Holy moly this was a wild RIDE!!
When I finish the last line I was sitting with my mouth hanging open for a few minutes because really what an ending! Just as my heart rate was starting to return to normal that ending happened!
The best way to describe this book is The Truman Show meet Survivor.
I think this is my favorite book from Will Dean to date.

What would you do if you were on a cruise ship and on your first morning you woke up all alone; everyone has disappeared into thin air. There's no food, there's no water, there's no cell phone reception.......there's nothing! You are in the middle of the ocean with no idea where and how far away from the land you are; all that you see is blue sea around you.

This is what happened to Caz. She subsequently finds three more people. They are the only four passengers on the RMS Atlantic (or are they.....), oh and let's not forget the abandoned DOGS.

"Humans can survive three weeks with no food, three days with no water, three hours with no shelter, three minutes with no hope"

From here it seems like everything is going downhill. Will they survive this ordeal and if they do at what cost?

This will definitely make me think twice about going on a cruiseliner!!

A must-read that will make an awesome movie!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Psychodrama set on a cruise liner crossing the Atlantic

Caz has a simple life - usually, that is - running her cafe, keeping her counsel. Pete has sourced a wonderful berth for them on the RMS Atlantica, not just any cruise ship but a luxury ocean liner. They are headed for New York across the Atlantic. Caz has a bit of a wobbly first evening because she has a lot of history in her own family that keeps bubbling up but that is nothing compared to her discovery the next morning.

She wakes up and realises that ship is empty - no passengers, no crew. There is simply no-one on the ship. It is a modern-day Marie Celeste, a ghost ship, echoey and abandoned, still resolutely ploughing its route West. As her panic mounts, she starts her search for anyone, anything, but there are no clear clues and she stumbles about the ship, trying doors, looking for food, growing ever colder as the heating isn't working. Up on the bridge there is nothing to see, the ship seems to be on autopilot, the MayDay system isn't functioning. She is utterly alone, Then she makes a discovery....

And that is where I will leave the description of the book, for fear of spoilers. The tension is palpable and ebbs and flows as the situation evolves, consummately handled, as you would expect from this author.  The whole hulk of the ship makes for a creaking, ominous backdrop, all that glamour and opulence taking a hit as Caz tries to find a way of managing the terrible situation.

At base, the story really does have legs, although you cannot imagine it happening in real life (or can you 😉?). It demonstrates at some level a very base and cruel humanity, echoes of which one might encounter on the web.Yes, it is over the top but you can appreciate the seeds of invention. The whole concept is a bonkers story, and the psychological fall-out was inevitably extreme. The ending? Well, if one were cynical (which, actually I am not when it comes to this author), one might hypothesise that he is shrewdly setting up the next novel in the series.

I was gripped, I did want to know how the story would end but overall I think I couldn't sufficiently suspend my disbelief. It was a fun and interesting take, in some ways, but it also left me despairing at the bleakness of human machinations and greed, so on that level I was glad to finish it.

Think twice about picking this novel up if you are heading off on a cruise any time soon.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

what have i just read....have to say i didnt enjoy this book one bit... and thats putting it mildly i wish i had stopped reading it but was invested in the characters

and i dont think i want to go on a cruise any time soon....

Books aboard cruise ships always appeal to me, having enjoyed many a holiday on them, so I was instantly drawn to The Last Passenger. I must confess I haven’t read any of Dean’s previous books, despite having purchased several following rave reviews, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect – but I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for this one. This is a wild ride of a book, one that had my head spinning, my jaw dropping and kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end - and I loved it!

Caz Ripley is on the trip of a lifetime, a transatlantic crossing to New York aboard RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete. But when she wakes up after their first night aboard, she discovers that everyone – Pete, fellow passengers and the entire crew – seems to have disappeared and she is apparently alone on the ship, with no means of contacting the outside world. And as for what happens next …

I don’t want to say too much as this is definitely one of those books that is best to go into relatively blind – all I can say is that Dean is to be applauded for creating a story where the tension ramps up page by page and it is impossible not to feel the fear that comes from being alone in the middle of the ocean. With short chapters that ensured I kept turning the pages, thinking “just one more” and with twists and surprises galore, it is all a little bonkers, but utterly addictive – and as for the ending …….

This book may have given me nightmares and put me off cruising for life – but it has shown me that I have clearly been missing out by not reading any of Dean’s books until now. If you are looking for an unputdownable read that will get your heart pounding, then this is definitely one to pick up

The last passenger from the title is Caz, who wakes up on the first morning of her cruise to find that she is the only person on board what has become a carbon copy of the Marie Celeste.
Not a great premise for a good story right? Wrong. Will Dean has excelled with this book, the story moves at a fast pace and builds upon a type of madness that we see too much of in our lives today. I’m not going to give away any secrets here, but unlike many other stories I’ve read where the ending is something of a rushed anti-climax, that is certainly not the case here.
Great writing Will, I look forward to the next book.

So much thankful to Hodder & Stoughton and and Netgalley.com for the arc. And thank you my greatest buddy readers to read it together.
The book is quite long but the beauty of it was the fast reading we did. We flew on the pages like crazy and wanted to have answers. I did not like everything in the book but I like anyway how it took our attention. I forgive even the ending couse I felt everything the main chatacter did like I was there on this lets call it adventure. At somepoint I really was sreaming and asking me why?!? How?! But I like I was so involved and was really something much on high level.

Will Dean is a new author for me and after reading some of the reviews was a little unsure about reading this book.
I love a good psychological thriller and in places this didn’t disappoint but in other parts a bit of an unbelievable plot. I did enjoy the book and it does keep you trying to work out what happens next ! I won’t be booking a cruise anytime soon 🫣
My thanks as always to NetGalley and to Hodder and Stoughton for the early read.

Caroline/ Caz is a home bird just like me she loves being at home and running her Café but her and Pete ( her very new partner) are off on a cruise to New York.
The Ship sets sail from Southampton, the ship is called the RMS Atlantica.

The morning after Caz & Pete’s first night aboard this luxury cruise liner Caz wakes up alone, Pete has disappeared and so has everyone else aboard!!.

The rest of book is so fast paced and thrilling I had to keep taking breaks because it was that tense.

I actually felt like I was with Caz as she ran the length of the ship going in every room and finding nothing and nobody, even the luggage of the passengers has disappeared along with all of the staff.

I really can’t say much more from this point without giving the whole storyline away

What I will say is that I was literally on the edge of my seat right until the very last page and it’s one of the best thriller/mystery books I’ve read ever read.

Caz Ripley a café owner, and first time cruiser is excited but apprehensive about boarding a transatlantic crossing with the boyfriend Pete. They haven't been together particularly long, but she is old enough to know that he is one of the good ones, and hopes that they will have a great holiday together.

As a seasoned cruiser, before I get in to too much detail I just want to applaud the attention to detail. Who wouldn't want to board a wonderful transatlantic crossing to New York? And those passengers that Caz encounters at dinner - every cruise line has them!

When Caz wakes up to her first morning at sea, she discovers that Pete isn't next to her in the cabin. At first she thinks he just woke up early and isn't too bothered that he may have chosen to go exploring without her, he'll be back soon enough.

It isn't until she leaves the cabin herself that she understands the horrifying truth, there is no one else on board the ship. She is completely alone. But that simply cannot be. How is ship steering if there are no bridge crew on board?

Caz searches the ship frantically looking for signs of life, she enters restricted crew areas, hoping for answers, clues, anything... Then she does the unthinkable and enters the most restricted area of the ship, the bridge, to find it empty.

No Captain, No first officers, No second officers .... nothing.

It is difficult to say too much more without giving anything away, but this is definitely a novel that you need to experience for yourself.

The ending is one that will no doubt divide opinion, but I absolutely loved it. Thought it ended the novel brilliantly, and left the door open for a possible sequel. Though that is probably just wishful thinking of my behalf.

When Caz Ripley awakes on her first morning aboard a luxury cruise liner heading towards New York, she finds that every other passenger has disappeared without a trace.

This is a phenomenal book.

As soon as Caz found herself to be completely abandoned my mind was filled with possibilities and theories about what had happened. I couldn't in a million years have guessed what was going on. Every time I thought I had an idea I was suddenly thrown again.

The concept is utterly terrifying - being entirely alone at sea with nothing but the vastness of the water surrounding you. Some parts actually sent a chill down my spine! I even thought my heart was going to explode with the really tense parts. It is definitely one of the most addictive books I have read - the kind of addictive that makes you wolf down your dinner so you can get back to reading.

I loved that Caz's surname was Ripley because it reminded me of the Alien films which I adore. Caz is a fantastic strong character in the same way as Ripley and found myself rooting for her throughout.

Definitely one of my top books for 2023 that I would recommend to everyone.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Last Passenger Will Dean

5 stars

Caz Ripley is a hard-working café owner. At the age of 49 she has met her partner, Pete, and she really thinks this relationship might be one worth keeping. She has agreed to take a short holiday on a luxurious cruise ship, the Atlantica, from Southampton to New York. The first evening, her and Pete enjoy a luxurious meal and retire to their cabin really looking forward to the rest of the journey. However, the next morning, Caz wakes up in not only an empty cabin but also an empty ship! All of the passengers and the crew have disappeared into thin air and everywhere is locked.

This was such an amazing idea for a book and it caught my attention immediately. We are told reasonably quickly what is happening but it would spoil the reader’s enjoyment to elaborate further. I can only say that some of the action reminded me of the TV programme Squid Games and I also enjoyed the way Caz’s life and choices are related. You simply cannot stop reading this book, I was totally caught up in it.

I can honestly say that when I read the final sentence my mouth fell open I was so shocked.

I ordered this book from Netgalley as the story really appealed to me. Before I read it I had actually booked to go on a world cruise next year and I am now beginning to think maybe it was not such a good idea!!




Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

★★★★¼

This fast-paced thriller kept me on my toes with its constant twists, action-packed plot, and unexpected social commentary (I wish I could elaborate on the latter but then I'd be giving too much away!) Basically, this is the kind of book that's perfect for getting out of a reading slump.

The Last Passenger opens with Caroline, a middle-aged woman in dire need of a 'treat yourself' moment, being whisked away on a bougie cruise by the guy she's seeing. But things take a turn for the worse when she wakes up to find that the other thousand or so passengers have disappeared. Alone in the middle of the ocean, we follow Caroline as she desperately tries to figure out what happened and how she's going to survive...

This is one of those thrillers where it's best you don't know much beyond the initial set up. Either way, there's a big reveal about a third of the way in, which massively contextualises Caroline's predicament. This reveal could have easily been dragged out until the climax but thankfully Will Dean opts to drop this revelation sooner than later, before deploying a whole arsenal of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Imagine you’ve stepped aboard a cruise ship for your first holiday with your new partner. Imagine you’re settling down for the night after a fabulous meal. Imagine you wake up the next morning and everyone has gone. Imagine you’re the only one left on the ship.

This is exactly the situation facing Caz aboard the Atlantica, a luxury cruise ship, or ocean liner as one snotty passenger corrects her. Its very difficult to say anymore about this book without giving the game away, and to be quite honest, you should enjoy the gradual reveal and general “WTF is going on” thought process that I went through!

Caz is pushed to absolute limits by the events of the book. Her suitcases weren’t the only baggage that Caz brought aboard the ship. Saddled with debt and shame following the actions of her late father, we know from the very start that there are things that she hasn’t yet disclosed to Pete. These no doubt impact upon Caz’s actions in a lot of ways and we get to understand how as things are slowly revealed to us.

This is another brilliant, tense, anxiety inducing thriller from Will Dean. There were parts I had to take a break from, I just couldn’t bear it! Maybe don’t read it if you’re about to go on a cruise……

I was nervous about reading this book as I had seen a few less favourable reviews beforehand concerning the concept and ending. And because the synopsis is quite vague, I had no idea where it was going to go. So I went in with an open mind and some out-there predictions (which I actually wasn't too far off with), and I came away having had a lot of fun with it!

The Last Passenger is what I liked to call a good popcorn thriller, where the plot is unbelievable at times and everything is slightly exaggerated, but it all adds to the pure entertainment of what results in a fast-paced thrill ride that you don't want to put down.

To go into more detail about the book would be to spoil the many surprises so I will avoid discussing the plot as best as I can, but it brilliantly combines a suspenseful action adventure with a slightly dark psychological thriller.

While I didn't find the book very tense at first, despite the claustrophobic setting and unsettling situation, it did slowly build up on me. Soon enough, my heart was racing and I couldn't stop turning the page.

One downside of this being a lighter suspense is that I personally would have liked it to have been darker in places, especially in regards to the passenger's past issues which are frequently mentioned and pointed out as being relevant. But there were also a lot of brilliant surprises along the way which really blew me away, and a few moments that genuinely gave me goosebumps.

Dean also tied the story up a lot better than I was expecting him to. With a story like this, I had many questions that I needed answering for me to decide if it all paid off or not, and Dean most definitely ticked them all off for me. And the ending? I loved it!

You've got to be in the right mood for a popcorn thriller, otherwise you just pick up on the implausibilities and can't enjoy the satire or effortless amusement that it provides you with. But if you're in the mood for a light suspense and binge-worthy read, The Last Passenger is the perfect book to escape into.

(I'm on the blog tour for this on 6th so my reviews will be live then)

When Caz Ripley wakes up on the first morning of her romantic cruise, she is alone. Totally alone. No partner, no neighbours, no crew, no message, no clue. Yesterday she and her partner, Pete, boarded the RMS Atlantica in Southampton, wined and dined while the ship headed off to New York, relaxed in their cabin and drifted into a contented sleep. The other thousand passengers and crew also settled down for the night – and then disappeared. As did all their luggage, and all the food, and all the water and soft drinks. Caz, the fitty year old owner of a small café, is hardly the stuff of heroines, but she keeps her head enough to search the ship, finding that it is sailing under autopilot and that all the storage areas are sealed off by watertight doors. At which point she finds she is not quite alone. First she finds Daniel, young middle-aged off-grid survivalist type, travelling alone, then they find Frannie, a recent philosophy graduate, travelling with her parents, and lastly Smith, sixtyish, self-made rich guy, travelling with his close friend John. Why them? What happened to the others? Assuming there had been some sort of emergency evacuation, why did their companions not save them?
The proximal answers to all of those questions are supplied almost immediately, but since that is the only mystery element I can’t expand on it here. The actual purpose of the story is to put these people in jeopardy at every opportunity. From that point of view it works well, lots of good descriptions of hazardous events and reactions to them. This qualifies it as a thriller. Apart from Caz we don’t get much background about the characters. By contrast we get her family history at great length, with increasing clarification but lots of repetition. It is usual to make reference to the plot and its complexity and twists at this point, but there isn’t really a plot here and there aren’t really any twists. The book is in the “Sole Survivor” category, of which there are many examples, and there isn’t anything particularly original in it. I thought the ending was unsatisfactory, because it didn’t really explain why the outcome was the outcome, and the coda was inexplicably odd.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

3.5 stars
This is a good read but one where you have to suspend belief at times.
Caz and Pete are on board a cruise ship and enjoy their first night. In the morning Caz wakes to find the bed empty and no sign of Pete. When she goes into the corridor she finds all the doors open, and no sign of any other passengers.
I can’t really say what happens next as you need to discover all the twists and turns for yourself, and there are plenty.
This is an original story and will definitely keep you guessing as to what happens next.
I’ve read other reviews about the ending and how brilliant they thought it was, but I admit to not being too keen on the ending myself.
Overall a good read.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was the most gripping psychological thriller I have read this year. I literally couldn't put it down!
The story starts with Caroline boarding 'The RMS Atlantica' on a cruise with her boyfriend Pete to New York. Everything starts smoothly and they have a romantic evening on board the ship. When Caroline wakes up the next morning however Pete is gone and there isn't a trace of any of the hundreds of people that were on board the night before. All of the cabins are wedged open and unoccupied.
This book hooked me from the first page and the tension/suspense is unrelenting throughout. There are short, pacy chapters and so many horrific twists as the story unravels! It is hard to say too much about the plot without giving too much away. I think the less you know before reading it the better!

The characters are interesting and well written. I felt invested in each of them. There were a couple of times when I had to slightly suspend belief as I found it hard to believe Caz would have made the decisions she did but the desperation of her situation was horrifying!
If you like unique, disturbing locked room thrillers which keep you awake at night then I recommend this! Prepare yourself for an intense and slightly terrifying read!

Along with 1000 other passengers, Caz boards the luxury cruise liner the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete. Heading to New York on the liner, the couple enjoy their first evening and make their way to bed.

The next morning Caz awakes and very soon realises that something is wrong. Pete’s watch is on the cabinet, but where is Pete? Caz realises that unusually, Pete didn't even leave a note. On searching the vessel, Caz soon discovers that not only is Pete missing but so are all of her fellow passengers. All of the other cabin doors are wedged open and unoccupied. Caz‘s phone has no reception and all of the ship’s communications have been disabled. She is travelling on the ship alone and has no way of contacting anyone. This is where her nightmare begins.

Wow – what a brilliant book. The characters are interesting and worth investing in. The plot is fast paced and hooks you from the first page. There are plenty of twists which you don’t see coming and they just compel you to keep on reading. I didn’t want to put this book down or for it to end. This book would make such an amazing movie. This is the first Will Dean book that I have read and will definitely be looking for more.

Caz and her boyfriend, Pete, board The Atlantica cruise ship bound for New York City. They are looking forward to a relaxing holiday. The day after boarding Caz wakes up and can’t find Pete, in fact she can’t find anyone! The ship is completely deserted and she is all alone!
Will Dean is the master of suspenseful thrillers! Fast paced, outrageous and highly addictive, I couldn’t put this one down and I had no idea how it would end!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read.

Having not read this author, and initially starting on it I started out thinking this was a great “plod along” holiday easy read sort of book and I was loving it.

Then….oh my god. I thought I’d eaten something dodgy and started imagining things. Then I woke up the next morning and I hadn’t…

Then it became a fantastic book.

What a ride. This author is now on my “list”

Flipping heck man!

My thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review