This book was very unusual, and also in my opinion very implausible. Also I found the ending bizarre. However, there was something in the writing that kept me reading even though when I had finished I was unsure of it all.
It does appear from other reviews I've seen that I'm in the minority but ultimately this book just wasn't for me.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton & Will Dean for a Arc of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I was so excited to be approved for this book as the last thing to burn was one of my favourite books of last year. I had high expectations going into this but it didn't disappoint.

A luxury cruise liner, abandoned with no crew, steaming into the mid-Atlantic.
And you are the only passenger left on board.
A fast based thriller, binge read it. Heart pounding! Loved it! OMG that ending!!!! stop ittttt

I can't wait to read more of Will Dean's work.

This title will be released on March 28, 2024.

I will start this review by saying that I have never read a book like this before - there may be one somewhere but I haven't come across it yet!
I didn't realise it was such a long book - I am not a huge fan of long books as I find myself getting a bit distracted, but hey ho - at least it was a pretty decent book.
I enjoyed the book, and I enjoyed the storyline, but I did find it very fat fetched at times and make me almost laugh because there is just no way - obviously won't spoil anything until you have read it.
Wasn't a fan of the ending either - just when you thought it was all wrapped up - poof, and it's gone again! Not 100% sure I would want to read the 2nd installment if there ever was one, as I found this repetitive in places.
Overall a good book - some parts I would rate highly, other parts not so much.

Rather dark and disturbing. It started off ok but I soon got bored, as there were many chapters when nothing happened. The pace picked up towards the last third but it was a predictable ending. If you enjoy psychological thrillers and are not too sceptical you’ll probably enjoy this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

When Caz wakes up, she is is completely alone on a ship that she boarded with her boyfriend the day before. Alone on a ship in the middle of the ocean. No passengers, no cre, no captain.
I liked it how Will Dean created the claustrophobic atmosphere on the ship, how everything is left in the dark. Suspense is high most of the time as the story progresses, it gets really violent from time to time. I also quite liked the plot twist at the end of the novel - and the revelation at the end. The only thing I am not completely sure about is the end, which remains quite open.

This book had me gripped, it started with a bang and ended with an even bigger one - that last sentence had me shaking oh my word.
While there was a little bit of lag in the middle, this was amazingly written and plotted and I loved the whole idea.
After falling asleep on a packed cruise ship, our main character wakes up to find herself totally alone. That is all you need to know going in and I would recommend not finding out anything else!!!!

What a book! Amazing, so much was twisted I was mind blown, but the ending was something else. This book should go to number 1! It was everything I wanted in a book, more than just a page turner, on the edge of my seat book, this would make a great movie!

📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Last Passenger by Will Dean

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blurb

Caz Ripley, a cafe owner from a small, ordinary town, boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York.
The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared.
And that's just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing ...

Review

Well, where to start! I haven't been on a cruise - yet (roll on 2025!) and I won't let this book put me off, for all that this sailing was far from smooth! I cam imagine that being on a cruise ship might feel a bit claustrophobic at times, but Will Dean's writing is so good, that I could feel the walls closing in, even when the ship was empty and I wasn't even aboard!

The nature of the plot means that I can't really say anything beyond what's in the blurb, but the book does put one particular aspect of pop culture under the microscope. This, along with the twisting and turning (pitching and rolling?) of the storyline makes for very tense reading!

You may have heard mention in other reviews of The Ending. One the one hand, I can't make up my mind about how I feel about it in terms of the plot itself. On the other hand, I'm just getting round to writing this review weeks after finishing the book - I know - and I still think of The Ending often. That is a rare event, so it's a winner in my view.

Original and not a little disturbing, The Last Passenger rides the crest of a wave for me.

Thanks to the author, Hodder and Stoughton, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

3 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2023/07/12/the-last-passenger-by-will-dean/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : A tale of two halves

This review is possibly going to be short. For two reasons. Firstly I enjoyed the first chapters of this book, I was totally intrigued, absorbed even, and literally couldn’t wait to dig back in. But, when the reveals were delivered, I confess, I felt a smidgen disappointed. Secondly, it’s going to be difficult to say too much about this one without giving away massive spoilers – which I really don’t want or intend to do. So, instead, I’ll; give a very brief plot outline, finishing before the reveals, and more turn towards my feelings whilst reading.

I will say before I really tuck in that the writing is excellent, and although I might not have loved the reveals I was still hooked and needed to keep reading. Definitely an author that I would like to read again.

So, you’re on the cruise of a lifetime, surrounded by luxury and accompanied by your loving boyfriend. You go to sleep at night and wake up to find yourself alone. Not just alone in your cabin though – no, you search the liner and everyone has gone. Cabin doors stand ajar but they’re all empty. And yet the boat seems to be speeding out into the ocean – with no staff manning the rudders (so to speak). What the heck!

Yeah, I was gripped. I loved the start of this. The central character comes across as slightly nervous due to her backstory which I won’t chat about here, but she’s also fairly resilient and doesn’t fall to pieces. I was loving it, seriously. I admit though, when certain other elements began to feed in, and when the eventual reveal takes place, I couldn’t help myself, I just deflated. For me, it felt very much like ‘not this again’. All I can say is that what is eventually revealed feels to me like something that is becoming a little overused. i don’t really know what I was expecting, and clearly I can’t discuss that element further, but it just didn’t wow me.

All that being said, I couldn’t put the book down. It’s a conundrum indeed. And the stakes were indeed raised. Which brings me to another element that grated a little bit. For this type of story to really work you have to care about the character or characters fairly quickly. And, to be honest, the author really does give quite a bit of backstory but, it felt repetitive and, and maybe this is just me, but I failed to form a connection which ultimately leaves all the high risk elements a bit flat.

Now, I’m not going to say too much more, I hate being anything less than positive and I would say that although I had reservations I still finished this book in a very timely fashion. It is well told and it is gripping.

Ultimately, this is a difficult review to write because I am absolutely determined to give away nothing. So, in a nutshell I suspect that most readers will like this one more than I did. The actual premise just didn’t work for me personally but that doesn’t mean it won’t work for others and it’s certainly fast paced and punchy.

Although, on another aside – that ending was just too much.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Another of my favourite authors (go read the Tuva Moodyson books if you haven’t already), this time with a standalone. Caz wakes up on an cruise liner in the mid Atlantic and discovers the love of her life missing. Along with the rest of the crew… What starts as an intriguing mystery quickly grows into something far more deadly. Fabulous high-concept stuff.

I really struggled with parts of this book. I found the beginning very slow. The first couple of twists were exciting and helped pick up the pace but I struggled with the ending and just found it a let down.

Such an excellent premise for a book. The setup is great and really pushes the reader to wonder WHY and HOW. I was worried there wouldn't be an answer but PHEW - there was! It really works as a premise and plot.

Right well - WHERE TO START?! I think this review is going to have to be a bit disjointed as I can barely get my thoughts in order AND I can't really say anything anyway as I'd give it all away! So here we go...

Firstly, the premise - woman sets off on a cruise with her new partner. The first morning she wakes up to find her partner gone, and everybody else on the whole ship. She is alone and the ship is cruising in the middle of the ocean.

So. I was not a fan of the writing; it was basic and stunted. Like a list of statements. No flow. Like this. Some of it lacked emotion and realism too, so that didn't help with connecting with the character/s. In saying that the author did try to give some background story for the MC but to be a bit frank... I just wasn't interested in that. I was more concerned with what was happening now! on the abandoned boat! And I hate to say it, but at times it was quite obvious that a male author was trying to write a FMC...

You'll be pleased to know that you do quite quickly find out what is happening. Ish. Then there are many questionable choices made, you are asked to suspend belief A LOT, and there is way too much inner monologue - especially during intense high stress moments when you just want the play by play of the situation! and most frustratingly towards the very end when you just want the answers dammit! I ended up skimming whole sections.

And the ending - frustratingly dramatic and entertaining. To be honest I am not even entirely convinced the whole concept is plausible - SO MANY HOLES - but it was undeniably a page turner. I couldn't read it fast enough. Possibly a good film idea? I wouldn't be surprised if it gets adapted.

First of all a big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this one. The ending SHOOK me and to be honest, this had me hooked and on the edge of my seat. The twists and turns in this come thick and fast. This is incredibly fast paced and got through this whole thing in two sittings. Probably would have been one if I hadn't had to work in between. The characters in this are also incredibly well written and the twist with the characters was also fantastic. I am going to leave this here as I don't want to give away spoilers and also I feel like going into this the less you know the better.

#TheLastapassenger #NetGalley
Ruth Ware meets A.J.Finn
Caz Ripley, a cafe owner from a small, ordinary town, boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York.
The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared. And that's just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing .
Brilliant story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder Straighten for giving me an advance copy.

My first Will Dean book but definitely not my last, I picked up another today when halfway through this one. To say I was terrified is an understatement, the tension in this book was stomach churning in the best possible way.

I was gripped by this book, did not see most of the twists coming and finished wanting at least another 100 pages of high octane action. I really enjoyed the point of view of this book and highly recommend it.

I absolutely love everything that Will Dean has ever written so I was really excited to finally have the opportunity to read The Last Passenger. It begins as a slight slow burner, but once the scene is set it does not disappoint and it is full to the brim of peril, tension and many questions that kept my eyes glued to the pages.

The Last Passenger is extremely clever and it's hard to review in a lot of detail because I obviously don't want to give away spoilers, but I loved the premise - it's one that's fresh and really relevant to today's society.

The novel is set on a cruise ship and Will Dean's description of the ship is meticulous. I could picture every corner, book and cranny in the shop and this made it even easier to become invested.

The protagonist of The Last Passenger is Caz Ripley and the author spends a lot of time building her background for the reader. Although there were occasions when I wanted to jump into my Kindle and shake her, she was mostly likeable and I felt sympathy for her with the issues that were going on in her life. The supporting characters also have colourful backgrounds and it was interesting to find out more about them.

And the ending? Well, it certainly made me think….

Where to start...
33% in and this story changes a 360 degrees turn with one of the best plot twists i have ever read in a thriller. I was lured into a false pretense thinking this was about a girl surviving on her own on this big liner.
The way in which it was written had me with goosebumps on my arms and i just had to keep on reading. I read this in one sitting and i dont regret it.

Ending wise i have taken a star off as it just wouldnt happen again and all i wanted was a happy ending but alas you cant have it all.
I loved it and will be recommending the book to all i can tell.

4 stars

Will Dean is the master of the page turner.
The Last Passenger is a rollercoaster ride.
At the start of this story we meet Caroline and her boyfriend Pete who are going on a cruise. All starts off well enough as Caroline takes all of it in. They’re in the Diamond cabins and the luxury of it all is fabulous. Firstly they have to undertake a fire drill which is straightforward enough then it’s dinner time and the dress code is formal ish. It’s all a different world from Caroline’s day job where she works in a cafe which she jointly owns with her sister. The first morning Caroline wakes up alone. Looking around their room she is surprised to see no sign of Pete. Having checked her phone she thinks he must’ve decided to let her have a lie in. She tidies herself up, grabs her keys and sets out to find him. As she walks along the corridor she sees every cabin is empty, she runs through the ship but it’s eerily quiet, then it hits her, the RMS Atlantica is steaming out and she’s the only passenger.
Like I said this is a page turner and it’ll have you gripped While sometimes I thought it was a little bit OTT in places, overall, I really enjoyed it. For me it’s a 4.5⭐️book. Many thanks to #NetGalley for this book.

I did kind of enjoy reading this but at too many points it became so unrealistic I had to grit my teeth a bit to carry on.
I get that its a big, extraordinary story and had to suspend my disbelief to get through it, but if the author is trying to coax us into believing that this is how TV and social media is evolving then it may have worked better if the characters and their actions were a bit more realistic.
The fact everyone accepted their fate quite early and took part in frankly ridiculous activities was unbelievable, their responses to their situation and each other felt off to me, so it was hard to get involved with them.
And the red herrings were strange, the fact that the other passengers and presenter were actors kind of annoyed me because I was a little invested in them by the end. And the dogs were a very unnecessary distraction that added little and felt weirdly cruel.
There was also far too much internal discourse from Caz about her father's gambling which I felt added little, other than she was being taught by the ship to take gambles in her life, well its a big of a sledgehammer to crack a nut that one!
Personally, the big televised social experiment stories have been done better, thinking of The Running Man and The Hunger Games.