ve enjoyed every one of this author’s books and this one was no exception.
This thriller is the definition of a page-turner!
An impossible to put down, fast paced suspense.
Bartz has created phenomenal depth, intriguing characters, tense suspense, compelling mystery, a fun whodunit.
A slow burn story with a satisfying ending.
This one kept me up long past my bedtime!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Random House & Ballantine Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was good once I got into it. I had a hard time getting into it at the beginning and then it picked up and I really enjoyed it. The setting and the descriptions were really wonderful. There was a murder and a few twists and turns that will keep you reading to find out what is going to happen. Thanks to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book to read. Out on May 20th.

Within the first 10 minutes of this book I had a strong feeling of dislike towards Eszter... I HATED that Abby felt so in the dark about who her fiancé was... but as I continued on I started to realize that Eszter wasn't as bad as my original reaction... And this is one of the reasons I really enjoyed this book - I love when a character can make me feel something about them immediately. The feeling of unknowing and hating all the secrets that were being kept stayed with me throughout the book... I could not put it down until I know what happened. I felt like I was on that island with Abby. The writing had me right there with her - holding my breath and my heart racing... highly recommend this one!

Andrea Bartz delivers another gripping psychological thriller in The Last One. The story pulls you in from the start with its eerie island setting and a cast of characters that feel both familiar and suspicious in all the right ways. Bartz excels at capturing the complexities of female friendships and layering them with just enough tension and unease to keep the reader guessing.

The pacing is tight, the twists are unexpected (though not entirely shocking for seasoned thriller readers), and the final act delivers a satisfying punch. The themes of isolation, trust, and self-deception are explored thoughtfully, and the writing is sharp as ever.

My only critique—and what kept it from being a 5-star read—is that a couple of the twists felt a touch rushed or convenient. Still, it’s a chilling, smartly written thriller that I’d absolutely recommend to fans of locked-room mysteries and dark, character-driven suspense.

I enjoyed the author’s previous novel, “We Were Never There” but I’m sad to say I did not enjoy this one as much. The first half was very slow. It is quite noticeable Andrea Bartz did a lot of research of the Caribbean culture, locals, cuisine, and environment/land. The descriptions were very vivid. Though some of the flashbacks were unnecessary to the story and the twist was anticlimactic. Unfortunately, this story did not quite work for me as well as her other.

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Bartz and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Ferry Out has an intriguing premise and a strong atmospheric setting that initially pulled me in. Andrea Bartz does a solid job creating suspense and tension, and the isolated island backdrop adds a nice layer of urgency to the mystery.

However, the pacing felt inconsistent, with a slower middle section that made it tough to stay fully engaged. While the twists were surprising, a few stretched believability, and the characters, especially the protagonist, didn’t always feel fully developed or relatable.

Overall, it’s a decent read with some gripping moments, but it didn’t quite hit the mark in terms of emotional depth or character connection. Worth a try if you enjoy slow-burn thrillers with a moody, isolated vibe.

Abby heartbroken and mourning the lost of her fiancé goes to the place the love of her life died tragically and all alone in a tiny island of the Mexican coast. She flys down and stay in the same place her fiancé was last seen. She slowly starts unraveling the truth of what happen and the horror of what happen, and the secrets that weren’t ever suppose to come out.


This was good I enjoyed

After her fiancée Eszter dies of an allergic reaction while on vacation in the Mexican Caribbean, Abby travels to the tiny island of Isla Colel to try to make sense of her death. She finds herself welcomed by the same ex-pat community that Eszter befriended, but the more questions Abby asks, the more she finds herself questioning what really happened to her fiancée, putting herself in a dangerous position along the way.

The Last Ferry Out is a compelling, atmospheric, queer mystery/thriller. The lush tropical paradise of Isla Colel is so vivid it feels like you’re right there with Abby and the ex-pats. The queer representation is on point, with queer characters seamlessly integrated into the plot rather than feeling like a token. Most of the plot is delivered at a slow burn or simmering pace, but that’s all the better to absorb Bartz’s prose. Her imagery is enthralling, with beautifully crafted similes and metaphors and deeper themes that give off a literary feel. I love a thriller with a deeper meaning, getting me thinking about love, grief, acceptance, and the impacts of tourism, all while trying to figure out the mystery of what really happened to Eszter.

The audiobook is narrated by Dani Martineck, Imani Jade Powers, and Natasha Soudek. The narration for Abby’s POV (which is most of the book, really) is particularly powerful, giving Abby’s inner thoughts a haunted vibe as well as using accents and intonations to differentiate among the characters.

Abby travels to Isla Colel, an island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico and the place where her finance Eszter died. The story is told with multiple POV. I loved the setting and the way Andrea Bartz describes Isla Colel. The pacing of the Last Ferry Out was too slow for me and I struggled to stay invested in any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me read this ARC.

The pace was a little slow for my taste but the premise was interesting. The story explores, love, grief, heartache, and the anxiety surrounding unanswered questions. The supporting cast was well developed and every one was flawed. Abby contacts the ex-pat group that her fiancé had befriended to help her work through her grief and found a lot of surprising information. All in all, a good read!

I liked the book and the setting. Itched all the right scratches for a thriller, even if the MC was literally way too trusting and dumb sometimes.

3.5/5 🌟
A few months after the death of her fiancé, Abby travels to Isla Colel to try to find answers. Now suspicion surrounds everything and Abby has more questions than answers.
I thought this one was decent but it really wasn’t as thrilling as I expected. I thought Abby was grasping at straws a lot as the story went on and things unraveled in a kinda odd way.
The premise to the story was really solid I just don’t think it went the way I was expecting it to because it was super obvious … idk just wasn’t totally it for me.

Read This Book If…you need a beachy thriller for your summer reading list!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz

Genre: Queer thriller
Spice Level: 0/5🌶
Setting: island in the Gulf of Mexico
POV: multiple, 1st person, present tense

My Thoughts:
This was such an interesting read that focused on grief, guilt, and love.

I loved the dichotomy of the expats who refuse to adapt to their surroundings and the locals who prefer to keep themselves isolated. This fictional island and its history made for a perfectly eerie setting.

The premise of this was very interesting, but it took way too long for Abby to grow suspicious and for the thrills to start. I did appreciate the flashbacks we got of the relationship with her fiancée, as well as a few other perspectives sprinkled throughout.

The last few scenes and reveals made up for the slower parts and really got my heart pumping! This would made a perfect beach read for the summer!

Memorable Quote: “Losing someone is like moving to a new country and needing to learn how to live there. How to eat, how to speak.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Thank you NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book more on the slow side for me and at times I was frustrated and annoyed by the FMC. The setting of the book was amazing and what kept me going- but I did struggle to finish this book and this is my second meh novel by this author. I know her books hit with others so this is more a me problem so definitely check out other reviews.

There is definitely trouble in this particular paradise

Off the coast of Mexico sits Isla Colel, once a busy tourist island until a hurricane swept through and decimated it. The once daily ferry service now runs at best once a week, and apart from a small expat community and a smattering of locals the island is as empty as it is isolated. Yet it is to Isla Colel that Abby travels from her native Wisconsin ,in search of answers to her fiancée Eszter's death there while on vacation four months earlier. Abby was supposed to have joined her on the island for the final week of the trip, only to receive the call telling her that Eszter was gone, her death caused by an allergic attack. She is still struggling with her grief, and while she knows that freak accidents can happen she is not convinced that Eszter's death was, in fact, an accident. As she arrives on Colel and gets to know the group of expats with whom Eszter had become friends, she finds herself first liking them all. One of them tells her that he knows things about Eszter's final days that he thinks Abby should know, but then he disappears before he can share them...yet only she finds his disappearance concerning. The more Abby pokes around for answers, the more lies and secrets she uncovers amongst those who live on Colel. Is one of them a killer? Can Abby find the answers she seeks, or will she become another victim?
Author Andrea Bartz has created an intriguing backdrop to this thriller in the Isla Colel, its storm-wrought destruction evoking an eerie vibe amidst the beauties of nature that exist there. The short chapters keep the plot moving along, although the introduction of the varying characters in the opening chapters keeps the pace slow for a while. Abby is not only suffering from the expected grief at the sudden loss of the woman she loves, she also is still grappling with the refusal of Eszter's family to accept the love the two women shared. I found the plot concept interesting, although there were perhaps too many characters introduced to do any of them justice and which made it hard for me to connect with them in a meaningful way. There were twists (not all as unpredictable as I might have wished), and the story finishes with a bang. Overall, a good but not great thriller in my estimation, due in part to the slowish start and the predictability of some of the plot devices. Readers of Ms Bartz's previous novels, as well as fans of Liv Constantine, Lisa Jewell and Megan Miranda might want to give this a try. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for allowing me access to this atmospheric thriller in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book started out really great- a woman looking for answers in her partners death. Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I found the pacing of the story to be slow, and a lot of the characters unlikable, or juvenile. It was not my favorite book of hers.

The Last Ferry out has a really great premise. It's a slower burn story, with some unpredictable twists. I was not able to really get invested in the characters in this book, though. I enjoyed the setting, and the writer did a great job describing the island setting.
Overall, this was a solid, slow burn thriller.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

As usual, Andrea Bartz does not disappoint. In this story, Abby comes to Isla Colel to trace the last days of her recently-deceased fiance, Eszter, who died from anaphylaxis. She soon meets a crew of expats and becomes enmeshed in their circle -- but an offhanded comment raises questions about if Eszter's death was as simple as it seemed. An expat with answers disappears, and Abby begins a hunt to find the truth.

The setting in this story is excellent. The island seems gorgeous but just a little haunting, and the dynamics of an English-speaking group of expats barely even trying to integrate on the Mexican island is a perfect backdrop to the drama that unfolds. Many of the twists were surprising, and the characters' relationships kept me on my toes.

Abby is devastated, her fiancé Eszter has suddenly died on an isolated island. Trying to get answers to her growing list of questions, she travels to Isla Colel. She meets a group of expats, who were Eszter’s friends on the islands. Mystery and lies surround this group. Abby also questions her relationship with Eszter.

This book so beautifully describes the terrain of rocky shores, dangerous coastline, beautiful scenery not to mention the colorful characters and island cuisine. The story itself was a slow burn, I felt myself getting frustrated and wanting to get to the point. There was so much back and forth with the characters that I sometimes lost track. I had a hard time connecting with Abby’s personality, but yet sympathized with Eszter. The ending left me somewhat unsatisfied after all the twists.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

I think this book had a lot of great suspense, a mystery to carry the plot along, and a bunch of red herrings that have you guessing which person will lead to the final answers that we’re searching for.

I didn’t have this book figured out, which was kinda nice. It kept me guessing. There were some smaller parts that I did see coming, but I feel like the bigger revelations at the end were kept a pretty good secret until it was time for them to be known.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I will say something that is very evident throughout the reading of this book: and that was a message to slow down and enjoy the smaller things in life, rather than just rushing around to do or be the next best thing. And I think that’s super important and could probably use that advice myself.