Although this novel had a worthwhile ending and a fantastic gothic atmosphere, this did not make up for a weak (and somewhat overused plot) and lackluster characters.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127306384

This was such a fun twist and concept for a thriller. It was super creepy and fast paced. Makes you think but also makes you scared.

4/5

If you had the opportunity to buy a gorgeous home in Italy for only one euro....would you do it?

I mean, duh. Right?

Here's the gist- an American couple has the opportunity to move into this stunning abandoned home. They sell everything they own, move across the world, unpack into their new home....and realize things aren't *exactly* how they appeared in the Real Estate listing.

I've seen mixed reviews on this one, but I really loved it. It's spooky and creepy and 100% up my alley. Possession/exorcism stories always give me an extra EEEK, and this is no different.

The biggest negative for me is that it was almost TOO fast. I wanted to marinate in the spook a little longer?

Also, it maybe focuses a little too much on the architectural restoration bits vs character development for my liking.

It's worth noting: my best friends just moved to Germany and 95% of their culture shock stuff is super accurate. I texted them mid-read to make sure their new home was, in fact, not full of demons.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.

I love Christopher Golden books so when I seen this one I knew I had to read it .
This was a great haunted house spooky read, that I couldn't stop reading.
Def recommend for those who love a good haunted house story .

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book

I wanted to love this one because I really enjoyed previous books, but this one felt a bit too dragged out. The ending was great and half unexpected, but the amount of repetitive narration was frustrating at times. I’m not sure how much more I could take of being reminded that they were American transplants and purchased their home cheap as a part of a political campaign to re-invigorate the town.

I expected it all to hit the fan way sooner than it actually did.

I think I need to stop reading things by Christopher Golden. I keep getting sucked in by the absolutely fantastic premise/inside flap, and then the execution makes me want to rip some of my skin off. Whoever is writing his blurbs, though? A+, you absolutely need a raise. This story was very atmospheric, I'll give it that, the setting was pretty well realized which made the tone and atmosphere come to life. The characters and romance were not great, though. The characterization and romantic feelings were clunky and just proclaimed/dumped on you rather than be a piece of the story that you see unfold. There was SO much telling in this story that I felt like someone was just outlining a story at me. Their reasons for remaining in the house are also...not great? It feels like their choices were made for the sake of the plot/story but not true to any sort of realistic characterization. I read a review on here that says this should have been a short story, and I agree. Without the expectations for in-depth characterization or plotting, this could have been quick and fun. This is just too passive of a "horror" story with a pretty uninteresting overarching plot that I couldn't stay interested in it.
I can see where people might enjoy this, but overall I wasn't a huge fan.

Golden does it again! THE HOUSE OF LAST RESORT creeped me out in the best way possible and I will never be over that ending!

Extremely effective last act, but doesn't make up for the dull path leading up to it, I'm conflicted with The House of Last Resort, because on one end it's extremely atmospheric — the earthquake-prone, historic European small town setting adds a lot of contextual nuances to this haunted house story. However, its critical undoings are the character and plot, which are thinly-drawn and unfocused; the absence of an emotional connection really hinders my overall engagement beyond scenes of horror and tension (which are expertly crafted).

For a story pivoting itself around the committed love between its protagonists, at no point do I actually 'feel' it; switching between two POVs, each character constantly proclaims their feeling through extended internal monologues. The overuse of telling, instead of showing, renders the emotional journey hollow and superficial. In a domino effect, not relating to the protagonists also impacts greatly in instances when readers need to tolerate some dumb character decisions for 'horror story reason' (so many things could've been Googled ahead of time, and the novel never provides a convincing reason why they chose to remain in the house).

(On a side note, it irks me how often the characters talk to themselves in this book — as if the author fears without this additional commentary, the readers would not grasp the 'point' of the situation. But in practice it is extremely immersion-breaking.)

The House of Last Resort should've been a short story, even though I love the how chilling and 'un-Hollywood' it concludes, in retrospect the lengthy human story is passively told and superficial, and the horror aspect is allocated to a very dull plot line (too much focus on restoration). While it has the vibe nailed down (reminds me of the horror film The Sentinel from the 70s), but overall it doesn't quite scratch my horror itch until the very end.

Awesome book, just like all his others, I just loved it. I would love to visit there in that wonderful area and so it was totally a great book, with the scary stuff always happening and wonderful scenary around,I was loving every minute and maybe give it some time to read again very slowly.. I am scared to death of rats so that had a big impact on me to say oh no!! Get away from there and to see them coming at you, run stupid is what I say. LOL If you enjoyed his other books then get this one right away and be prepared. Honestly I couldn't live in a scary house but can definitly read about them, Keep it up Mr. Golden, I love your books as they keep getting better!!

Tommy and Kate get the opportunity of a lifetime when property in the Sicilian town of Becchina is being sold for one Euro on the promise that buyers will invest in fixing it up and live there for at least five years. Not only is it a scenic and historic town, but it's where Tommy's father hails from, and his grandparents, his nonno and nonna, still live. When they arrive at their massive, beautiful new home, they find one locked door sealing off the right annex, with no key in sight. After being there a little while and having bizarre dreams and possibly ghost sightings, the door is suddenly open. And what hides behind it and below the surface is more frightening then they could ever have imagined.
If you haven't read any reviews or further details about the plot than what's in the basic description, don't seek any out. This novel keeps its secrets close to the vest for a good part of the story, and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised at where it leads if you have no real inkling ahead of time. While there is a simmering of something malevolent early on, what's really happening doesn't make itself known until a lot has occurred plot-wise. While the story doesn't exactly cover new ground in the horror realm, it does take a very different look at its horror than most other similar stories.

So the author is a blind read for me. I always enjoy his books and love going in with absolutely no clue of what’s to come.

And what a creepy delight this was!

First of all, I studied Italian in Taormina and the author absolutely brought me back to Sicily. And despite the horrors that the brings us, there was still absolutely one part of me that said…I want to go back there and live there! Just maybe not this house in this town.

Golden does a masterful job of building the eeriness in this one. It starts creepy and ends in full on iconic horror!

I was only sorry that it was over.

An absolute thrill of a read!

• ARC via Publisher

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for the ARC.

If you're into suspense/ horror/thriller books then you should enjoy this book. I love his spin on a complaint I've heard many people complain about over the years, and write a book about it. What's that complaint? Someone needs to do something with those pesky abandon houses.
In the House Of Last Resort, Tommy and Kate buy a rebuilt abandoned house for one euro, but commit to living there for 5 years.
Shortly after, weird things start happening and they learn that there's plenty more going on than meets the surface.

I was engrossed in this book film tbr beginning. It was fast paced and just kept pulling me in.

I loved this! Hauntings are my favorite type of horror and this one did not disappoint. I was a little hesitant going into it because Christopher Golden a bit hit or miss but this one was certainly a hit! There was one part where the MC's annoyed me with their selfishness but the delicious, creepy bits made up for it. I'll be buying a copy on release day to support the authors!

What's not to love?! A small -town Italian village, a haunted house with a dark history (unbeknownst to the new owners...until of course it is!)

I love Golden's writing style and I always love his plots. I didn't love Tom and Katie, they were very unlikable characters. But with that said, the book was a haunting, fun ride! Looking for happily ever after? Not sure this is the book for you or is it?!

Maybe a 2.5- 2.75? This is really disappointing to me after loving Golden's earlier book, Road of Bones. I enjoyed this book for about 60% of it, and it was a solid 4-star read, maybe 5. There was an amazing sense of creepiness and dread building up, and Golden managed to make me scared even while describing beautiful Sicily. The characters developed naturally, and I loved the slow-burn aspect of the book. There wasn't a lot going on, but Golden managed to make it foreboding and sinister, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unfortunately, once we started getting the reveals, I quickly lost interest. There were also a few things that really bugged me about Golden's portrayal of the Catholic Church. I may be biased, since I am Catholic, but how hard would it have been to Google the keys of Peter? They're referenced in the book, but the name isn't given; instead, they are clumsily described. I've met a few exorcists myself over the years, and these are not weak, abusive men. Of course, being Catholic priests, they are portrayed that way here. Also (this one really irks me, both in books and in movies), ghosts and demons are NOT the same thing. This book kept going back and forth between the two! The two main characters repeat over and over throughout the book that they aren't superstitious and don't believe in possession, and because of that the poor possessed people must have just had mental health issues and were being abused by the Church. Even after this has been proven wrong in the book beyond a shadow of doubt, and it is very obvious to both MCs that these people are actually possessed, they keep coming back to the evil exorcists who abused these poor people. Please, could Mr. Golden keep his story straight? Finally, after a certain point, the writing style seemed to become much more juvenile, and many of the things Kate and Tommy did made no sense. I think I even caught the word "realer" in there. All in all, a very promising start, and Golden clearly has talent as an author, but this one fell apart for me in the latter half.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC copy. All opinions are my own.

This was not my favorite Christopher Golden book. It felt like it was missing something? I didn't care about the characters or the plot, to be honest. Might be good for someone, just wasn't for me.

You can’t go wrong with the set up of this book- small Italian village, haunted house with a dark history, demonic possession. This is stuff that horror is made of.

What brought this book down from a 4 star to 3 was the characterization of Tom and Katie. They are such unlikeable, entitled people. Example- these two decide to turn the local church catacombs into a TOURIST SPOT after only living in this village for a short time. I know your grandparents live down the street and everyone is glad you’re here, but you don’t know anyone and I’m fairly sure the mayor isn’t going to give you free rein on what is actually church property. I’m assuming these remote jobs they have must be high paying to afford all this. Something about their interactions just rubbed me wrong from the beginning, especially Katie.

The last quarter of the book was a wild ride, and I’m really glad it ended the way it did. After that set up, it was really the only way it could have ended. No happily ever after here, we’re in Italian horror living on top of a mass grave!

Thanks so much to Christopher Golden, St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance copy to check out!

Since appearing on the scene in the mid-nineties Christopher Golden has been incredible prolific with a wide range of fiction which confidently crosses the genres. Although I have read a relatively small selection of these, I was a fan of his Ben Walker trilogy, in particular Ararat (2017) and Red Hands (2020) and also thoroughly enjoyed the relatively recent, Road of Bones (2022). If you have never read Golden all the forementioned titles are terrific places to start, with his most recently published All Hallows being another absolute belter which had me on the hook from page one to the last.

Or if you fancy something brand new then The House of Last Resort keeps Golden’s fine run of quality supernatural fiction burning brightly. In this latest outing the action all takes place in the small and scenic fictional Sicilian town of Beccina. I lived in Italy for over three years in the nineties and visited Sicily on two occasions and felt Golden gave a decent account of foreigners struggling to settle in Italy. This is more of an observation than a complaint, considering the American couple had very limited spoken Italian, way more people were able to speak English than in reality. This is a country that dubs absolutely everything on television and cinema, although it may have changed more recently due to technological advances with streaming. Personally, I will never forget the nightmare of trying to pay a telephone or gas bill and dreading being asked a question from the cashier!

That aside, Golden nicely recreates the lifestyle, atmosphere, café culture, and mood of a small-town where everybody knows the business of their neighbour, which goes back several generations. The backdrop to the story was both clever and plausible, Beccina is one of many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate from the coastal areas to the cities. To combat this, its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild, selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years. Not blessed with a natural tourist industry, the town is desperate to survive by any means necessary.

This is perfect for main characters Tommy and Kate Puglisi who can both work remotely, whilst he can live close to his elderly grandparents, his closest living relatives. Tommy speaks limited Italian as his father abandoned many years earlier (with good reason, as is later revealed) and Kate speaks none. The young couple, see this move to Sicily as an adventure and an opportunity to escape the American rat-race and develop a large property for a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere in Europe or America.

The first half of The House of Last Resort was very slow and nothing much supernatural happens beyond Golden building tension and atmosphere, particularly when their elderly grandmother reacts badly to the couple buying a different house than initially planned. It is clear the house has some sort of history, but nobody will tell Tommy and Kate much and soon they hook up with a few other outsiders. However, things take a bad turn when Tommy’s grandfather has a very bad stroke and the escalation of odd stuff in the house escalates.

It is worth being very patient with The House of Last Resort as the second half was seriously cool cracker jack stuff. When the story moves beyond the standard haunted house melodrama with doors creaking and slamming it shifts through the gears when the couple discover secret rooms and begin to investigate what they were originally used for. The anxiety for Tommy and Kate is made worse by the fact that they truly are strangers in a country which has ancient superstitions they do not understand or believe, until they are forced to.

Told onto your hat for a terrific ending and if you do not like rats I would recommend treading very nicely with this novel. Christopher Golden has become one of the most reliable names in horror fiction and The House of Last Resort is another winner.

Ooooh this book satiated every spooky desire I have. It was so good, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I loved everything about this.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect. There are so many Haunted House books and one can get burnt out on those quickly. However, this one was much different. I loved how the atmosphere was built and the character development as well. The premise was much different than other haunted house books and I was not disappointed. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a creepy read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.