Review of The Last to Drown by Noelle W. Ihli, due to be published on 16 July 2026 by Pan Macmillan.

Noelle W. Ihli delivers another pulse-pounding thriller packed with tension, fear and impossible choices in this gripping new novel. From the very first chapter, the atmosphere is heavy with danger and unease, pulling you straight into a story where survival is never guaranteed.

The plot wastes no time throwing the reader into chaos, with characters forced into terrifying situations that test loyalty, instinct and endurance. Ihli excels at creating ordinary people trapped in extraordinary circumstances, and every chapter ramps up the pressure another notch. Just when you think you’ve worked out where the story is heading, another twist changes everything.

The pacing is relentless throughout. There’s suspense, deception, emotional conflict and edge-of-your-seat jeopardy woven into every scene. The short, sharp chapters make it almost impossible to stop reading, and the sense of urgency builds brilliantly towards a dramatic conclusion.

What really stands out is Ihli’s ability to create vivid, cinematic tension while still giving emotional depth to the characters. You feel every moment of panic, desperation and determination alongside them.

Dark, fast paced and utterly addictive, this is a thriller that will keep readers hooked from beginning to end.

Oh my goodness, what a book this one was!!

Dark, deliciously creepy, intense and utterly heart pounding this had everything I love in a book and I could not put it down. If you decide to give this book a go may I suggest you cancel all your plans and make yourself comfortable as you'll be in for a wild ride.

I cannot give this book any less than 5 stars, it's been my favourite read of this year so far.

Many thanks as ever to netgalley, the author and the publisher for approving my request to read this book.

Another brilliant read. I was gripped from start to finish and pretty much read this in one sitting.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Read in 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Don’t you dare leave this book on the shelf.
It’s a gruesome, tense thriller, designed to be read in the dead of night; as if the world was holding its breath with you.

I didn’t expect to be swallowed up by this story.
I didn’t even know that the Garnet River in Idaho legitimately existed until after I finished the book- but I was hooked all the same.

This book is perfect for fans of The Man Made of Smoke and The Secrets We Hide; readers who aspire to read with chills dancing at the back of their neck.

"In the backcountry, help is not coming. This simple fact should inform every decision you make."
—The River Guide's Almanac

The author expertly weaved me through this iconic river, resurrecting the scenery so vividly that I could stretch out my fingers and brush the damp cliffside myself, even as our heroines crouched on the raft, hunted by a terrifying killer.

We’re thrown immediately into an eerie flashback of the First Incident 7 years ago, when a group of 15 rafters set out for a 5 day trip on the Middle Fork section, hosted by Idaho Thrills (later rebranded as Rapids Unlimited).

That night, at that resting spot, a crazed man went on a stabbing spree, leaving only 1 survivor- 17 year old Leo Marsden- to tell the story.
Several of the group manage to scramble on the beached rafts and paddle down the river- but they didn’t get very far.
“It was almost impossible to determine the cause of death for the remaining bodies. The coroner declared drowning for some, since there was water in their lungs. But some of the injuries were...really strange."

Camas Creek remains a chilling pilgrimage for fans of the Lifemark movie about this massacre-Blood in the Water- but Kaia isn’t here to sate her morbid curiosity.

As she explains, she and her late husband, Parker, had “made plans to raft down the Garnet River when we turned 30. Since our birthdays were only a month apart, we always planned a big getaway to celebrate. And this was going to be the biggest yet. Because the Garnet River had been a bucket-list dream for us both. An adrenaline junkie's dream, his. And a nature lover's dream, mine. The Bureau of Land Management allowed each rafting outfitter just 12 trip permits annually between June and August—all determined years in advance through a lottery system. The waiting list was always about a mile long.
We paid the deposit and booked the trip the year we turned 26. We made payments to secure our spots every year that followed.”

Parker experienced an even more traumatic death 2 years beforehand, in a fictionalised replica of the Nutty Putty caving horror story. It’s exactly as claustrophobic as it sounds.

This event is written empathetically from Kasia’s viewpoint, as she recounts Parker’s last minutes alive, wedged in the tunnel of a cave (disarmingly called "Cookie Dough," for its clay-heavy walls).

She’s determined to finally take their dream trip, regardless, in a desperate attempt to pay tribute to their failed aspirations.

People drown, get stabbed, fall down wells, get mesothelioma from asbestos, go through the windshields of cars, get shot in shopping malls, and gasp out their last breaths in new and horrifying ways every single day. Human beings die, and the world keeps spinning, the sun keeps shining, and eager middle-aged women keep splashing into rivers like this to "find themselves" in the wilderness, mostly heedless of the fact that 15 people were murdered in this canyon 7 years ago. Life just goes on.

At the campsite, “I sigh, paste on a smile, and peel my thighs from the vinyl bench seat, shooing my dark thoughts away like a swarm of gnats. They'll be back, but I've gotten better at sending them scattering, if only for a few moments.”

Kaia “swipes [her tears] away and rows harder, trying to focus on the glittering veins of quartz in the cliffs, the ripples downstream where tiny fish surface, the smell of warm pine sap. There's no point thinking about home. I don't really have a home anymore anyway.”

After all, she reasons, there's nothing like somebody else's tragedy to take your mind off your own.

This is an immersive thriller, drowning you in awe at this powerhouse of nature before you scent the blood. Even mundane midge flies are described as ‘skipping across the water like acrobats.’

Despite the roaring whitewater downriver, the beach is a small but safe harbor. The brightly colored passenger raft and gear boats are banked on the sand nearby. 20 yards behind the camp, the beach dead-ends into a sheer canyon wall that stretches 30 stories straight up. Unless you're a mountain goat, there’s nowhere to go.

This point of the Middle Fork, Anvil Falls, is considered the start of the notorious "Impassable Canyon," where the ever-present cliff walls make it feel exactly how it sounds. Tomorrow's route will be an onslaught of big whitewater and nonstop Class-3 and 4 rapids before the appearance of the next camp-worthy beach- tiny, elusive, and 20 miles downriver. With zero shoreline in the Impassable Canyon, even a Class-3 rapid can spell disaster. The relentless force of thousands of gallons of water per second can pin bodies into boulder crevices faster than you can take one last breath. If a raft were to flip, anyone in the water could easily become stuck between a literal rock and a hard place.
It's July, high summertime, but this close to the river, the temperature always plummets into the low 50s at night (this is approximately 10-11 Celsius).

Even their life jackets are impeccably described; some much brighter and newer than others, but all smelling slightly of mildew.

It’s not long before the group of terrified women discover that a killer is lurking among them, dispatching of them at his leisure.

It’s not just the brutal attacks that could abruptly end their lives; this river is capable of murder all by itself.

"There's nothing up there. No trails. No roads, either. Not until after Splinter Ridge. This canyon is like a pinball chute- and we’re the pinball.”
A wall of water slams into the side of the raft like the cold truth.
There's literally only one way out of here. Forward.

Above the hum of the current and the crickets calling down from the canyon ridges, I can hear teeth chattering. I'm struck again by how woefully ill-prepared we are for the situation at hand. The temperature is probably in the mid 50s —warm enough for hypothermia to be slow, but cold enough that our soaked cotton pajamas are actively killing us. On the water, miserably wet, in the dark—it feels like the dead of winter. I take another shuddering breath and wonder how long we have until sunrise.

The author steers us past landmarks like Haystack, a run that ‘has a bunch of nasty boulders to navigate. During spring when the water is high, they get covered up and turn into holes. Later in the season when the water is lower, those boulders turn into bumpers on a pinball machine. “There’s also another Class 3 rapid almost immediately after it, so it's gonna be whitewater for a long time."
In July, river flow is about mid-level, so that means we can expect either holes or the pinball boulders. Or both.”
This area also boasts a narrow shelf that extends above the water, on which are 3 stacks of pale rocks called cairns (stone markers) to honour the lives that were lost here.

The death toll will rise again tonight.

In one scene, ‘the raft drops into the first chute, slamming down hard and sending a wall of water over the boat, obscuring my view of the scattered black boulders that look like teeth in a rabid mouth.
"Left!" I try to scream, but we're already plunging down the next drop. A surging wave sends water shooting past my parted lips, cutting off my air.
"No, back! Back!" Deborah is screaming.
It's too late, though.
As I blink away the water, I try to follow Deborah's desperate command, digging my paddle into the waterand meeting the unyielding scrape of rock instead.
The raft shudders as the nose wedges into a gap on the left side of the canyon—pinching our boat between 2 enormous boulders that hadn't been visible through the spray a few seconds earlier.
Churning water hammers against the raft like liquid thunder, trying to fold the boat in half as it slams into us again and again. The heavy rubber flexes and squeals beneath us, sending everybody lurching forward even as the raft stays pinned in place.’
When one woman attempts to free them, “the rest of us follow her lead, jamming paddles against the enormous rock in a desperate attempt to break free of the boulders' vise grip.
The force of the water holding us in place is
unbelievably, terrifyingly powerful.”

Their numbers are dwindling as one woman after the other is slaughtered in plain sight, with methods that catch them off guard.
Throughout, Kaia holds onto the memory of her husband and his wise words:
"You tap out, or you get taken out. Don't you dare tap, baby. Fight. One more time.“

Although much of my time was spent blinking away tears or gasping at the content, I stumbled across plenty of useful tidbits:
"If you ever come out of the raft during a rapid or otherwise, you're gonna want to assume the 'Idaho Easy Chair' position, okay?" He leans back into the river to demonstrate how his Chaco-clad feet are positioned in front of him, just breaking the surface. "Float on your back, like this, with your legs downriver, toes pointed up," he says, then swims around to the far side of the raft, where the water is deeper.

As mentioned, I was so naive about water rafting (despite having jaunted along one tame river in America) that I didn’t even know that ‘those long wooden guide oars are far more powerful than [the tourist’s] yellow-and-black plastic paddles.’

This is important knowledge to remember.

Despite it all, the Groover narrowly beat out heavy competition to become the worst character:
"Oh, you're all gonna get to know the groover really well over the next 5 days," Macy says teasingly.
"That's what we call the portable trip toilet. If you sit on it for too long, it'll leave grooves on your butt cheeks. And after a week of 20 people doing their business, emptying that thing at the sanitation center is always a real pleasure, lemme tell ya."

This story is not for the faint hearted; but if you survive the mass killing, your heart will stop at the profound moments arrayed around the brutal:

We crane our necks, searching the deepening shadows of the boulders. When one of the rocks makes a sudden leap across the cliff face, I can finally make out the stout body of a mountain goat, its horns curling around its ears. Once I know what to look for, I realize there are dozens more perched impossibly, fearlessly, on narrow ledges, even a few fuzzy gray baby goats. One of the kids rears up and playfully headbutts its mother, seemingly oblivious to the sheer drop of the cliff face directly beneath it.
A strange twinge of longing catches in my chest. How do they survive, thrive, even- knowing they're always one short step away from falling into the abyss?
Maybe they don't understand the danger. Maybe none of us really do until we fall.

Again, the plot can only be defined as causing “catastrophic damage.” Read with care.
Every time our heroes strain and reach the last dredges of strength, our killer is there to gobble it up.

We've covered some ground on the fast-moving water since Camas Creek, but if I'm estimating correctly, there are still more than 60 miles of desolate river ahead. Countless rapids. He'll have plenty of time to let this horrifying game play out, like a cat with an injured mouse.

The only thing I can think is, He's cancer:
When I was in middle school, my aunt got diagnosed with stage 4 bone cancer. The doctors told her it had been inside her for years, probably. It had been there all along, patient and plotting and deliberate. It hadn't shown up to kill her overnight, even though that's what it felt like when she died right after her diagnosis my freshman year of high school. It was lying in wait. And she'd missed the signs until it was too late.
Just like [us].
He's still right behind us. Still laughing. Rowing smoothly forward with those powerful guide oars while we struggle.

The rawest moments are when Kaia is floundering in the depths of despair; uncertain whether the guiding voice in her head is her husband, here to save her against all odds, or the mysterious Third Man Syndrome. Either way, it’s the only thing keeping her alive. For now.

Oh, you haven’t been hurt enough yet? How’s this?

"Oh, baby," he says solemnly. "You've been holding your breath for so long."
"But I'm drowning," I tell him, my voice breaking He trails his fingers across my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "No, baby. No. You're still alive," he says. "It's okay to breathe again. It's okay to want to."

There's no way to skirt around trauma.
It’ll either shuts you down, or it breaks you open. Sometimes, both.
I'm trying every day to let it break me open. Because I refuse to go back to the darkness- the deep cave I couldn't leave for so long, even after Parker's body did.

This monumental story ends with an ode to life, and feeling all the beautiful and terrible things.
So many beautiful, terrible things.
So much fear and kindness and grief and love.
There's no choosing among them.
Only living through all of it.
And choosing to stay.

"Each river can only be run once. Not because you can't go back- but because you're no longer the person who put in."
—Life on the Water: A Guide's Memoir

Likewise, this book can only be read once- but it’s something that my mind will stray back to, again and again.

The plot is a whirlwind but I won’t be swimming against it.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Noelle W. Ihli for the ARC.

Wow, I've read most of the authors books and my favourites have always been Ask for Andrea and Forget you saw her - This may have blew those out of the water.

Noelle W. Ihli has created such a suspenseful and tense thriller with The Last to drown, and it's full to the brim with kickass women who all embodied strength, resilience and a will to survive like no other.

I'd highly recommend The last to drown to anyone looking for a suspenseful thriller that's as fast paced as the rapids.

Truly cannot wait to read whatever the author brings out next.

Last To Drown is a pulse pounding, tense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is definitely up there as one of my favourite books of the year. It was such a masterpiece. It drew me in from the very start.

Noelle W.Ihli's talent as a writer continues to blow me away. The characters were perfectly crafted, the setting was brilliant. It shocked me, made me cry. It was bittersweet, empowering and satisfying. It was so fast paced aswell I found myself flying through it. I highly recommend everyone go and read it !

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read this in one evening which is unheard of for me! Once I started, I couldn't stop. What a great book, really different to anything else I've read. It's only my second by this author but I need to read her entire backlist now. Thank you for the ARC!

Wow, I was absolutely gripped throughout the entirety of this book. I have never been rafting, nor have I ever been to America, yet I could so vividly see this book playing out in my mind’s eye through the fantastic writing from the author. Nothing was over-explained but Ihli was able to paint a picture and really build up the tension to keep me hooked. I would (and have already) recommended this book to others. Very real characters, fantastic writing and plot, all kept me on the edge of my seat. I finished this book in 2 days and with a newborn and toddler that is a sign of just how into this I was- couldn’t put it down! I’m now going to immediately buy another of Ihli’s books to devour.

This was a white knuckle ride of a thriller! The unique setting made it feel so fast paced and urgent especially in the chase scenes. I could barely put this down and finished it in two sittings as I was desperate to find out what was going to happen next!

Many thanks to Pan McMillan publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Last to Drown is another absolute winner from Noelle W. Ihli. From the moment Kaia joins a remote whitewater rafting expedition, the story grips you and never lets go. What begins as an adventure quickly turns into a nightmare as supplies go missing, strange incidents occur, and eerie similarities emerge between the group's experience and a notorious massacre that happened on the same river years before.

The isolated wilderness setting is brilliantly done, creating a constant sense of tension and unease. With no easy escape and suspicion growing among the rafters, I found myself racing through the pages desperate to uncover the truth alongside Kaia. The suspense is relentless, the action is intense, and the twists kept me guessing until the very end.

What I loved most was how the author balanced the heart-pounding thriller elements with strong character development. Kaia is a compelling protagonist, and the emotional depth added even more weight to the survival story unfolding around her.

Noelle W. Ihli has me on the edge of my seat every single time, and The Last to Drown may be one of her best yet. Dark, atmospheric, fast-paced, and impossible to put down, this is a thriller I highly recommend to anyone who loves suspense with a strong emotional core.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and Noelle W. Ihli for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kaia joins a remote whitewater rafting expedition ready for adventure but the trip quickly turns sinister. As missing supplies and unsettling events begin to mirror a notorious massacre that took place on the same river years earlier. Suspicion spreads through the group Trapped deep in the wilderness with no easy escape Kaia must uncover who is hiding the truth before history repeats itself.

Brilliant, Amazing LOVED IT 🤩 Noelle W Ihli has me on the edge of my seat every single time ! Loved the isolated river setting with the constant tension and unease. This had everything suspense, action and great character development. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Noelle W Ihli for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazing book by Noelle, twisty and fast paced and I certainly will never go rafting after reading this! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout

Wow, this book moves as fast as a raft going down a class-4 rapid,. Having read this book I'm well up on whitewater rafting terms. Kaia, newly widowed, joins a women's group for 5 days whitewater rafting in Idaho, A fictional river I think, with a beautiful map at the start of the book. After that we're straight in with a guide waking in the night to hear someone creeping about.
The women's party gather with four guides to start their adventure. Two of the group are a bit too much into true crime. The guides tease their new recruit too much for Kaia's taste. Generally the group are normal women looking to do something of their comfort zone.
Something big is not too long in coming and the story becomes a struggle for survival. There are some very nasty scenes with a lot of blood and gore. This book is not for the faint-hearted.
Throughout the story, Kaia feels guided by her late husband, as she attempts to lead a group to safety.
Would I read another book by this author? Definite yes. Would I go on a whitewater rafting trip? No way.
My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a free advance copy of this book.

I absolutely devoured this book!!
Anything Noelle writes I will read at this point and she knows how to hit you with an emotional rollercoaster of a read. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time reading this one and I had the sense of dread throughout. This book was so atmospheric and gave me the chills. What a fab read.

Wow. This was intense! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, the book starts with a bang and the tension doesn’t got back down! What a wild ride (pun intended), if you liked Gray After Dark, you will LOVE this!

The Last One to Drown is the very definition of a white knuckle ride thriller. I've not come across this author before but I'll certainly be seeking out her other books if they are anywhere near as good as this one. The atmosphere the author creates with her writing was alive. The fear just kept being ramped up and I actually felt like I was white water rafting myself whilst reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it - even the gory bits. The descriptions of the river, the water and the canyon were amazing. They increased and focused the tension perfectly. Definitely a book I'm very happy to recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow!! What a read!!

This is a very powerful book that you will be page turning through the night. Kaia is on a solo holiday with ladies after life threw her an unexpected turn of events.
White water rafting is an experience she will love but would have preferred not to do alone. Years ago a horrific incident took place in the same route. History surely wouldn’t repeat itself would it?

This is a harrowing tale of what could go wrong and the courage it would take to get through something horrendous to survive.

No spoilers needed but you need to read this book

An outstanding thriller novel. The setting of Camas Creek sounds idyllic and is described with rich detail, which becomes the scene for a rafting trip from hell. The tension is built, you don’t know who to believe and it makes for a fantastic creepy story. I found this very difficult to put down, brilliant.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me this free advance copy, and I’m writing this review honestly and without bias.
Think American teenage summer camp slasher movie meets Deliverance and you get the idea of the plot in Noelle W. Ilhi's latest offering. To say this book is intense is an understatement. It is packed with tension and the pace builds up faster than the rapids they are going down. The setting is perfect, the characters are strong and the creepy atmosphere really gives the book an edge. Wonderfully written as you would expect from this author and not a page or chapter are wasted to keep you on the edge of your seat. A beautiful and haunting five star read

I enjoyed this book from the word go.

Kaia decides to go on a white water rafting trip, even though she’d originally planned to go on a couples trip with her husband Parker. After he dies in a tragic accident, she forces herself to complete a singles trip on her own.

The place she goes to was the scene of a grisly multiple murder several years before, but surely history cannot repeat itself?

A gripping read I thoroughly recommend.

Noelle W. Ihli is one of three autobuy authors for me so I was excited to be granted an arc of her latest book. Noelle is so talented at creating a dynamic read that moves at such a fast pace you cannot turn the pages quick enough. This was no exception.

Kaia is on a women's whitewater rafting retreat, she had been booked into a couples one with her husband Parker but we learn quickly into the book that he passed away. Kaia is consumed by grief, struggling to move on and would give anything to have him back. At first she struggles to connect with the other women, but her interest piques when she learns the same trail was the location of a grisly murder twenty years before. Strange things happen in camp and then the book's pedal hits the floor and doesn't let up. Think River Wild movie, with Kevin Bacon in book form. Really hard to keep that level of pace and interest when you pretty much have a singular location but Noelle delivers effortlessly.

An easy five stars from me. Everyone needs to read a Noelle W. Ihli book....

I picked up The Last to Drown because, like so many readers, I was blown away by Ask for Andrea. The good news? This is another Noelle Ihli thriller that absolutely delivers.

What starts as a women's whitewater rafting adventure quickly turns into a nightmare. Set deep in the wilderness, far from any help, the story builds an incredible sense of isolation and unease from the very beginning. Knowing the river's dark history already had me on edge, and once strange incidents started happening, I couldn't stop turning the pages.

The setting was one of my favourite parts of the book. I know nothing about whitewater rafting, but the descriptions made me feel like I was right there on the river, experiencing every rapid, every setback, and every moment of fear alongside the group. The tension never really lets up, and the short chapters made it impossible to read "just one more."

I also loved the strong cast of women and the emotional layer running beneath all the suspense. Kaia was easy to root for, and her personal journey added heart to an already gripping survival thriller.

Fast-paced, atmospheric, and genuinely nerve-wracking at times, The Last to Drown is another winner from Noelle Ihli. If you loved Ask for Andrea, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and Noelle W. Ihli for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📝ARC Book Review📝
Title: The Last to Drown
Author: Noelle W. Ihli
Publication Date: July 16, 2026
Rating: 4.75/5 stars

A wilderness rafting trip. A notorious unsolved massacre. A killer who may be ready to strike again.

The Last to Drown was an absolute adrenaline rush from start to finish. My anxiety was through the roof the entire time, and I loved every second of it. The nonstop suspense, high stakes danger, and chapter after chapter of tension made it nearly impossible to put down.

The story played out like a movie in my head, making me feel as though I was right there in the middle of the chaos. I wasn’t just following the characters but I felt like I’m one of them and experiencing every terrifying moment and racing against time alongside them. This was a true white-knuckle thriller.

Noelle W. Ihli did such a fantastic job bringing the main character Kaia to life. She created a protagonist who felt believable and easy to connect with, making every nightmarish situation hit even harder. Kaia’s emotions felt genuine and that made the story all the more immersive. The side characters were just as strong, adding heart, complexity and emotional weight to the story.

If you love fast-paced thrillers packed with suspense, tension, and heart-pounding action, The Last to Drown is an absolute must-read.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was completely hooked from the very first page. The tension was relentless, and the story wasted no time pulling me into the action. What I loved most was that beneath all the thrills, there was a deeper emotional layer centered on healing and resilience that gave the story even more heart. It added so much depth to an already intense read. Fast-paced, gripping, and packed with suspense, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, never knowing what was coming next.

Ihli’s writing is incredibly immersive, and I found myself fully invested in both the characters and the story from start to finish. If you love thrillers that keep your pulse racing while still delivering an emotional punch, I highly recommend picking this one up!

One of the easiest 5⭐️ reads this year! I was a little perplexed at the beginning as the build up was gradual and I'd heard so many great things about Noelle's books...however, there was absolutely no need for concern as the book picked up speed, and this just increased inexorably the further you read.

Brilliant writing style, good characterisations, nicely wrapped up conclusion....and absolutely no notes from me.

I've been meaning to delve into more of Noelle's books this year, but failed miserably...I'll not be hanging around much longer. First rate storytelling!

Many thanks to NetGalley.co.uk for the opportunity to read and review this excellent e-ARC!

Wow! Near fear unlocked. Thanks Noelle!
The Last to Drown is an unputdownable thrill ride that grabs hold of you and won't let go. It read like the scariest horror movie and I kept wanting to look away from the pages, dreading what was going to happen next. But I couldn't stop and I flew through this book in 24 hours. This would make a fantastic thriller / horror movie thanks to its unique setting and terrifying villain but I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to watch it (one scene in particular - IYKYK!)
I ended up falling down a YouTube rabbit hole of white water rafting videos to the point where I'm now constantly having more recommended to me. I'm terrified of being out on the water and seeing the sort of rapids the characters were faced with cemented my view that rafting definitely isn't for me.
This is such a unique story told in a heart stopping way that it's sure to be one of the top reads of 2026!

Surprisingly, this was my first read of Noelle W. Ihli, but it’s safe to say it won’t be my last! Dark, twisted, heart pounding and far too easy to binge - if you’re a fan of thrillers that don’t wait until the end before revealing the twist, but rather throw you straight into the chaos then you’ll love this!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast-paced and engaging read that kept me turning the pages. The writing was strong throughout, with vivid descriptions and a compelling atmosphere. The story is very dark, which adds to its intensity and emotional impact. At times, however, the story felt a bit repetitive, and the descriptions were personally hard for me to picture. My biggest issue was the finale, which felt too unrealistic compared to the rest of the book. While it aimed for a dramatic conclusion, it stretched credibility and weakened the overall impact for me. Despite its flaws, it's a well-written and gripping novel that will likely appeal to readers who enjoy dark, intense stories.

This is a book which has generated a lot of attention on Instagram so I was delighted to receive an ARC copy via @netgalley and it proved to be a high-octane, rollercoaster ride from beginning to end.

“FIVE DAYS. TWENTY STRANGERS. EIGHTY-FOUR MILES OF WHITEWATER.
AND NO WAY OUT.”

Set against the wild beauty of the river rapids in Aspen, we follow Kaia - seven years after fifteen rafters were murdered leaving only one survivor, at Camas Creek on the Garnet River, Kaia joins a group of women on that same stretch of river for a five day rafting trip. What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly becomes a nightmare as things start to go wrong and what’s worrying is that the pattern is strangely familiar. Who is out to sabotage their excursion and why ? And if the river doesn’t kill them maybe someone else will….

The writing is engaging and original, which is what we’ve come to expect from Noelle’s books, and a definite plus point for me are the evocative descriptions of the landscape surrounding the river, and the untamed nature of the river itself. But the real tension comes from the sense of isolation, the environment is intimidating and it seems to have a personality all of its own, and he claustrophobic setting works perfectly.

The character development was much stronger than I expected in such a fast paced thriller. I loved Kaia and was fully invested in her story, she felt human and the relationship with her husband was poignant, adding an extra dimension to the narrative. I also loved the quotes at the end of most of the chapters from publications such as the River Guide’s Almanac, which made me pause to think.

This truly was a game of cat and mouse, pitting humans against the elements, and a race against time for survival- a very enjoyable read from one of my favourite authors. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the ARC.