The Last One by Will Dean

An unputdownable locked-room thriller about family, trust, and survival from the acclaimed author of the “utterly thrilling” (Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author) First Born.

When Caz steps onboard the exclusive cruise liner RMS Atlantica, it’s the start of a vacation of a lifetime with her new love, Pete. On their first night they explore the ship, eat, dance, make friends, but when Caz wakes the next morning, Pete is missing.

And when she walks out into the corridor, all the cabin doors are open. To her horror, she soon realizes that the ship is completely empty. No passengers, no crew, nobody but her. The Atlantica is steaming into the mid-Atlantic and Caz is the only person on board. But that’s just the beginning of the terrifying journey she finds herself trapped on in this white-knuckled mystery.

Kindle, 352 pages

Expected publication

August 8, 2023 

by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

2.75/5 stars

I am so conflicted in my feelings for this book. So for something completely different here is a list of the Good, Bad and Ugly.

The Good

- grabbed my attention right away with a unique plot (well maybe not the everyone disappeared theme but it's on a cruise ship - that's a good one)

-nice short chapters (132 of them), self explanatory, I 'm not a fan of long chapters, enjoying shorter ones to a certain point SEE The Bad
-nice mix of personalities, unreliable, unlikable and suspicious
-genuinely interested in outcome

The Bad
-way too long, 448 pages long was just too long
-so much suspension of belief

-those short chapters got to be a bit much, especially all those 1 or 2 pagers

The Ugly
-the ending, seriously? Not a fan

This is my 2nd Will Dean read, it releases in just a month.

My thanks to Atria Books (via Edelweiss) for digital arc in exchange for honest review