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The Last Thing to Burn

On sale

7th January 2021

Price: £12.99

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Selected: Hardcover / ISBN-13: 9781529307054

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‘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
an early contender for one of the best books of the year’ S MAGAZINE


He is her husband. She is his captive.

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

Reviews

Steve Cavanagh
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
Stuart Turton
A superbly taut novel . . . utterly brilliant
Jane Casey
This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year
Marian Keyes
Misery meets Room ... a triumph
Liz Nugent
Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse
Erin Kelly
Heart-stoppingly suspenseful, a masterclass in tension
Maxine Mei-Fung Chung
A heart-racing exploration about human survival. An addictive and insightful thriller
Elly Griffiths
Brilliant
C.L. Taylor
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
Emma Curtis
Seriously nail-biting stuff! I raced through it, my heart was in my mouth
Sarah Hilary
Tremendously powerful and fantastically written, heart-stopping from page one. Expect to see it on all the award lists
Paul Burston
I'm in awe. What a magnificent achievement. Gripping, heart-breaking, transcendent. It's bound to be a huge hit - and an award winner
Laura Van Rensburg
This book . . . Devastating, taut, horrifying but also such strength . . . it's going to stay with me for a long time
Miranda Dickinson
Incredible!
Rowan Coleman
Beautiful writing, wonderful characterisation and gripping plot
Fiona Mitchell
Completely absorbing and important and brilliantly written
Mel Sherratt
Superb
Dani Atkins
A heart-pounding read that is impossible to put down. Sinister, creepy and superbly written
Susi Holliday
Tense, emotional and highly recommended
Lucy Dawson
Blown away - this is going to be HUGE
Imran Mahmood
Such a brilliantly executed, tense, taut thriller
Mark Edwards
Very highly recommended
Lucy Atkins
Chilling and compelling
Catherine Ryan Howard
I truly was gripped by this book . . . I think it's up there with the best crime/thriller novels I've read
Irenosen Okojie
Sublime. An atmospheric, deliciously tense thriller. I thought my heart stopped a few times. I loved it
C. D. Major
It was a thoroughly gripping, brilliantly uncomfortable read with terrible ticking-clock moments that had my whole body tense and straining for a glimpse of him on that driveway. The bleak landscape, the colourful back story and the excellent characterisation all made for a very satisfying read. LOVED IT
Fabulous
One of the most tense books you'll ever read
Grazia
A thrillingly tense new pageturner from master of suspense Will Dean
Ragnar Jonasson
An unbearably tense read, with incredible writing
Denise Mina
I could not stop reading this! Brilliantly done
The Press Association
The atmosphere is vivid, the characters are brilliantly drawn . . . Claustrophobic, harrowing but also inspiring, this book is not for the faint-hearted. It's hard to read, and hard to put down
The Irish Times
Vividly-written . . . a powerful thriller
Woman’s Way
A truly frightening, unsettling read that is worth reading in one sitting . . . Superbly paced
Heat
This harrowing and too-timely tale will haunt you
The Times
Short, sharp shocker
Bella
We couldn't put this tense novel down
Closer
A tense, brilliant read
Peterborough Telegraph
Packs a mighty emotional punch . . . gut-wrenching
The I
The atmosphere is vivid, the characters are brilliantly drawn
The i online
75 of the best books for 2021: A bleak but brilliantly handled tale of oppression, torture and enslavement that will have you turning the pages late into the night
Culture Fly
Will doesn't just build suspense; he cloaks his story in it
SHOTS
Will Dean's first standalone thriller is a claustrophobic nail-biting read that is heart-breaking and suspenseful in equal measure . . . Not for the faint-hearted, Will Dean has written a stunning and thought-provoking narrative that will resonate with even the harden genre advocate
Martina Cole
Outstanding. The best thriller in years
The Sunday Post
Compelling, this shines a light on to a plight that is rooted in real-life tragedy
Sunday Sport
A brilliant and thought-provoking start to the year
Daily Express S Magazine
Impossible to put down . . . an early contender for one of the best books of the year
The Observer
One of the best thrillers I have read in years
The Guardian
A true nail-biter
Sunday Independent
Terrifying and often emotive, it is also a powerful story of strength and determination that is as inspiring as it is chilling. Definitely one for your 2021 reading list
Financial Times
This is every bit as accomplished as Dean's previous books, but its unrelenting narrative of spousal cruelty is not for the fainthearted
Strong Words Magazine
As a piece of sustained domestic terror this is magnificent, and it deserves to sit alongside The Collector and Misery as a classic
Lisa Jewell
I cannot remember the last time I read a book this immediate, intense, gripping, taut terrifying, moving and brilliant . . . the tension was so agonising . . . it deserves to be number one, it deserves to be a huge movie, it deserves to win awards. My book of the year and it's only February
Woman & Home Online
Shocking, visceral and totally unforgettable
New Statesman Books of the Year round up
An astonishing standalone from Dean
Culturefly, Best Books of 2021
Extremely tense . . . a story of survival in its most basic form, but more than that it's about the immense power of the human spirit
The Sun
A taut nail-biter of a thriller
Daily Express, Books of the year - picked by Anne Cater
A timely and unforgettable locked-door mystery
Surrey Life
Compelling, dark and seriously nail-biting, this is thriller writing at its best
Mr B’s Bookseller’s Dozen
Achingly tense
Sunday Express S Mag
Unrelentingly tense and chilling, this is a gripping read
Daily Express
A gripping psychological thriller about an obsessive, damaged relationship