The Last to Drown: A Thriller

The Last to Drown by Noelle W. Ihli ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Ihli’s novel is an intense, atmospheric survival thriller that brilliantly uses its isolated Idaho river setting to create relentless claustrophobia. The story follows Kaia, a grieving widow navigating an 84-mile whitewater rafting trip plagued by dark echoes of a past massacre.  The book shines brightest in its physical details; you can practically feel the freezing water, the burning muscles, and the raw tension of the canyon walls. Ihli handles the emotional weight of grief and survival with genuine care.  However, I gave it a solid C at 70% or 7 stars due to a few structural stumbles. The massive cast of characters makes it difficult to connect with everyone, and the primary mystery suffers from twists that are signposted a bit too early. While the breathless pacing keeps the pages turning, the ending, in my opinion, was extremely predictable.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book so much. The cover is really pretty too. I have read one of her books before and gave this one a shot. The excitement of the girls getting away was really fun. Then it just gets into the chase and that was most of the book. It was boring and I found myself slogging through. The killer wasn't really a twist, which I'm ok with. This book disappointed me. It is short, which is good. But I after I had read the first part, I was so pumped! Then after reading through the chase and the FMC constantly bringing up Parker (her husband that passed away) it really killed the story for me.

A delightful, posthumous reflection on a life lived with so many questionable choices and unresolved guilt. In case you didn’t get enough of that from Ask for Andrea, this follow-up is here to give you more of the same. But now, with ghosts! Because what says closure like hanging out with the spirits of your husband’s victims decades after your death?

In “The River”, April, the woman who once thought marrying a serial killer was just a quirky life choice, is now a ghost reflecting on her not-so-awesome life choices. You know, the usual stuff—grappling with the fact that she didn't stop him from murdering multiple women. A real heartwarming journey. I mean, who doesn’t love a little guilt-tripping in the afterlife, right? The ghosts of her husband's victims show up, and it's awkward. Really awkward. April's like, "So, uh, sorry about that whole marrying a murderer thing."

The thing is, “The River” kind of feels like an afterthought. It’s like the book that wasn't really needed but was written anyway to give April some closure. You know what closure is? It's not spending eternity with your husband’s victims while mulling over your own poor decisions. But hey, at least she’s getting some form of reconciliation, even if it’s just a nice, long chat with the spirits she probably should’ve been more concerned about when she was alive.

You think April’s going to get some major epiphany or redemption, but really, it’s just a ghostly therapy session with some spiritual side-eye thrown in. There's a lot of reflection. A lot of staring into the abyss. A lot of “oh, I really should've done something.” You might get some peace by the end, but mostly, you’ll just get the feeling that you’ve been stuck in an afterlife waiting room where nobody’s offering you coffee.

“The River” is a solid 3-star read for fans of Ask for Andrea who crave more of that haunting aftertaste of regret and unresolved trauma. If you’re looking for some closure in the afterlife (because who doesn’t need closure from a 3-decade-old murder spree?), then this might scratch that weird itch.