Frieda and her brother Gabriel escaped a cult as teenagers, in the years that followed they slowly drifted apart. Gabriel has a dark past and his wife died in a tragic accident… one that everyone thought Gabriel had something to do with. Now the siblings are on a vacation together at a swanky resort, and when a woman turns up dead all eyes look to Gabriel.

We jump between the timeline of their childhood and growing up in a cult and present day as Frieda rushes to prove that her brother is innocent in the other guest’s death.

The Last Resort was SO well written, and the characters were intense. It’s a little dark, a little twisted but such a great read. Highly recommend.

I thought that this was ok but I didn’t really enjoy it. I wasn’t wowed by it at all. I found it to be dull in fact.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel!

I picked this one up because I enjoyed the author’s debut novel. If you were a fan of the last book, I think you’ll enjoy this one too! This one is also written in “popcorn” format, where you won’t want to out it down. Because of this, I found myself reading this book quickly. I also really enjoyed the backstory of the MCs and although not the central part to the story, the author did a great job at detailing this to make it believable and the characters well-rounded. This backstory is unique and reminded me of the uniqueness of the setup of the author’s previous novel. Everything is definitely not what it seems here! Giving this one 4 stars as the ending did fall a bit flat for me, but not so much that it eclipsed the rest of my reading experience. I recommend giving this one a read!

Was in the mood for a suspenseful book and really enjoyed this one. I hear that The Quiet Tenant is also great and will be checking that book out soon. A gripping page turner that had unique twists to keep readers engaged.

Our Last Resort - @clemencemichallon

“Fifteen years ago, Frida and her brother escaped a cult. Now her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation — and it's not the first time."

This was the tagline that made me want to pick up this book. Michallon's sophomore novel is a well written story that explores trauma, relationships, survival and the lengths someone would go to to protect those they love.

This was a slower paced mystery, but I enjoyed the writing and the unreliable narrator taking us on our journey in this dual timeline book. I would suggest picking up this book if you enjoy a slower paced mystery with heavy family relationship drama and a story that wont keep you up at night.

This is a compelling story about two people with a deeply shared past, raised in a cult and unexpectedly pulled back together when a woman turns up dead during their stay at a resort. The alternating timelines—past and present—really help you understand their connection, what they’ve endured, and how those experiences shaped their lives.

While I didn’t connect with this one as strongly as The Quiet Tenant, it’s still a solid thriller. The writing is strong, and the pacing keeps you turning pages. Though the cult elements felt familiar, there’s real emotional weight in seeing how trauma lingers and how bonds can both heal and haunt. Worth a read for fans of character-driven thrillers.

Ever since reading The Quiet Tenant, I have been anxiously awaiting a new novel from Clemence Michallon. Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of Our Last Resort. This one did not disappoint. I was particularly intrigued about this one by the cult aspect which is mentioned in the synopsis. The characters are so real that it reads like a real life story. The idea of cults fascinates me; it is so hard to imagine what life would be like. This book was full of suspense and tension, and it is totally bingeable. Once I started reading, I didn't want to stop. Our Last Resort is already out, so make sure you pick up your copy today!

🥰Thank you so much to @aaknopf for the gifted book.

📖Title: Our Last Resort
✍️Authors: Clémence Michallon
📅Pub Date: July 8, 2025

🧡Like many of you, I absolutely loved her debut book, THE QUIET TENANT. It shocked me, it creeped me out, and I can still remember so many details! Those are just a few signs of a winner for me, especially when it's a debut!

🌞Maybe my hopes were too high for this one, but it fell short me sadly. There were still parts I enjoyed, such as the culty aspect, the dual timelines, gorgeous setting, etc. Ultimately, I felt it dragged too much for a 9 hour audiobook and never felt as connected to the characters as I'd like.

🧡I'd still recommend giving it a shot if you're in the mood for a culty thriller!

i really adored this author's previous book so i was excited to give this one a try. while i could still get a sense of the same author, this one just did not resonate with me in the same striking way that the quiet tenant did. i find cult-centric books to be fascinating opportunities for mysteries, but this one fell flat in that regard. the incidents from the past and the incident from the present are easy to piece together very early on, so the narrative felt pretty slow and unexciting for me, despite the frenetic timeline jumps. i wish i could have liked this one more.

thank you to knopf for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of my most anticipated reads, and it delivered! I love a good dual timeline with a cult aspect, and this one did a great job weaving the past and present. The pacing was a little uneven early on, but once it picked up, I was hooked. Frida and Gabriel’s cult backstory added depth, and watching Frida question everything she thought she knew brought solid tension to the plot. The ending was worth the buildup.

Thank you NetGalley & Knopf for the gifted copy.

While this has very much been the year for debuts and contemporary and lit fiction, it’s very much not been the year for thrillers. After absolutely devouring Michallon’s debut, The Quiet Tenant, I was crazy excited to dive into her newest, Our Last Resort. And although still enjoyable, I did not feel the same connection to the characters, nor feel as immersed in the story as I had hoped to.

Let me preface this by saying, cultist thrillers are not my favorite sub-genre. Cults have never really interested me and have generally been overdone, and all in an almost cookie-cutter fashion. I cannot say the same about the cult featured in this story. Feeling quasi true to life especially considering current events, à la Epstein and his island, the cult, while important, is only a small fraction of this story. And yet it did set the tone of the story to me, whether fair or not.

The story was also insanely slow burn. With such an action-backed beginning, it surprised me just how much the pace of the story slowed until we neared the end. In a sense, this is good— it allows for more character exploration. However, I still struggled to see these characters as fully three-dimensional. It felt as though they kept slipping through my fingers; their story not as meaningful to me as I had envisioned it would be going into it. By the time I reached the end, I felt more disconnected than enmeshed, leaving me feeling a little disappointed.

Is this bingy? Yes. Is it atmospheric, fairly. Can it be enjoyed, especially on audio narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, one of the best in the business? For sure. That said, for me, though not bad, this one missed the mark.

Read if you like:
▪️domestic suspense
▪️cultish vibes
▪️resort setting
▪️slow burn
▪️complex “family” dynamics
▪️dual timelines

Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio for this gifted audiobook!

I really enjoyed this author’s previous book, so I was excited for Our Last Resort, but unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me. I’m usually all in for a good cult storyline, and while that element was intriguing, I actually found myself wanting more of it—the present-day timeline dragged a bit and lacked the urgency I expected from something billed as suspense. To me, this read more like a slow-burn literary mystery, and while the writing was solid, I never felt fully connected to the characters. That said, Saskia Maarleveld’s audiobook narration was excellent (as always), and I’ll absolutely keep reading whatever this author writes next. Not bad by any means—just not one that’ll stick with me for long.

Frida and Gabriel grew up as brother and sister in a cult. Once they left the cult, they were each other's best friends while they figured out how to survive in the world. They have grown apart in the last 10 years, but they are taking a relaxing trip to a desert resort in Utah to reconnect. While there, a guest turns up dead. With their history, Frida and Gabriel are very nervous about this investigation. There is so much no one knows about them, and it turns out there's even more they don't know about each other.

This was such a twisty thriller with dual timelines that keep you guessing on how all the pieces fit together until the very end. This is a good thriller if you want something fast paced that you can't put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC of Our Last Resort.

Thanks to NetGalley & Knopf for the chance to read this book

I'm just gonna be straight about this one, it didn't grab my attention enough for me to keep reading, I ended up DNFing

4.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the E-ARC. Let me just say that just like her prev book this one is a slow burn thriller where at the end you are just like wtf did I read but in such a quiet way because everything is so subtle its like was this book even real. Gabriel and Frida are in a resort where someone is murdered. The book goes to the past showing how Gabriel and Frida were raised in a cult and what they endured to what is happening at the resort. This booked showed me that true unconditional love that siblings can have and that I like to say my sister and I have as well.

The TL;DR is that I liked The Quiet Tenant much more than I liked this one.

I guess that’s the problem with having such a knockout debut. It’s hard to not have every single book you’ll ever write compared to it. Which is kind of not fair, yeah?

Okay, well if I wipe The Quiet Tenant from my mind and only think about this one, it still didn’t work for me. It’s super slow and not much happens in the first half. There’s a cult that’s not very interesting and the POV flips between the ‘then’ when the characters are growing up in a cult, and the ‘now’ where the characters become suspects in a murder at a resort. The second half does pick up but the twist was a bit predictable and to be honest, I really wish I liked it more. I just didn’t.

The positive side here is that I’m not done with this author and I am very much looking forward to her next book.

My expectations for this book were sky high after reading THE QUIET TENANT. I still think about that book and a shiver runs up my spine. I wish I could say this did the same. It was perfectly fine and I was engaged while listening, but I’m not sure it will stand out for me like her debut.

OUR LAST RESORT starts out strong with cult siblings, Frida and Gabriel, arrive at the Ara Hotel in Utah. Years ago they were close, but a shared secret has distanced them over time. When a fellow guest turns up dead, suspicion falls on Gabriel who maintains his innocence. Frida has always believed his version of a tragedy that prompted their escape from the cult, but now even she begins to question his involvement.

I was intrigued by the cult elements examined in this book and felt my interest wane during other parts. I did a combined physical and audio read of this book. The audio version is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and her performance kept me listening even through the slower parts of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Our Last Resort is a haunting thriller that explores trauma, loyalty, and the limits of trust. The story follows Frida Nilsen and Gabriel Miller—two childhood friends who were raised in a cult led by a manipulative leader named Émile. Once breaking free of the cults’ grip they drifted apart, eventually living at opposite ends of the country from one another. They reunite as adults to participate in a documentary. But when a wealthy guest’s wife is found murdered, Gabriel becomes the prime suspect, and Frida is forced to confront long-buried memories and doubts. I enjoyed the parts of the book that talked about the cult aspects. The backstory was very interesting.

Overall, an enjoyable, gripping book. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys cultish vibes, slow burn. complex family dynamics and dual timelines.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor publishing for the advanced copy.

Having been raised in a cult, Frida and Gabriel have been through so much. After escaping, they have leaned on each other and have a close brother/sister bond.

The Last Resort is told in both present and past timelines. We are able to meet Frida and Gabriel as teenagers, experience their time in the cult. Also we see them now as adults on a week getaway to a luxury resort. When there is a murder at the resort, we are left wonder if they had something to do with it, as past events come to light.

This book had be completely immersed in the story, both past and present. Really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

After reading The Quiet Tenant and loving it, I was thrilled to receive this book early for review. While I wouldn't say it's as good, it's a decent, fast-paced read. I love reading about cults. I find them fascinating, and I wish the entire book were just about that, with a mystery involved. The present-tense storyline was a bit far-fetched and a little bizarre. I do think this book is more murder mystery, which is different from the first book she wrote. Overall, I think it was a twisty, suspenseful book that readers may enjoy. I am looking forward to future releases by Clemence Michallon.