From 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 tiny 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?
The Review
THE LAST HOUSEWIFE
Ashley Winstead
In THE LAST HOUSEWIFE, we follow Shay as she searches for answers others only dare to wonder about. With the help of friend and Podcast host Jaime, she re-enters a terrifying world and puts her safety at risk to search for answers and free herself once and for all.
Winstead is someone to contend with in the thriller genre. Her writing is sharp and laser-focused leaving little to the imagination yet providing just the right amount of information.
She does this fascinating thing with structure. There were several moments where mid-page the anticipation would rise and my eyes would pull me, dare me to skim down to get to the bottom to read what’s there. It’s an amazing thing to do – to rev up a reader’s anticipation.
The second thing I noted about the writing in THE LAST HOUSEWIFE was the masterful way Winstead combines two time periods within the same chapter. It’s efficient and feels modern compared to the tired back-and-forth pov timelines every single other thriller is doing these days.
I easily wanted to finish the book in one sitting yet at the same time I wanted it to last. Like ice cream melting. It was the perfect book to read to end my summer thrillers.
This one is dark and deals with hard topics. But I do recommend it to those well versed in what they like or don’t. Not for newbies!!
Content warnings include suicide, rape, physical violence, sexual violence, and more. These warnings in their full length are on the opening pages of the book.
Although it might have been predictable at times-mostly in its depravity-I found it the be both fascinating and hard to put down.
THE LAST HOUSEWIFE…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Have you read an Ashley Winstead book? Which one is your favorite?
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