The Last Housewife

ahhhhhhhhhh! i absoutely adored this book. this review is a bit hard for me to write just because i relate to the content of this book so much but it truly is a masterfully written book. this is the type of thriller that mean something to me. the normal domestic thriller doesn't do much for me anymore but a thriller that is profound and says something like this one are the types of stories i want to be consuming

starting with shay, the main character, i love how unreliable she became throughout the course of the story and the fact i didn't trust her at some parts, makes the messages of this story even more profound. her desire and need to avenge her college friends and not only find out the truth behind their deaths but to also get revenge for the trauma they've experienced in their past was amazing.

i loved the mixed media elements of this story and how a podcast was incorporated. the way that ashley winstead wove the podcast into the story was expertly done and it didn't seem like some ploy to be able to slap that buzzword onto her book. it made sense with the plot and made the experience more immersive. there is also some flashbacks that occur later on in the story and the contents of this book plus the flashbacks made it feel like a way way way better version of the show cruel summer.

i also really enjoy cult books and media. i've never quite read a cult like this but it was just mind-blowing. this book was really cathartic for me personally as someone who has experienced grooming and emotional abuse. i feel personally nobody truly understands the impact that grooming and abuse can have on people unless they've been through it but this book was perfect in how it shows it always lingers

the ending was literal perfection but won't work for all readers

thank you to SOURCEBOOKS, ashley winstead, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review