The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and shortlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year

Will Dean

Jan 2021 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

He is her husband. She is his captive.
'Outstanding. The best thriller in years' MARTINA COLE
'One of the best thrillers I have read in years' THE OBSERVER
'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
'Short, sharp shocker' THE TIMES

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 . . .


'A true nail-biter' THE GUARDIAN
'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
'An unbearably tense read, with incredible writing' RAGNAR JONASSON
'I could not stop reading this! Brilliantly done' DENISE MINA
'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 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

** THE LAST PASSENGER IS AVAILABLE NOW - 'Astonishing' IAN RANKIN; 'The apex of suspense writing' STEVE CAVANAGH **

Ratings and reviews

Phenomenal! Suspenseful doesn't even begin to describe the feelings this novel evokes. Jane lives an isolated life; she is subjected to the whims and demands of a man who calls himself her husband - but he isn't. She interacts with no-one - he sees to that. She has lost everything, including her own name, and although she dreams of escape he has a hold over her so immense that she cannot contemplate going through with it. He has cameras watching her for every hour that he's not there. Then something happens which changes things . . . I was first aware of Will Dean when I saw his posts on Twitter; he has the most magnificent dog and anyone who knows me will realise that it was Bernie who grabbed my attention. When I saw that he had a new novel on it's way, of course I requested it. Had I known his writing is of this calibre, I would have rushed out and bought them all before now! This is one of those rare novels that you begin reading, a little unsure of what it's all about and, truth be told, not too sure you're going to like it. Then, before you know it, you are completely invested and whilst you want to rush through it as fast as you can, you force to read and digest every single word thoroughly in fear of missing something vital. An absolutely awesome read, and one I wish I could read all over again without knowing where it was heading. A stunning novel, so cleverly written, and one which sets the benchmark for the coming year. No less than a full house of stars and the highest recommendation will do for this book; if you haven't read anything by this author then I strongly suggest that you add this one to your list - pronto!

extraordinary..heartbreaking. Yet on the edge of despair comes a clarity..a vision so life affirming that one is pulled into it and saved.

Excellent book would highly recommend.

About the author

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands and had lived in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying Law at the LSE and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a house in a boggy clearing at the centre of a vast elk forest, and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball's Book Club, shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker prize and named a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. Red Snow was published in January 2019 and won Best Independent Voice at the Amazon Publishing Readers' Awards, 2019. Black River was shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Award in 2021. The Last Thing to Burn was released to widespread acclaim in January 2021.