The Last Housewife: A Novel

By Ashley Winstead and Jon Katz

"Deliciously unputdownable." --The Washington Post

"A stunning, disturbing thriller that will have your mind and heart racing." --Samantha Downing

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 tony 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?

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416 pages

Average rating: 7.49

251 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Maria Mcbride
10/10 stars
I'm unable to summarize this in 3 short sentences - there is SO much to this book! Just know there's a girl with a past who is on her journey to avenge her friends' deaths from a seedy but extensive underground elite secret society. Extra points notes of wanting to smash the patriarchy.
Joss 🖤
10/10 stars
Literally one of the craziest books I’ve ever read. I probably wouldn’t have read it if I knew what it was about, but I was too invested by the time I realized 😨
Livlowe
3/10 stars
Listen to the trigger warnings.
scorpios.venom
9/10 stars
This is a disturbing, unnerving thriller that that peels off the skin of men and shows us their darkest, twisted side. It’s about a cult, the slim line of brainwashing and desire, misogyny, how awful men are, female rage, women’s rights AND wrongs and all in all it was just gripping. Look at the triggers before you read this because it really is what it is. It was a totally chilling read where I didn’t know what to feel half of the time and for that reason alone it deserves this rating. As a woman, I am highly disturbed, scared and proud to be progressive, supporting women.
fluffyfloxxy
7/10 stars
Interesting plot and unexpected ending

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