Well am sorry to say to me this book was a complete waste of my time! I did try and certainly felt the need to reach the end to discover what happened but even then wished I hadn’t bothered! Found it all totally unbelievable and felt no sympathy whatsoever for the four passengers left to fend for themselves on the Atlantica Cruise Ship. Caroline, who was telling the story, was quite banal and her need to remind us of her background and sister Gemma was quite irritating. Smith just didn’t ring true and Francine, who was very young but would suddenly come up with incredible facts and figures, totally unbelievable. The only relatively normal person was Daniel - wondered what happened to his eye! No, not for me I’m afraid.

This book was certainly gripping. Honestly, I can't decide if it was really good or if it was just bonkers. The Tuva series are far and away better reads than this but having said that, I couldn't put it down and found myself really invested in it. The premise is a good one but I definitely enjoyed the first third of the book more, before we discovered what was going on. The characters were all very well done and relatable. The story moved along quickly and it was surprising and quite creepy at times. I'd recommend it as a quick-read thriller.

The RMS Atlantica is heading off to sea - with promises of luxury, of a peaceful disconnect from the outside world. It should be the dream holiday - but when Caroline wakes up, it's simply a nightmare. When she fell asleep in that cabin next to Pete, she was ready for to wake up and explore the floating city, to have fun and relax. But she wasn't ready to wake up completely alone.

Cas might just be the last passenger left aboard the Atlantica, and now everything is going off-course. She needs to figure out who or what has done this, but first she needs to survive.

"The ghoulish voice is saying that hundreds of people don't just disappear from an ocean liner at sea. It's telling me that this is merely the opening scene of a nightmare."

There's a reason Will Dean is considered a Master of Suspense - and you can add his latest release as further proof. The Last Passenger is an intense, darkly twisted thriller packed with Deans trademark anxiety-inducing world building and reveals.

This story is deeply isolating - there's undeniable skill in having a singular narrator who spends most of their time alone with their thoughts and still crafting a compelling narrative. The scene is set instantly - luxury, opulence and decadence, immediately juxtaposed against a claustrophobic, anxious backdrop of fear and confusion.

Caroline was painfully relatable - desperate for a break from her life, which is always playing on loop in the back of her mind even in the face of fear and danger. We're left in the same boat as her, without clues or information. Was it an evacuation? A nightmare? A cruel joke? A shift in time and space? The only thing we know for sure is that something or someone did this, and every time you think you've got the answer, you know you've only got a part of it, there's always another layer to the darkness and deception. Every time you open a Will Dean book, you know to expect the unexpected - you're in for something absurd, outlandish and completely beyond belief so if you're looking for something easy to understand and rooted in reality, put down the book and back away slowly.

Time almost stops - the story moves slowly but timelessly, almost like we're suspended in place as we watch Caz search - for answers, survivors, food, water - a way to survive so she can start to figure this mystery out. As light finally shines on what could be an answer, it just leaves more questions - every time something feels resolved, a look at the page number lets us know it isn't over yet and we're about to find out just how dark and desperate people can get when they're given the chance. Dean holds up a mirror to human nature, showing us the best and worst, how our instincts can save and betray us in the most spectacular ways.

Will Dean holds the rare accolade of being one of the few authors that have made me physically throw a book in sheer shock and anger - and this isn't the first time. A quiet, patient thriller, this is pure nightmare fuel and I loved every moment.

*4.5 stars*

Oh wow - What a cracking ending to a book. But forgive me, I’m getting carried away with myself, as there’s an awful lot to experience before we get to this point.

A luxury cruise has never been high on my list of vacations, not really keen on the idea of being a captive audience. ‘The Last Passenger’ merely confirms that decision!

Caz wakes up after her first night on a luxury cruise - the holiday of a lifetime, only to find that her partner Pete isn’t in the cabin, and he’s not even left her a text. She decides to go look for him and quickly throws on some clothes. Now it gets real scary, because every cabin she passes has its door wedged open, and each of them is completely empty, like they’d never been occupied at all! Added to that is the fact that even the crew have disappeared - Caz is alone on the RMS Atlantica, on this vast ocean that is the Atlantic, and that is completely overwhelming.

An unwilling passenger, I totally put myself in Caz’s shoes and honestly, it was a scary place to be. ‘The Last Passenger’ was terrifying, the tension unbearable, never knowing what was coming next. The twists were terrific with some really shocking moments, and as for the end! Well, it was magnificent!

My review for The Last Passenger by Will Dean, 5/5 stars.

I couldn't put this book down! I read it all in a day, which I haven't done for a long time. I've read a few of Will Dean's books by now and was excited to get this ARC from NetGalley. It didn't disappoint!

Cas is going on a cruise from to Southampton to New York with her boyfriend Pete, and is looking forward to spending some time with him. But when she wakes up the first morning, there's no one else on board.

It's hard to write a review without spoilers, but the tension ramps up with every page, and you're continuously second-guessing everything that happens. As more is revealed, other things are hidden, and it's so well written that you feel as though you're with Cas every moment of her ordeal.

And the ending? It was both expected and unexpected, but it definitely left an impression, so that has to be good! A fantastic read that I highly recommend.

Definitely an intriguing premise and when things started to unravel it was certainly something I hadn’t read before which was great. It does hook you in right from the get go and was well paced with a nice amount of twists. I’m marking it down slightly as I didn’t really warm to many of the characters but the concept itself was great and the atmosphere was fantastically creepy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book. "This was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime for Cas. Now she just needs to survive." It was a very original plot idea and for the most part it was well executed. I found the beginning of the book gripping as we try and find out what happened to Cas. The middle slumps a bit - there is a lot of retrospective with Cas going over her life, which I wondered if we needed quite so often - but then the end ratchets up the pace as all the challengers happen. Further I didn't warm to any of the main characters that much. Smith was obnoxious, as he was meant to be, Frannie wavered between strong and weak and while I wanted more from Daniel.
It's hard to say much more about the book without giving away the plot. I'm very much in two mind over the ending - clever twist or a big let down, I'm not sure.
It was an interesting pacy read, however, and I'd happily pick up another book by this author.
With thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Will Dean's Tuva Moodyson series is one of the best in modern crime fiction, and his previous standalones have been very good. However, I found the premise of The Last Passenger too improbable, and although the story has some merits, overall I was disappointed.

10/10 for originality on this book! Not read anything like this before. I have listened to podcasts on cruise ship disappearances and the discrepancies between laws when incidents happen in the ocean so the story-line definitely peaked my interest. I found there was a bit of a lull in the first third of the book, I think the time when the passengers were discovering each other and looking around for food/people went on a bit long, but it picked back up and the last two thirds were incredibly entertaining. It's been 2 weeks since I finished it and I still haven't decided if I loved or hated the ending, but either way, it's made me think about it most days for two weeks so it's memorable for sure!

Not really sure about this one. I raced through it as I wanted to know what happened. But without giving away spoilers I think the storyline was either genius or really ridiculous. I still can't decide.
I didn't not like it.
I didn't particularly like any of the characters. The ending was silly in my opinion. I just don't know really. It was gripping and scary. Towards the end there was a lot of "what the hell!" every other page. But yes as previously mentioned I just don't know. Definitely worth a read, maybe, I don't know!

After reading ‘the last thing to burn’ last year. The last passenger by Will Dean was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. This was very different and very enjoyable, fast paced, exciting with surprising twists and turns around every corner. I would advise going in to this knowing as little as possible about the plot and be prepared to suspend your disbelief a little. Yes it’s farfetched and at times a little preposterous but despite this it’s a great read and an interesting take on society and the choices that people are willing to make.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this tension packed book.

I've just spent about three days with Caroline. Caz. Caz is on a dream holiday on an Ocean liner, sailing from Southampton to New York, with her partner Pete. Except, Caz wakes up on the first day to find that, out of thousands of passengers on the liner, she's the only one left, everyone, Including Pete, has vanished., ..'Give them cheap bread and entertaining circuses, and the masses will remain distracted, quiet, and docile. The powerful stay powerful, and the others stay-well, others'...
An excellent fast paced, exciting tale. Great characters and a fascinating story. A proper page turner.

After hearing a lot about Will Dean as an author but never having read anything by him before, this latest release synopsis had me gripped from the minute I saw it.

'The Last Passenger' Caroline about to embark on the holiday of a lifetime with her new boyfriend Pete. A luxury cruise is a world apart from every day life running her little cafe so it's safe to say she's excited about the trip. On the first night the excitement results in Caroline falling into a deep sleep. The next morning she awakes fresh and ready to face the new day but she is alarmed when she finds the cabin empty, where is Pete? On leaving the cabin she is astounded to find that the ship seems very quiet and then suddenly it dawns on her, she is alone. Completely alone on this massive cruise liner. Even the staff are nowhere to be found, what is going on?

so I think the word 'wow' needs to be used to describe this book, I finished this a few days ago now and my brain is still reeling from it! This is a book that draws you in from the very start and takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions, at times I could feel the fear from the characters. At times some of the content was a little distressing and unexpected, towards the end I did feel there was a little element of repetition but however this didn't take away any of the impact. And as for that twist at the end, absolutely perfect - and also terrifying!! Be aware, this book might deter you from the idea of a cruise!!

I was excited to read this arc as the premise seemed exciting and very different. In addition, I love novels set on ships whatever the genre. The beginning was great but as the story progressed, it got repetitive especially the background of Caz the primary protagonist. The twist ending was unnecessary in my opinion and ruined a competent.thrilller.

5 Stars from me

I feel like I'm only just getting over The Last Thing to Burn and then along comes The Last Passenger.

I would seriously have thought The Last Thing to Burn would have been impossible to top but The Last Passenger is just as horribly engaging and impossible to put down.

What a dark, disturbed, and depraved mind this man has... 

I hadn't read the blurb for this book so had no idea what to expect. I often do that when I already know that I love an author's books so that everything is a complete surprise. And bloody hell, about 5% in I sure was surprised!

Genuinely this is heart in the mouth stuff and with every page, the tension builds more and the story gets more and more horribly engrossing. I was hanging on the author's every word and willing the characters on. Each time I thought things had got as bad as possible, something worse happened and soon my mind was chasing down wild theories and speculation about quite how bad it could get.

Absolutely Brilliant. Absolutely Horrible - can't recommend it enough! Maybe though, just maybe, don't take it on a cruise!

Imagine waking up the first morning of a transatlantic cruise to discover you are the only one left on board?

Will Dean has done it again. The Last Passenger takes the ordinary thriller and turns the volume up several notches. Relentless heart-pounding scenes. Short terrifying chapters. A deeply disturbing chiller.

The Last Passenger is a tense, nail biting thriller that will get its claws into you from the start and not let go until the very end. The cast of characters is small but the ship is big and it really works with each chapter leaving you eager to read the next. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and I’m excited to read more. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author for the chance to review.

What a strange story. It was in parts a very gripping and terrifying read, but also at times ridiculous.

The ending… well, that did not feel right at all.

A luxury cruise on board a huge cruise liner. A chance to relax and enjoy all the amenities on board. Only when Caroline wakes up for her first morning on board the Atlantica, her boyfriend is gone, all the other cabins are empty and there is no crew. She can't imagine how that happened, but when she finds out the reality it is worse than anything she would have considered. Great premise and Dean does this justice. A plot that motors on and ramps up the tension to the climactic finale - and a great final twist. Recommended.

It's almost impossible to review this book without giving spoilers but what I will say is that it kept me awake, reading, well past midnight. It grips immediately and the tension builds quickly but about a quarter way into the book it slows and becomes really quite tedious. Persevere because at around the halfway mark it starts to move so quickly that you can't breathe. So why only 3 stars? Because it's so implausible, at times it's downright nasty and as for the ending it defies description!