The Last To Drown
- Judith D Collins
- Jul 16
- 5 min read
By: Noelle W. Ihli
Narrator: Vivienne Leheny
ISBN: 979-8992716139
Publisher: Dynamite Books
Publication Date: 07/16/2026
Format: e-book My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Five days. Twenty strangers. No way out.
The rafting trip was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. But Kaia’s starting to think she made a mistake.
Because ever since the whispers about Camas Creek began, all she feels is dread.
Seven years earlier, a guide murdered a group of rafters on this same isolated stretch of water. The killer’s body was recovered downstream—but the true-crime community has never stopped asking questions.
And for good reason.
The incidents start small—a flipped raft, missing supplies, and screams in the night—but the pattern is sickeningly familiar. And with eighty-four miles of whitewater until any sign of civilization, safety has never felt so far away.
Kaia suspects that one of the guides is lying. One of the guests knows more than she’s saying. And somewhere on this river, someone is planning to finish what started at Camas Creek.
About the Author
Noelle W. Ihli is the USA Today bestselling author of eight thriller-suspense novels. She lives in Idaho with her husband, two sons, and two cats. When she's not plotting her next thriller, she's scaring herself with true-crime documentaries or going for a trail ride in the foothills (with her trusty pepper spray). WEBSITE
My Review
THE LAST TO DROWN: DEEP-SEATED SECRETS VS. A DEADLY WHITEWATER NIGHTMARE
A terrifying fight for survival erupts when a 5-day rafting trip with twenty strangers down an isolated stretch of river forces a grieving woman to confront a killer mimicking a historical massacre.
In The Last to Drown, best-selling suspense author Noelle W. Ihli delivers a bone-chilling, relentlessly paced psychological survival thriller. Known for her gripping, cinematic tension, Ihli traps her characters in a stark, isolated river wilderness where the rushing elements are just as hostile as the human threats. The narrative hinges on a desperate group forced into a corner, exploring the absolute extremes of human endurance and the dark breaking points of strangers pushed to the brink.
📌 The Hook
An isolated, 84-mile stretch of roaring whitewater.
Twenty strangers trapped on a five-day wilderness trip.
A dark, true-crime history of past river murders is beginning to repeat itself.
🛗 Elevator Pitch
A terrifying, fast-paced psychological survival thriller following a young woman grieving the loss of her husband, who embarks on a white-water rafting trip to heal. When equipment goes missing, rafts flip, and one of the guides goes on a calculated killing spree, the passengers are left with a horrific choice: face an unhinged murderer or brave the lethal, rapidly coursing waters.
🔍Review Breakdown
Intro
Looking for an escape from her deep grief, Kaia signs up for a five-day whitewater adventure down Camas Creek. But the dream trip instantly sours when whispers of the river's dark history emerge—seven years prior, a guide brutally murdered a group of rafters on this exact isolated stretch of water. When unsettling incidents start small—flipped rafts, vanished supplies, and screams echoing in the canyon night—Kaia realizes a sickeningly familiar pattern is forming. Cut off from civilization with eighty-four miles of treacherous rapids ahead, she must navigate a deadly game of cat-and-mouse where one of the guests knows too much, one of the guides is lying, and someone is actively trying to finish the massacre started years ago.
Setting
The deceptive, isolated wilderness of Camas Creek, where roaring, unpredictable whitewater rapids, steep canyon walls, and a total lack of cell service strip away any sense of modern safety.
Vibe
Claustrophobic, white-knuckle, and intensely atmospheric. It carries a heavy sense of survival dread mixed with deep, insular paranoia.
Genre
Psychological Survival Thriller / Horror Suspense / Vigilante Justice Thrillers / Kidnapping Thrillers
Themes
~The raw instinct of self-preservation vs. morality
~Paranoia and suspicion within an insular group of strangers
~Isolation as a catalyst for a killer's opportunity
~Nature as an indifferent, lethal force
👥 Standout Characters
~Kaia: The resilient, grieving protagonist who must push past her emotional pain to find the physical and mental strength to survive a sudden, real-life nightmare.
~The Traitorous Guide: A deeply unsettling, unhinged threat who uses his position of authority, geographic knowledge, and control over resources to hunt the group.
~The Suspect Passengers: A highly paranoid, frantic group of twenty strangers, where hidden true-crime obsessions and unspoken secrets make everyone look guilty.
✍️ Author Writing Standout
Noelle W. Ihli excels in crafting visceral, high-anxiety scenes that immerse the reader in an experience where every moment feels charged with urgency. Her short, impactful chapters resemble a relentless countdown clock, maintaining a taut pacing that keeps the tension at a fever pitch. With remarkable skill, she intertwines the psychological disintegration of her characters with the grueling realities of their survival circumstances, ensuring that the suffocating dread looms over the narrative without a moment’s respite. Each page becomes a pulse-quickening journey, where the stakes are palpable and the atmosphere thick with impending peril.
Takeaway
Extreme isolation doesn't create monsters; it simply strips away the civilization that keeps them hidden.
Title Significance
The Last to Drown serves as a chilling warning for the passengers. Caught between a killer on land and deadly rapids in the water, it becomes a literal race to see who can stay afloat as the body count climbs.
Metaphor
The rapidly coursing, inescapable river functions as a central metaphor—representing a relentless, fast-moving trap that is rushing the characters toward their inevitable doom with no way to turn back.
💭 My Thoughts
What begins as an adventurous escape into the wilderness fast becomes a frantic, paranoid race to survive a real-life true-crime nightmare.
Noelle W. Ihli excels in crafting visceral, high-anxiety scenes that immerse the reader in an experience where every moment feels charged with urgency. Her short, impactful chapters resemble a relentless countdown clock, maintaining a taut pacing that keeps the tension at a fever pitch. With remarkable skill, she intertwines the psychological disintegration of her characters with the grueling realities of their survival circumstances, ensuring that the suffocating dread looms over the narrative without a moment’s respite. Each page becomes a pulse-quickening journey, where the stakes are palpable and the atmosphere thick with impending peril.
A stellar, high-octane thriller that you definitely need to grab for your summer stack!
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Stars
"A phenomenal, white-knuckle survival thriller that proves Noelle W. Ihli is a master at turning environmental isolation into pure psychological terror."
📚 Recs / What to Read Next (Read-Alikes)
If you loved the intense, claustrophobic survival elements and true-crime-inspired dread of "The Last to Drown" by Noelle W. Ihli, you will enjoy high-stakes psychological thrillers that isolate characters in nature or put them in desperate "cat-and-mouse" scenarios. Add these to your TBR list:
More by Noelle W. Ihli
If you haven’t explored the rest of her bibliography, you should check out her other major hits:
~Run on Red: A heart-stopping vehicle-chase thriller where two friends are targeted on a dark, desolate desert road.
~Ask for Andrea: A massive BookTok sensation about the ghosts of a serial killer's victims teaming up in the afterlife to stop him from striking again.
~Gray After Dark: A brutal, no-holds-barred wilderness survival thriller that matches the raw grit of The Last to Drown.
Other similar authors include Chevy Stevens, Mary Kubica, Lucinda Berry, Ruth Ware, Alice Feeney, Taylor Adams, Caleb Stephens, Rachel Caine, Carol Goodman, and Audrey J. Cole.
Special thanks to Dynamite Books and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: July 16, 2026
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