The Last Housewife: A Novel

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I’m not stressed, I’m seething, but there are no words, no decent ways of breaking the news to him that his perfect wife seems to have had secrets.’ The author’s debut In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was one of my top thrillers of last year. I think it’s safe to say that The Last Housewife is my favourite thriller this year. AW has fast become an auto-read author for me, whether that’s romance or thriller, I will eat it up. After reading and really liking In My Dreams I Hold a Knife last year, I was very excited to read Winstead's latest. Unfortunately, I didn't like it nearly as well as I had hoped.

If you have ANY triggers then you don't want to read this book, because they are all here. It centers around women involved with a cult with sex and torture. Three college friends were drawn in by a charismatic man and only two made it out alive. One of the survivors supposedly recently committed suicide, but Shay, the one remaining, doesn't believe it, she thinks it was murder. She joins forces with her childhood friend Jamie, who runs a podcast, and they dive deep into the dark world to figure out what happened.while her first novel was dark academia, it’s so unfair to compare the two because they’re completely different beasts!! the last housewife has it ALL: cults, best friends going missing, possible serial killers, grooming, brainwashing, you name it.

The Last Wife provides plenty of introspection in terms of how events of the past can weigh heavily on our relationships. With a convergence of the past, present, secrets, lies, acts of concealment and deception all present in the one storyline, The Last Wife is a convoluted domestic drama that I recommend. If you want a safe book, this isn’t it. In addition to the trigger warnings thoughtfully given by the publisher, this also contains BDSM and cults. The podcast sections that detail Shay’s life BEFORE are very long, which keep the reader in passive action, rather than moving the plot forward. This book is a feminist thriller in every way. It is about a patriarchal sex cult, but the male patriarchy doesn't end in the cult, it seeps into our society today. With topics of female agency, desire, victimhood, autonomy, and most of all power, Ashley's commentary about women in today's world is at the forefront of this story. As I mentioned, this book dives into some dark topics, which may be triggering for some readers. There’s a whole list of content warnings at the beginning of the book.Dominus Obsequious Sororium" (DOS) was the name of the group, which Dominus is mentioned in this book as paying Laurel's rent. This was my first experience with this author and this simply wasn’t a good fit for me. I need my storylines to have plausibility and characters worth rooting for (whether likeable or not). I have heard great things about her previous book, The Perfect Girlfriend, which I hope to try out soon for comparison. Okay I'm gonna try to wrap this up. Essentially, this book STANK. It read like a Ted Talk by Boss Babes. Shay is definitely a prime target for pyramid schemes. Ashley Winstead takes her reader into the heart of darkness — and brilliantly reveals the tender, human part hidden in those shadows. Propulsive, smart, and chilling, The Last Housewife confirms what In My Dreams I Hold a Knife promised: no one writes like thrillers like Ashley Winstead." — Alison Wisdom, author of The Burning Season