Our Last Resort, Clémence Michallon (Review by Kristin Kurek)

During a stay at the Ara Hotel in Escalante, Frida and her brother Gabriel wake up to find that a fellow guest has been murdered. Gabriel had been investigated but never charged for his wife’s murder, so naturally, the authorities were suspicious of his presence at the site of another murder. His sister, Frida, must figure out how a young woman was murdered at their resort before responsibility is pinned on Gabriel. Our Last Resort is a suspenseful novel that follows Frida and Gabriel’s story from their childhoods spent in a cult through the murder of Gabriel’s wife to their presence at the site of a mysterious murder. I enjoyed reading about the psychology of those indoctrinated into the cult and mechanisms that kept the cult successful for so many years. The relationship between Frida and Gabriel was very well developed. I felt as if I would know them if I saw them walking down the street. Frida and Gabriel had such a devoted and complex relationship. They were forced to depend on each other exclusively through their entire lives. Their relationship was the real star of this novel, and it is especially compelling when they begin to doubt if they know each other truly. Will they solve Gabriel’s wife murder? Will they determine who murdered the guest at their resort? Will their relationship survive? Though somewhat slow at parts, the ultimate twist left me shouting “Oh my gosh!!!!” I was thoroughly surprised and delighted by the way this book developed. This was a fun, low stakes murder mystery that left me guessing until the very end. I would highly recommend this to my suspense-reading-friends!