The Last Housewife
Ratings61
Average rating4
15
Ratings61
Average rating4
"Deliciously unputdownable." —The Washington Post "A stunning, disturbing thriller that will have your mind and heart racing." —Samantha Downing From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost. While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death—delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader—she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever. Recruiting the help of the podcast host, Shay goes back to the place she vowed never to return to in search of answers. As she follows the threads of her friend's life, she's pulled into a dark, seductive world, where wealth and privilege shield brutal philosophies that feel all too familiar. When Shay's obsession with uncovering the truth becomes so consuming she can no longer separate her desire for justice from darker desires newly reawakened, she must confront the depths of her own complicity and conditioning. But in a world built for men to rule it—both inside the cult and outside of it—is justice even possible, and if so, how far will Shay go to get it?
Reviews with the most likes.
this one's for the karin slaughter girlies (i am not a karin slaughter girlie)
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
I was legitemately worried and paranoid about the situation, so good job.
