S. F. Prescott

Suspenseful and heartfelt.

Andrea Bartz is a journalist and the New York Times-bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, The Spare Room, The Lost Night, and The Herd. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.

Even though I’m familiar with Andrea Bartz via her Substack: Get It Write, this is the first time I have read one of her novels. Luckily for me, she has four previously published books, so I can’t wait to check them out. If you’re an aspiring author or you’re curious about the publishing industry in general, read her blog where she posts very helpful content about the craft and querying process. And I know it seems as though every author out there is writing on Substack these days, but believe me, hers isn’t one to miss.

The Last Ferry Out is listed as general/women’s fiction, so I had to adjust my expectations at first, but after reading the premise there was an undercurrent of suspense that hooked me immediately. I felt so moved by the characters and their stories. Bartz’s beautiful prose and rich character development pulled me in and I couldn’t put the book down. I was rooting for Abby, and really hoping that she’d be reunited with her fiance, Eszter, in the end. Their past timeline chapters were my favorite, but were also heartbreaking at times, revealing the loving and supportive relationship they had.

Every character in the book felt real, their journeys relatable. The reasons/motives for them each seeking out Paradise in Isla Colel reminded me of the dark undertones incAlex Garland’s novel, The Beach. The secrets, omissions, and reveals gripped me from the first page, including the circumstances surrounding Eszter’s death. NO SPOILERS but a scene that stuck with me was Eszter suffering the allergic reaction, and the details surrounding how it happened/who she was with. So disturbing and sad! Overall, it was a steady-paced story with a satisfying ending. I can’t wait to check out her other books.

For readers who enjoy stories about women, complex relationships, and gorgeous settings filled with suspense.

Synopsis:

Paradise hides a deadly secret.

When Abby steps foot on Isla Colel, she isn’t sure what—if anything—she’ll find. She only knows that she needs to see the place where her fiancée, Eszter, died to try and make sense of the tragic accident.

The island is nothing like Abby expected: Though it was once a bustling tourist hub, a hurricane has left it a shell of its former self, with only a handful of residents remaining. Even the once-daily ferry to the mainland now runs every week or so.

There, Abby befriends an alluring group of expats, but her sense of unease surges when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter’s final days. Before he can tell her more, though, he vanishes from the island. Hours turn to days with no sign of him, and the others are chillingly cavalier about his disappearance.

As her quest for the truth unearths dark secrets, shady pasts, and a web of lies, Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to the love of her life. And the deeper she gets in the close-knit expat community, the more she suspects that one of them is Eszter’s killer—and will do anything to keep the truth buried. But will Abby discover who it is before she becomes the island’s next victim?