This one was a fantastic read. I enjoyed it so much
Thank you so much NetGalley for letting me read it

The Last Ferry out is a story looking for answers.
I enjoyed the back and forth of the timeline, it was really well done.
I also enjoyed the author’s character development of two queer woman, very well done.
My only complaint was just too much time spent on describing the area, it got redundant after awhile
If you can’t look past that it was a very well written book..

Abby goes to island where her fiancee died. While she's there her friend goes MIA and she starts to feel like things are off. She's now stuck on an island waiting for the next ferry and isn't sure whether or not she's going to make it off the island.

Honestly pretty suspensful! This is my first Andrea Bartz book and it kept me interested the entire time. I enjoyed this alot.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books & Netgalley for this ARC!

I read one book by this author and enjoyed it so I seem to keep reading more despite the last one being so awful. This was better than that but I’m pretty sure I have read this exact story before somewhere else.

Andrea Bartz is again a master of atmospheric suspense. In “The Last Ferry Out” she puts us in the middle of an uncomfortable ex-pat community on a small Mexican island, Isla Cotel, formerly a tourist hub, now a shell of itself after hurricanes. Our central character, Abby, has traveled here to see where/why her fiancée, Eszter, died of an unexpected anaphylactic shock (she was usually never without her Epi-pen). What Abby uncovers is unwelcoming and suspicious and when one person seems ready to talk to her, he disappears.

This is really a very emotional book about grief — Abby’s overwhelming sense of loss and her inability to move on pervade every page. This was a difficult read — I’m afraid I lost interest in the why of Eszter’s death and just wanted closure before Abby was willing to move on. This was a very slow burn story, not really a thriller, and it was one of those times I felt emotionally burned out during reading. I didn’t DNF it, but there were moments I wished I had moved on more quickly. 2.5 stars


Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I enjoyed this tropical thriller even though it started a bit slow for me. Abby heads out to the place where her fiancé tragically died needing to know more about her time there. But once she arrives she ends up with more questions than answers. A solid suspenseful read that has lots of quirky characters and twists.

Starting this out with my review, which was an easy 5 stars! I gave Andrea Bartz’s last book 4.5, so needless to say I will be reading anything else she writes. This book was partially set in Madison and Milwaukee, which I loved!

Abby has traveled to Isla Colel in Mexico four months after the tragic accidental death of her fiancé, Eszter. While there she makes friends with the other ex-pats on the island, but one of them tells her there’s more to Eszter’s story and he promptly disappears. Now Abby is stuck on the island waiting for the next ferry and unsure if she will make it to the mainland safely or suffer the same fate as her fiancé.

I loved the locked room aspect of this story, and how the characters were all transient with their own mysterious back stories of what brought them to the island. Just the prologue hooked me, and after the first two chapters I was in a chokehold to figure out what happened. I felt very immersed in the island and its stories, and kept flipping pages to reach the end of this propulsive narrative!

TW: anaphylaxis due to food allergies

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I am not sure why but this book did not work for me. However, as I always say when I don't like a book, just because I did not like the book, it doesn't mean that someone else won't like it. It also doesn't necessarily mean that I may not like another book by the same author. Or even that I may not like the book if I try it again in the future.

Suspenseful and heartfelt.

Even though I’m familiar with Andrea Bartz via her Substack: Get It Write, this is the first time I have read one of her novels. Luckily for me, she has four previously published books, so I can’t wait to check them out. If you’re an aspiring author or you’re curious about the publishing industry in general, read her blog where she posts very helpful content about the craft and querying process. And I know it seems as though every author out there is writing on Substack these days, but believe me, hers isn’t one to miss.

The Last Ferry Out is listed as general/women’s fiction, so I had to adjust my expectations at first, but after reading the premise there was an undercurrent of suspense that hooked me immediately. I felt so moved by the characters and their stories. Bartz’s beautiful prose and rich character development pulled me in and I couldn’t put the book down. I was rooting for Abby, and really hoping that she’d be reunited with her fiance, Eszter, in the end. Their past timeline chapters were my favorite, but were also heartbreaking at times, revealing the loving and supportive relationship they had.

Every character in the book felt real, their journeys relatable. The reasons/motives for them each seeking out Paradise in Isla Colel reminded me of the dark undertones incAlex Garland’s novel, The Beach. The secrets, omissions, and reveals gripped me from the first page, including the circumstances surrounding Eszter’s death. NO SPOILERS but a scene that stuck with me was Eszter suffering the allergic reaction, and the details surrounding how it happened/who she was with. So disturbing and sad! Overall, it was a steady-paced story with a satisfying ending. I can’t wait to check out her other books.

For readers who enjoy stories about women, complex relationships, and gorgeous settings filled with suspense.

Abby goes to Isla Colel to make sense of her fiancee, Eszter’s death. A once-bustling tourist destination, the island is quiet and beautiful, with a small number of locals and expats.

Abby befriends people she knows were familiar with Eszter, and slowly tries to see what they might have known about her time on the island. As she uncovers more details, more questions arise about the woman she thought she knew.

Overall, I liked this book. It has a vibe more similar to her 2021 book, We Were Never Here. I think travel thrillers are her forte. At some points in this story, I wondered where it was all going/how things would connect, because there were a lot of loose threads. Finally finding out what happened to Eszter felt a little anticlimactic, but I did like that there were twists til the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me this book.

The Last Ferry Out is a gripping psychological thriller that pulls readers into a world of secrets and shifting alliances. Set against the backdrop of an exclusive, remote island, the story follows a a cast of characters all visiting the island for different reasons as they become intertwined in a sinister chain of events.

The author definitely captured the creepy atmosphere and highlights the feelings of isolation and despair of the island without overdoing it. The ending was a tad bit long in my opinion but the ending certainly made up for it. I love that the author made sure to provide background and answers for all the little details and clues dropped throughout the story which doesn’t always happen.

Overall this was an unputdownable read for me and I was kept guessing until the very end. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Alice Feeney, and Lisa Jewell.

I really enjoyed The Last Ferry Out. I don’t know what I was really expecting going into it besides a mystery with tropical vibes, but it definitely was a good read!

The atmosphere Andrea Bartz created in this book is almost like a character of its own. I could picture myself on that island so clearly, could feel the sun on my skin and hear the palm trees in the breeze. It was cozy yet claustrophobic at the same time.

I thought I had a good idea of the whodunnit aspect of this story, but I was wrong! The Last Ferry Out was twisty in a way I hadn’t expected, and I loved that. The addition of the epilogue actually ended up throwing me even more off kilter at the very end of the story and has left me thinking about it despite finishing the book yesterday.

This was my first Andrea Bartz read, and I can say I will be a returning reader! I had a good time with The Last Ferry Out and look forward to more of her writing.

Thank you Random House - Ballantine for the early review copy of The Last Ferry Out! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is a tense, atmospheric thriller that dives into themes of isolation, paranoia, and survival against a backdrop of societal collapse. Set in a near-future world on the brink of disaster, the novel follows a woman who flees to an elite, remote island—only to realize that escaping the world doesn’t mean escaping danger.

Bartz is a master at crafting suspenseful, character-driven stories, and this one is no exception. The slow-burn pacing builds a sense of unease that intensifies as secrets start to surface and trust begins to erode. The island setting is vividly rendered and claustrophobic, perfectly mirroring the psychological unraveling of the protagonist.

The book feels both timely and timeless, tapping into fears about privilege, climate crisis, and moral compromise. While a few plot elements stretch believability and some side characters feel underdeveloped, the overall story is gripping and thought-provoking.

Fans of smart, socially conscious thrillers with a speculative edge will find The Last Ferry Out a compelling and memorable ride.

The Last Ferry Out follows Abby as she ventures to Isla Colel in search of answers about the passing of her fiancée, Ezster. The ferry out to the island from the mainland used to run daily, but now only runs once a week. Over the course of her week on the island Abby befriends the other expats and starts to chip away at the truth surrounding Ezster's death until one of the expats disappears...

The week-long timeframe and small island setting give a rushed and claustrophobic atmosphere (in a good way) to the quest for answers. As Abby starts becoming suspicious of each person on the island it really feels like the walls are starting to close in on you as the reader as you wait for the day the ferry will return to get Abby off the island. I was a little disappointed in the ending as it felt a little anticlimactic, but overall a good read!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy of this book.

It's a premise worthy of Agatha Christie: a remote island off the coast of Mexico, with spotty wifi and cell service and only one ferry operating intermittently houses a collection of locals and ex-pats, all escaping from city life for various reasons and all with secrets. Into this scenario comes Abby, whose fiancée Eszter recently died on the island. But what really happened to her?

Of course, a series of reveals leads Abby to believe that Eszter's death may not have been an accident. But unlike some mystery novels, these reveals come at you gently. Without getting into spoilers, I will say that it pleased me that this book had very little violence. It's very refreshing to read a well-written thriller that doesn't rely on "don't go into the house" scare jumps or a violent climax. I also was pleased to see that the queer relationship at the center of the story was not overly emphasized. It was just there, a normal relationship. At the same time the denouement felt too lengthy and pedantic.

Overall, a fun read. Many thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A very good and interesting thriller. I like Bartz as an author. Doesn’t follow a cookie cutter thriller plot. I appreciate the queerness as well!

This book jumps between POV’s and between past and present.

This was a twisty, wild ride in paradise that had me asking questions while on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put this book down.

Okay so this book is a full on SLOW BURN. It was an AMAZING and atmospheric setting, loved that! The mystery was exciting! The rest was hard for me to completely invest in. I didn’t love the characters, so I couldn’t fully connect with the story. I feel like this was closer to a 3 star but almost a four star read. I really enjoy her writing and I think other people will enjoy this story a lot. The queer rep seemed good, but I am nowhere near an expert on that. I did enjoy the struggles and solutions the main character and her partner went through and the inner thoughts throughout. I also really enjoyed the message of making more time to slow down and do the quiet, peaceful things in life. I would probably recommend this if you enjoy a mystery, atmosphere, and some thought provoking themes!

mmm I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either… one thing that andrea bartz does extremely well is the LGBTQ+ representation!! I really enjoy when queer characters are written as the norm, as they should be, and not centered in the story as the “standout queer character”

when abby visits a small island outside mexico where her fiancée passed away, she discovers a town full of secrets, groupies & influence stretching wider than the tourists and gringos combined 👀 I loved getting to know the characters super well, and I found their characterization to be unique and fleshed out perfectly!!

the mystery of the story itself, what happened to eszter, was dragging for me. I knew the ultimate payout wouldn’t be an accident per se, but I doubted it was full of true nefarious intentions as abby feared. and abby herself constantly steamrolled over eszter in flashbacks, arguing with her about her introverted tendencies & her willingness to work with her father…

there’s a difference between admiring someone and loving someone, and this story was a great example of that. however, the main plot didn’t really do it for me - especially when the secrets being kept were kind of silly being secrets to begin with 👀

thank you to ballantine books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: brazil chardonnay

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced readers copy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book and did not finish around the 20% mark.