The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and shortlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year

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Thanh has been ‘with’ Lenn for nine years and would have given up (taken her own life) years earlier but her sister Kim-Ly is also in the UK and Lenn’s threatened to have her deported (or worse) if ‘Jane’ tries to leave (one way or another). He’s also been slowly burning things precious to her over the years when she displeases him. Thanh, now Jane, is being held captive on a remote farm by, Lenn. The physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that she endures is brutal. She must always follow his rules or face the consequences. Cameras are positioned all around the house so he can always keep an eye on her. Her days of despair seem to have no end in sight. Until she finds herself pregnant. I have read a few similar books with a similar premise of women being held captive. There was something about this book felt so different. I felt like I was trapped in the cabin with “Jane”.

The Last Thing To Burn | Hachette UK The Last Thing To Burn | Hachette UK

This well written book was a very fast read. It was also claustrophobic and had a sense of dread. My heart went out to "Jane" and her plight. This is not the book to be read when you are having a bad day. But it is a book that should be read. It was captivating, heartbreaking and tense. I had a constant worry of what was going to happen next. This one will have your stomach in knots as the tension mounts. Dean had created a character in Jane, that readers want to root for. Dean does not pull punches while showing what "Jane's " daily life is like. When you think you have it bad, remember there are those who have it worse. But now it’s more than just “Jane’s” freedom on the line. She has a child to think of. And maybe more casualties of her captor. I've seen some compare this to Room by Emma Donaghue. Let me tell you...this is so much better than Room. I hated all the goofy baby-talk in Room, and to this day, it's one of my all-time most hated novels. The Last to Burn is everything Room should have been.A human torturous life — a point of no return — years and years of brutal abuse .... were “stained indelibly on Thanh’s soul, engraved into her bones” .....FOREVER!!

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - Debbish Book review: The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - Debbish

My sincere thanks to Will Dean and Atria Books for providing my gifted copy for review via NetGalley. The Last Thing to Burn is now available.DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for providing a digital ARC of The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. 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.

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean – Book Review The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean – Book Review

Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

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. We get to know Thanh pretty well and – though I was occasionally frustrated by her inaction – we’re in her head so we know that she’s weighing the implications of any potential courses of action. Will Dean offers us something different here with this "domestic thriller," and it was claustrophobic, but it didn't deliver on that slow-building tension, sense of dread, or fear. As disturbing as Jane's environment was, I never really got that sense of fear I wanted to feel from Jane. Maybe it had something to do with the author being male writing the POV of a woman fearing a man that distracting me from that. It was all about the strong theme of men controlling women, and I could feel that coming from Lenn. There is something a little different here with the way Lenn controls Jane, which was the driving force of the story for me. 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 ... I rated this a little lower than I otherwise might have because of the slow start but also because I felt a bit flummoxed by a few plot-holes. Perhaps I missed some crucial points. Lenn showing Thanh honeymoon pictures that she couldn’t remember, for example.

The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger

I love books told in first person, especially when the hero is captive and must figure out how to escape. The tension builds continuously here, making it irresistible. There are some major plot surprises that make the story even more intense. I’m being vague on purpose. (Avoid reading the blurb if you can; it gives too much away.) Alright. I’m about to get bashed For this one. My thrill meter started out high but then petered out to some jerky flits.My only complaint about the book, truly, is that Jane’s foot has too much airtime. We NEVER stop hearing about it, we never stop seeing this right-angle atrocity. I realize the author is going for authenticity—Jane’s foot pain is forever in her mind—but it’s overkill. We get it, her foot is screwed up, bad; you don’t have to hit us over the head with it. I found it really hard to read about, over and over, popping up in every chapter. Will my foot start hurting in sympathy? I thought maybe so, the description is so strong and relentless. (Hm…have I gone all overkill on The Foot, too?)