Book Review - Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Title: Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn
Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Genre: Horror/ Fiction
Published: 2025
 
Description: Jamie Gunn loves stories. His hero is his father, the best storyteller in the world. But then his father dies, and Jamie goes on a quest from strangers, to give meaning to his father’s death. He meets Sheila Higginbottom, a remarkable recluse who tells him the beginning of a life-threatening story. If you hear the end, you will die…
 
At a young age, Jamie breaks through as a bestselling author. His book is chilling, and spreads in unpredictable and unforeseen ways. When the disastrous effects of the book on its readings come to light, Jamie fears that the story is not yet done with him. Can he save them and himself from the end?
 
Whatever you do, don’t read the last page.
 
Review: Thomas Olde Heuvelt is a Dutch author, who became known for horror books like  “Hex” and “November” (recently released in English under the title “Darker Days”). “Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” (translated: The Last Story of Jamie Gunn) is his newest book, which hasn’t been released in English yet. I was already a fan of his work, but this book made me an even bigger fan. This is my favorite of his so far.
 
In “Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” we meet Jamie, who loves stories. His father is the best storyteller and that’s where het gets his love for stories from. When his dad passes away, Jamie needs to find a way to give his father’s death meaning. He goes to strangers and makes them tell him stories. When he meets Sheila Highbottom, she starts telling him the story that he cannot know the ending of. When Jamie grows up, he becomes a bestselling author. For his newest book he warns his readers; whatever you do, don’t read the last page. And the people who read it start seeing an entity, one that he is all to familiar with.
 
“Het Laatste Verhaal van Jamie Gunn” reads like you’re watching a film. It’s a brilliant, personal, and chilling book. It’s confusing, gruesome and ingenious. This story has so many layers and has many references to horror classics. It really challenges the reader. I found it very hard to put down. This book had me in its grip from start to finish, because of the suspenseful build-up and cliffhangers.  
 
The complex structure of the story, with layers, overlap and blur the lines between fiction and reality. You don’t always know what’s real and what’s not. Just like Jamie is experiencing. I like being challenged with my books, and this book did just that. With that, the story feels very personal. Especially after meeting Thomas Olde Heuvelt on his book tour. Because of that, I really empathized with Jamie on a deeper level.
 
The warning to not read the last page obviously triggers you, just like all the readers in the book. I still haven’t read all of his books, but of the three I have read, this is Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s best to date. And hoping for all the horror readers outside The Netherlands, that it will be translated to English very soon.
 
Rating: 5/ 5