Release Date: Expected 11th May 2023
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
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.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. Thank you to my friends in Tandem Collective for inviting me to take part in this readalong.
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