Last Seen

ELECTRIC LIT – MOST ANTICPATED QUEER BOOKS FOR SPRING 2026

“Mesmerizing and luminous . . . [Last Seen is] a literary mystery with a supernatural twist, rooted in humanity and enduring love . . . Castellani renders his characters . . . with exquisite sensitivity and compassion, crafting a nuanced and propulsive tale that resists expectation and cliché . . . Complex and absorbing, Last Seen weaves together a wide assortment of characters and dovetailing narratives, which in less capable hands might read as meandering and confusing. Yet Castellani expertly braids together these various plot threads in an illuminating and engaging capacity right up to the book’s moving conclusion.” —Olivia Kate Cerrone, The Boston Globe

“What at least seems at first like a serial killer thriller evolves into something altogether different. . . .The novel is strikingly original for its construction and its moving meditation on what it means to remain present and visible even after death.” —Jared Bowen, Boston Public Radio

“Captivating . . . Last Seen is extremely well-done. The plot and mysteries are engaging, the characters are complex, the moralities ambiguous and thought-provoking. The theme connecting the four young men—or boys, as they are often referred to by the older characters—becomes an important topic, one not generally discussed: male loneliness and despair.” —Philip Janowski, Chicago Review of Books

“[Christropher Castellani] dazzles with apt meditations on masculinity, freedom, and all the grittiness inherent in human connection . . . In an age of true crime obsession, Last Seen gives a voice to the spirits of people lost. This is a novel that transforms the objects of spectacle into subjects with dignity.” —Ember V. Tharpe, BookPage

“A brooding, lyrical story about the preciousness of life brought to us by the voices of the dead. . . .Castellani creates a poignant reflection on love and loss in the stories of his lost boys—and the people they’ve left behind.” —Kirkus

“A raw but beautifully rendered exploration of the transformative and sprawling nature of suffering.” —Joelle Egan, Booklist

“A heady mixture of true crime, magic realism, and literary beauty. . . .haunting, morally complex and just gorgeous.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of With or Without You

“Christopher Castellani is a master of portraying love and longing, and his latest novel may be his finest yet. Deftly interweaving the stories of four doomed young men—and those they leave behind—Last Seen explores our changing notions of masculinity and the ways grief can both make and unmake us. A morally complex and life-affirming exploration of what it means to be alive, and of the enduring power of love to transform, reanimate, and redeem.” —Celeste Ng, New York Times-bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts

“A brilliant mystery and a haunting meditation on the human experience—its echoes through the hearts of those caught in the currents of love and loss. Castellani’s latest is a richly detailed, deeply moving mosaic of voices brought to life by masterful prose.” —Mona Awad, New York Times-bestselling author of We Love You, Bunny

“Last Seen is a masterful novel; a ghost story, an elegy, a love letter to young men who go missing without a trace. Christopher Castellani writes beautifully about painful things—murder, loss, despair—and yet, by the end, my heart felt full of revelation and tenderness.” —Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women

“A brutal and luminous novel. Christopher Castellani delves into the turbulent waters of one of American society’s most misunderstood characters: the troubled young male. Last Seen begins in death—boys mysteriously found in rivers—but in unraveling the mysteries of their fate, Castellani creates a mesmerizing panorama of young lives on the brink. This novel haunted me with its clarity and rage. Enter at your own risk.” —Christopher Bollen, author of Havoc

“In stunning prose filled with acute observations about the relationships that save us, Christopher Castellani has skillfully dramatized the voices of four young men connected by one unforgettable love. Last Seen is a deeply moving novel that reveals how the bonds between the living and the dead continue forever. Its characters are now part of my soul.” —Marjan Kamali, author of The Lion Women of Tehran

“A riveting thriller of unparalleled heart. At once a murder mystery of dead young men and a kaleidoscope of beautifully felt humanity, Christopher Castellani’s Last Seen is a virtuosic performance by a brilliant storyteller: smooth, incandescent, and devastating. When Castellani trains his precisely observant eye on each of the young men who died, they shimmer to life, and the resulting crescendo cracks open the heart. I gulped this book down.” —Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body