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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Because I loved Will Dean's crime novels featuring the reporter Tuva Moodyson, I thought I would be likely to enjoy this "thriller". I was wrong. I hated Room by Emma Donoghue and this was similar but worse.
This is a raw people trafficking story, from inside the head of a young Vietnamese woman. Whilst I accept that there are stories that must be told to call out this abuse and cruelty, this is no "thriller". I hated it.
This is a raw people trafficking story, from inside the head of a young Vietnamese woman. Whilst I accept that there are stories that must be told to call out this abuse and cruelty, this is no "thriller". I hated it.
First 24 hour finish of the year, could easily have sat up all night and read it to be honest. My first Will Dean, won't be my last ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We’re taken to an isolated farm in the Unite Kingdom. A farm that’s cold and moldy. We meet Jane but her name isn’t really Jane it’s really Than Dao but her captor Lenn calls her Jane she’s from Vietnam. She’s been held captive for seven years, her foot is mangled and swollen a punishment for trying to escape. Than and her sister Kim had traveled to England with the promise of a better future, she’s told by Lenn that her sister is safe but if “Jane” try’s to escape she will die. So Janes days are filled with cooking and cleaning and other duties Lenn considers wife duties, her every move is monitored by cameras while Lenn works on the farm. Jane is the main character and tells everything in her point of view which adds to the horror she goes through everyday. Any mistake she makes Lenn burns one of her possessions from her life before she arrived in the UK.
When Jane realizes she’s pregnant she’s determined to keep her baby safe at any cost , this is her baby not his and she begins to plan her escape. When Lenn brings in another woman and locks the new woman in the cellar, Jane begins to believe there’s hope ,she wants to save her baby , herself and the woman sobbing all day and night in the cellar. The author did an incredible job researching and writing about human trafficking, this book is so emotional and heartbreaking, the tension and rage that poured off the pages I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages. I do want to let my fellow readers know there are rape scenes so this book may not be for everyone along with human trafficking and abuse. Five stars.
When Jane realizes she’s pregnant she’s determined to keep her baby safe at any cost , this is her baby not his and she begins to plan her escape. When Lenn brings in another woman and locks the new woman in the cellar, Jane begins to believe there’s hope ,she wants to save her baby , herself and the woman sobbing all day and night in the cellar. The author did an incredible job researching and writing about human trafficking, this book is so emotional and heartbreaking, the tension and rage that poured off the pages I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages. I do want to let my fellow readers know there are rape scenes so this book may not be for everyone along with human trafficking and abuse. Five stars.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The main character in this book is a victim of human trafficking which resulted in living as the “wife” of pig farmer, Lenn.
It’s an emotional story because we can tell that the main character is just doing her best to survive while facing so many dark obstacles.
I was not expecting that twist toward the end. If I reread it I’m sure it would be more obvious but this book was hard enough to get through the first time - not due to poor writing or anything like that, just because of what she has to deal with every day.
Definitely check the content warnings on this one.
It’s an emotional story because we can tell that the main character is just doing her best to survive while facing so many dark obstacles.
Definitely check the content warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deportation
Minor: Suicide
THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean is a really wild domestic thriller! This novel is about a woman held captive by a farmer for years. She becomes pregnant and then really begins to plan her escape to save herself and her child. Honestly in the beginning of the book it was very disturbing and I thought I don’t like this at all. I continued reading and I was hooked! I read this book in less than 24 hours! I loved the fast pace and all the twists and turns even though the whole time I was cringing. It was great propulsive writing that kept me on edge the whole time.
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Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my advance review copy!
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Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my advance review copy!
A dark and disturbing read about the underbelly of human trafficking.
This was such a difficult book to read with a very confronting subject but the writing is exceptional and you are totally pulled in from the beginning.
Thanh Dao, or Jane as her husband Lenn insists on calling her, left Vietnam years earlier, sold on the idea of a better life in the UK. Instead she has become part of the terrifying human trafficking trade that throws her into a life of unimaginable horrors.
We feel Jane’s terror as she endures life with her captor. Her pain, her anguish, and her abuse, both physically and mentally. She has been stripped of everything she ever knew and everything she held dear to her to become a slave. Cameras follow her every move, there is no escape.
The one thing however that Lenn is unable to break is her unwavering spirit. Her will to live and to one day be free of her hell is inspirational.
I read this book in a day and even after I turned the light off at 2am I still lay awake for a long time thinking about how frightening it is that this exact situation could be going on somewhere around the world.
Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read The Last Thing to Burn.
This was such a difficult book to read with a very confronting subject but the writing is exceptional and you are totally pulled in from the beginning.
Thanh Dao, or Jane as her husband Lenn insists on calling her, left Vietnam years earlier, sold on the idea of a better life in the UK. Instead she has become part of the terrifying human trafficking trade that throws her into a life of unimaginable horrors.
We feel Jane’s terror as she endures life with her captor. Her pain, her anguish, and her abuse, both physically and mentally. She has been stripped of everything she ever knew and everything she held dear to her to become a slave. Cameras follow her every move, there is no escape.
The one thing however that Lenn is unable to break is her unwavering spirit. Her will to live and to one day be free of her hell is inspirational.
I read this book in a day and even after I turned the light off at 2am I still lay awake for a long time thinking about how frightening it is that this exact situation could be going on somewhere around the world.
Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read The Last Thing to Burn.
I could not put this book down - a brilliant and addictive thriller filled with suspense.