The Last Thing to Burn

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Audiobook Downloadable / ISBN-13: 9781529307061

Price: £19.99

ON SALE: 7th January 2021

Genre: Fiction & Related Items / Crime & Mystery

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A dark and brilliant new standalone thriller from a rising star in the crime genre.

He is her husband. She is his captive.

Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name.

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 how she got to the UK: no one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm; if they do, she is never seen.

Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished.

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 …

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Praise for Will Dean’s storytelling:
‘Loaded with atmosphere, brilliant on setting’ Mark Billingham
‘The best thriller I’ve read in ages’ Marian Keyes
‘Atmospheric, creepy and tense’ C.J. Tudor
‘Memorably atmospheric’ Guardian
‘Impressive’ The Times
‘Crackles along at a roaring pace’ Observer
‘I lived every second with the characters. A masterpiece’ JANE CASEY
Misery meets Room … a triumph’ MARIAN KEYES
‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ LIZ NUGENT

(P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Reviews

This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year
Jane Casey
Misery meets Room ... a triumph
Marian Keyes
Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse
Liz Nugent
Heart-stoppingly suspenseful, a masterclass in tension
Erin Kelly
A heart-racing exploration about human survival. An addictive and insightful thriller
Maxine Mei-Fung Chung
Brilliant
Elly Griffiths
Sensational. Claustrophobic, compulsive, and almost unbearably tense it's a heart-in-mouth read that's packed with suspense. Readers will be saying 'just one more page' all the way from the gripping beginning to the heart-stopping end
C.L. Taylor
Seriously nail-biting stuff! I raced through it, my heart was in my mouth
Emma Curtis
Tremendously powerful and fantastically written, heart-stopping from page one. Expect to see it on all the award lists
Sarah Hilary
I'm in awe. What a magnificent achievement. Gripping, heart-breaking, transcendent. It's bound to be a huge hit - and an award winner
Paul Burston
This book . . . Devastating, taut, horrifying but also such strength . . . it's going to stay with me for a long time
Laura Van Rensburg
Incredible!
Miranda Dickinson
Beautiful writing, wonderful characterisation and gripping plot
Rowan Coleman
Completely absorbing and important and brilliantly written
Fiona Mitchell
Superb
Mel Sherratt
A heart-pounding read that is impossible to put down. Sinister, creepy and superbly written
Dani Atkins
Tense, emotional and highly recommended
Susi Holliday
Blown away - this is going to be HUGE
Lucy Dawson
Such a brilliantly executed, tense, taut thriller
Imran Mahmood
Very highly recommended
Mark Edwards
Chilling and compelling
Lucy Atkins
I truly was gripped by this book . . . I think it's up there with the best crime/thriller novels I've read
Catherine Ryan Howard
Sublime. An atmospheric, deliciously tense thriller. I thought my heart stopped a few times. I loved it
Irenosen Okojie
I couldn't put it down. A visceral nightmare of a book with one of the most evil villains I've come across in a long time. Powerful writing
Steve Cavanagh
A superbly taut novel . . . utterly brilliant
Stuart Turton
It was a thoroughly gripping, brilliantly uncomfortable read with terrible ticking-clock moments that had my whole body tense and straining for a glimpse of him on that driveway. The bleak landscape, the colourful back story and the excellent characterisation all made for a very satisfying read. LOVED IT
C. D. Major
One of the most tense books you'll ever read
Fabulous
A thrillingly tense new pageturner from master of suspense Will Dean
Grazia
An unbearably tense read, with incredible writing
Ragnar Jonasson
I could not stop reading this! Brilliantly done
Denise Mina
The atmosphere is vivid, the characters are brilliantly drawn . . . Claustrophobic, harrowing but also inspiring, this book is not for the faint-hearted. It's hard to read, and hard to put down
The Press Association
Vividly-written . . . a powerful thriller
The Irish Times
A truly frightening, unsettling read that is worth reading in one sitting . . . Superbly paced
Woman’s Way
This harrowing and too-timely tale will haunt you
Heat
Short, sharp shocker
The Times
We couldn't put this tense novel down
Bella
A tense, brilliant read
Closer
Packs a mighty emotional punch . . . gut-wrenching
Peterborough Telegraph
The atmosphere is vivid, the characters are brilliantly drawn
The I
75 of the best books for 2021: A bleak but brilliantly handled tale of oppression, torture and enslavement that will have you turning the pages late into the night
The i online
Will doesn't just build suspense; he cloaks his story in it
Culture Fly
Will Dean's first standalone thriller is a claustrophobic nail-biting read that is heart-breaking and suspenseful in equal measure . . . Not for the faint-hearted, Will Dean has written a stunning and thought-provoking narrative that will resonate with even the harden genre advocate
SHOTS
Outstanding. The best thriller in years
Martina Cole
Compelling, this shines a light on to a plight that is rooted in real-life tragedy
The Sunday Post
A brilliant and thought-provoking start to the year
Sunday Sport
Impossible to put down . . . an early contender for one of the best books of the year
Daily Express S Magazine
One of the best thrillers I have read in years
The Observer
A true nail-biter
The Guardian
Terrifying and often emotive, it is also a powerful story of strength and determination that is as inspiring as it is chilling. Definitely one for your 2021 reading list
Sunday Independent
This is every bit as accomplished as Dean's previous books, but its unrelenting narrative of spousal cruelty is not for the fainthearted
Financial Times
As a piece of sustained domestic terror this is magnificent, and it deserves to sit alongside The Collector and Misery as a classic
Strong Words Magazine
I cannot remember the last time I read a book this immediate, intense, gripping, taut terrifying, moving and brilliant . . . the tension was so agonising . . . it deserves to be number one, it deserves to be a huge movie, it deserves to win awards. My book of the year and it's only February
Lisa Jewell
Shocking, visceral and totally unforgettable
Woman & Home Online
An astonishing standalone from Dean
New Statesman Books of the Year round up
Extremely tense . . . a story of survival in its most basic form, but more than that it's about the immense power of the human spirit
Culturefly, Best Books of 2021
A taut nail-biter of a thriller
The Sun
A timely and unforgettable locked-door mystery
Daily Express, Books of the year - picked by Anne Cater
Compelling, dark and seriously nail-biting, this is thriller writing at its best
Surrey Life
Achingly tense
Mr B’s Bookseller’s Dozen
Unrelentingly tense and chilling, this is a gripping read
Sunday Express S Mag
A gripping psychological thriller about an obsessive, damaged relationship
Daily Express