Loyal has moved back to Jacknife, LA to take care of her mother and old memories pop up when her former bff Cutter is found dead in the river. Cutter and her brothers were dirt poor alligator farmers, but something doesn’t sit right about Cutter’s death. Drug deals, missing people, bayou superstitions and more arise during Loyal’s investigation into Cutter’s death.

I liked this book. It was very atmospheric and it was interesting to read about the Bayou and life in Louisiana. There are a lot of bad/unlikable characters in this book, but overall it was a good read, and I wasn’t sure until further into the book who the murderer was.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book.

*Our Last Wild Days* is a haunting, atmospheric mystery set in the swamps of rural Louisiana, where old secrets fester like the bayou itself. When Cutter Labasque—part of a family the town sees as outcasts—is found dead, her childhood friend Loyal May returns home and refuses to believe it was suicide. Driven by guilt and a need for redemption, Loyal digs into a web of corruption and prejudice that implicates powerful locals. With richly drawn characters, a slow-burning plot, and evocative writing, this Southern noir explores the weight of betrayal, the pull of home, and the lengths we go to make things right.

After her mom needs someone to take care of her because of dementia, Loyal moves back to her small town life in Louisiana. Shortly after, her high school best friend is found deceased in the river. After a quick suicide determination from the local police, Loyal insists on digging deeper knowing her friend wouldn't kill herself.

This book took A LONG time for me to get through. I was excited to read it based on the summary but couldn't get in to it. Everything seemed to drag for me and although I did finish the book, it was a struggle.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was SO GOOD. This book was what every thriller I've read recently dreamed of being - the writing was so beautiful, the characters are compelling and the narrative kept me awake reading.
5 stars this book was fantastic.
If you like good books, thrillers, mysteries or southern gothic tales this is for you. If you want a crime novel that doesn't center a cop, this novel is for you. If you want to feel the writing in your soul, pick this up!
Thank you so much @atriabooks @simon.audio & @annabaileywrites I'm not going to shut up about this book for ages.

This was a slow start for me. I wanted to read this because I lived in south Mississippi for years & miss the feel of the Cajun bayou & all that comes with it.

The slow burn had me nervous but I’m so glad I kept reading. This is one of my favorite books so far this year. I need to read her debut because I really enjoyed this southern gothic thriller so much.

Anna Bailey’s Our Last Wild Days is a moody, atmospheric journey deep into the swamps of rural Louisiana—an evocative setting that lingers long after the final page, even when the story itself sometimes struggles to hold firm ground.

The novel opens with the death of Cutter Labasque, a member of an outcast family known for gator hunting and backwoods living. Her death is ruled a suicide, but childhood friend Loyal May, recently returned to Jacknife, isn’t convinced. From there, the story meanders through layers of small-town secrets, personal betrayals, and buried guilt.

This is a slow burn of a novel—and perhaps too slow at times. It took a while to become fully immersed, and I found it hard to invest in either Loyal or Cutter’s storylines. Loyal’s quest for redemption didn’t always feel urgent, and Cutter, despite being the catalyst for the plot, remains more of a mystery than a fully formed character.

Where Our Last Wild Days truly shines is in its setting. Bailey’s writing conjures the swampy, oppressive atmosphere of Jacknife with vivid, almost tactile detail. The bayous, the heat, the murky stillness—they all feel alive, a haunting backdrop that does much of the emotional heavy lifting. It’s this immersive sense of place that gives the novel its weight and intrigue.

Of the cast, the standout character for me was Sasha. He brought depth, compassion, and nuance that often felt lacking elsewhere. His presence added emotional resonance and complexity that kept me turning the pages. Unfortunately, much of the narrative is bogged down by side plots that feel either unnecessary or underdeveloped. These threads sometimes dilute the central mystery and sap the story of momentum.

Overall, Our Last Wild Days is a beautifully written book in terms of tone and mood, even if the plot and character arcs don’t always match that same level of precision. It’s a novel to savor for its atmosphere rather than its pace or central narrative—a murky, tangled journey through grief, guilt, and the ghosts of the past.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is based off of an uncorrected proof which did not sway my opinion either way.

This book was very wordy. It was hard for me to latch on to anything though to want to keep going (obviously I did). The ending was semi predictable, and there were other plot points that were glossed over when I would have wanted more details. This writing style/genre might not be for me and that's ok because it is for someone else.

Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey is an amazing slow burn that takes you to the visceral depths of Louisiana Swap land. Loyal May returns to her hometown after finding out that her childhood best friend is found dead. Ruled a suicide, Loyal faces the trauma of her childhood to find justice for her friend. She doesn’t believe Cutter killed herself and is willing to risk her life to find the truth, while also finding the power to forgive herself for past transgressions that she has not been able to get over.

Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey is a suspenseful novel; it has been described as a gritty Southern Gothic. It is at times a dark story, reflecting the hard existance of people living in isolated and arduous Louisiana communities. Loyal May was a journalist in Texas living the life she dreamed of as a girl, when she received notification that her mom, Rosa, was behaving erratically: walking aimlessly in the night, digging up her front yard... etc. Loyal was an only child, and as much as she did not want to return to her hometown in Assumption Parish, Lakeknife, Louisiana she realized her mom needed her. Loyal had grown up in this "backwoods" area with her best friends, Marianne (Cutter) and her brother Beau LaBasque. The eldest brother, Dewall raised his siblings after their parents died; Dewall was a hard-core, strict, cold man- a loner. He and his sister hunted alligators to support the family. Loyal, Cutter and Beau had been inseparable until their late teens when they had a major falling out, and Loyal submitted an unkind article about them to the Bayou Leader, the local newspaper. Returning was not easy for Loyal, and almost as soon as she arrived she learned that Cutter was dead. Did she drown? Was she murdered? Loyal joined the small Bayou Leader staff, and with the help of her colleagues Sasha Petitpas and owner ChuckDeForest she was determined to get the answers; with or without the cooperation of the local police. Our Last Wild Days is a very good novel; Anna Bailey brings the area and its hardships alive while telling a story of lost friendship, family, love and redemption. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC; my review reflects my candid opinion. 4 stars.

Anna Bailey’s Our Last Wild Days is a haunting, atmospheric novel that lingers long after the final page. I was captivated by the grit and raw emotion woven into every chapter—from the fierce loyalty of friends who don’t always get it right, to the unshakable bond between siblings. The setting is so vividly rendered, it practically seeps into your dreams—though in my case, that included a few alligator-induced nightmares! A gripping and beautifully written story about love, survival, and the wildness that lives in all of us.

While I overall enjoyed this book, trying to keep up with character names was a struggle at first! I'm not sure what I was expecting with this story, but urinating on diner signs was not it, lol

A very interesting look at life in backwater bayou swamp country. The characters are bleak as is their story. Loyal made it out of the area, but finds herself back to help her Mom who is suffering from dementia. While back, she has some ghosts to deal with and things to set right. She is a journalist and is chasing a story that closely and painfully marks her past. Add in some colorful characters and some gators and you have a winner.

I ended up DNF'ing this book at 20%. I plan to go back and try again with a different format, since I loved Anna Bailey's WHERE THE TRUTH LIES. This one sounds right up my alley, so it might've been a case of "right book, wrong time."

Sadly, this book fell short of my expectations. Usually, I love mystery/thrillers that take place in Louisiana because I find the atmosphere to be so cool! But I had trouble getting into this story and it was such a slow burn for me! I also didn't connect with or care much for any of the characters. I also love alligators so the fact that the Labasques hunted and killed them just made me sad.

[Know that my opinion is an unpopular one as the Goodreads rating as of now is 4.18!]

DNF this one at around 10% just could not get into it and had a hard time wanting to try and pick it back up. Was a miss for me but would always recommend others to give it a try.

This was a great read. I really enjoyed it. Loyal May heads back to her hometown Jacknife, Louisiana to care for her mother who has dimension. When her estranged childhood friend, Cutter Labasque, is found face down in the Louisiana swamp and it's ruled a suicide, Loyal can't accept that. She teams up with her group of co-workers to find the answers.

This was dark, atmospheric and had plenty of suspense. The beginning was a little slow but once it got going I was hooked, and I'm happy I stuck with it. There's plenty of secrets that get exposed and I did not guess the twist. The writing was great and I loved the descriptions of the swamps and areas around it and the small town vibes. Just overall a good mystery!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was haunting. I don’t usually go for the southern gothic type books, but I branched out and I do not regret it at all. Absolutely beautiful writing, I felt I was sitting in Louisiana dripping with sweat myself. This was a slow placed story with a mystery unraveling little by little. I devoured it

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman returns to her hometown on the bayou to take care of her mother who has early onset dementia. She is also forced to deal with her past and circumstances around a friend that she did wrong a long time ago.

Atria Books and NetGalley, Thank you for this ARC!

I ended this book staring at the wall. It was AMAZING. That's all I have to say, no notes, 10/10, 6 stars. You will love this.

Holly Collins

Anna Bailey's "Our Last Wild Days" is less a novel and more a lingering disquiet, a whisper carried on the wind through desolate landscapes. From the opening pages, a sense of melancholy hangs heavy, a palpable atmosphere that seeps into your bones and stays there, long after the last word has been read. This isn’t a story that announces its mysteries with fanfare; instead, it slowly, artfully, unwraps them, revealing layers of fractured lives and the persistent ache of unspoken grief.

The setting itself, a seemingly isolated pocket of rural existence, becomes a character in its own right—wild, beautiful, and harboring secrets as deep as the shadowed forests that cling to its edges. Bailey’s prose is exquisitely rendered, painting vivid, almost tactile, images of nature’s stark beauty and its indifferent cruelty. You can practically smell the damp earth, feel the chill of the wind, and hear the rustle of leaves as forgotten memories are stirred. This rich, evocative backdrop creates a profound sense of place, one that feels both intimately familiar and profoundly alien, a crucible where past transgressions and present anxieties are forged.

At its heart, the novel explores the delicate, often destructive, dance between memory and reality. The characters, each carrying their own burdens of regret and longing, are drawn with a raw, unflinching honesty. They are flawed, vulnerable, and deeply human, their inner lives laid bare in fragments and fleeting glimpses. You find yourself drawn into their struggles, their yearning for connection, and their desperate attempts to outrun or reconcile with the echoes of their past. There’s a pervasive sense that something is missing, something broken, lurking just beneath the surface of their seemingly ordinary lives. The narrative weaves between perspectives and timelines, each shift a subtle tilt of the kaleidoscope, revealing new facets of a shared, yet deeply personal, tragedy.

What truly elevates "Our Last Wild Days" is the insidious way its central mystery unfolds. It’s not a whodunit in the traditional sense, but rather a profound exploration of why. The questions it poses are existential: What does it mean to truly disappear? How do we live with the lingering presence of those who are gone? And what secrets do we keep, even from ourselves, to survive? The answers aren't handed to you neatly; instead, they emerge through the quiet accretion of detail, the haunting power of suggestion, and the unsettling realization that some wounds never truly heal. The suspense is not generated by jump scares or dramatic confrontations, but by the slow, creeping dread of truths unveiled, of consequences long deferred finally catching up.

"Our Last Wild Days" is a deeply atmospheric and psychologically resonant novel that will linger in your thoughts long after you’ve turned the final page. It’s a testament to the enduring power of loss, the complexities of human connection, and the wild, untamed corners of the heart where our deepest fears and most profound longings reside. If you’re seeking a book that will engage your mind and stir your soul, one that doesn’t just tell a story but evokes a profound emotional landscape, then venture into the wild days of Anna Bailey’s unforgettable novel. But be warned: some echoes are louder than others.