For fans of first-person psychological thrillers where the narrator is complicit in the mystery, Last Girl Ghosted is a rewarding read. Kirkus Reviews praised both the skillful construction of Wren's voice and an ending that delivers where many genre entries falter, while Shelf Awareness called it "a deliciously complex psychological thriller." The key caveat is for readers who prefer spare, procedurally grounded suspense: the novel's architecture of stacked hidden pasts across multiple characters can test patience for coincidence and concealment piled high.

BOOKS

Lisa Unger

About This Author

Published

March 29, 2026

Read Time

8 min read

Reader rating

4.2

· 5,460 Amazon ratings

reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

$7.90 on Amazon

Curated & edited by

LuvemBooks Editorial

How we create our reviews →

Share This Review

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger Review: A Taut, Layered Psychological Thriller

by Lisa Unger

Lisa Unger's psychological thriller Last Girl Ghosted transforms the modern anxiety of online dating and ghosting into a high-stakes mystery of hidden identities, buried pasts, and escalating danger — anchored by a protagonist whose own secrets unfold alongside the plot.

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for

Readers drawn to first-person psychological thrillers where the narrator is as much a mystery as the central suspect, particularly those who find the anonymity of online dating culture genuinely unsettling.

Worth it if

You want character-driven suspense rooted in layered secrets and hidden identities — and you're happy to follow a narrator whose own concealed past is as compelling as the danger closing in around her.

Skip if

You prefer lean, procedurally grounded thrillers with minimal coincidence — the novel's elaborate stacking of hidden pasts across nearly every character demands a high tolerance for concealment built upon concealment.

What readers & critics say

Publishers Weekly (starred review) called it "an enthralling psychological thriller" and noted Unger's status as a Thriller Award finalist, situating the novel as part of a strong productive run in the genre. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) praised the skillful construction of Wren's first-person narration and commended Unger for sticking the landing in the final act, a pointed compliment in a subgenre prone to third-act collapse.

“A psychological thriller spins a dark tale of hidden identities and buried pasts — Wren falls for Adam as soon as they meet, and then he vanishes.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“An enthralling psychological thriller — Wren is further devastated when a private investigator claims Adam may be responsible for the disappearance of three women.”

— Publishers Weekly

Sources: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews

4.2from 5,460 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

Ask LuvemBooks

Was this helpful?

Last Girl Ghosted is a psychological thriller by Lisa Unger in which Wren Greenwood, a New York advice columnist, is drawn into a web of hidden identities and escalating danger after the enigmatic man she met on a dating app vanishes without a trace. Kirkus Reviews praised both Unger's skillful unreliable-narrator construction and the rare achievement of a third act that genuinely sticks its landing, making the novel a strong choice for readers who want their suspense rooted in character interiority and contemporary digital unease. The key caveat: readers who prefer lean, procedurally grounded thrillers may find the stacked layers of concealed identities and buried pasts a stretch on credulity.

Is it worth reading?: For fans of first-person psychological thrillers where the narrator is complicit in the mystery, Last Girl Ghosted is a rewarding read. Kirkus Reviews praised both the skillful construction of Wren's voice and an ending that delivers where many genre entries falter, while Shelf Awareness called it "a deliciously complex psychological thriller." The key caveat is for readers who prefer spare, procedurally grounded suspense: the novel's architecture of stacked hidden pasts across multiple characters can test patience for coincidence and concealment piled high.
Similar books: Readers drawn to Last Girl Ghosted will find strong company in the curated selection below. Lisa Jewell's Then She Was Gone shares the DNA of a woman who vanishes and the unsettling secrets that surface in her wake, while Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me delivers the same propulsive energy of a protagonist uncovering a partner's hidden identity under escalating danger. Shanora Williams's The Wife Before and Mary Kubica's Every Last Lie both operate in the psychological-domestic space where trust is weaponized and the past refuses to stay buried — natural reads for anyone who responded to the layered concealment at the heart of Unger's novel.
Who should read this?: Last Girl Ghosted is designed for readers who want psychological suspense rooted in character interiority as much as external menace — particularly those who find the opacity of online dating culture and digital identity genuinely unsettling. Fans of first-person thrillers in which the narrator is complicit in the mystery, rather than a clean observer of it, are the novel's natural audience. Readers who prefer lean, procedurally grounded detective work over richly layered plots of concealed pasts may find the novel's architecture demanding.
About Lisa Unger: Lisa Unger is an American author of contemporary fiction, primarily psychological thrillers.
What are the main themes?: Last Girl Ghosted is built around the contemporary anxiety of digital identity — the ease with which a person can curate, conceal, or simply erase themselves online. The novel's structural premise, that almost no one including the narrator is who they appear to be, extends these themes of trust and hidden selves beyond the romantic plot into the entire cast. Identity, the self we present online, and the danger lurking behind the opacity of apps and curated digital personas are all central to both the thriller mechanics and its cultural resonance.
Is it a good book club pick?: Last Girl Ghosted makes a strong book club selection, with the trade paperback edition from Park Row — published September 6, 2022 — making it readily accessible for groups. Its questions about identity, trust, the self we present online, and the ease with which someone can vanish digitally offer rich discussion well beyond plot mechanics. The novel's structural choice to make Wren herself an unrevealed narrator alongside the central mystery gives groups plenty to unpack about complicity, self-presentation, and the nature of secrets.

Summarize this book

Is it worth reading?

Who should read this?

About Lisa Unger

What are the main themes?

Is it a good book club pick?

Summarize this book

Last Girl Ghosted follows Wren Greenwood, a 28-year-old New York advice columnist and podcaster known as "Dear Birdie," who is persuaded by her friend Jax to try the dating app Torch. There she meets Adam Harper — enigmatic, brooding, quoting Rilke — and falls for him, only for him to vanish entirely: profile deleted, phone disconnected. When a private detective named Bailey Kirk arrives asking about another woman who matched with someone resembling Adam and has since disappeared, Wren's heartbreak becomes a high-stakes mystery of hidden identities and buried pasts. Running alongside the investigation is a parallel reveal: Wren herself is not the transparent observer she first appears to be.

Follow up

Who is Adam Harper?

Does Wren have secrets too?

Does it have a satisfying ending?

Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review

Press Enter to ask. Answers come from our editorial Q&A — start typing to see related questions.

Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Adult

Reading level

Adult

Browse all Adult books

3 content notes · who it suits

Content to know about

stalking and surveillance

online predatory behavior

missing and presumed-dead women

Skip if you prefer lean, procedurally grounded thrillers with minimal character-secret stacking and a low tolerance for elaborate coincidence.

Our Review

Lisa Unger's psychological thriller delivers on its high-concept premise with craft and precision, earning its place among the genre's more accomplished recent entries.

What the Novel Is and What It Sets in Motion

Last Girl Ghosted: A Riveting Mystery Thriller of Ghosting and Obsession by Lisa Unger front cover

At the center of Last Girl Ghosted is Wren Greenwood, a 28-year-old New York advice columnist and podcaster known to her audience as "Dear Birdie." So consumed is she by other people's personal lives that her own has been put on hold — until her friend Jax convinces her to try the dating app Torch. There, Wren encounters Adam Harper: enigmatic, brooding, and quoting Rilke in his profile. For a few months, the relationship is everything. Then Adam disappears entirely — his profile deleted, his phone disconnected. What begins as heartbreak turns sharply darker when Wren starts receiving strange texts from unknown numbers and catches glimpses of a tall figure watching her. The situation reaches a new level of menace when private detective Bailey Kirk arrives, asking about another woman who matched with someone resembling Adam — a woman who has since vanished. The thriller's engine is the question of who Adam Harper really is and how many women he has left behind.

Its Place in the Genre and Unger's Career

Published by Park Row Books, Last Girl Ghosted arrives from a writer who has built a sustained reputation in the psychological suspense space. Publishers Weekly identifies Unger as a Thriller Award finalist and notes the novel follows Confessions on the 7:45, situating this book as part of a mature, productive run in the genre. Shelf Awareness described it as "a deliciously complex psychological thriller featuring a New York advice columnist and the intriguing online suitor who ghosts her." The novel taps into a specifically contemporary unease — the opacity of online identities, the ease with which a person can simply cease to exist digitally — and channels it into something with genuine narrative stakes. Its setting in the world of apps, podcasts, and curated digital personas gives the story a cultural currency that distinguishes it from more timeless-feeling domestic thrillers.

What the Novel Does Well

Kirkus Reviews praised Unger's construction of Wren's first-person narration as skillful, noting that she creates "an engaging, witty character" while "only slowly revealing that she has secrets of her own." That structural choice — the narrator who is herself unrevealed — is central to the novel's design. The thriller operates on the principle that almost no one is who they appear to be, a conceit that extends beyond Adam Harper to Wren herself and the cast around her. Kirkus further commended the way tension and revelation accumulate toward the final chapters, writing that in this book Unger "spins like Simone Biles — and sticks the landing," a pointed acknowledgment that the climax delivers on its setup rather than collapsing under the weight of its own misdirection. For a subgenre prone to third-act fumbles, that is a meaningful distinction.

A Genuine Limitation

Readers who prefer thrillers driven by procedural logic or external detective work may find the novel's weight of secrets — Wren's, Adam's, the wider cast's — demanding in terms of sustained suspension of disbelief. Critical coverage, while calling it "enthralling," also categorized a later Unger title as "credulity-challenging" in a separate review, a recurring note in commentary on her work that suggests the elaborate architecture of her plots can test some readers' patience for coincidence and concealment stacked high. Those who want their psychological thrillers lean and stripped back may find the layering of hidden pasts across multiple characters to be more elaborate than necessary, even as others will read it as richly plotted.

Who This Thriller Is For

Last Girl Ghosted is designed for readers who want their suspense rooted in character interiority as much as external menace — those who find online dating culture's particular brand of anonymity genuinely unsettling will find the novel's premise especially resonant. Fans of first-person psychological thrillers in which the narrator is complicit in the mystery, rather than a clean observer of it, are the novel's natural audience. The trade paperback edition, published by Park Row on September 6, 2022, makes it readily accessible for book club consideration, where the novel's questions about identity, trust, and the self we present online offer plenty to discuss beyond the plot mechanics.

Sources & Further Reading

The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.

Cited in this review
1
Last Girl Ghosted: A Novel by Lisa Unger, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®
barnesandnoble.com
2
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
publishersweekly.com
3
Summary and Reviews of Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
bookbrowse.com
Further reading
4
Lisa Unger — author profile
Lisa Unger, Wikipedia
5
LAST GIRL GHOSTED | Kirkus Reviews
kirkusreviews.com
6
Last Girl Ghosted | Lisa Unger
lisaunger.com
7
Review | Last Girl Ghosted, by Lisa Unger | Literary Treats
literarytreats.com

Books like Last Girl Ghosted

Curated picks for readers who enjoyed Last Girl Ghosted, with our reasoning for each match.

If you liked Last Girl Ghosted

In our catalogue

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn

Dual unreliable narrators, a vanished partner, and a marriage built on competing fictions — the book that defined modern domestic suspense and directly inspired Last Girl Ghosted's DNA.

Flynn's Gone Girl dismantles the idea of a knowable partner by letting husband and wife each narrate their version of a disappearance, exposing how thoroughly people can perform an identity for someone they claim to love. The digital-age anxiety in Last Girl Ghosted — meeting a stranger whose profile is a mask — finds its closest ancestor here, even though Gone Girl predates dating apps. Readers who loved the way Unger makes the intimate feel dangerous will find Flynn's novel equally disquieting.

In our catalogue

The Last Thing He Told Me

Laura Dave

A woman unravels her partner's secret past after he vanishes overnight — shares Last Girl Ghosted's core propulsion and its theme of loving someone who was never quite real.

In our catalogue

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

A mother uncovers the truth about her daughter's decade-old disappearance — same obsessive pull and slow-burn dread, grounded in female vulnerability rather than digital paranoia.

In our catalogue

Never Lie

Freida McFadden

Hidden identities, a woman drawn into another woman's dangerous past, and dual timelines — compact and propulsive where Last Girl Ghosted is immersive, but identical in its obsessions.

Not your thing?

In our catalogue

Every Last Lie

Mary Kubica

If Last Girl Ghosted felt too interior and slow to ignite: Kubica's alternating-narrator structure delivers the same domestic suspense with tighter pacing and a more procedural backbone.