The Last Time I Saw Him by Rachel Abbott

 

Celia, Juliette and Nadia are complete strangers with one thing in common: they have all been wronged by Ellis Cobain. A wealthy philanthropist on course for a knighthood, Ellis' public persona is bulletproof - but lurking beneath this veneer is a sinister side that only the women closest to him have seen.

When they meet at a boutique hotel on the Cornish coast, brought together by the blind arrogance of their tormentor, they realise what connects them and form a pact to free themselves from his grasp.

But when a body is discovered they are left scrambling, desperate to cover their tracks. This was never part of the plan.

Will they keep each other's secrets, or will they turn on each other, not knowing if one of them could be next?

Book Review

✰✰✰✰✰

Reading The Last Time I Saw Him feels like slipping into one of those psychological thrillers that quietly sink their hooks into you before you even notice. Rachel Abbott is one of those authors who knows exactly how to build tension without tipping her hand too early, and this book is a great example of that slow, tightening grip she’s so good at.

Right from the start, there’s this unsettling atmosphere—you can tell something isn’t quite right, but the story doesn’t shove it in your face. Instead, it lets you lean in, paying attention to the small details, the offhand comments, the little inconsistencies. It’s the kind of thriller where you end up playing amateur detective alongside the characters, convinced you’ve figured it out… until you realize you absolutely haven’t.

The characters are what make this one especially interesting. Abbott always writes people who feel messy in a real way. No perfect heroes, no cartoon villains—just flawed, complicated humans making choices that ripple outward. The protagonist’s emotional state is drawn with a lot of nuance, and you can feel the weight of everything she’s grappling with. Her reactions aren’t polished or convenient; they’re raw, vulnerable, and sometimes frustrating in the best possible way, because that’s exactly how real fear and confusion feel.

And then there’s the pacing. Abbott keeps things moving, but never so fast that you lose the emotional threads. Instead of relying on constant shocks, she uses tension like a simmer—always there, always threatening to boil over. You can sense something big lurking under the surface, and that anticipation carries you through the chapters effortlessly.

The relationships in the story add a lot of depth too. The book digs into trust, memory, and the ways we second-guess ourselves when the ground under us starts to feel unstable. It’s very much a psychological thriller in the traditional sense—not dependent on action scenes, but on emotional unravelling and the uncertainty of what’s true.

If you’re someone who enjoys twisty domestic thrillers with a strong emotional core, this will hit the spot. It’s gripping without being gimmicky, dark without being bleak, and tense in that addictive “I need answers right now” way.

Overall, The Last Time I Saw Him is one of those thrillers that pulls you in gradually and then refuses to let go. Rachel Abbott delivers a story full of atmosphere, secrets, and the kind of suspense that sneaks up on you—and by the end, you realize you’ve been holding your breath for half the book.