The Last Ferry Out

By Andrea Bartz
** Publication Date 20 May 2025 **
​4 stars


At times I fantasize about moving away from the US. While remote islands off Mexico isn’t on my radar, apparently it is for some people. 


A few months ago Abby received the call no one ever wants - your loved one has died. Only Abby’s loved one, her fiancé Eszter, died alone of anaphylaxis on an island in the Mexican Caribbean. No one there for her. Just taking a time out from life to gather her thoughts and put the finishing touches on her business degree project.


Now, months after Eszter’s death, Abby is visiting the tiny Isla Colel to try to put together the last days of Eszter’s life. What Abby finds is an amazing group of ‘ex-pats’ who have made the isle their home. They all seem to be hiding something. Does it have to do with Eszter’s death? Abby is tormented by the thought that someone might not be telling the truth.


Over the course of just a few days, Abby becomes integrated into this group, all the while not quite trusting any of them. But what Abby is going to find is a tangled web of lies and deceit that she never could have imagined. In doing so, maybe Abby will finally be able to let go of Eszter and move on.


Really fascinating and riveting novel about the lies, or omission of the truth, that we think we can get away with. The little things we tell ourselves really won’t make a huge difference. Andrea Bartz has woven a tale full of these things not said. Isla Colel is a masterpiece of truths hidden. I couldn’t put this one down. With every chapter, someone else was guilty. That is the true test of a great mystery. There is so much more than mystery in this book. Self-realization, acceptance, moving on.


Great read!