I loved the originality of this novella. How many ways can I come up with to kill my abusive father? That is the question. It's dark and there is not much happening but that is the point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. All opinons are my own.

This book started off strong for me. I really liked the premise but it began to lose steam for me. Its atmospheric and haunting and filled with twists but I just couldn't connect with it.

The Last Way by Cameron L. Mitchell is a dark and disturbing novella that explores the blurred line between survival and morality. Told through a unique structure, each chapter imagines a different way the narrator might kill his abusive father. The story is as unsettling as it is intriguing. The repetition is intentional, reflecting the obsessive thoughts of a boy trapped in fear, though at times it felt excessive enough to disrupt the pacing.

The writing is strong, and the atmosphere is consistently tense. One of the most compelling elements is the narrator’s inner conflict over what it means to become a man, shaped by the violent example of his father. The ending manages to surprise, even after so much brutality. While I struggled to feel sympathy for any of the characters, that emotional discomfort is part of what makes the book so haunting. This is not a read for light horror fans. It is a bleak, psychological dive into domestic horror.

The Last Way pulled me under with its quiet intensity and refused to let go. Cameron L. Mitchell has crafted something that feels both haunting and strangely sacred—a post-apocalyptic journey that reads like a prayer whispered through grit and ash.

This isn’t a book about explosions or chaos. It’s about what comes after. About survival stripped to its rawest form: the need to find meaning, connection, and some kind of hope when the world is nothing but ruin. Every step the characters take feels deliberate, heavy with memory and loss, and I found myself aching alongside them.

What really struck me was the stillness. There’s violence here, yes—but also so much reflection, so much weight in the unsaid. Mitchell’s prose is sparse in a way that feels intentional, like a landscape that’s been scorched clean, and every word left behind matters. It’s melancholic, beautifully human, and deeply emotional without ever veering into sentimentality.

If you’re drawn to quiet dystopias, to stories that dig deep into grief, endurance, and the small ways we keep each other going—The Last Way will speak to you. It certainly did to me. It's a slow burn, but it lingers.

Rating - 3 Stars

Thank you to Querencia Press, Cameron L. Mitchell, and NetGalley for this eARC!

This short, twisty novella follows an unnamed boy who is living with an abusive father. The boy thinks of several ways to kill his father, changing and revising his plans with each passing day. His plans grow steadily more violent as his rage at being abused and trapped also grows.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and I was hooked by the plot enough to finish it! I enjoyed the writing style. It reminded me of a sort of stream-of-consciousness story. We hear the boy's thoughts directly -and, true to his age, his thoughts meander and easily shift. I also enjoyed the rawness and honesty of the book. There wasnt much in the way of flowery prose, and the lack of that lent itself better to the story's setup. Some lines will stick with me for sure, for their sharpness and poignancy.

I didnt enjoy the repetitiveness of the story. Towards the last few chapters, it felt like everything was just being rehashed again and again. I also was personally uncomfortable with some of the more graphic descriptions of violence (though that is not the fault of the book!)

If you like the Wasp Factory by Ian Reid or more character driven stories over plot driven ones, you might enjoy this novella! I would recommend checking content warnings before reading!

Review for The Last Way by Cameron L. Mitchell

Courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise. A boy is sick and tired of living under the grasp and control of his abusive father, so in his mind, he plots how to murder him. When you start off, it feels like the plot will be moving forward, but as you continue on, you realize that the MC is simply coming up with ways, and hoping to perfect them as he reviews it in his head.

This worked as a novella because it was getting to a point where it was starting to get repetitive, and some of the ways the MC comes up with are kind of slight variations from the prior one. I did enjoy going through this rollercoaster in his mind though, seeing how he got to this point in life, and how he devises his plan as a child. There’s tension as you don’t really know if the MC will actually move forward with it, or if something will happen before he can do anything. It’s rather heartbreaking, and while fictional, you know that family dynamics like this one exist in real life.

The writing is very straightforward, I found some of the MC’s thinking to be rather insightful as well. As this is a novella and quite short, I’d recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a quick read and some emotional damage. I certainly did not expect the ending.

This novella is dark and twisty, which I always appreciate. The content is HEAVY, so check tws beforehand (DV, etc). I was hooked from the first page and was really intrigued to see how it would play out. It did feel a bit repetitive in the middle, but ultimately, I did not expect the ending. This story was suited for a short story. The author does a really great job of setting up the scene with vivid description (violence, as well). Initially, I was unsure if this was just going to be my cup of tea but ultimately it was. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Brutal, honest, and intense look at the effects of abuse on a child who is trapped. I had no idea what to expect going into this and I’m glad for that! It is a quick read but that in no way detracts from the rawness and impact of the story.

We follow the thoughts of a boy whose father is a drunk and violent toward him and his mother. And this boys thought pertain to one thing: how to get rid of his father once and for all. Each chapter explores a different idea for doing the deed, all culminating in “the last way.”

This was a super creative way of explore this type of story and situation, one I haven’t seen before. Definitely worth the read. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

This is the kind of psychological horror that roots itself in reality and never lets up.

It follows a young boy trapped in a brutal home, quietly plotting all the ways he might end his father’s life.

We never learn the name of the boy at the center of this story, nor his exact age, but both feel intentional. At times, he refers to his size or things he’s learned in school, like the word patricide, which suggests he’s probably in middle school at the very least. Still, the thoughts he carries are frighteningly adult. That contrast only deepens the unease that builds with each chapter.

This is human-monster horror. There are no ghosts or demons here, just a boy trapped in a violent home, cycling through chilling plans for how he might finally be free. The writing is raw and bleak in a way that mirrors the boy’s desperation. The repetitive structure reinforces the claustrophobia of his situation. And just when you think you know where this is going, it veers sharply into something even more tragic.

2.5/5 stars.
It's okay. I know the concept is supposed to be repetitive, but it was even more repetitive than I expected. I don't have strong feelings about this book either way. The ending was better than I was expecting and the book is short, which works in its favor. I don't regret reading it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

This is a serious, heart pounding, dramatic read that never lets up, leaving the reader breathless, "The Last Way" unfolds in exacting detail how a son will murder his father. It is a deeply shocking, excruciatingly sad story. A must-read for fans of horror. This one will stay with me for a very, very long time.

This book had a really strong start. The synopsis sounded intriguing and the way the first 20% or so was written really grabbed me and created a tense atmosphere. I was genuinely interested to see where the story was going, however it started to get repetitive pretty fast, especially considering how short the book was. Each chapter was just another violent fantasy of how the narrator might kill his abusive father, and while it was gruesome, I got really bored and wished there was something else going on to break up the repetitive formula

What stood out to me more were the quieter (?) moments where the narrator talks about how it feels to live with someone you despise. The little details like being driven mad by the sound of footsteps or coughing felt painfully relatable, even if I haven't been in a situation like the one depicted in the book. The portrayal of the father was effective in making me hate him, there were definitely a few “what the fuck” moments pertaining to him that made me grimace. It’s an upsetting family dynamic to say the least, and I think the glimpses we did get of that were done very skilfully

Even though I didn’t love most of the reading experience I still found myself wanting to know how it would end. The ending wasn’t exactly what I expected and might leave some people unsatisfied, but for me it was an emotional gutpunch that stuck with me

Unfortunately the book didn't really work for me. The author definitely has potential but really needs to hold back on the murderous fantasies lol

In just under 70 pages, ‘The Last Way’ is a well-crafted thriller detailing a young boy’s struggle within an abusive household and the turmoil that is overtaking his mind, particularly concerning the prior night’s events.

“There are countless ways to kill someone…” from the very first line, you are drawn into the events transpiring in that little red house. As the narrator begins to detail the man that is his father, that oppressive atmosphere created begins to spill from the pages. With each plan being crafted, with each tweak that is made, and with each drink that the father partakes in, that sense of unease and distress is crafted excellently.

Mitchell describes the details of those home and the surrounding woods with a manner that makes you feel as if you are there. You can smell the cigarette smoke and father’s stench that hangs in the air. You can feel the tension coursing through his body as he reaches for his proposed weapons. You can hear the cracking of a skull, the yelps of shock, the readying of a gun, the breathes being held as hands shake and plans are crafted over and over again. You can see this house and the horrors being created as if you are a bystander watching this young man spiral.

Had this book been any longer, the repetition would have quickly become tiresome and far too lingering, but the short structure allows each chapter to be precise, supplying just enough detail to piece together what is happening within this family. With an ending that leaves you gutted, this is a short and enjoyable read for someone looking for a purely character driven story.

Honest review given in exchange for an electronic ARC; via NetGalley, and author Cameron L. Mitchell.

I always love when short books are so well-written that they leave an impact and steal my breath away, despite their shortness.

'I have wanted him dead for so long it's hard to think of anything else.'

This is a tale of a traumatized boy figuring out how to kill his abusive father. It felt like reading a diary of his thoughts and ideas, while also giving us snippets of the horror he and his mother endure every day. His descriptions are brutal, oftentimes disturbingly disgusting, and yet it is so obvious that he is just a boy trying to escape, not a killer. The writing style makes this into a book you'll probably read in one sitting without even realizing it. The author has managed to build these few characters incredibly well, especially considering the lack of plot and pages.

Highly recommend if you're into spiraling characters, prefer character studies over complicated plots, and want something short, uneasy, and interesting.

This Novella was actually pretty good and kept me curious and wanting to find out how it all ended. I would recommend this one to anyone who liked a good horror with some family trouble, murderous thoughts, and sad events. I felt like this had some tough subjects and events but also some thoughts and events you could relate to and have strong feelings about. This book may trigger some so please look at what it's about before reading.

Each chapter follows a different way this young boy thinks about killing his father and his thought process with each event, which could be detailed and intense for a kid I feel like. It showed the sad events this young boy and his mother had to go through with a violent unpredictable father/husband. It may be a bit repetitive but I felt like that was also the point coming from a young kid and telling his thought process. In between some chapters there was present events that happen that help you get a background of the family dynamic. which are sad. Wasn't expecting that ending which I felt like added to the shortness of this novella and made you rethink the whole thing.


(Thank you to Querencia Press, NetGalley, and Vincent Ralph for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This Novella will be released on August 8, 2025.)

That first page made me think that this story was going to be one of my favorites of the year, however it was all downhill from there. This story is incredibly short around 80 pages and yet it dragged. It was repetitive and none of the chapters really added anything to the story or the characters. You learn early on that the main character wants to kill his abusive father and that's pretty much all you get out of this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars

The Last Way is written through the eyes of a child, which brings a unique and raw perspective to an already emotional narrative. While I appreciated the intention behind the repetition—it clearly reflects trauma—I found myself skimming some of the chapters as the scenarios felt too similar. A bit more variation or deeper exploration could’ve added more impact. That said, the implied abuse was enough to be powerful without being overly graphic, and the book still manages to deliver a quick, thought-provoking read.

Buckle up folks for a dark and depressing read. Even though this book is 80 pages it took me a few weeks to get through it as I had to put it down and then make sure I was in a good headspace to pick it back up. The story follows a young boy who is being abused by his father and every chapter the boy is coming up with a plan to murder his dad. Which I fully support because fuck his dad.


The writing was very vivid, descriptive and suspenseful. My heart was always racing by the end of the chapters, I was so worried about what would happen to the boy if his dad caught him. Good twists and I didn't see that ending coming.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc

This horror novella was exactly what I was looking for! The plot is creepy and terrifying while still almost to me like a psychological thriller. Each chapter you get a glimpse into how this young man plans to kill his father and what has lead to him to this decision. I couldn't stop reading it.

This book is short but impactful. The writing is absolutely wonderful, with the dark parts of the book both explicitly clear but also only vaguely mentioned. The non-linear narrative and young narrator allows information to be revealed in interesting and unique ways. It is incredibly engaging and I tore through the story. The ending is both completely satisfying and delightfully surprising. This is an incredible book, suspenseful and horrifying, and I highly recommend it.