THE LAST FERRY OUT

3.5 stars out of 5

I tried really hard to enjoy this book - and I admit there were times when it clicked and my "I'm Lovin' It" meter shot up. But in the end, a plot that seemed a little too contrived and rather unlikable characters led to my final verdict.

The story takes place on the remote Mexican island Isla Colel, which for all intents and purposes is a haven for misfits. The main characters, I suppose, include the hard-driving Abby, who seems to love Eszter (at least she's proposed marriage to her); Eszter, who seems to love Abby but has a love-hate relationship with her dictatorial father; Brady, an Australian who seems to fear his father but a guy everyone else seems to love; and Amari, who seems to be - well, I'm not exactly sure who that is except that she, like Eszter, is gay.

At issue is Eszter's untimely death as she's visiting the island on her own - a peaceful place she found and wanted to check out, or so she told Abby before she left. Her death was even more unexpected since it was a result of anaphylactic shock; with multiple life-threatening allergies, Eszter has an EpiPen with her at all times - except this once, when somehow she didn't. Devastated, Abby heads to the island (by way of a ferry) to learn what she can and, hopefully, walk in the same places and talk with the same people Eszter did during her final days.

As an island newbie, Abby doesn't know what to expect, but what she does get from the close-knit group of "expats" doesn't seem to do much besides confuse her even more - as does the presence of a now-closed but once-thriving resort with a mysterious past. Her behavior turns almost paranoid; who's telling the truth? Who's lying? Why? What secrets do the walls of the resort hold? Why didn't Eszter have her EpiPen near her when it counted most? As she tries to ferret out what really happened, Abby grieves for her forever-lost bride-to-be - well, except maybe when she gets the hots for another hot islander.

Of course, the plot follows Abby's quest to find out how Eszter died and prove whether or not their love was a one-sided affair. The answer is complex, often meandering, and when it comes it didn't shake up my world nearly as much as I'd hoped it would. Overall, though, it's quite readable - a good one to help pass the time on a lazy beach with the book in one hand and a margarita in the other, in fact. While it won't make my list of Top 10 all-time favorite books, I really did enjoy it, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz (Ballantine Books, May 2025); 308 pp.

THE RESCUE

4 stars

As soon as I got far enough along in this book to get to know the lovably loyal drug-sniffing pooch Joe - and the dangerous life he's been leading for most of his life - my first thought was this: please, please don't let anything worse happen to him. Of course, I won't say whether I got my wish or not - that would spoil things for others - but suffice it to say I spent quite a bit of reading time on the edge of my seat.

When they're well written, dog stories tug heartstrings to the breaking point; one of the best books I've ever read, for instance, is Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. This book isn't like that at all - there's far too much crime and mayhem - but still, it's impossible not to sympathize with Joe as he gets shuffled (willingly or otherwise) from owner to owner through no fault of his own. He starts out with a kid, Teddy, who is forced to give him up to a man who trains dogs to help DEA agents locate drugs. When that job doesn't pan out properly, he goes to Dan Strickland, who runs a successful self-defense training center and secretly involved with a dangerous drug cartel in Tijuana. It is there that Joe is injured and found by Bettina Blazak, a journalist who came looking for a human interest story and ended up with a dog - who she renames Felix.

From that point on, the story - often told from Felix/Joe's perspective - explores the experiences of the characters from different time periods, weaving them all together amid plenty of action into a tapestry that's framed as the ending. It's mostly satisfying, but it's also the most likely scenario given what readers learn about the characters along the way. Overall, I found Joe to be a bit too perceptive (despite his obvious smarts)and Bettina too little given hers, but it all worked out well. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Another one well done by this talented author.

The Rescue by T. Jefferson Parker (Forge Books, April 2023); 352 pp.

EVERY LAST FEAR

5 stars out of 5

Even though my Spidey sense kicked in early on with a suspicion of how it would turn out (and I was right), this action-packed book was a real treat. By the halfway point, I started to plow through it like a crazy woman, stopping only after my usual bedtime when I couldn't keep my eyes open a minute longer. 

At first, I was a bit skeptical; this is one of those books in which chapters switch both from individual characters' perspectives and chronology - a trend that seems to be a favorite of mystery-thriller authors these days, but in general not by me. This one, though, is especially well done, with each chapter building on background that led up to the death of an entire family - father, mother and two children - in Mexico. At first, it's thought to be an accident caused by a gas leak; but when the FBI gets involved, thoughts turn to suspicions of murder.

Two members of that family remain alive: Matt Pine, a filmmaking student at New York University, and his older brother Danny, who's been in jail ever since he was convicted of murdering his teenage girlfriend Charlotte. After a team of producers released a video reminiscent of "Proven Innocent" in which Matt's father goes off on a rant about his son's innocence, the townsfolk shunned the entire family and forced them to move from the small Nebraska town to Chicago.

Meanwhile, the FBI - in the person of agent Sarah Keller - has been investigating the Chicago accounting firm for its possible ties to a Mexican cartel. As it turns out, Matt's father Evan worked there as an accountant. There's no discernible connection to the family's deaths, but needless to say, it raises a few suspicions in Sarah's mind as she tries to collect enough evidence to successfully prosecute bigwigs at the accounting firm.

And that, friends, is all I'm going to tell you - except that this is an intricately woven story that's a delight to read. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get an up-close-and-personal look prior to release. 

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay (Minotaur Books, March 2021); 368 pp.