The Last Housewife
Books | Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
4.3
(418)
Ashley Winstead
"Deliciously unputdownable." —The Washington Post"A stunning, disturbing thriller that will have your mind and heart racing." —Samantha DowningFrom 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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Author
Ashley Winstead
Pages
400
Publisher
Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published Date
2022-08-16
ISBN
1728229928 9781728229928
Community ReviewsSee all
"Loved the book. I appreciated that it began with all the trigger warnings as it did travel to some dark, dark places. What a character Shay is! There’s nothing you could do but root for her. This book also had a twist that totally caught me by surprise and and ending that left me okay with the closure, but hoping for a sequel."
"This book was a very creepy, twisty and thought provoking read. I found myself taking some deep breaths after some of the graphic details. The more I read through this plot, the darker it got; but I couldn't put it down. The POV Shay Evans retells her chilling story of college life and traumatic events with a very violent patriarchal cult "The Hilltop" after her best friend Laurel is found dead.
Shay is determined to uncover what has truly happened with Laurel whom she believes was murdered and not a suicide as the media was lead to believe. This story uncovers a very large underground community that infiltrates government, higher education, defense systems behind missing women, sex trafficing and organized sex cults. Highly recommend check the trigger warnings, by no means is this a light hearted read. This is my first Ashely Windstead read but certainly not my last.
Well written, entertaining, a mind fuc*ken psychological thriller."
"First book I've read in a while! I was easily invested in the story, and while I had to suspend a lot of disbelief, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife a bit more, but this is also a pretty good read.<br/><br/>Content warnings from the author's website - on-the-page depictions of suicide, physical violence, sexual violence, trauma, self-harm, misogyny, gender essentialism, and drug use."