The Last Thing to Burn

Seven years ago, a woman is kidnapped by a monster called Lenn and finds herself on an isolated farm.  Forced to stay to protect her sister any attempts to flee are met with harsh brutality and servitude. Reluctantly answering to the name Jane, she feverishly plans her escape. 

Her escape becomes urgent when she discovers she’s pregnant.  Plans are thrown askew when another woman is brought to the farm.  Can Jane save herself, her unborn child and this innocent woman or will they all remain forever as captives on the farm?  Told from the perspective of the Jane - The Last Thing to Burn deals with an issue that is as current as it is deadly. 

Will Dean's first standalone thriller is a claustrophobic nail-biting read that is  heart-breaking and suspenseful in equal measure.   The Last Thing to Burn is a dark read that deals with an uncomfortable topic.  However, it is also an engrossing read that will keep you hooked as the tension builds throughout the story.  The violent drudgery and the gritty descriptive quality of the writing, along with the subject matter were upsetting in places but balanced by the great sense of characterization, place and plot.

This is a novel that will keep you thinking long after you’ve reached the dénouement.

Not for the faint-hearted, Will Dean has written a stunning and thought-provoking narrative that will resonate with even the harden genre advocate. 

As fond as I am of the author’s Tuva Moodyson series, if this is the level of his standalone novels - then more please, and fast.