eARC

Book Review: THE LAST FERRY OUT by Andrea Bartz

| Jessica Crawford

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz is a 320 page standalone novel published in Ballantine Books May 20, 2025.

Genre:

Thriller, Mystery

Opening Line:

Blood hits limestone and splatters for a second before the rain beats it back, diluting it and sluicing it away in pink rivulets.

My Thoughts:

What a nice, original thriller!

Abby’s fiancée died four months ago while spending a few weeks on an isolated Mexican island in order to finish her capstone project in a peaceful location free of distractions. Eszter had died from an apparent allergic reaction. Now, Abby herself travels to Isla Colel in an effort to feel closer to her lost love, to see how she spent her last days alive, to understand how the unthinkable could have happened. As Abby meets and learns the secrets of the island’s residents and the group of expats who have fallen in love with the desolate locale (as well as the blank slate it offers), she begins to see that she never knew the woman she loved as well as she thought she did.

Abby was a wonderful main character, a grieving woman who learned to survive by being bold and valuing efficiency. Eszter was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants, and desired her parents’ approval despite their strictness and unyielding expectations. Isla Colel was a beautifully evocative setting, with the fonda, tropical beaches, limestone cliffs, and bioluminescent bay…and also with the abandoned resort hotel and rusting comm tower lending a more menacing air.

Just before her death, Eszter texted Abby, “There’s something I need to tell you.” The mystery of this story stems from Abby trying to understand what that might have been, and as she talks to the people her fiancée spent her last days with, it becomes clear that someone knows more than they’re saying. This was a refreshingly unique and decently smart mystery/thriller. Some readers are happy with the works of certain prolific authors who can’t be bothered to fact check the details in their books or to worry that the plot makes sense, as long as they’re telling an interesting story. To me, this book was a cut above that type of thing, for sure. And then just when you think it’s over and the resolution complete, out trots a twist that is just ::chef’s kiss::. Good stuff! 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books of Penguin Random House for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Book Review: CAT’S PEOPLE by Tanya Guerrero

| Jessica Crawford

Cat’s People by Tanya Guerrero is a 304 page standalone general fiction novel from Delacorte Press with a publish date of April 1, 2025.

Genre:

General Fiction, Cozy

Opening Line:

Cat knew to stay in the shadows.

Synopsis:

A stray cat brings together five strangers over the course of one fateful summer in this heartwarming novel about love, found family, and the power of connection.

Núria, a single-by-choice barista with a resentment for the “crazy cat lady” label, is a member of The Meow-Yorkers, a group in Brooklyn who takes care of the neighborhood’s stray cats. On one of her volunteering days, she starts finding Post-It notes from a secret admirer at the spot where her favorite stray lives—a black cat named Cat. Like most cats, he is rather curious and sly, so of course he knows who the notes are from. Núria, however, is clueless.

Are the notes from Collin, a bestselling author and self-professed hermit with a weakness for good coffee? Are they from Lily, a fresh-out-of-high school Georgia native searching for her long-lost half-sister? Are they from Omar, the beloved neighborhood mailman going through an early mid-life crisis? Or are they from Bong, the grieving widower who owns her favorite bodega? When Cat suddenly falls ill, these five strangers find themselves connected in their desire to care for him and discover that chance encounters can lead to the meaningful connections they’ve been searching for.

My Thoughts:

This is a heartwarming story about a stray cat, the people he interacts with, and how he brings them together and facilitates the connection they could all use.

Chapters alternate POV. There’s Nuria, a barista in her thirties who works with Trap/Neuter/Return programs and rescue organizations; Collin, a struggling author with severe social anxiety; Omar, a cheery mailman who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life; Bong, a widowed bodega owner deep in his grief; and Lily, a young woman come to NYC from the South in search of the half-sister she only just learned she had. And of course, we get chapters from Cat’s point of view!

This reminded me a lot of the cozy stories coming out of some Asian countries these days (The Full Moon Coffee Shop from Japan, Marigold Mind Laundry from Korea), although the writing style on display here suits me a bit better – possibly just because it’s more like what I am used to. That being said, it certainly isn’t going to be winning any literary awards. But it succeeds in its aim of being a cozy, heartfelt, inspiring story that also exudes a love for cats and coffee (I am the target audience here!)

This was such an overall sweet story that it took me be a surprise when there was an occasional F-bomb dropped in out of nowhere. It includes queer representation, and gets bonus points for the couple who named their daughter Bernie in honor of the senator they ferociously campaigned for in 2016! For me, this was a 3.5 star read rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press and Ballantine of Penguin Random House for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

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