For readers drawn to character-driven psychological thrillers with literary ambitions, The Last Time We Drowned makes a compelling case. Booklist praised its 'snappy dialogue, biting prose, a deeply felt sense of place, and an incredibly complicated, flawed protagonist with a big heart,' while Cosmopolitan called it 'an incredible, one-of-a-kind psychological thriller.' Multiple advance readers on NetGalley noted that the darkness ran considerably deeper than the glittering yacht premise suggested — a quality that distinguishes it from more conventional beach thrillers. The key caveat is pacing: the more measured first half is a deliberate atmospheric build, not a sign of things to come.

Saratoga Schaefer

Reviewed

September 6, 2026

Read Time

8 min read

Age & reading levelAdult

Reader rating

3.7

· 213 Amazon ratings

reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

$14.24 on Amazon

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The Last Time We Drowned

Name: The Last Time We Drowned
Author: Saratoga Schaefer

The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer Review: A Razor-Sharp Locked-Yacht Thriller

by Saratoga Schaefer

Published June 2, 2026, by Cosmo Reads, The Last Time We Drowned is Saratoga Schaefer's third novel — a psychological thriller set aboard a luxury yacht — and an instant USA Today bestseller. It follows Charlie Engles, a bookstagrammer who accepts a job that drops her into a world of wealthy social-media influencers, only for the voyage to spiral into a locked-room mystery at sea. Blending social commentary, horror undertones, and a deeply flawed but compelling protagonist, the novel has drawn strong praise from Booklist and Cosmopolitan, and stands as a confident genre evolution for an author already known for Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

$14.24 on Amazon

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for

Readers who love character-driven psychological thrillers with a social-media edge — especially fans of Schaefer's earlier work or anyone who wants a locked-room mystery that trades glossy influencer aesthetics for genuine dread and a queer, deeply flawed protagonist at its centre.

Worth it if

You're drawn to thrillers that use a propulsive, high-concept premise — six influencers, one luxury yacht, one very bad situation — as a vehicle for sharp social commentary, horror-inflected atmosphere, and a second half that pays off a patient first-half setup with real momentum.

Skip if

Readers who need relentless, breakneck pacing from the very first page may lose patience with the novel's more deliberate, atmosphere-building first half before the thriller machinery fully locks in.

What readers & critics say

Cosmopolitan, whose Cosmo Reads imprint published the novel, called it "an incredible, one-of-a-kind psychological thriller that you won't be able to put down until the very last page," while Macabre Daily noted that Schaefer blends elements of the ghost story, locked-room mystery, social commentary, and psychological thriller into a single multilevel package. Crime Spree Magazine characterised it as "a solid psychological thriller set against an opulent, glittering backdrop" that begins as a slow burn before accelerating in its second half, and Fangirlish praised it as "a fast-paced, smart psychological thriller that never goes where you expect."

Sources: Cosmopolitan, Macabre Daily, Crime Spree Magazine, Fangirlish, Capes & Tights, NetGalley, melovebooks

3.7from 213 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score

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The Last Time We Drowned is a psychological thriller set aboard a luxury yacht, following bookstagrammer Charlie Engles as a glamorous voyage among high-profile social-media influencers spirals into a locked-room mystery laced with horror undertones and sharp social commentary. Saratoga Schaefer's third novel is an instant USA Today bestseller praised by Booklist and Cosmopolitan for its snappy dialogue, biting prose, and a deeply flawed, queer protagonist with genuine emotional weight. It's an ideal read for fans of character-driven, atmosphere-heavy thrillers — though readers who demand relentless pace from the first page may need patience before the second half fully ignites.

Is it worth reading?: For readers drawn to character-driven psychological thrillers with literary ambitions, The Last Time We Drowned makes a compelling case. Booklist praised its 'snappy dialogue, biting prose, a deeply felt sense of place, and an incredibly complicated, flawed protagonist with a big heart,' while Cosmopolitan called it 'an incredible, one-of-a-kind psychological thriller.' Multiple advance readers on NetGalley noted that the darkness ran considerably deeper than the glittering yacht premise suggested — a quality that distinguishes it from more conventional beach thrillers. The key caveat is pacing: the more measured first half is a deliberate atmospheric build, not a sign of things to come.
Similar books: Readers who enjoy The Last Time We Drowned are likely to gravitate toward other psychological thrillers that blend sharp social dynamics with escalating dread. Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient share the same taste for deeply unreliable, psychologically complex protagonists. Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me and Freida McFadden's Never Lie offer similarly propulsive plotting with layered twists. For a more confined, high-stakes ensemble dynamic, Natalie D. Richards' Five Total Strangers and Lisa Jewell's Then She Was Gone round out the reading path.
Who should read this?: The Last Time We Drowned is best suited to readers drawn to character-driven psychological thrillers with literary ambitions — particularly those who enjoy a protagonist whose flaws feel genuinely earned rather than decorative. Fans of Schaefer's earlier work in Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife will find this a confident genre evolution. The novel also offers meaningful queer representation through Charlie Engles, which Schaefer has highlighted as central to the book's identity. Readers who prefer pure-speed plotting with minimal atmospheric groundwork may find the deliberate first half requires patience.
Is this a good book club pick?: The Last Time We Drowned offers strong book club material. Its layered themes — the dark underbelly of influencer culture, the mechanics of 'mean-girl' social hierarchies, the collision of curated online performance with genuine mortal stakes — give groups plenty to unpack beyond the plot mechanics. The queer protagonist Charlie Engles and Schaefer's outsider-among-the-wealthy framing also invite discussion about representation and class dynamics in the thriller genre. Cape & Tights described it as a 'multilevel thriller,' which suggests rewarding discussion for groups who like to dig into structure as well as story.
Where should I start with Schaefer?: Schaefer has three novels: Serial Killer Support Group, Trad Wife, and The Last Time We Drowned. The review presents this third novel as a confident genre evolution and a strong entry point on its own terms — the USA Today bestseller status and critical praise from Booklist and Cosmopolitan suggest it has broad appeal even for new readers. That said, readers who want to trace Schaefer's development of their signature 'creeping sense of tension and dread' might prefer starting with Serial Killer Support Group and working forward.
Does the book have dark or disturbing content?: The Last Time We Drowned is explicitly darker than its luxury-yacht premise suggests. Multiple advance readers on NetGalley noted that the horror elements and tension ran considerably deeper than expected, and Cape & Tights flagged it as blending ghost-story elements with psychological suspense. The review also cites 'mean-girl' social hierarchies and the dark underbelly of wealth as integral to the novel's architecture. Readers sensitive to horror-inflected psychological tension should go in prepared — this is not a light beach thriller despite its glossy setting.

Summarize this book

Is it worth reading?

Who should read this?

Is this a good book club pick?

Where should I start with Schaefer?

Does the book have dark or disturbing content?

Summarize this book

The Last Time We Drowned centers on Charlie Engles, a bookstagrammer who accepts a spot aboard a luxury yacht headed for Ligia Island, surrounded by a coterie of high-profile social-media influencers. What begins as a lucrative opportunity transforms into a locked-room mystery at sea, as the glittering premise gives way to escalating dread and genuine mortal stakes. Schaefer layers horror sensibility, sharp social commentary on influencer culture and the dark underbelly of wealth, and a psychologically rich protagonist into a structure that builds deliberately before accelerating into fast-paced twists in its second half. Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me, described it as 'Agatha Christie for the Instagram age in this deliciously soapy saga.'

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Our Review

This review covers the book's content, premise and published critical reception, not a first-hand reading.

The Last Time We Drowned is the rare thriller that earns both its beach-read credentials and its darker ambitions in equal measure.

What the Book Is: A Locked-Yacht Mystery for the Influencer Age

The Last Time We Drowned centers on Charlie Engles, a bookstagrammer who accepts what initially appears to be a lucrative opportunity: a spot aboard a luxury yacht headed for Ligia Island, surrounded by a coterie of high-profile social-media influencers. The novel's premise is established with brisk urgency; as an excerpted passage published by Cosmopolitan reads, one character snaps at Charlie, "I don't like wasting time. You're here, your shit is here, my boat is in the harbor. Ligia Island is forty minutes away. You said you need the money. Why wait? You in, or what?"

That snap-cut energy carries the setup forward: six influencers, one vessel, and a situation that quickly transforms from glamorous retreat into something far more menacing. The locked-room-at-sea structure — a scenario with deep roots in classic mystery fiction — gives Schaefer a pressure cooker in which to stage their brand of escalating dread.

Significance: Agatha Christie Meets the Instagram Age

Ashley Winstead, the USA Today-bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me, has described the novel as delivering "Agatha Christie for the Instagram age in this deliciously soapy saga," pointing to a core tension that gives the book its cultural bite: the collision of curated online performance with genuine mortal stakes. Schaefer is not simply using influencer culture as a set dressing; the dark underbelly of wealth and the mechanics of "mean-girl" social hierarchies are, per the book's reception, integral to its architecture.

This positions The Last Time We Drowned within a growing strand of thriller fiction that treats social media not merely as backdrop but as a system of power with real, dangerous consequences — a thematic territory Schaefer had already explored in Trad Wife, their previous novel.

Craft and Strengths: Pace, Prose, and a Complicated Protagonist

critics described the novel as "an addictive, page-turning thriller with snappy dialogue, biting prose, a deeply felt sense of place, and an incredibly complicated, flawed protagonist with a big heart" — a characterization that isolates several distinct craft virtues at once. Charlie Engles is positioned as an outsider who does not naturally belong among the influencer class she's been dropped into, and readers and critics responding on NetGalley noted that Schaefer structures the novel deliberately: a more measured first half builds character and setting, while the second half accelerates into fast-paced twists and unexpected character decisions.

Cosmopolitan called it "an incredible, one-of-a-kind psychological thriller that you won't be able to put down until the very last page." The novel also carries what one NetGalley reader described as a "deeper, more layered" quality than the genre typically promises — a compliment that speaks to Schaefer's ability to make the psychological machinery feel earned rather than mechanical.

Genre Blend: Horror Undertones in a Thriller Frame

A consistent thread in the novel's early reception is the presence of horror influences bleeding through the mystery-thriller frame. Reviewers at NetGalley and Cape & Tights, who had access to advance copies, noted that while The Last Time We Drowned is firmly a mystery thriller, Schaefer's signature "creeping sense of tension and dread" — honed across Serial Killer Support Group and the body-horror inflections of Trad Wife — seeps into this new setting.

Cape & Tights characterized the book as a "multilevel thriller" that blends elements of the ghost story and the locked-room mystery with psychological suspense and social commentary. This genre layering is part of what distinguishes the book from a more conventional beach thriller: readers who arrived expecting something light and frothy, per multiple advance responses, found the darkness ran considerably deeper than the glittering yacht premise suggested.

Who It's For and Where It Stretches

The Last Time We Drowned is well suited to readers drawn to character-driven psychological thrillers with literary ambitions — particularly those who found Schaefer's earlier work compelling and are ready for them to operate within a more plot-driven mystery structure. The queer identity of the protagonist is noted in the author's own framing of the book as "compelling, queer, dark-and-deep," adding a dimension of representation that distinguishes Charlie further from the thriller genre's more conventional protagonists.

Readers who prefer pure-speed plotting with minimal atmospheric groundwork may find the novel's more deliberate first half requires patience before the thriller mechanics fully engage. But for readers who prize a "deeply felt sense of place" 's phrase — and a protagonist whose flaws feel genuinely earned rather than decorative, Schaefer's third novel makes a strong case that their range continues to expand with each book.

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
The Last Time We Drowned – Saratoga Schaefer
saratogaschaefer.com
2
Paper Cuts: “THE LAST TIME WE DROWNED” (2026) Is A Ghost Story For Modern Times (REVIEW) — Macabre Daily
macabredaily.com
Further reading
3
The Last Time We Drowned | Saratoga Schaefer | 9781464282485 | NetGalley
netgalley.com
4
Exclusive: Saratoga Schaefer's ‘The Last Time We Drowned’ Dares You to Dive Into this Sinister Story
cosmopolitan.com
5
The Last Time We Drowned Review: A Locked-Room Thriller Adrift in Social Media Nightmares
capesandtights.com
6
Book Review: The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer - Fangirlish
fangirlish.com
7
Reviews - The Last Time We Drowned | The StoryGraph
app.thestorygraph.com
8
Book Review: The Last Time we drowned | Crimespree Magazine
crimespreemag.com
9
Saratoga Schaefer on The Last Time We Drowned and writing confined thrillers – Woman Magazine
womanmagazine.com

Age & Reading Level

Recommended age

Adult

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3 content notes · who it suits

Content to know about

horror-inflected psychological tension

mortal peril and death aboard a confined vessel

social cruelty and 'mean-girl' power dynamics

Best for: Adults / mature older teens — horror sensibility, psychological dread, and themes of mortal stakes and social cruelty are central to the novel's architecture.

Skip if you want a light, fast-paced beach thriller with no horror undertones or atmospheric slow-burn.

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