Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 320
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 2/5
Content Warning: talk of suicide, drug use, mentions of domestic violence
The Last Ferry Out follows Abby as she arrives on Isla Colel to retrace the last days of her fiancée, Eszter, who died of anaphylactic shock while on the island. Once Abby meets a group of local expats who Eszter had befriended while on the island she starts to grow suspicious that maybe the story of how Eszter died isn’t quite true.
I had such high hopes for this thriller but unfortunately a lot of the story didn’t work for me. There were quite a few flashbacks that were completely unnecessary and only served to disrupt the pacing of the story. Adding to the pacing issues was the exhausting inner monologue of our characters. Social issues and character’s back stories seemed to hold equal weight to the main plot of the story and it ultimately took up too much of the story. Adding to my issues was that Eszter and Abby did not seem to have a great relationship and so it was hard to be invested in outcome of the story.
However, I did enjoy the setting and when Bartz was focused on the thriller aspects this book shined. There were a few moments of this story that had me on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen next. If the ending had been stronger I think I would have given this book a slightly higher rating but I was left wanting more of a resolution.
If you don’t mind a meandering sort of thriller then I think this book will work for many people. I have many of Andrea Bartz books on my TBR so while this book didn’t work for me I am interested in reading more from her.
Books With Cassie 