Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Flatiron Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Last One Out in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Flatiron Books / Macmillan Audio
Published: April 16, 2026
Summary:
Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, surrounded by industrial noise and swathed in thick layers of dust, the skeletal town is all but abandoned, with just a handful of residents clinging onto what remains.
After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she’d become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college, leaving behind a rental car with his belongings inside. Sam had loved Carralon Ridge, and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. It wasn’t long after his disappearance that the rest of the family began to crumble away too.
But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case. Because while nothing can stop Carralon Ridge from dying, someone seems to want to make sure that its secrets die with it.
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of this author for quite some time – I loved her Aaron Falk series but her stand-alones are just as good, as is the case here!
This is one of those quiet reads that really sneak up on you. It’s a much slow-paced read than her other books but the payoff is so worth it, if you just stick with it. It all builds – the tension, the emotions, the past events – everything comes together at just the right moment and when it does, I think it all hits just right. This isn’t a book that relies on twist after twist – it doesn’t need that. The beauty is in the way the layers build to tell a story that is a parent’s worst nightmare, that unanswered question of what happened to their child – and then digging deep enough into the town’s secrets and seeing what’s buried there.
As always, this is atmospheric, and even a little claustrophobic at times and that slower pace gives it that unsettling feeling, but I was so caught up that I couldn’t put it down. I love this author’s writing and cannot wait to see what she writes next!
Audio thoughts:
I feel as if Jane Harper’s books are made for audio and this one was no exception. The narrator, Angeline Armstrong, did a great job bringing the story to life, infusing just the right amount of emotion and tension into her voice as needed.
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