Having been a big fan of Will Deans ‘Tuva’ crime series, I was excited to hear he was releasing a stand-alone thriller.

The Last Thing To Burn isn’t for the faint hearted. It’s a dark and disturbing story describing a harrowing experience of human trafficking. A fictional story that follows Thanh Du, who after arriving in the UK from Vietnam with her sister, is sold to a farmer called Lenn and has been held captive for 7 years on at a cottage on his isolated farm when our story begins.

Lenn changes her name to Jane and calls himself her husband and for 7 years she has been abused, raped and manipulated by this monster. After several attempts at escape, ‘Jane’ is stripped of her possessions one by one and in the process her identity. For a long time, escape seemed impossible but when she finds herself pregnant, ‘Jane’ has reason to live and to fight and knows she must do everything she can to protect her child.

The book is incredibly tense and fast paced. It’s a gripping read and the more I got into, the more I wanted to know what was going to happen. A relatively short read but I think it’s a perfect length for the story. I like Will Dean as an author and find his use of description brilliant for setting the scene.

There are a few aspects to the story I wasn’t overly keen on (which I can’t explain without ruining it, and perhaps elements were a bit repetitive (which was maybe intentional) however overall it was a GOOD read. One of those books that you like but don’t love. I did enjoy it and would recommend for anyone after an intense and gripping thriller or those after a shorter read.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is published this week on 7/1.

Wow, this one is hard to summarise but it had me completely gripped from the beginning.

“Jane” is married to Lenn, she is also his captive. She cooks, she cleans and she serves him. She wanted a better life but instead, found this and found herself a victim of trafficking. It was very difficult to read and you’re never quite sure of the way it’s going to end. You just continue to hope for the best. It’s very well written and truly heart wrenching living life through Thanh’s perspective.

I wouldn’t want to go into too much detail because it would take away from the story.
This is a very dark and emotional read, but also one of hope.

Wow just wow. Devoured in 2 sittings this is a gripping book where you find yourself not wanting to out it down to see what happens. A tragic story of someone who has been trafficked and finds herself captive, living with someone as a ‘wife’. There is no escape for the girl who learns all about a different culture from her native country in the worst of circumstances.

Extremely well written and will stay with me for a long time

Thankfully this is a complete departure from Will Dean's previous book. It's a tough read but so needed. Sometimes reading the book feels like a nightmare you cannot wake up from which is what Jane is living through. I finished that book exhausted disgusting angry but also in awe of the main character's courage and resilience.

Wow, what a book! This is a very dark and harrowing read about human trafficking, which illustrates the strength of the human spirit and its ability to survive in the most dire of circumstances.

Thanh lives with Lenn on a remote farm in the Fens, after Thanh and her sister were trafficked from Vietnam with the lure of a better life. Lenn is a monster, abusive and cruel who gradually takes everything from Thanh, including her dignity, her name and her very few possessions. And yet Thanh keeps going rather than jeopardise anything for her sister, Kim-Ly, who she believes is living and working in Manchester.

Although I could not put it down this book is very hard to read at times. It is very well written and with Thanh’s first person viewpoint I felt completely immersed in her horrific world.

This was my first Will Dean book, but will definitely not be my last. It’s one of the best books I’ve read for a while and I'm sure it will be much talked about in 2021. It gets a big fat five stars from me!

OMG this is a real page turner, turn off the phone, prepare for a late night read. I was hooked from the first chapter and really couldn’t put this book down. I just had to find out what would happen to ‘Jane’ the kidnapped Vietnamese girl and the despicable Lenn. I feel weird saying I loved this book but it was more about how engaging the narrative was and how brilliantly portrayed the characters were. Just read it

This was a first for me from this author and it won’t be my last. A really well written storyline that had me hooked from the start and gripping my iPad tightly right through to the end. One of those stories that had you routing for some characters and hoping a great dose of karma comes and slaps others in their face. I won’t write about the storyline as I believe this is what the blurb is for but I will say “just wow” bloody great read and one of my rare five star reviews saved for exceptional books, and this was certainly worthy of its 5 stars.

Fenlands Noir. Gritty and tense thriller with good pacing and a compelling tale. Jane's husband watches her carefully, uses cameras so he can see what she does while he is out on the farm. And there is a very good reason for that. Recommended.

The Last To Burn is a powerful, tense and gripping read that will be staying with me for a long time.

Firstly this isn’t an easy read due to its subject matter and I often found myself having to stop for little breaks as I was finding it very intense As in his previous books the author has a great way of describing the setting so the reader is able to see it in their mind. I really felt that I could picture the bleak, rugged countryside and I was therefore able to understand more how isolated Jane’s situation was.

Jane was a fantastic main character who I warmed to quickly and felt a lot of sympathy for, especially as the reader becomes aware of the terrifying situation she is in. She’s an incredibly strong determined lady and I was continuously amazed by her strength. The story is told from her point of view and I found it very interesting to learn more about her coping strategies. Lenn, on the other hand, was one of the most awful characters I’ve read about. He was an absolutely terrifying man who seemed to use every method available to control and bully Jane. He made my skin crawl with his behaviour and I wished I could go into the book to help in some way.

This book gripped me from the start and I found myself thoroughly absorbed by all that was going on. It was truly a nerve shredding read and I was constantly on edge wondering what would happen next. I think the reason the book is so hard hitting is that it seems so realistic, like this situation could actually happen maybe is happening somewhere at the moment (I really hope not). I felt very nervous for Jane and had to keep reading to find out if she escapes. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone and I look forward to reading more from this author!

Huge thanks to Jenny Platt for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder and Staughton, and Will Dean for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was my first book of 2021 and what a book to start the year with. I have a feeling this will be VERY popular.

This was a fantastic read, I read it in one sitting. It’s dark, gripping and scary. It had me on the edge of my seat. This is ideal for anyone who enjoys reading thrillers.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

On an isolated farm in the UK, a woman is trapped by the monster who kidnapped her seven years ago. When she discovers she is pregnant, she resolves to protect her child no matter the cost, she must meticulously plan her escape. But when another woman is brought into the fold on the farm, her plans go awry. Can she save herself, her child and the innocent woman at the same time? Or is she doomed to spend the remainder of her life captive on the farm?

Jane liveson an isolated farm with her husband Leonard. But Jane isn't her real name and Leonard isn't her husband. What a gripping, thrilling snd chilling resd this is. At times it can be brutal though. Jane had arrived in the country from Vietnam with her sister. They had paid a lot of money to get here only for Jane to be taken captive. The story is told from Jane's perspective. Lenn treats Jane like a slave and he's extremely abusive towards her. The tension builds throughout until the 70% mark where it almost becomes explosive. This is a fantasic read but it's not for the faint hearted.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Hodder&Stoughton and the author #WillDean for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review I found this book very disturbing and very hard to read, I didn’t know what it was about before I started reading but then found the storyline very compelling. I know very little about refugees other than books that I have read about how hard their lives become. The story is about two sisters who come to Britain from Vietnam and whilst their parents have paid huge sums to the traffickers they are placed in a container when they are moved to Britain. One sister is kept at the farmhouse and whenever she transgresses and Lenn, her captor, doesn’t agree he takes something of hers and burns it in the wood burning stove.
He also imprisons a neighbour, Cynthia in the cellar and keeps her prisoner. Her sister is discovered when the women make their escape with Huong, her baby and Kim-Ly escapes with them. They all later testify against the people smugglers and remain in the village as people with a home and an identity.
A very memorable story.

At first I thought that this was just another title in the genre of abuse and modern slavery. However it was a lot more than that and quite unique in the slant it took. "Jane" arrives in the Uk with her sister as an illegal immigrant from Vietnam, and kept captive working in a nail bar until the cost of her passage is paid off. However, after 2 years she is moved on, away from her sister to live on a remote farm with Lenn. His form of slavery is brutal both physically and psychologically. Yet Jane never gives up hope and plans for the future. It is quite a nail biter as the story has a few incredible twists and turns. A good,thought provoking read.

The author has written best sellers set in Sweden, featuring Tuva Moodyson a deaf reporter. This book is very different. Set in rural Lincolnshire. An illegal immigrant is kept a virtual prisoner by a farmer - Leonard. She has been imprisoned for nine years!
You learn that her sister Kim-Ly is also in captivity in the Manchester area. The woman is Vietnamese and named Thanh Dao but the farmer has named her Jane!
She tries to escape but Leonard keeps a watchful eye on her. However help comes eventually from an unlikely source - a woman named Cynthia from the local council estate. Can they get away to safety and what will happen to Kim-Ly if they do?
This book is a harrowing read, showing the misery that human trafficking can cause. It deserves to be read and we must all play our part in stopping this terrible criminal activity.

Oh my Lord, what an absolute corker this book is. I've never read anything by Will Dean before. What was I thinking!! This story is so, so powerful, raw and uplifting all at the same time. Jane lives in an isolated cottage with her husband, Lenn. Except Jane isn't her real name, and Lenn isn't her husband. The truth is that Jane was trafficked into the UK seven years earlier with her sister, full of hope and the promise of a new and better life. Things could not have been further from that for either of them. To think this actually happens in real life makes this book all the more important and necessary to read, and in my opinion, it's the best book I've read in 2020.

I love Will Dean – I love his lovely, soft flowing beard, his stunning photos of life in Sweden, his gorgeous dog, his lumberjack shirts and having met him a few times, I can confirm he’s a nice, polite, unassuming gentleman but having just finished The Last Thing To Burn I am seriously worried about what goes on in his mind, under the silky, soft head of hair – because this book is DARK… so dark you will need to read it wearing a miners helmet with an extra bright torch.

I have read and loved Will’s series Dark Pines featuring the wonderful Tuva Moodyson which are all set in an isolated town in Sweden and when I heard he had written a standalone thriller I was intrigued.

The Last Thing to Burn is simply OUTSTANDING and in my humble opinion one of the best books I’ve read this year. Set in an isolated farm somewhere in the UK, the story is about Jane who lives with her husband Lenn – except Jane is really Thanh Dao, a Vietnamese women who travelled to the UK with her sister and has spent the past 7 years as Lenn’s prisoner, beated, raped and humilated every single day.

This is such a powerful and disturbing story about human trafficking, that it was difficult to read at times and often I had to put the book down and think “fluffy” thoughts.

Will Dean brings Jane to life in such a way that the reader feels her pain and despair at her situation, when she speaks about her younger sister, the love and hope is so real that it actually hurts and her inner strength and determination is inspirational.

This is a book which makes your skin crawl, your heart beat faster and your blood boil, but the underlying feelings of hope and survival make The Last Thing To Burn utterly compelling and the work of a literary genius.

A work of fiction that you just know is based on reality. I really found this a hard book to read as the story reflects so many aspects of what I believe about modern slavery. When I started the book, I had no idea how engrossed that I was going to get and so, in one sitting, I read through half the book before having to give up for the night. This gave me a real problem as I was so angry about what was going on that it took me almost 2 weeks before I could face the second half of the story. Would have been much better for me if I could have read it cover to cover in one go.

Fiction it may be but do not lump it in with all of the other fiction as I believe that this story is very close to reality. I would like to persuade everyone to read this book to give themselves an idea of what supposedly sensible and rational people can physically and mentally do to other people for personal benefit and gain and then think on the fact there are, in fact, far worse examples out there.

This was the first book I have read by Will Dean but it certainly won’t be the last. It kept me hooked from start to finish and I couldn’t put it down. Very chilling storyline which was sometimes hard to read but was absolutely fantastic

Jane has been held captive by her husband Lenn for the last 7 years in his isolated Fenland farmhouse, but Jane is not her name and he is not her husband. Nine years earlier, Thanh Dao and her younger sister Kym-Ly were transported to the UK by people traffickers with the promise of a better life and money to send home to Vietnam, instead she was sold to Lenn and her sister went somewhere else and all 'Jane' has left of her previous life are 4 possessions; her ID card showing her real name, a photo of her family, a book and letters from her sister, her every move is tracked by Lenn because there are cameras everywhere and each time she does something wrong he punishes her. The story begins by him bringing her back to the house after she's tried to escape, with one badly damaged foot she knew it was going to be futile, but then something happens which bring fresh hope for Jane and even more reason to get away from this evil man, so she bides her time and waits...

This is such a harrowing tale of people trafficking and slavery, but Will Dean depicts it with sensitivity and care. It outlines how easily a person, that is so desperate to make a better life for themselves and their family, can be taken in by the lies of others and end up being abused like Jane, and this actually happens in real life! Even though it's a heartbreaking read, it's full of hope for the future and it shows one woman's determination to regain her life and see her family again, however hard it may be and however long it may take, she knows she has to do it. When I read the first few pages I wasn't sure I would like it, but I quickly became hooked in Jane's plight and could not put the book down, devouring it in less than 24 hours. It's an extremely powerful read that will stay with me for a long time to come. It's the first I've read by this author and I'm looking forward to reading more.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

My goodness this is a hold your breath, stay up till 3am to finish in one go kind of book! I think the real skill here is getting you care almost instantly about Thanh. Her voice comes through so painfully, so strong, so incredibly resilient. Utterly chilling, even more so because we know this happens all the time, and masterful in the ratcheting up of tension this is another excellent psychological thriller from Will Dean. Read it!