The Last Surrogate

I’ll admit, I was skeptical about a virtual narrator handling a psychological thriller—would it feel robotic? Surprisingly, the AI’s delivery becomes an asset here. The voice is smooth but affectless, almost like a documentary narrator recounting a true crime, which amplifies the story’s clinical horror. When Cara negotiates the terms of her surrogacy, the narration’s lack of inflection makes her compliance feel even more disturbing, like she’s reading a contract she’s already signed in blood. Erikson’s writing shines in the details: the way Cara scrubs her hands raw after meetings, the sterile descriptions of the clients’ home, the quiet moments where she rationalizes her choices with spreadsheet logic. It’s not a *fun* listen, but it’s a gripping one. That said, the pacing stumbles in the middle. The second act drags slightly as Cara’s internal debates start to repeat, and the virtual narrator’s monotony—while thematically fitting—can make these sections feel longer than they are. I also wished for more ambiguity in the ending; the final reveal leans a bit too hard into twist territory, undercutting the story’s otherwise relentless realism. Still, *The Last Surrogate* lingers like a bad dream, the kind where you wake up questioning how much of your own life you’d trade for a way out. If you like your psychological fiction unflinching and your audiobooks stripped of theatricality, this is a standout—but maybe don’t listen right before your next doctor’s appointment.