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I have loved every single one of Andrea Bartz’s books so far, and this one did not disappoint. I love the character building and relationships shown and I liked the dual timelines. I’m not typically a fan of any romance in thriller novels, but this one has just a bit of romance and I didn’t mind it.

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This was good, although it started off really slow for me. I couldn’t connect to the characters and felt that Abby wasn’t totally in her right mind throughout the whole book, which obviously makes sense, but it was hard to read.

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2⭐️ I really thought I'd like The Last Ferry Out based on the summary and good reviews, but it just dragged too much for me.

The story follows Abby as she travels to Isla Colel to uncover what really happened to her fiancée, Eszter. The once-popular island is now almost deserted, the weekly ferry feels ominous, and a tight-lipped group of expats might be hiding the truth behind Eszter’s death.

Good premise, but the pacing was painfully slow for me—I quit around the 20% mark because I kept putting it down for other books with no desire to start it back up again. I never got invested enough to push through. DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

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I really wanted to love this one—it sounded so good and exactly like the type of read that usually works for me. An island setting and a woman looking into the death of her fiancé? Sounds right up my alley. But I think this was a case of me not having the right expectations.


It’s being billed as a twisty thriller, and I just don’t see that. At best, it’s a slower-paced suspense novel, but it lacked the fast pacing and intensity I expect from a true thriller.


I did enjoy the setting and thought the author did a great job crafting a beautiful and somewhat creepy atmosphere. She’s also a strong writer, and certain parts really drew me in. Unfortunately, many other parts pulled me out of the story. I normally enjoy multiple timelines, but there wasn’t a clear switch between past and present here—the transitions felt abrupt and disorienting.


If you like slow-burn suspense with a heavy side of grief, you may enjoy this more than I did.

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This is a thriller set on the hurricane- ravaged Isla Colel, a remote island near Cancun. The story follows Abby, a data scientist and grieving fiancee, who travels to the island to uncover the truth behind her partner Eszter's mysterious death. As Abby delves into the lives of the expatriates who knew Eszter, she uncovers a web of secrets, lies, and suspicions that lead her to believe her fiancee's death may not have been an accident- and the killer may still be on the island.

Bartz's writing is praised for its rich atmosphere and emotional depth. The story explores a theme of grief, love and the complexities in relationships. This isn't my favorite book that she wrote but it is still entertaining.

Murder Mystery, Emotional Undertones, and a Tense Thriller! 3 stars!

Thanks so NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 5/20/25.

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A perfectly fine thriller. The setting was just the right amount of dark and moody, but the characters didn’t quite hit right. There was nothing all that exciting, comforting, or relatable about them. The twists were a mix of hit and miss. The last twist in the epilogue felt forced. I enjoyed some of Bartz’ other work, but this wasn’t the one for me.

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I always love an isolated locked in type of thriller and the synopsis for this sounded so good! I loved the Mexican remote island setting and the small group of expats who live there.

It definitely took awhile for the story to get moving but once it did, I was invested. I didn’t end up loving it overall but it was a decent mystery. I didn’t love any of the character which made it hard to be fully into the story. The main character was actually so irritating to me.

The main twist was just alright but the epilogue twist was a good one!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

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~Secret vacations~ is not the most intriguing hinge point for a mystery in my experience. Pretty slow. The main character just ran around talking to the same 4 people for most of this book and getting no answers. The semi-romance sandwiched between all the grief was weird, but I guess it does happen sometimes. And that epilogue…. girl, whatever.

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The Last Ferry Out is a moody, atmospheric thriller set on a remote island with a dark history and an even darker present. The premise is intriguing—Abby travels to Isla Colel to uncover the truth about her fiancée Eszter’s mysterious death, only to find herself entangled in a web of secrets, deceit, and a community that’s as alluring as it is unsettling.

The plot itself is solid and had a lot of potential, with a unique setting and an emotionally compelling hook. However, I found the big twist fairly predictable, which took away some of the suspense I was hoping for. There are quite a few characters introduced throughout the book, and while each added something to the story, keeping track of everyone sometimes pulled me out of the narrative.

That said, I really appreciated the use of multiple points of view—it added depth and texture to the story and helped illuminate some of the motivations behind key characters. It also allowed for some interesting pacing choices that helped move the plot along, even when it felt a little crowded.

Overall, The Last Ferry Out didn’t completely surprise me, but it was an enjoyable read with a haunting setting and a timely exploration of grief, isolation, and trust. A solid three stars.

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THE LAST FERRY OUT is an incredible novel. From the first chapter, I was hooked. It’s fast-paced and kept me guessing until the very end. If you like books filled with twists and shocking moments, this audiobook is for you!

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

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After her fiancée dies on a remote island, Abby wants to walk in her last steps and see if she can learn more about what Eszter had done while visiting the island. Unfortunately, her search reveals more questions that need answering. This was a story with a lot of suspense and drama. Enjoyed it!

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Suspenseful and intriguing is how I would describe this very exciting book. Abby goes to the island of Isla Colel off the coast of Mexico to find out what she can about the death of her fiancée Eszter. Abby befriends a bunch of expats who all seem to be on the island to lose their identification. As the story of Eszter's death begins to unfold, more mysteries surface and Abby has to start wondering who she can really trust. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed it to the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine for the ARC of this very exciting book.

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Abby visits a remote island in Mexico to try to come to terms with the death of her fiancée, who died on the island. Her intention is to find out more about what Eszter was doing in the days before her tragic allergic reaction, but Abby ends up finding much more than she bargained for.

I had some trouble connecting with Abby’s character in the beginning. Too much of the story was happening inside her head, not out in the world. Eventually, we get to know Eszter’s island friends, who all have their own secrets. This is one of those stories where everyone is hiding something or involved in some way, even though they might not realize it.

The remote (but populated) island atmosphere was a great location for the story, but the pacing was a little awkward. It started off SO slow, and I was just waiting for Abby’s internal monologue to be over to get to the action. The conflicts were eventually uncovered and neatly resolved in record time. There were a few good surprises, but the ending wasn’t as shocking as I hoped it would be.

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This was a good thriller. It was different and I didn't know where it was going. And that is always something to appreciate in a thriller.

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Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this book. I thought with the description of the book I'd love it. However, I had no connection to the characters which made it so hard to continue. The book wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean it's not for someone else.

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I nearly ditched “The Last Ferry Out” in the first half — more than once. Closed the Kindle app, rolled my eyes at the ceiling, reopened it an hour later like a glutton for grief-soaked punishment. This isn’t a slow burn. It’s a slow rot. A sticky, salt-air spiral of distrust, dead ends, and expat weirdness that drags you under before it ever pays off. But if you hang on? It gets there.

Abby arrives on Isla Colel after the suspicious death of her fiancée, Eszter — officially ruled an allergic reaction, unofficially more suspicious than an influencer’s apology video. She’s raw, grieving, and completely cut off from help. Literally. Her phone’s gone, her contacts wiped, and the locals? They smile too much, lie too easily, and treat Eszter’s death like a topic best left behind at the bar. Someone hints they know the truth — and then ghosts her by the end of the next chapter. That’s the rhythm here: evasive answers, off-kilter hospitality, and a permanent sense that everyone’s read the same playbook on how to dodge accountability with charm.

The expats of Isla Colel aren’t just off the grid — they’ve built their own emotional ecosystem and decided reality was optional. Self-exiled. Semi-bohemian. Vaguely spiritual and aggressively private. They didn’t build a community; they built a personality cult with local mind-altering drugs. It’s not a retreat — it’s a reality distortion field, and Abby is the only one seeing the cracks. The island itself is still recovering from a hurricane, which only adds to the eerie detachment. Every beautiful view has something decaying beneath it. Every smile is holding back a secret.

And then there’s the resort. Long abandoned. Closed with zero fanfare and absolutely no straight answers. You don’t even have to ask if it’s connected to Eszter — the silence around it screams. It’s the island’s ghost, its rot wrapped in palm fronds and denial. And as Abby gets closer to the truth, that resort stops being background noise and becomes the key — to Eszter, to the island, to all the dark things no one wants to admit happened there.

Eszter, by the way, is not a romanticized victim. She’s hard-edged. Cool. Emotionally distant. A person built for ambition, not intimacy. Bartz makes her fascinating not because she’s tragic, but because she’s unknowable. People didn’t love her easily — they endured her, admired her, tolerated her. Add in her disaster of a father — controlling, cruel, and toxic in a way that practically wafts off the page — and it’s clear: Eszter wasn’t just complicated. She was shaped by damage, and never really escaped it.

The first half of this book is a crawl. You’ll chase threads that vanish, meet characters who disappear, and feel like you're emotionally wandering in circles. It’s frustrating. It’s deliberate. But it drags. And then — finally — Abby stops being a passive sponge for the island’s BS and starts asking real questions. And that’s when it starts to crack open. Not with fireworks, but with slow, painful honesty.

Three stars, because it makes you work for it — but the emotional payoff is real. This isn’t a twisty, fast-paced mystery. It’s a tense, grief-soaked reckoning with who we love, who we hurt, and what gets buried in paradise when no one’s looking. And it lingers.

Whodunity Award: Most Likely to Solve a Murder Surrounded by Cultish Expats and Cursed Real Estate

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC — even when I almost quit halfway through, I’m glad I stuck around for the storm.

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In The Last Ferry Out, Abby visits Isla Colel to try to piece together what happened to her fiancée, Eszter, who tragically died there. As she deals her grief, Abby encounters a mysterious group of expats, sparking her suspicion that they hold secrets about Eszter's past. Bartz skillfully intertwines themes of loss and the search for truth, creating a compelling narrative that keeps readers on edge. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Higher Expectations than Delivered

I loved We Were Never Here and had hoped for the same vibes in the remote island with the mysterious death of a fiancée, strained family ties, new found “family” of expats…. Even the title had me in suspense.

I love having multiple POVs in a book if it adds real value and depth to a story but in this case it was added confusion and still a few plot holes of what really happened the day Eszter passed away. Without giving spoilers, the mysterious death just didn’t seem as mysterious and I really thought there was a major opportunity for a twist or surprise that we didn’t see coming.

There was some red herring character stories that could have really contributed to the story but ended up being dead ends. I really wanted to be on the edge of my seat with this one and it just missed the mark for me…

With that being said, the author did a great job with the overall mood and message of overcoming grief, loss, and showing hope of finding oneself after a tragedy. Even the group of expats on the island could re-invent themselves and have a fresh start.

If you like a slow burn story that has a great message, with some added suspenseful moments on a remote island, this book is for you! I am looking forward to seeing the next read by Andrea Bartz and hopefully I will feel the same vibes as my favorite by her!

*Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books via Net Galley for sharing this ARC copy with me for my personal and honest opinions.

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Thank you to Ballantine books and NetGalley for this arc!

I really enjoyed The Last Ferry Out. I thought it was a great thriller with a well thought out plot that was executed well. The characters were great too!

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I was really intrigued by the premise of this one. The setup had a lot of promise, and I was hoping for a moody, twisty ride.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t fully land for me. While the setting was eerie and atmospheric, I found myself losing interest as the story went on. Abby’s interactions with the other characters on the island didn’t really pull me in, and I kept waiting for the suspense to kick up a notch or for the tension to really stick—but it never quite got there. The pacing felt a little slow, and even though the ending was solid, it didn’t totally make up for the lack of momentum throughout.

It wasn’t a bad read by any means, and I think some readers might really enjoy the slow-burn mystery. It just didn’t hit the mark for me personally.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC.

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