The Last Housewife: A Novel

"A stunning, disturbing thriller that will have your mind and heart racing." --Samantha Downing

From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost.

While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay's built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel's death--delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader--she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.

Recruiting the help of the podcast host, Shay goes back to the place she vowed never to return to in search of answers. As she follows the threads of her friend's life, she's pulled into a dark, seductive world, where wealth and privilege shield brutal philosophies that feel all too familiar. When Shay's obsession with uncovering the truth becomes so consuming she can no longer separate her desire for justice from darker desires newly reawakened, she must confront the depths of her own complicity and conditioning. But in a world built for men to rule it--both inside the cult and outside of it--is justice even possible, and if so, how far will Shay go to get it?

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416 pages

Average rating: 7.47

319 RATINGS

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4 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Jan 09, 2024
10/10 stars
This book was dark and twisty and I enjoyed the writing, but should definitely come with some content warnings for those who may be less confident reading about certain topics. I liked this far more than I liked 'In my dreams I hold a knife' as I felt like the characters were more likeable (and hateable, but in a good way)
Anonymous
Oct 15, 2023
10/10 stars
I'm unable to summarize this in 3 short sentences - there is SO much to this book! Just know there's a girl with a past who is on her journey to avenge her friends' deaths from a seedy but extensive underground elite secret society. Extra points notes of wanting to smash the patriarchy.
emercedes16
Apr 06, 2023
7/10 stars
Had this book on audio. I was hooked from the start. As it started to end, I kinda felt as though the ending was rushed.
Shobnum
Jan 15, 2023
9/10 stars
Before going into the book, please be aware of the multiple triggers like violence, misogyny, rape, suicide, all kinds of abuse. Shay, a 30 year old writer and housewife, living the safe suburb life with her rich husband while she gets the news of the suicide of her former best friend, Laurel. Only she knows the event looks eerily similar to when her another best friend, Clementine committed suicide years ago. Three of these friends share a dark, twisted past which they were running away from. Now what will Shay do? Despite hiding from her past, she feels the pull to run towards it again and get to the bottom of the death of her friends. But she knows that means no hiding from the past anymore. This book was a dark, intense roller coaster ride. I couldn’t put down the book till I was done with it. The story was so fast paced, and very well written. The author surely knows how to bind her readers to the book. I loved the inclusion of the Islamic folk tale "One Thousand and One Nights" legend, Scherazade; and the similarity build-up between the legend and the lead of the novel. It was a brilliant touch. This book was so out of my comfort zone. Manipulation, violence, misogyny- it was full of disturbing contents like this. I am glad I made it through and enjoyed the book a lot. I am highly impressed how the author managed to write a brilliant novel with all these difficult topics, and how the redemption arc worked for some of the characters. I am really looking forward to read more from this author. Got totally hooked to her writing style.

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