Last One Seen had all the ingredients I like for a thriller; dual timelines, a murder mystery, and a college campus setting. The added layer of an unreliable alcoholic narrator with bipolar disorder, struggling with inconsistent medication use, gave the story a unique twist that has you do lots of questioning.

While the premise was intriguing, the execution fell a bit flat for me. The story dragged in places, and some plot points felt overly far-fetched (the Dr. Pepper!?!), making it hard to stay fully invested. The narrator’s mental health challenges were central to the narrative, but at times it felt like the author leaned too heavily on that device to explain away plot holes.

Despite its flaws, there were moments of suspense in the book that kept me turning the pages. Readers who enjoy slow-burn psychological thrillers with complex, flawed characters might find more to appreciate here—but for me, it didn’t quite live up to its potential.

This book was a little all over the place for me. And then with only one point of view, and that point of view being unreliable, we’re not really sure what happened. The obsession was a bit much also. Probably would have DNF’d if not for it being an arc. Thank you NetGalley for this early copy.

This was a hard book to get through. First of all there's the unreliable narrator. I'm astounded at the games other characters played with her, considering the mental health of this character. But everything going on is so wild, that it was hard for me to stay connected.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the twist but did not love Justine (iykyk). I love that Rebecca wrote about the struggles of having mental health issues & how that comes with its own challenges. I hated how Justine messed with Hannah, knowing she had bipolar disordered. I did enjoy the ending of the book with it being a happy ending. I was not prepared for the ending.

A toxic friendship goes sour and Hannah, struggling with her mental health and drug and alcohol addiction as a way to maintain the highs of her manic phases of biopolar disorder. I couldn't help but root for her to get herself out of the messes she was in, both of her own creation and those created by her enemies. Toxic friendship, toxic love affair and desperate actions and the threat of violence. I enjoyed this and think my older students will get something out of it as well.

Twenty six year old Hannah has been accepted into a writing program at Washington University in St Louis.

Hannah’s behavior can only be described as obsessive. And as she is off of her medication, her role as narrator is anything but reliable.

She is intently focused on Justine, another student in her writing program. And it seems Justine returns the attention, but are her motives sinister?

I really wanted to like this one, but it never really clicked for me. Most of the characters were unlikable and others were non-entities. I never connected with the frenzied, overwrought storyline. 3 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Last One Seen had me spiraling right along with Hannah. She shows up to her MFA program with good intentions: take her meds, stay focused, write something great. But then Justine happens— brilliant, magnetic, a little too interested-and everything starts to spiral.

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What an absolute nightmare of an experience Hannah went through. I felt it in my bones.
A brilliant and raw portrayal of mania and unraveling mental states with an unreliable narrator and unreliable characters.

Justine is the actual worst but then again… who even is Justine? Is any of this real? Is this a fight club situation? Hannah is Justine is Amelia is Eli is… Hannah?

Honestly I hated every character but I couldn’t stop reading. The whole time I was spiraling right along with Hannah and wondering: is any of this real or are we fully in a manic break?

Dark and dizzying and weirdly addictive.

3.75/5

So good. I’m not sure you’d really understand some of it unless you’ve experienced mania, like some people might think some is unrealistic but when your in that state everything becomes a possibility.

I liked that there was a backstory to Hannah without it overtaking the currently plot, I was rooting for her though even when she’d done wrong.

I think the author did a really good job of when Hannah is questioning what’s real and what’s not and that she knows when she’s being set up but people just presume it’s her bipolar.

I’m still a tad confused on some things like when did Alex, Justine and Amelia decide to do this and why? Is it because Hannah knew her secret or because she found her writing and knew this wasn’t the work of somebody who’s meant to be amazing

Overall a good book, I did enjoy it

Last One Seen is a fun, twisty, and fast paced thriller with darn near perfect and text book unreliable narrator; and that makes sense the narrator has Bipolar disorder. Actually, one of the best parts of the book is when in a MFA workshopping session of writers there is a whole meta moment of defining the unreliable narrator.
What I Liked:
- it was fast paced and a easily held my interest as a psychological thriller.
- it’s easy to digest and yet as a reader lots of theories will be kicking around as the mystery needs to be solved.
- I love an unreliable narrator and trying to figure out the point of unreliability was super fun.
- switching timelines is always a fun narrative feature.
What I didn’t like:
- some of it felt loose like the story thread struggled to come together, but perhaps that can be a feature of who the narrator is.
- some of it felt derivative of Single White Female (and that was written into the story)
- it was a Five star read until the last 50 pages. I had theories on how it would end, the easy and predictable one came true. A grittier ending would have been far more satisfying.
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I had such high hopes for this one. Unfortunately I just couldnt connect to the characters. I dont mind drama in my books but this one was over the top.

A girl off her medicine is never a good thing but it’s really bad when it leads to murder and kidnapping. She thought Eli was the one for her but was it all based on lies. Did one girl try to take it all and end up dead. This book takes you through graduates in a writing course that will end with someone dead and another girl kidnapped.

Last One Seen pulled me in right away and didn’t let go. It’s one of those books where you keep saying “just one more chapter,” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m. The mystery at the center is intense and emotional, and the way the story unfolds kept me guessing the whole time.

The characters are so well written—complex, relatable, and full of depth. I especially appreciated how the story balanced suspense with emotional weight. It wasn’t just about solving a crime; it was about family, trauma, and resilience.

Rebecca Kanner did an amazing job of building tension while also making you feel for everyone involved. The pacing was spot-on, the writing was strong, and the ending totally delivered.

If you’re into emotional thrillers with real heart, Last One Seen is a must-read.

Really loved this book! An unreliable narrator, some really off the wall characters, and a twisty story that kept me guessing throughout the entire thing! 4 stars!

I really liked the start when it was a smart, character-driven academic suspense story – but then it veered into over-the-top popcorn thriller territory and the execution (especially the second half) was too jarring, clunky, and over-the-top.

Energy: Silly. Dark. Scattered

🐺 Growls: Became a constant stream of chaotic, unbelievable events. Disjointed, jarring plot progression — not that horrible things like that don’t happen, more that it was so random with no build-up so it felt very much For the Plot and just thrown at us.

🐕 Howls: The abrupt tonal shifts. Clunky, unnatural dialogue. Past/present tense mix-ups. Inconsistent pacing. Whole scenes fly by without connection, like characters first meeting to suddenly kissing with no transition. Wish we had other POVs for a better sense of what’s happening and to introduce a ‘who to trust’ dynamic.

🐩 Tail Wags: Intriguing characters. The flawed main character portrayal (at first). The grad school group dynamics.

Scene 🇺🇸 St Louis, Missouri, and Minnesota, USA
Perspective: A 26 yo prospective MFA student, living with mental illness and raised by a neglectful parent, who put themselves through school. They’re eager to get in the program but dependent on a stipend that might go to an award-winning yet wealthy candidate.
Timeline: Time-jumping. 2020s. Four months leading up to the start of the grad program, during the semester, and a few months later when something has happened involving our MC.
Fuel: Is Hannah being sabotaged? Why? How will she handle rejection from her peers? Is she experiencing full reality? What happened that has her on the run in the future?
Cred: Suspended disbelief over-the-top to hard to believe

Mood Reading Match-Up:
• Invisible in the room, listening to the character, being told a story (first person)
• Casual, simplistic writing style
• Spiraling, clingy, mean, flawed, and unhinged characters
• Grad school politics, academic scheming, love triangles, and “pick me” friendships
• Rejection, rivalries, vengeance, and internal chaos
• On-the-run and trauma reveals
• Mental health + missing memory shockers
• Plot-driven but character focused
• Popcorn thriller antics and villainy

Content Heads-Up: Ableism (mental illness stigmas; purposeful triggering). Abusive, controlling relationship. Alcohol (self-medicating, intoxication/black-out; parties). Alcoholism (treatment, sobriety, relapse). Antisemitism. Bullying (peers; rejection, sabotage, set-ups). Confinement. Drugging. Eating disorder (bulimia). Gun violence. Intoxicated driving (fatal; mention). Loss of parent (as child). Mania. Medication (psychiatric; misuse). Mental illness (bipolar; medication, manic episodes). Parental neglect, addiction. Personality disordered parent (borderline). Pregnancy. Sexual content (behind closed doors; intoxicated). Sexual harassment.

Rep: American. Jewish heritage. Bluish pale, pale skin tones. Bipolar disorder.

📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley

Last One Seen had me spiraling right along with Hannah. She shows up to her MFA program with good intentions: take her meds, stay focused, write something great. But then Justine happens— brilliant, magnetic, a little too interested-and everything starts to spiral.

From the jump, we know Justine is dead. We know Hannah might have killed her. But what we don't know-ever-is the full truth. And that's the entire point. The tension simmers in the uncertainty. And since we only have Hannah's fragmented memories to go on, we never really get the full picture. We're left to decide whether Hannah is a victim, a villain, or something in between.

Our main characters are writers, and the book frequently digs into the blurred lines between fiction and nonfiction. I really enjoyed the commentary on storytelling that was woven throughout the story.

Last One Seen isn't your typical twisty thriller. It's murky, disorienting, and rooted entirely in the mind of one incredibly unreliable narrator. I kept waiting for a big reveal, some clarity, but it never came.
And weirdly? I respect the hell out of that.

If you like unhinged and unreliable narrators that’ll leave you questioning what the truth even means, you just might like this one. Just don't expect a neat ending. You're not getting one.

After reading the first few pages, i was captivated. Why would someone suspect themselves of murder!? As the story unfolded, my feelings changed- I was so disgusted by the thought of someone purposely messing with another's mental health, that my focus switched from wanting to know why Hannah suspected herself to why did Justine want to do that to Hannah.

this book was exhausting. I only finished it in order to write an honest review but I wouldn't have finished otherwise.
every character in the book is unlikeable, the situations are wild, there's so much going on that it's hard to keep straight. if you can tolerate an unreliable narrator and like to feel hungover just from reading something this is the book for you.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. The dialog and relationships between characters felt strange and unnatural. Hannah, the main character, is wildly unhinged and unlikeable. She is a writer and graduate student with bipolar disorder, who is also an alcoholic and largely goes unmedicated. The story is told from her POV only, and is a bit all over the place. You are left wondering if any of it really happened. It's a weird read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the early access!

This book had me thinking about so many scenarios.. At times I couldn’t figure out what was going on and there were so many stories going on at once. The obsession was a little too intense for me. And the book as a whole was just too slow and drawn out for me to really enjoy it.