This blew me away! The tension just never lets up. Will Dean has once again proven himself to be a master of creativity, imagination and suspense, and I can't wait to see what he does next!

Wow, wow, wow, what a read!
This is going to be a very difficult book to review. I can't say much without giving away the plot. I'd summarise it as 1984 meets Lord of the Flies.
However, the basic premise is that Caz, on a cruise with her boyfriend, goes to sleep, and when she wakes up all the other passengers have gone. Creepy right? Then the lights go out.
The funny thing is, as if that wasn't bad enough, it gets worse, and gets worse again and again.
The tension was constant. It didn't let up for a second. The skill required to keep that up, is exceptional.
As the reader you're following the story through Caz's eyes, so you find out what's happening as she does. There is so much that's unknown and the shocks come regularly, bam, bam, bam.
There are so many secrets and lies. There's friendship, loyalty, deception, family, the impact of others actions on their family, cleverly interwoven.
With so few characters, you like or hate, feel for or want to despise. They are fully fleshed and I wasn't expecting to feel such strong emotions at points.
Way in the running for one of my books of the year.
Blown away.

I don't know if I can even find the words to describe this book. Such a well-plotted novel. For the third of the book I was wondering what really happened, is it a crime, a sci-fi or any other genre and if there's a logical explanation to the events or not.
It made me keep reading until the late hours and I even forgot to go for my daily evening walk because I was so engrossed in the story!

Caroline goes on a cruise with her new partner. Thousands of people on a huge, luxury ship. The trip looks wonderful, until she wakes up alone and no one's there.
Imagine waking up in the middle of Atlantic with no one else around!

What happens next is unbelievable, inhumane and horrific. Being on the most amazing ship that has everything you need... yet having no access to the essentials!

Man, this book is a proper emotional rollercoaster! And if that's not enough, I've been worried about the dogs on the ship throughout the entire story!

I love Will's books and this one is a killer.

My jaw dropped on the last sentence. It can be a great plot twist or an opening for the second book. It made me feel like when I first watched the Final Destination. If you're into mysteries like Mary Celeste, this book is for you!

Really original, scary gruesome and unbelievable at times. Overall very readable but then… the ending! Still not sure how I feel about it. Going to knock half a star off for it. 3.5⭐️

I have had Will Dean on my ‘to be read’ list for ages, so when this standalone came up for review, and I was intrigued by the blurb, I decided to give it a try. Caroline is on a cruise with her boyfriend, having left behind the issues and demands of daily life. Although she obviously finds it difficult to relax, she is hoping her boyfriend will propose and is ready to do her best to enjoy herself and embrace the experience. However, when she wakes the next morning, the ship appears to be empty, doors open, cabins unoccupied and nobody on the bridge.

I must admit I enjoyed the beginning of this novel the most. It was an excellent idea, but it pretty quickly descended into the bizarre and, although it certainly necessary to like the characters in a book, it does help if you have some kind of compassion for them. I found Caroline fairly annoying, and I struggled to really engage with the storyline. As such, this felt a little like a real cruise might feel – too much time with people you don’t mind saying goodbye to at the end and – while we are discussing that, the ending is something I feel readers will either like or dislike quite intensely.

It is well-written and I am glad that I tried something by Dean, but overall this was a disappointment. I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Wow. What a roller coaster ride of a book. Will never fails to surprise and horrify at the same time. All his books are so very different. This probably the first time it is difficult to give a review without giving the plot away. Caz embarks on a cruise with her partner. She wakes up on the ship alone. How and why? You will have to read the book. Finally, the ending.... highly recommended.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for affording me an advance copy for an unbiased review.

Caz Ripley is on the trip of a lifetime with her relatively new boyfriend, Pete. A luxury cabin onboard RMS Atlantica, an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic. Caz has had a difficult life so this type of luxury is alien to her. When Caz wakes after their first night onboard she discovers that Pete isn't in their cabin. Thinking he may have already gone down to breakfast she heads to the dinning room only to realise that the entire ship is empty, she is the only passenger onboard.

This is going to be a difficult review to write as I really don'y want to give away any spoilers for the completely surreal The Last Passenger from Will Dean. This is a completely new author to me but I regularly see a buzz on Twitter concerning Will's books so decided to try one. I certainly wasn't disappointed and if The Last Passenger is anything to go by I'll certainly be reading Will Dean's back catalogue.

Surreal really doesn't do the story justice as Caz Ripley lurches from one extreme incident to another onboard the abandoned ocean liner. The twists and turns just keep on coming and after a while you can almost predict what is about to happen, only to have the rug pulled from under you.

Caz Ripley is formidable. As the story progresses we learn about her unhappy background, an upbringing that has forged her into the woman she is, a woman who is determined to meet every challenge head on. Throughout The Last Passenger you are willing Caz on, to survive the nightmare she has found herself in.

And what an ending! When you finally reach the conclusion and think you can relax Will Dean throws one final twist into the mix.

I have not read a Will Dean novel prior to this one but was drawn in by the synopsis. A holiday of a lifetime suddenly blown away when virtually all the passengers disappear.

If I am completely honest I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this novel but in my opinion the story faltered a little towards the end. It started really strong with the main character waking up on a ship to find that everyone you know has disappeared. For me once the plot started to unravel was the moment things started getting less interesting.

Can’t say too much about the plot without giving it away but the main character, Caroline wakes up on a cruise to find her boyfriend and virtually everyone else disappeared. Eventually she finds others but the question is still ‘Where did all the passengers go’?

There are lots of different opinions on this book but personally I didn’t really enjoy the end.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this is a terrifying book but mainly because I could see the way the world is going now with fame and reality tv that this could be how we end up. We are so obsessed with pushing boundaries these days that leaving people to really survive on a boat in the middle of the sea could well become sport in the future. I really hope not though as this book is scary and enough to put me off holidays all together. When 4 passengers wake up to find they are the only people left on a luxury cruise what should be the holiday of a life time ends up being some twisted experiment and when a prize is offered will any of them quit. As the danger increases its touch and go if this is a game or life and death. This would be an amazing movie.

I absolutely loved this ambitious read! All the way through I was thinking how is Will going to pull this one off and make it believable at the same time. He certainly managed it.

And that ending gave me chills! Thoroughly enjoyed this tense thriller and you're always guaranteed a great book from Will Dean. He is an auto buy author for me.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read, no doubt this will fly!

The Last Passenger by Will Dean is full of sea salt and suspense. An ocean liner heads out to sea and the next day… poof! everyone disappears. Well, nearly everyone… This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel - a twisty-turny tale of survival, loss, and loneliness. I may never set foot on a boat again!

Picture is the book cover featuring a porthole looking out to sea.

Thanks to @netgalley and @hodderbooks for an early copy to review in my own way #book #thriller #mystery #reading #review #recommendation #TheLastPassenger

This was a bit different to what I was expecting, which threw me a bit, but in a good way! Another, interesting and tightly plotted story from Will Dean.

The Last Passenger by Will Dean
Caroline (Caz) boards a luxury ocean liner with her boyfriend Pete. To me she appears initially much younger than her years – behaving oafishly in front of other guests. They nejoy their first evening aboard ship and then Caz wakes to find herself alone in her room. Pete has gone from their cabin but there is no one else on board the ship. How did the other passengers all vanish. It seems inconceivable to me that that number of people could vanish from the ship and that was the sticking point for me. She later discovers other passengers on board but the bridge is empty and the ship is following a programmed route which they are unable to alter. The weather becomes colder and things turn from bad to worse as they lose power.
The other characters on board ship are introduced and they seem to have been chosen to represent different characteristics and qualities. I did not find myself fully convinced by Caz and her desire to make good the mistakes of her father. Indeed it is her father’s betrayal which makes her reluctant to enter into any meaningful relationships.
I did not find myself convinced by the storyline and found the ending a bit of a let-down. I’m sorry but this one was not for me. I know many other people will probably enjoy it and I did read the whole book so something must have engaged me. Many thanks to Net Galley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

I have to admit that Will Dean has always been a hit or miss author for me. I have enjoyed his stand alone books way more than I have enjoyed the Tuva Moodyson series, so had high hopes for this one. The blurb had me intrigued and expecting almost a locked door mystery set at sea.
Unfortunately I struggled to get into this story right from the start. Usually I like a story that jumps straight into the action which this did, but it felt rushed. When it starts you know nothing about the characters who find themselves stuck in this situation and as it progresses you only hear about Caz's backstory (multiple times) without ever hearing anything about any of the others.
As the story went on I began to find the plot irritating. And that ending? I hated it.
However, I didn't find the writing bad, just the plot. There are so many good reviews for this, so I might be in the minority here, but this was just ok for me. Nothing bad but nothing great either.

I was hooked right from chapter 1. Its s superb story line with great characters and even though some things may seem out there its a good read. The ending wasn't as I had hoped but it still worked keeping me engaged and trying to flip through more pages even though there were none!

Will Dean has done it again! Another book I couldn't put down, the descriptions are sooo good you'll feel you're on board the cruise too. I really can't recommend this enough.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Last Passenger was amazing!! I absolutely loved it, I just couldn’t put it down. Imagine waking up on a luxury cruise and everyone has disappeared. I don’t want to give any of the story away but you have to read this book, it was brilliant.

Wow! I loved this book.. Will Dean has gone and wrote another great novel.

This is a claustrophobic thriller feel even though there is so few characters and so much space on the cruise, the last passenger is set on a cruise liner. Caroline aka Caz the main characters wakes up to find out she is the only passenger abroad. Caz is a very likeable character who has some inner problems but she is overall a caring person who looks out for others and knows when she is wrong. Her character as the book progresses alongside suspense and thrill grows deeply and you learn about her past and problems she has kept locked up in herself.

The first part of the book is where Caz wakes up alone and it hits off from then so we have the rest of the book to figure what is going on, characters develop and you imagine the eery feel/settings and overall this book has kept me from wanting to go on a cruise. The novel doesn't let up and kept me engrossed to the very ending.. spine tingling feels from what they have to go through and i couldn't wait to find out what caused and happened to all the other passengers.

Will Dean has managed to give the readers the feel of being claustrophobic and suspense feel.

The Last Passenger is a suspense mystery filled novel that kept me thoroughly engaged and interested to read to the very end in which the end was something i totally wasn't expecting at all! If you are looking for a page turner mystery read The Last Passenger is definitely for you. Definitely work picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the oppurtunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

It started as a normal cruise aboard a luxury liner but for for passengers it turned in to a nightmare.
On the second morning Caz, Daniel, Smith, and Francine find they are the only passengers left on board and are in the midst of a reality game. They are pitted against each other for five million pounds and they don’t know whether they can trust each other. Nothing on the ship seems to work, not even the lifeboats.
The conditions are extreme, there is no food or water as the stores are locked. As each day passes the four become more desperate but the prize money is enticing.
An original concept, not particularly believable, it wasn’t really for me

4.5

Caroline (call me, Caz) Ripley and her boyfriend Pete board the RMS Atlantica, an ocean liner, bound for New York City. They enjoy a pleasant evening, a good meal and some drinks and head back to the cabin. The following day Caz wakes, Pete is not next to her, she goes in search and realises she’s entirely alone, she is indeed The Last Passenger aboard the Atlantica. Except she’s not as during the day she discovers three others, Daniel Cho, Franny and Smith. What is going on and why? How did 1000+ passengers vanish into thin air?

Well, I don’t fancy a cruise and I definitely don’t now, this puts you off for life!! A few chapters in my initial thoughts are how are you going to square this one Mr Dean?? He does although I do figure it out but my lips are sealed. It’s actually very hard to say too much about this go with the ocean flow novel without spoiling things but I suggest you strap on those infamous disbelief suspenders! All I will say is that things go from bad to worse, it’s tense, desperate, a bit creepy and ghostly in a Marie Celeste kind of a way as it shocks and makes you shudder. At times the atmosphere is so icy cold that hell could freeze over, or is that Atlantica hell? On display here we see all sides of human nature, everything from a selfish to selfless to the survival of the fittest. The theme is very thought provoking, there’s a morality slant in how far people will go especially if they are tested to the extreme. It’s fast paced, suspenseful and has multiple clever twists and just when you think scenarios couldn’t get any worse, they do. Will Dean is definitely pushing boundaries in this one and it does dive into the far fetched at times but the I ask myself is it, is it really???

So, yes I really enjoy it, it’s a bit (a lot) bonkers but it makes valid points to mull over. Why not five stars then? Well, parts of the ending I’m honestly not that sure about but as for the ultimate ending- oh yes, well played sir!!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review