The Last thing to Burn is a gripping, exciting thriller from author Will Dean. It is the first book of Will’s that I have read but judging by the fact that I began this book at 10 am Saturday and finished it at 4 pm the same day, I can tell you it won’t be my last. I just couldn’t put this book down for long, always eager to return.

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.

Every time she does something that Lenn doesn’t like, from trying to escape to not cleaning the house properly, Lenn takes one of her valuable items she has left from back home and burns them, this is her punishment.

This is a story of human trafficking and how it rarely ends well for the person looking and hoping for a better life. The story is quite raw, visual, and uncomfortable at times, but I would think this is how Will wanted you to feel as this is not a story of a happy life, this is the story of one young woman being made to feel as if she is not here on this earth for any other reason than to serve her ‘husband’, whether that’s by feeding him, cleaning the house or offering her body to him.

I won’t go into too much of what happens but let’s just say two things occur that make Thanh Dao realise she needs a plan to get away from Lenn, one that will work this time.

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 was not an easy read, it was quite a harrowing read, yet, I was fully invested in the story and totally engrossed. The tension that builds throughout is addictive, hence me reading it in just a few hours.