The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is a gripping, atmospheric thriller that cements her place as a master of modern suspense. Known for her previous hits like We Were Never Here and The Herd, Bartz once again delivers a twisty, emotionally charged story that keeps the pages turning. Set against the eerie backdrop of a world on the brink of climate collapse, the novel blends urgent themes with razor-sharp psychological tension. The characters are complex and relatable, especially the protagonist, who’s forced to confront both personal demons and global catastrophe. Bartz’s writing is vivid and immersive, pulling readers into a chilling yet strangely beautiful dystopia. Every chapter builds a slow-burn intensity that explodes into a shocking and satisfying conclusion. Fans of smart, socially conscious thrillers will find plenty to love here. The Last Ferry Out is both a pulse-pounding escape and a powerful reflection on resilience, loyalty, and survival.

Although I've had another book by Andrea Bartz sitting on my shelf for awhile now, The Last Ferry Out is the first of hers that I've actually read!

Let's start here:
I set this book down after finishing it and instantly realized I had wanted so much more from this thriller! Set in a tropical paradise, I should have been able to feel the sand between my toes and the humidity in the air, while being stimulated by the island's culture... but sadly I wasn't. The (almost) random additional perspectives didn't do a whole lot to move the plot along, and at times pulled me out of the main story. And I'll be the first to admit that drugs in books bother me, so that was also an issue.

And finish on a positive note:
I'm a big fan of the queer representation! The ending caught me by surprise, and tied various different aspects together.

Finally:
Yes, I am excited to read more from Bartz, but I won't be expediting We Were Never Here up my TBR any time soon.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Ballantine Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of the last ferry out in exchange for my honest review. This thriller set on a remoteish island will have you wondering who done it. The writing style will keep you turning the page to find out exactly what happened. Three stars

2.5 Stars rounded down.

Abby ventures off to an island off the coast of Mexico to find answers regarding the death of her fiancee, Eszter in this twisty thriller from Andrea Bartz, The Last Ferry Out.

The premise, a remote island of expats with secrets of their own, felt really promising. But this was a slow burn and, to me, there's nothing worse than a slow burn when you don't like any of the characters. I couldn't connect with Abby as I felt she was too immature, none of the expats were fleshed out to really form much of an understanding of them other than they were all secretive and protective of their island.

The POVs were of Abby and Eszter, in present and years before and that really didn't mesh well with the plot. There were also random POVs of the other expats thrown in that didn't feel needed. I was pretty close to DNFing this at about the halfways point.

And the twist? It was so underwhelming that I found myself skimming just to end the book sooner.

I'd like to thank Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a review copy of this ARC.

I enjoyed this but not as much as I thought I would from the plot. It wasn't as gripping as I had hoped and dragged for me at the beginning. It was a satisfactory read and I enjoyed her last novel so I definitely recommend this one. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not my favorite Andrea Bartz book. It was a good plot, something different but I thought it would be a bigger mystery at the end. It was kind of lackluster. The characters were ok. Abby was meh. Kind of annoying and the relationship between her and eszkter seemed a bit force and not a lot of meat in that part of the story.

This book was pretty engrossing! I’m not big into thrillers usually, but this had me captivated and I ended up reading it very quickly. I was intrigued by the setting and distinct characters. The ending was unsatisfying in some ways but yet realistic. I definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Andrea Bartz’s The Last Ferry Out hums with the unnerving energy of a thriller, but its pulse is more existential than explosive. Set in a world teetering on the brink—social collapse, climate instability, and political dread licking at its edges—it’s not merely about escape, but about what (and who) we choose to carry with us when the world demands we let go.

The plot centers on a woman swept into a relationship with a mysterious man offering passage on the final ferry off the mainland. But the novel isn't about logistics—it’s about longing. Bartz layers her signature psychological insight into every encounter, creating a haunting meditation on trust, desire, and self-preservation. The protagonist’s emotional unraveling mirrors the slow disintegration of the world around her, crafting a symmetry that’s as unsettling as it is poetic.

What sets The Last Ferry Out apart is its refusal to offer easy answers. Bartz blurs the line between safety and danger, savior and manipulator. Each chapter tilts reality slightly more, drawing the reader into a fog of paranoia that never quite lifts. As in her previous works, the real tension lies not in the external threat but in the internal reckoning.

This isn’t just a climate-adjacent thriller or a dystopian romance—it’s a novel about the weight of decisions made under duress, and the myths we build to justify them. Quietly provocative and elegantly paced, The Last Ferry Out lingers long after the final page, like the memory of a fever dream you’re not entirely sure was yours.

Abby’s story is a gripping thrill ride from start to finish. When her fiancé dies during a seemingly idyllic tropical getaway, the tragedy leaves Abby shattered—but not convinced it was just an accident. Haunted by unanswered questions and a gut-deep suspicion, she returns to the island that once held joyful memories, only to find it changed, darker, and far more dangerous than she remembered.

As Abby digs deeper, secrets unravel and tensions rise, with every twist tightening the web around her. The suspense is masterfully paced—I couldn’t put it down—and the creeping sense of dread kept me on the edge of my seat until the final page. A chilling, emotional, and utterly addictive read.

The Last Ferry Out is an intense read with a compelling premise, but I found certain parts to be a bit uneven. The story hooks you early, and the suspense builds well, but some plot twists felt somewhat predictable. The characters are interesting, though I wanted a deeper connection with them to fully invest in the story. Overall, it’s a decent thriller that kept me engaged, but it didn’t quite reach the level of thrill or originality I was hoping for.

My first exposure to Andrea Bartz was "We Were Never Here". This book exceeded my expectations, and I was so immersed in this story I forgot that I was reading and felt like I could deeply relate to what the characters in the book felt.

3.5?

I enjoyed the setting here, and and mostly had a good time reading this one! The timeline gets a bit confusing as we get to the end, with the reverse love story, then months after the climax, then back to a few weeks after the climax. Also that final twist was a liiiiittle silly hehe.

All that said, a fun thriller, happy Pride, would recommend to fans of the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley et al., for the ARC!

I’m a huge fan of the author, I was so excited to get my hands on her latest book she’s a must read!!
Read this if you love
mystery/suspense
multiple points of view
various timelines
murder?!
eerie isolated island
family drama
secrets

Abby’s fiancée Eszter dies on the tropical island of Isla Colel, and Abby’s completely lost. Needing closure she decides to go to island and trace Eszter’s last steps. When Abby arrives the island isn’t what she expected, a hurricane a few years earlier left it a shell of its former self, with only a few locals and expats remaining. Even the once-daily ferry to the mainland now only runs every week or so. Abby befriends group of expats, but she becomes uneasy when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter's last days. Before she can meet up with him he disappears and it soon becomes days without any sign of him. As her quest for the truth unearths dark secrets, shady pasts, and a web of lies, Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to the love of her life. And the deeper she gets in the close-knit expat community, the more she suspects one of them is Eszter's killer—and will do anything to keep the truth buried. But will she discover who it is before she becomes the island’s next victim? I couldn’t put the book down! The author does an incredible job of writing characters with layers and emotions. This was a slow burn but I loved it!

Moody thriller set in a tropical oasis. This is a good summer read about Abby, who travels to a remote tropical island to investigate the death of her fiancee. From the prologue, I was invested in the story and curious to find out what happens next. It was a bit of a slower read than I expected, but I enjoyed it overall.

📖 The Last Ferry Out
👩‍💻 Author: Andrea Bartz
📅 Pub Date: 5/20/25 – Out Now!
📚 Pages: 320
🗂️ Genre: Thriller
🏝️ Publisher: Ballantine Books
🙏 Huge thanks to @ballantinebooks & Andrea Bartz for the gifted copy! 💕 #partner

💥 A tropical island, a tragic death, and a killer who may still be lurking...

Abby travels to Isla Colel to make peace with the death of her fiancée, Eszter—but what she finds is anything but closure. The island, once a vacation hotspot, is now eerie and abandoned after a devastating hurricane. The once-daily ferry barely runs, and the few remaining residents seem to be hiding something...

🌴 She falls in with an intriguing group of expats, but when one of them hints he knows what really happened to Eszter—and then mysteriously disappears—Abby’s search for answers turns into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

✨ The twists kept me guessing, and I loved the queer representation 🏳️‍🌈. The moody, isolated island setting was haunting and atmospheric. That said, this wasn’t the fast-paced thriller I expected—it felt more melancholic than scary. The pacing dragged a bit, and there were a lot of characters to keep track of.

Still, if you enjoy slow-burn island thrillers with emotional depth, layered secrets, and LGBTQ+ themes, this one’s for you.

📚 Would recommend to fans of character-driven suspense and tropical noir.

#TheLastFerryOut #AndreaBartz #ThrillerReads #IslandThriller #QueerBooks #BookReview #Bookstagram #SummerReads #BallantineBooks #BeachReadWithATwist #LGBTQBooks #MysteryLovers #BookRecs #ReeseBookClubAuthor #BookishThoughts

In Andrea Bartz’s newest novel, The Last Ferry Out, Abby travels to a remote paradise to investigate and find closure about the death of her fiancée, Eszter. While on the island, Abby makes several discoveries that change her view of Eszter and her death.

This was a fast paced read with several unexpected twists. Perfect summer beach read!

Andrea Bartz most recent release, The Last Ferry Out, is a gripping, atmospheric, and mind provoking thriller that keeps you turning pages from start to finish. 

We follow Abby to the Island of Isla Colel, located off the cost of Mexico, to get closure regarding her late fiance's death. Only once she is there, the story she knows doesn't seem to match up with what people are sharing. And on an island where everyone loves secrets Abby isn't sure who to trust, especially when one islander mysteriously goes missing shortly after texting her that she deserves to know the truth! 

In form with her other novels Andrea Bartz has us guessing at what happened to Eszter from the first page to the last, and everyone seems to have their own version of events. This novel took me on a ride and I very much enjoyed guessing and getting some things right and some things very wrong.  

If you love thrillers where you can trust no one, I would highly recommend it. It's a great summer read with intriguing characters and all the twists and turns you could want! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Ferry Out is a moody, atmospheric thriller that explores the aftermath of loss, the instability of memory, and the secrets that can thrive in isolation. Andrea Bartz transports readers to the remote Caribbean island of Isla Colel, where Abby arrives in search of answers following the sudden death of her fiancée, Eszter. What was supposed to be a peaceful solo retreat ended in tragedy—an apparent anaphylactic shock—and Abby can’t shake the feeling that something doesn’t add up. As she digs deeper into the events surrounding Eszter’s final days, Abby becomes entangled with the island’s strange and insular community of expats, each one potentially hiding pieces of the truth.

Bartz, known for her smart and suspenseful psychological thrillers, builds tension slowly but deliberately. The island setting is vividly rendered, full of storm-battered cliffs, decaying resorts, and ghostly beauty that mirrors Abby’s growing unease. The book’s structure alternates between Abby’s present-day investigation and flashbacks to her complicated relationship with Eszter, offering a portrait of love haunted by secrecy, miscommunication, and internalized trauma. Themes of grief, identity, and trust are explored with nuance, particularly through the lens of queer relationships and the vulnerabilities they sometimes expose.

Critics and readers have praised the novel’s immersive atmosphere and emotional depth. Bartz’s writing is sharp, immersive, and layered with subtle clues and psychological tension. While not a fast-paced thriller in the traditional sense, the novel keeps readers engaged with its slowly tightening sense of dread and a series of well-executed twists that challenge both Abby’s—and the reader’s—assumptions.

That said, the pacing may not appeal to everyone. Some readers might find the introspective sections and nonlinear narrative occasionally disrupt the momentum of the mystery. A few have also noted that Abby and Eszter’s relationship, while central to the plot, can feel emotionally distant at times. However, for those willing to settle into the novel’s slow-burn style, the emotional payoff and final revelations are both rewarding and thought-provoking.

The Last Ferry Out is an intelligent and unsettling thriller that excels in atmosphere and emotional complexity. Ideal for fans of character-driven suspense and isolated mysteries with a literary edge, it’s a gripping exploration of how well we can ever truly know the people we love—and what they might be capable of hiding.

The new psychological thriller by Andrea Bartz, The Last Ferry Out, was a gripping change of pace. Set on a tropical isle near Cancun, the book follows a young woman who visits the island to see where her fiancee died. The main characters are lesbians and gay men, which was another cool change of pace for me. (Of course I have read many books with gay and lesbian characters, but not lately.) I loved the way Bartz described the setting so viscerally and actively—I could feel the warm humid air and smell the sea. I kept thinking this is what I mean when I tell clients to put us in a setting that feels real and give us just enough expository to keep us turning pages.

Having spent years living in Mexico (and in Florida, which is somewhat like another country!) I definitely recognized the expatriate characters in The Last Ferry Out—their day-to-day lives rang true. And the plot kept me guessing right up to the last pages, which is pretty hard to do. I highly recommend this book for readers who crave thrills and who aren’t afraid to see the modern world of young career women through a new and different lens.

Andrea Bartz knows how to put together a thriller! She's done it again with The Last Ferry Out. Highly recommend for fans of Alice Feeny, Ruth Ware and Gillian McAllister, Bartz will have you guessing right up until the end reveal. I enjoyed The Last Ferry Out even more than We Were Never Here, I thought that her writing has developed further and Abby was an easy character to get behind.