Novella's are very hit or miss for me. At first, I was not vibing with the book purely because of the repetition of the main characters' plans to kill his dad. It got a little boring reading the same scenario over and over again, but I'm glad I stuck with it! That ending had me shocked and feeling all the feels. It was sad, but it was a great way to tie the ending together and definitely unexpected!

Thank you to Netgalley, Cameron Mitchell, and Querencia Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Fantastic read!!!! Highly recommend!!! Not what I expected , but a smart thought out page turner!! Well done! I will look for other. books from this author!

3.5 Stars
Thank you, Netgalley, Querencia Press, and Cameron L Mitchell
I knew this was a novella, but it was still much shorter than I expected, at 80 pages. The writing was intense, yet good. It painted a vivid picture. Dark and disturbing, it was still an interesting story. I generally enjoy horror books, however, I found this repetitive. I understand that may have been the intention, but it was too much for me. I am still giving it a higher rating of 3.5 because the writing was descriptive and well done.

I will be back. Thank you again!!

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4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Querencia Publishing, and Cameron L. Mitchell for allowing me to preview this title.

This was a fun little novella. Okay, maybe not "fun." It is about a boy with an abusive father who is dreaming of different ways to murder his father. It did get a little repetitive and I believe this would have been a solid short story. The ending made me gasp out loud, though. If you want a quick, afternoon read, I would recommend this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: Aug. 8, 2025

“The Last Way” is a short horror novella by debut author Cameron L. Mitchell. Narrated by an unnamed protagonist, each chapter dictates a different way the young boy could use to achieve his ultimate goal- killing his abusive, alcoholic father.

Some of the short chapters are purposely repetitive, providing the same killing method but with different details, but the repetition does not take away from the poignant and powerful plot. Readers aren’t told all of the specifics about the young boy and his family, just that he wants to protect his mother the only way he knows how, by murdering his father. He examines one method per chapter, and there are pages in between that give some details as to the abuse that both he and his mother have suffered at the hands of his father.

“Way” is not an easy novel to read, and there are deeply disturbing themes (patricide- obviously, domestic and sexual abuse, suicide, alcohol abuse) but it is such a short story (only eighty pages) that it took me less than an afternoon to complete, although it sat with me for a lot longer than that.
With stories like this, where there is a lot of speculation and guessing, I was worried that the ending would be left up in the air, but Mitchell presents a devastating one that overflows with emotion. “The Last Way” has a unique style that won’t appeal to everyone, but it is a sharp debut that stands out and will leave a lasting impression.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cameron L. Mitchell, and Querencia Press for allowing me to read an early eARC of this title. What follows is my honest review of the story.

This short little novella captivated me with it's premise and structure- I love an unconventional narrative and the way we jump back and forth from the narrator's lived past to his imagined future was very well executed in my opinion.

This book's largest weakness is unfortunately its length, the e version clocked in at just under 70 pages, and I would've liked to dwell a little longer with these characters, their emotions, and their experiences. Mitchell did an incredible job of characterizing the father and showing very realistic neglect and abuse, but the mother and son sometimes felt lacking in comparison. Their whole world and identity is shaped around their proximity to him, which is poignant, but I would've enjoyed more time for the narrative to explore how that effects them.

Overall I enjoyed my brief time with this story, but it did not leave a great impression on me. I look forward to hopefully seeing more works from Cameron L. Mitchell in the future and will definitely keep him on my radar. This debut shows considerable skill and a lot of promise, so I can only see his works improving from here!

Thank you Querencia Press and Netgalley for this earc and chance to review!

I'm a bit torn on how i feel about this. The concept is one that is interesting but I think suffers from a bit of repetitiveness. Obviously I am not the author and maybe this was just their way of letting out some good old fashion trauma of their own but I felt aging the pov character up could have built up the tension, especially if we had been allowed to actually see the actions of his father. The rage to kill ones own father really does have to cook for some time. There is a lot of Telling so that we know the father is a Bad Man but not really showing beyond brief glimpses. I don't think this could have been stretched into a full novella but definitely could have benefited from more emotional cushion.

An interesting, original, and unique novella. It pulled me in right away and I read it in one sitting.

When starting the book I expected it to be pretty straightforward, straight to the point, inner thoughts of a character. It was so much more than that, reading from the perspective of an abused boy who has to live with his abusive dad, being the target of constant physical and verbal abuse, he plots many ways to kill his dad, which one will be the last way? Throughout reading, the character's journey and attempts get more and more personal, more detailed and involved. It was pretty repetitive and it had me going "is this gonna be the one? When's it gonna happen?" Which got annoying at some point. But overall this is a suspenseful short and quick read, not light at all with and ending and plot that keeps you guessing like no other. Definitely a read that won't be forgotten quickly

Definitely check the trigger warnings and topics/themes this one covers as it can be triggering to some readers.

3.25 star read on Storygraph

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Querencia Press and Cameron L. Mitchell for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I do not like novellas (they are never long enough to develop characters fully).
I actually really liked this one, and think it was the perfect length. Got through it in one sitting.

Firstly, I can acknowledge that we all like and dislike certain things, but I'm quite surprised by some of the reviews I'm reading, so I think I want to address some of those opinions.
1. 'The book was too repetitive': The blurb explains that the story surrounds the repetitive intrusive thoughts of a boy in an abusive household who is trying to cope by planning the murder of his father. So yes, repetitive IS present.
2. 'The repetitive murder scenes weren't interesting reading': The story is about an adolescent, I don't imagine their imaginations for extreme violent things they might do to their parents are going to be that advanced. Also, these repetitive cycles of thought very clearly form a picture of a child using escapism to cope when he is feeling helpless and frustrated. 'Today is the day..' over and over again. TODAY IS THE DAY I DON'T LOSE AGAIN.

So, the things others disliked, I really liked.
The story was bleak. It will be triggering for some, because of DV, ideations and gore.
The ending was heart wrenching.

I'm still thinking about it 15 hours later. I'm thinking about that nameless boy, knowing he represents so many children in the world.
Cameron, you've done a fantastic job representing a very sad truth about humanity.

This novelette describes in acute detail the ways in which the narrator plans to kill his father. Each chapter is a new manner of murder that also reveals the relationship between the two and the impetus for the planned patricide.

While decently written, it was difficult to stay interested due to the narrative device's repetitive nature. Although the twist ending added some intrigue, it was also a bit anticlimactic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Querencia Press for the eARC—all thoughts are my own.

I found this to be a beautifully-written, gruesome & hauntingly captivating story. The horror of the narrator’s life with his abusive father affected me a LOT more intensely than I expected, and I absolutely found myself rooting for him. I was in NO way prepared for the ending! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up more from Mitchell.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the writing in this book, especially how the father character was described. I had a really clear picture of this awful man and the tension within the family home.

However, the actual story felt really repetitive. I found myself wondering what the point was of reading all of these fantasies when none of them meant anything. I also found the ending very unsatisfying after all of the build up.

I would try more from this author in the future, it might just be that this story was not for me.

This was a nice fast paced read. I thought it was interesting reading about all the ways he thought about killing his father. I wasn’t expecting that ending.

I received an ARC copy through NetGalley . It was a quick read that sucked me in from the very beginning. I do not want to give any spoilers so I won’t say much , other than I hope the Author continues writing books in this genre because I’d love to read more of his work.

DNF I just can't quite get into this one. Don't get me wrong I like the writing and it's by no means bad, but I just simply can't get into it. It might be a time thing and I might come back to this one day in the future but now just isn't the time for myself and this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this Arc! I liked the author putting in the small microscopic things that we may notice about people, but we don't necessarily always think about. I thought the methods would get progressively more creative, and while they did vary, I guess I was expecting something a little more sensational. But I'm still glad to have read this. Oof that ending.

I'm going to go look at pretty nature pictures now to feel better!

This book started off strong, was building up to something brutal, and then I feel like it kinda fell flat. I did enjoy it, the whole story behind it was good, and I loved the ways the boy was plotting his father’s death. The ending I didn’t expect either. I just feel like something was missing and I wanted more.

The Last Way is 30% recollections of a boy’s abuse at the hands of his drunk, violent father. The other 70% is detailed fantasies of him carrying out his father’s murder. At only 80 pages, sounds like an interesting concept for a fun short read, but I fear it did not land for me.

Despite being only 80 pages, the story felt repetitive and slow at times. Much of the emotional groundwork is laid early on, but instead of building from there, the narrative tends to circle the same themes and memories without offering much new development. As a result, there wasn't really an impactful story for me to hold interest in.

In terms of focus, it doesn’t quite settle into being either plot-driven or character-driven. I would have loved to see a deeper exploration of the protagonist’s emotional state and the complex family dynamics at play. The relationship between the characters had the potential to deliver a truly chilling psychological horror, but instead the story leaned heavily into vividly grotesque descriptions without much narrative progression.

That said, the writing does succeed in evoking strong imagery and a palpable sense of disgust, which will appeal to readers drawn to darker, more visceral storytelling. While it didn’t fully work for me, I can see its potential for fans of experimental or emotionally raw horror.

The Last Way is a story of desperation and the lengths one will go when faced with adverse situations. The main character is a boy, age and name unknown, who details the various ways he could kill his abusive father. Each chapter highlights a different method and describes the event in graphic detail. We don't learn much about this family; no names are mentioned, and most of it revolves around feelings towards the father. This book is very short, around 75 pages, and honestly, it is the perfect length. I don't know how much longer it could be, considering the lack of character development and overall plot. I can easily see this being extended into a full-length novel, with the addition of a deeper plot and sense of the characters. Considering the nature of this book, I think anything longer would have dragged on a bit.

The only information we get about the father is the thoughts and feelings that the boy shares with the reader. Every experience is negative, highlighting the abuse suffered by him and his mother. Very rarely do we get any examples of positive memories of the father. For the reader, having very little information about who the father is as a person makes it easier to sympathize with the boy. If the only thing you read is negative, then there is a lack of care from the reader about whether or not the boy should follow through with his plans.

This book is a fast but heavy read; readers should check trigger warnings and understand that this is a very dark story about a boy who is desperate to end his father's abuse.