Loyal May is a journalist who returns to her rural Louisiana hometown to investigate the death of her childhood friend Marianne “Cutter” Labasque. Our Last Wild Days is atmospheric to the nth degreeeee. I could feel Loyal trekking through the thick hot air of the wild swamp desperately searching for answers. The pacing lingered in a way that added to that feeling. Anna Bailey’s writing style is lyrical and gorgeous. This was a vivid and heartbreaking story about the family, friendship, and forgiveness (for other and for yourself) that I could not put down.

Thank you Atria for the opportunity to read this ARC!

**Our Last Wild Days** by Anna Bailey is such a beautifully written, haunting read. It’s about friendship, secrets, and the wild, messy ways we try to hold on to each other — and to ourselves — when life starts to unravel. The writing is lyrical and atmospheric, and I felt completely swept up in the characters’ emotions and the raw, rugged setting. Heart-wrenching but so worth it!

Set in the deep back country of Louisiana, we are introduced to a small town and a collection of imperfect people. The main character, Loyal May, has returned home to help her ailing mother, and finds out her ex-best friend is dead. True to her name, Loyal May just can’t settle until she find out to her friend, and faces the hard truths that come with facing our previously decisions and how they affect others.

This book immediately reminded me of Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens, except I found this book much more tolerant, the characters still rugged and wild but more believable.

This is a great summer read, and I would also encourage for anyone who likes a mystery or a book where the setting feels like a character on its own.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Atria Books for the exchange of a copy of this book for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Anna Bailey’s Our Last Wild Days is a novel that doesn’t whisper—it howls. It’s a raw, lyrical, and unflinching portrait of a world on the brink, where the wildness of nature mirrors the wildness within us. Set against the backdrop of ecological collapse and personal reckoning, Bailey’s latest work is a love letter and a lament—for the forests we’re losing, the people we fail to understand, and the selves we bury to survive.

Bailey’s prose is elemental—wind-lashed, rain-soaked, and fire-scorched. The novel is set in a remote, unnamed wilderness that feels both mythic and terrifyingly real. It’s a place where the trees seem to listen, where silence is never empty, and where the land itself becomes a character—wounded, watchful, and sacred.

The environmental themes are not just backdrops—they’re the novel’s pulse. Bailey doesn’t preach; she evokes. The slow violence of deforestation, the ache of extinction, the quiet desperation of those who remain to witness it—all are rendered with aching clarity. This is climate fiction at its most intimate and most urgent.

At the heart of the novel is the protagonist, Loyal, seeing the reason for her friend Cutter's (Marianne"s) murder.

Bailey excels at writing characters who are fractured but not broken. Loyal, in particular, is a standout—fierce, haunted, and deeply human. Her relationship with the land is visceral, almost spiritual, and her journey toward reconciliation—both with her brother and with herself—is as compelling as any thriller.

🔥 What makes Our Last Wild Days so powerful is its refusal to offer easy answers. The novel is steeped in ambiguity—about what happened in the past, about what’s worth saving, about whether redemption is even possible. Bailey weaves in elements of folklore and memory, blurring the line between reality and myth. The result is a narrative that feels timeless and timely, grounded yet dreamlike.

The title itself is a quiet heartbreak. These are the last wild days—not just of the forest, but of the people who once belonged to it. And Bailey captures that sense of ending with devastating grace.


Our Last Wild Days is a novel that lingers like smoke in the lungs. It’s a story about grief—personal, ecological, generational—and about the fragile, feral hope that something wild might still survive in us. Anna Bailey has written a book that is both elegy and invocation, a call to remember what we’re losing and to fight, however we can, to hold on.

If you’re drawn to novels that blend emotional depth with environmental urgency—think Charlotte McConaghy’s Migrations or Richard Powers’ The Overstory—this book will speak to you in a voice that is quiet, fierce, and unforgettable.

A very interesting story about a woman names Loyal and the mystery surrounding the death of her childhood friend Marianne aka Cutter. I found the book to be enjoyable, though I thought it was a little too long.

This is one of those books that really gets your mind working and thoughts turning. This was so much more than just a mystery. It tells the story of a family that really didn’t stand a chance to turn out any different than how they did.

This book had my heart breaking at times and other times I wanted to throw it against the wall because I was feeling so many emotions. This was a very powerful read.

Thank you to Atria Books for my copy of OUR LAST WILD DAYS.

I had a hard time with this book. The characters all really got on my nerves and also there were so many of them! That many characters to keep up with and the only thing you remember is how much you hate them makes reading a chore. I did not enjoy and do not recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this novel. This was a perfect southern gothic book. It was slow paced in a good way and very thought out. It gave you a punch with the ending. I would definitely recommend for fans of this genre. Can’t wait to read more by this author

I read this a few weeks back and can't remember much about it. I gave it three/five stars, so I must not have loved it. I liked this author's last work much better.

I thought I was going to love this book but this book fell short for me.
I’m happy to see such positive reviews on it.

Cutter ends up being found dead face down. Her own brothers don’t even care about Cutter. It’s been suggested that Cutter committed suicide but an old friend doesn’t think that’s true. They’ve had their differences but she doesn’t think cutter committed suicide.

This book held my attention enough to finish to see what really happened to Cutter and why.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for a chance to read this book for free in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this story surrounding a murder in rural Louisiana. The main character returns home to care for her mom, and gets wrapped up in solving the mystery of her old friends death.

Thrilling Thriller

There’s something deeply satisfying about sinking into a book and not resurfacing until the final page. Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey was exactly that kind of experience—a gripping, atmospheric read I devoured in a single sitting. It’s rare to find a novel that pulls you in so completely and finishes strong, all in the span of a few hours. But this one nailed it.

If you're into Southern gothic thrillers, consider this your next must-read. Bailey’s writing is vivid and textured, especially her portrayal of the Louisiana bayou. The setting doesn’t just serve the story; it is the story. The thick heat, the tangled wetlands, the ever-present sense that something is lurking just out of view—it all feels eerily real.

Bailey masterfully blends suspense with a slow-burning mystery. At the heart of it is the discovery of a young woman’s body, written off as suicide. But our protagonist suspects otherwise and digs deep into the secrets of the Labasque family and the insular, decaying town they seem to control. What follows is a layered narrative about poverty, grief, family dysfunction, buried violence, and the lies small towns tell to protect their own.

The characters are messy, flawed, and emotionally raw—exactly the kind that stick with you. The way Bailey writes them, you can’t help but care, even when they make terrible choices. It’s the kind of story that makes you feel like you’ve been somewhere—muggy air, secrets heavy in the silence, danger in the shadows.
I give it a solid 3.5 stars, and I’m already looking forward to whatever Anna Bailey writes next. Any author who can get me to finish a book in one go gets an automatic thumbs-up from me. This one’s dark, sharp, and absolutely worth the read. Add it to your TBR—you won’t regret it.

Rating: 4.5

I wasn't sure how I felt about this at first. But somewhere around 60% of the way through, I started to love it. This is a slowburn thriller that follows four flawed characters, but I was rooting for them anyway. Especially Dewall and Sasha.

an atmospheric novel about a young woman who searches for answers after her estranged friend is found dead in the bayou of their rural Louisiana hometown.

Thank you, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy of this book.

Dark, atmospheric, tension-building, and well-written, this book will surely have you hooked from start to finish.

As always, all the thoughts are my own.

Pub Date May 20 2025

I was immediately drawn in by the atmosphere of the mosquito-filled swamps of Jackknife, Mississippi. The writing in this book is truly impressive. This is a slow-burn story that grips you from the beginning and holds on until the last page.

Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Our Last Wild Days in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good atmospheric thriller and this one totally delivers on that front. Set in rural Louisiana, we are steeped in small-town vibes, rich with Gothic undertones, alligator hunts and local folklore. This might have been my first read by this author but it certainly will not be my last if this book is anything to go by!⁣
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This slowburn mystery hooked me right from the start and I found having the story told from multiple POVs to help keep things moving, though once we hit that midpoint, things start ramping up quite a bit. Nothing is what it seems & this kept me on my toes the entire time. Who can be trusted??? ⁣
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I loved my experience reading this and wish I could read it again for the first time…though I do see myself reading it again at some point as it’s just that good!

This is an atmospheric, slow burning read that is perfect for summertime! As a military spouse, I’ve lived all over the United States, and the South is distinctly different from the rest of the country. I love the cuisine, customs, and the simple things in life. However, I can’t imagine growing up there; it feels like a completely different place.

The Labasques, a family living in the swamps of Jacknife, Louisiana, are seen as outcasts by the local community. When Cutter Labasque is found dead in the swamp, her death is labeled a suicide, and no one seems to care, not even her brothers. The only person questioning this verdict is Loyal May, Cutter's childhood friend who has returned to town to care for her mother. Loyal, along with a group from the local newspaper, seeks to uncover the truth behind Cutter's death, revealing a web of deceit and corruption in the town. The story explores themes of redemption and the darker impulses of human nature, set against the backdrop of rural Louisiana.

The character Loyal May is likable and has a good head on her shoulders. She is gradually developed as we jump between timelines. She made a mistake in the past that haunts her, but she is determined to redeem herself. As she tries to uncover what happened to her old friend, she encounters several tough situations, narrowly escaping each time. The dual points of view help us fully grasp the narrative.

The setting of this book is vivid and well-described; you truly feel as if you are right there, swatting at mosquitoes and turning up the AC to stay cool. Despite being a slow-burn mystery, it is tastefully written, making it hard to put the book down. If the book doesn’t resonate with you, I recommend trying the audio version; it is upbeat and well-narrated.

If you enjoy stories of redemption, challenging places to grow up in, and gritty rural settings with alligators in the water, this book will definitely capture your interest. The writing style is fluid and truly gripping. Well done!

Thank you, Atria Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A mystery suspense thriller that takes place in the bayous of Lousiana..
Family bonds
Drug addiction
Grief
Mystery
Perfect crime thriller!
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Atria for the widget to read Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey.

Dark, gritty, atmospheric, mysterious.

I loved the writing of this story. It puts the reader right in Jackknife with the characters. They are all such greatly written and described characters. If you're in for a small town mystery that is entirely engrossing this might be the perfect book for you. I felt immersed in the character's lives and the mystery of Cutter's death (as well as the other mysteries happening in and around this town).

I love that the author makes the reader question which characters to trust and what their motives may be. There were characters that I felt completely differently about by the end of the story than I had at the beginning, which I loved.

Overall, I loved this story and thought it was incredibly well written.

Our Last Wild Days is my first read by Anna Bailey, and it certainly won’t be my last. Atmospheric, suspenseful, and constantly foreboding… The Bayou grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the very end.

I loved the Louisiana backdrop and could literally feel the humidity and creepy darkness of the swamps as I read. This book wasn’t exciting every second, but I felt like it kept me guessing and the desire to find out what happened to Cutter kept me interested from start to finish.

I loved all the layers of the characters, especially the Labasques. They had such a hard life and you can really see that they tried to grasp for goodness within themselves. There’s so much roughness in them, but also a lot of sadness. It was really heartbreaking to read at times.

I think Our Last Wild Days would be a fantastic TV series. I really hope to see it one day! In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing what Anna Bailey comes up with next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!