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

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DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for providing a digital ARC of The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. This story ends a bit abruptly and I didn’t care for the additional epilogue. I found it unrealistic and a complete departure from the tone of the rest of the book. The author could have eliminated it completely.

The Last Thing To Burn | Hachette UK The Last Thing To Burn | Hachette UK

But yes, this story provides hope and yes, more power to the survivors who have had enough willpower in them to come out of the inhuman situations barely alive. The book is compelling. It is quite graphic in the sense of how brutal Lenn can be. I became emotionally involved in the plot and was rooting for Thanh Dao to find a way to get away from Lenn and find help. This is not an easy read and nor should it be. Lenn is nasty, cruel and abusive, and yet every now and then he throws out a nugget of relative kindness to keep Jane off balance. She is held captive by a hog farmer, who considers her his wife, bought and paid for. Her life is dehumanized, she is beaten, tortured and maimed. Yet her so-called life goes on.

Doug and I went to bed last night around 12:30, our normal bedtime when he has to work the following morning (late, I know, but we're night owls at heart). My 1 star rating is not because the book wasn’t well written.... but because it was too dark, HORRIFIC... for me personally. As tough as the topics in this book are, they are also extremely important. Author Will Dean takes great care in giving us a stark and seemingly realistic view of a woman held captive. I also appreciate the afterword he includes in the book. The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean will be published in Australia by Hachette in late January, but available elsewhere from 6 January 2021.

The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger The Last Thing to Burn: Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger

Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn’t like what he sees, she is punished.A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about a serial killer narrated by those closest to him: His 13-year-old daughter, his girlfriend—and the one victim he has spared I think I would have liked to read more about Lenn or some of the story from his point of view. Initially it’s almost as if he’s violent (but trying not to be) but just doesn’t entirely know how to act around others. I could almost have imagined chapters from his point of view, confused as to why his Jane can’t see how good he is to her. Of course, we learn there’s more to Lenn than we initially realise but I still would have liked a little more insight – other than the fact Thanh tells us he’s harped on about his mother for years and she fails to live up to his mother’s cooking and cleaning. Overall, this is a terrifying and disturbing book that will definitely stay with me for a long time. Lenn’s given Thanh the name Jane. I was ultimately a little confused about whether he named her after his mother (whom he worshipped, though a psychologist might say ‘hated’) or after a previous wife. (Or ‘all of the above’ and I can’t say more because of spoilers!) I should mention I struggled initially with this because I thought I was reading a different type of book and was waiting for it to become just that.

The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - Debbish Book review: The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean - Debbish

I thought I'd read the first couple chapters and then sleep, as I haven't been feeling the greatest and was pretty tired. Further, the first chapter's flowery prose sort of turned me off...soooo not what I was in the mood for. Jane is not her real name but the name Lenn has given her. Her real name is Thanh Dao, she came to the UK with her sister and the promise of a good job but instead is sold to Lenn. A claustrophobic feeling is created here with the isolated wooded farm Jane is imprisoned in. Lenn is creepy, disturbing, and unsettling with the way he uses psychological coercion in a haunting way and physical abuse to control Thanh Dao. Lenn uses threats against her sister and the possessions that keep her connected to who she is. When Thanh displeases Lenn or breaks the rules, he burns one of her possessions. She loses a piece of who she is and struggles with being replaced as Jane, his wife, and the image of his mother. This harrowing tale had an aura of authenticity, as one that made the reader feel as if they too, were in the isolated farmhouse with Jane. The author's depiction of Lenn, the enslaver, was absolutely frightening. He was a man who was so influenced by his now dead mother that he found it easy to travel the road to cruelty and punishment. However, as so many subjugators do, he would sometimes show a spot of kindness and Jane would be grateful and subdued. Due to the subject matter, it would be weird to say I “enjoyed” the writing. But this author definitely knows how to push you from your comfort zone & evoke an emotional response. The fact I kept a mental list of ways to torture Len is a testament to his skills ( note to self: delete search history)

Jane is a strong character, and I love the strength she finds to hold on to who she is while trying to survive, however her conflicts and actions felt a bit predictable. It was Lenn who stoled the show for me with his unsettling calm way of thinking the forced daily repetitive routine Jane must do just the way his mother did is a perfectly normal life with Jane that intrigued me from start to finish. A couple of turns to the story left me pleasantly surprised, and I didn't expect or see the twist coming in the end. The ending blurs the lines of fiction and reality a bit too far, but I did like the way it all wrapped up. Thanh has been ‘with’ Lenn for nine years and would have given up (taken her own life) years earlier but her sister Kim-Ly is also in the UK and Lenn’s threatened to have her deported (or worse) if ‘Jane’ tries to leave (one way or another). He’s also been slowly burning things precious to her over the years when she displeases him. This is a very dark and intense novel about a young woman being held captive on an isolated farm. It's a harrowing and heart wrenching read but one that is utterly compelling. I love books told in first person, especially when the hero is captive and must figure out how to escape. The tension builds continuously here, making it irresistible. There are some major plot surprises that make the story even more intense. I’m being vague on purpose. (Avoid reading the blurb if you can; it gives too much away.) Thanh Dao has been renamed “Jane” by her captor, Lenn. She and her sister, Kym-Le, left Vietnam to find a better future in England, and she never expected what her life had become. She’s been living with Lenn on his remote farm for over 7 years, and hasn’t been successful in escaping. She has a shattered ankle, but has to cook and clean for him every day.

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I had seen so much hype for this book so I went in with a bit of trepidation that once again I would be let down. Not a chance! One of the best reads so far for 2021. Highly recommend! Dean spends quite a bit of time describing Thanh’s ankle injury, returning to it again and again. I’m not very visual but I gather her toes are no longer pointed in the direction they should and Dean’s descriptions of her injuries are quite visceral. It means she’s in extreme pain, but also unable to make it far on foot. The plot surrounds a young woman from Vietnam who has been brought to the UK illegally in the hope of a better life. Unfortunately, she ended up on a remote farmhouse with Lenn who treats her badly, keeps a watchful eye on her at all time via cameras set up around the house, and calls her Jane – This is not her name, her name is Thanh Dao.The main character is held against her will for over 7 years, and although the topic is a hard one to read, it is a book so well written and captivating. I could not put it down, as I just wanted to know what was to become of her.