The Last Thing to Burn

A Novel

By: Will Dean

Narrated by: Sarah Lam

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

“Immediate, intense, gripping, taut, terrifying, moving, and brilliant.” (Lisa Jewell, number one New York Times best-selling author of Invisible Girl)

“Brilliantly written...terrifying.” (Ruth Ware, number one New York Times best-selling author of One by One)

A woman being held captive is willing to risk everything to save herself, her unborn child, and her captor’s latest victim in this “intense, dark, and utterly chilling” (Jennifer Hillier, author of ​Jar of Hearts) thriller in the tradition of Misery and Room.

He is her husband. She is his captive.

Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name.

She lives in a small farm cottage, surrounded by vast, open fields. Everywhere she looks, there is space. But she is trapped. No one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm; if they do, she is never seen.

Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished.

For a long time, escape seemed impossible. But now, something has changed. She has a reason to live and a reason to fight. Now, she is watching him, and waiting....

©2021 Will Dean. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited. All rights reserved.

Almost excellent….

….except for the implausible extremity of the narrator’s plight by the end. I can’t stay much more because almost any plot description will give away some spoilers, but I’ll say that a few loose ends were left flapping in the breeze. Why Of Mice and Men? Who was the original Jane—a simple farm wife with a mama’s boy for a son? Or a heartless, controlling witch who taught her non-too-bright son to be cruel? I was surprised Jane didn’t have more curiosity about her—she could have devoted herself to understanding the first Jane, and then used that knowledge to manipulate Lenn. It might have made end game more satisfying.

Also, I thought from the beginning that narrator might be unreliable. Wondered if I’d ever hear anything in Lenn’s voice. But no, Jane tells the story faithfully—things are as bad as she says.

But I’m not really criticizing the author’s choice, because the peril in this story is so great that I couldn’t stop listening. The right questions to ask are: was I fully engrossed from chapter one? Yes. Could I picture the awful, claustrophobic house where the drama played out? Oh yes. Did I find Lenn, in his goofy, han-fisted daily meanness terrifying? Hell yes. And did my heart pound and did I sit on the edge of my seat four or five times throughout? Yes and yes. Would I have clapped my hand over your mouth if you bothered me during the last two hours? Definitely yes.

If these are the questions you ask about your suspense picks, then this should be your next listen.

Well done, Will Dean!

Amazing, terrifying read

The human spirit is an amazing thing; full of wonder and respect. And what people are capable of, whether fighting for life, or abusing others, is no less than heart-stomping.

Jane believes she is heading toward a better life, leaving Vietnam, and heading to the UK. Crossing in boats and trucks is a long, arduous process. But where and what she ends up with is what nightmares are made of.

She is held captive by a hog farmer, who considers her his wife, bought and paid for. Her life is dehumanized, she is beaten, tortured and maimed. Yet her so-called life goes on.

There are things beyond her control and one of these situations change her life in an instant. And here the pathway narrows, so it is barely seen.

This is an awesome read. I love the writing that lulled me in deeper. It’s a poignant story, outlining the best and worst in the world. And here my friends is where I leave you.

This is a not-to be-missed book, providing you can handle physical and emotional abuse.

Wow

This level of melodrama from the narrator was initially hard to take. I nearly sold it back. The story is intense enough, sets the mood well enough. If one has the stomach for it, it’s an excellent read.

Nail biting

This book had me on edge almost the whole time I was listening. I recommend 100%.

Couldn’t put it down for only those that live in books

This was a frustrating read. It’s so heartbreaking that you have to know the ending. When I think about a story while not reading, I know I will finish no matter what. It was a look into madness and despair that is hard to erase from your memory. Maybe it should have been 5 stars, but I was so emotionally frustrated with opportunities and bad decisions that could have led also to a positive ending. That being said, I realize I have never experienced such a wreaking of my soul. I love the message at the end. We all live in our own bubble even though monsters exist right next to us.

Good Book, not for me

I’ve been really struggling to find mysteries that I enjoy these days (Where the protagonist isn’t an idiot, the misogyny is minimal, without child abuse/rape-can we start a new category @Audible?). So I almost hesitate to comment on this book since i was disgruntled to begin with. For some reason I decided to ignore all the reviews that stated that this was very slow and to go ahead and listen to it anyways. When I say slow I mean that I drove five hours and in that five hours I don’t feel that anything happened. It was just repeating the same day over and over. if the intent was to give us the feeling that the captive was feeling then bingo! they nailed it. I think it just could’ve been alluded to as we’ve all read books and watched TV and have similar scenarios we could tap into for reference. Everything that happened happened in the last 10% of the book and then it almost happened so fast that it didn’t matter. I am writing this not because I want this author to not make money but because I wish that I had listened to the warnings of the 7000 reviewer’s before me. Also probably should have a trigger warning for almost everything on it.

That being said, it was well performed.

Mispronounced words were a distraction

I enjoyed this book but the reader mispronounced so many Vietnamese words. With the protagonist’s identity being so central to the story, I was disappointed that the performer wasn’t someone who could realistically portray that identity. I wish I had read the book instead of listened to it. The story was good. The performance was not great.

You will feel every emotion with this story!

This was so good!! So so good! In every way! All the emotions, and the ups and downs and surprises! Just wow! I could not put it down and finished it in a day!

Brutal but riveting

The narration of this book was outstanding and that is what kept me moving forward. This story was rough, very painful to listen to, however, I couldn’t stop listening.

You won't be able to tear yourself away from this

If you would like something that will not afford you the opportunity to put down the book, that forces you to turn the page and leaves you restless and uneasy every time you escape its grasp then this is the book for you! One of the best psychological thrillers I've read in years!