The Last to Vanish

How it reads

The Last to Vanish is mystery (atmospheric mystery thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are secrets, friendship and loss and grief. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.