"Our Last Resort" was a great thriller, full of secrets and surprises. Frida and Gabriel were in a cult as children, escaped, went through some serious struggles, lost touch for a few years, and reconnected at a luxury resort in Utah where a woman is murdered. The book switches timelines, one of the murder and its subsequent investigation and the other is in flashbacks where we see their complicated relationship and their lives from their time in the cult to what brought them to Utah. It's a fairly tight story with an unreliable narrator and their sibling who has struggled more post-cult. The end brings a few questions, but overall, it is a good ride.

A thrilling and captivating mystery story. From the first page, I was hooked. The plot was complex and very interesting. It constantly kept me guessing. The author did a really nice job in developing the characters and making the reader feel like they really knew the characters. This is my first time reading books by this author and I look forward to reading other books.

Wowowowow. I thought this was going to be a straightforward jealous husband killed his wife and you just have all this random filler until the big reveal...but I was SO wrong! It is much more than that! It is nuanced, layered, complex, and twisty with a good dose of sibling angst. I could not put this down and stayed up til far past my bedtime to finish it and you will love this too!!

I love this author and this is another brilliant and captivating book. I was drawn in from the first pages and would recommend this book for everyone this year!

I thoroughly enjoyed this ARC of Our Last Resort…it was an engaging read and I was able to finish in a little over 24 hrs. The twists in the end were mostly surprising, however I was able to figure out one twist ahead of time. I enjoyed the switch between time periods-when the 2 main characters were in a cult as kids and present day when they were involved in a murder at a hotel. I’m looking forward to reading this author’s other acclaimed novel, The Quiet Tenant. I want to thank Net Galley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for this ARC for my honest review.

Our Last Resort, by Clemence Michallon, is a mystery about two young people, Frida and Gabriel, who were raised together in a cult and consider themselves siblings. The story goes back and forth in time, recounting the horror of life in the cult, to their escape, to the present where they are at a luxury resort after losing touch for a good while. Life has certainly not been kind to either one, but Frida seems to have better coping skills post-cult than Gabriel. Gabriel does get married, but when his wife is eventually found dead, he is the primary suspect. He is never charged due to lack of evidence, but the stain of suspicion follows him everywhere. When the death of a beautiful young woman, married to a wealthy, much older man occurs at the resort, Gabriel, in part due to his infamous past, becomes a suspect once again.

The flashbacks to their life in the cult help explain how these two became the people they are. Their relationship is about as complicated as one could possibly be, bound up as it is in secrets and lies and shared history. Whether they emerge successfully from their past is left to the reader to decide. I’m not sure exactly what I’m rooting for, but the path to my confusion/ambivalence was entertaining. I’ve not read the author’s debut novel, The Quiet Tenant, but based on my enjoyment of this one, I definitely will. Recommended.

Our Last Resort by Clémence Michallon is a gripping and emotionally charged novel that delves into themes of love, trauma, and resilience. The story follows the lives of two characters, each struggling with personal demons and the weight of their pasts as they navigate their way through a turbulent relationship.

Michallon’s writing is powerful and evocative, capturing the inner emotional turmoil of the characters while exploring complex human connections. The novel does a fantastic job of conveying the emotional stakes of the characters’ lives, drawing the reader into their world with a deep sense of empathy. The pacing is steady, allowing for an in-depth exploration of the characters’ motivations, and the prose is vivid without feeling overly verbose.

One of the standout aspects of Our Last Resort is Michallon’s ability to balance dark themes with moments of hope and humanity. The narrative is intense at times, but the characters’ journeys toward healing provide a sense of redemption that resonates long after the book ends.

However, while the book is well-written, some readers may find certain plot developments a bit predictable, and the emotional weight of the story could be overwhelming for those who prefer lighter, more straightforward narratives.

Overall, Our Last Resort is a solid 4-star read. It excels in its emotional depth and complex character development, making it a powerful choice for readers who appreciate books that explore the raw and often painful realities of relationships and personal growth.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Our Last Resort, by Clémence Michallon. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow - what a ride. This is a pretty tight thriller with essentially three different murders, taking place at three different times in the lives of Frida and Gabriel. The two of them met while living with members of a cult. Not a remarkable cult, pretty standard as far as those go. Enigmatic leader, raping all the girls when they turn 18, everyone works to make the compound better, etc. Frida and Gabriel have a bigger view of the world and spend time on the "outside-outside" whenever they can.

After they set a fire they escape for good.

The book recounts their story - living in a storage unit, a shelter, finally getting to a point in their lives where things begin to feel somewhat normal. After Gabriel's wife is found dead things start to go bad for the two.

Years later they reunite at a luxury resort and after a guest is found dead, the past begins to resurface for both of them.

I enjoyed this a lot- needs a little editing but all in all good. I didn't see the twist at all.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of our last resort in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely loved the previous book by this author “the quiet tenant” if you have not had the chance to read that stop what you are doing and immediately grab a copy. Clemence Michallon has a great way of building the suspense. You do not want to put the book down. Gabriel and Frida grow up in a cult in upstate New York separated from society. They never know who their parents are so they become the only family they have. When Frida turns 18 something happens that pushes them to make a life change. Its very hard to tell too much without giving the story away. This book is well done and twisty. Pick it up if you like a thriller. Five stars. Looking forward to the next one.

The premise of this book was intriguing: two siblings raised in a cult years later reuniting at a resort vacation. We get flashbacks to their time in the cult, as well as how they’ve both adapted to their life after in the “outside” world. While there is a twist, I was more enthralled with how the siblings seemed to still view the world through their experiences from their upbringing and how that shaped the good and bad choices they had made.

As a fan of The Quiet Tenant, I was so excited for this ARC by the same author, and I was not disappointed.

Frida and Gabriel grew up under the control of a cult, their childhood shaped by isolation and rigid rules. After escaping, they drifted apart, eventually settling on opposite sides of the country and trying to rebuild their lives.

Years later, a five-star resort vacation reunites them—but when a woman is murdered at the resort, old wounds and long-buried secrets resurface. As the past collides with the present, Frida and Gabriel are forced to confront the truth about their shared history and the shadow the cult still casts over their lives.

Told through alternating timelines, this suspenseful and emotionally charged story kept me hooked from beginning to end. The dual perspectives offered a layered view of their traumatic past and its lasting effects, and I found both storylines equally captivating. The ending was satisfying and well-executed, making for a truly rewarding read.

Our Last Resort follows estranged siblings Frida and Gabriel as they reunite at a luxury resort. The two siblings are drawn together by their history of escaping a cult together. Alternating between timelines, we follow the siblings as they navigate separate tragedies, leading up to the culmination of events on the night of their escape years ago, to present day answers as to the identity of a young guest at the resort's murderer during their stay.

I found the story to be interesting and engaging. I enjoyed having two timelines, especially with the cult storyline, as I have not read many of those types of book before and I find it to be interesting.

However, I will say that I found the writing to be a little disjointed throughout, particularly with flashbacks, as the main character's thoughts often go off on a tangent, impacting the flow of the storyline.

Overall, I give this book 3.5/5 stars!

This was my first book by this author, and while I will read her debut, it has fallen a little on my tbr list. This book was good, it kept me intrigued, but something just fell flat. I didn't like either main character, each for different reasons but still. I figured out the plot twist about halfway through. I would still recommend this book, just not as a 5 star type read. Thanks for giving me the opportunity!

This was a slow burn for me, I think because of some of the storytelling/timelines choices, that I was happy picked up speed and intensity in the second half of the novel. Overall it was a solid read with some fun twists and turns.

this was a weird and sad mystery involving main characters who survived a cult . An interesting story with an unreliable narrator who you don't realize is unreliable until a ways in. Kept me hooked

I loved The Quiet Tenant, so when I saw the author had a new book, I hit that request button so fast!🙌🏼 After staying up til 1am to finish, I'm pleased to announce that Clémence Michallon is no one hit wonder. Our Last Resort is a gripping, intelligent, beautifully written story about a brother and sister—Gabriel and Frida— who have had their fair share of hard luck. They're not *really* siblings, but after being born and raised in a brutal cult without anyone to care for them, the pair become family. Now older, they reconnect for the first time since Gabriel's wife's tragic death. But what promises to be a week in paradise turns into more than they bargained for, when a woman is found dead on the resort property.

Our Last Resort is told in past/present timelines, alternating between their childhood years in the cult and the present day at the resort. I really enjoyed both timelines and found the author's transitions from past to present to be smooth. The author's depiction of cult life and indoctrination was well done and felt very authentic. The writing itself is quite literary at times and I was frequently impressed by Michallon's prose. For a thriller, it's quite poetic at times, and that really worked for me. As I mentioned above, I stayed up many hours past my bedtime last night to finish. And if that's not an indicator of a good book, I don't know what is! Highly recommend! 4.5/5 stars.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my access to an early copy.

I loved the dual timelines throughout this book! I will say that I found the past storyline more interesting with the cult and Émile, but I wish that we had learned more about exactly what the cult was for. It could have been touched on as part of when he gets arrested and Frida and Gabriel hear of his crimes. Great read that kept me wanting more and I would recommend to others!

If you read The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon then you can imagine just how good this new book is! (If you haven't read it, you should). Our Last Resort follows Gabriel and Frida, found siblings that grew up in a cult. They escape when they were 18 and are trying to make a way for themselves amidst all their past traumas. When they meet up at a luxury resort, trouble seems to follow.
I couldn't put this book down! It was a fast-paced, highly engaging read. The story is told through dual timelines, their childhood growing up in the cult, and the present.
Thank you to Clémence Michallon, Knopf Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review. Our Last Resort will be available July 8th!

This book follows Frida and Gabriel who travel to the secluded Ara Hotel in Escalante, Utah to repair their strained relationship after a tragic event drove them apart, hoping the resort’s beauty and solitude will help them reconnect. But their plans unravel when a young woman is found dead, her husband raising suspicion. The investigation forces them to confront their past in a strict cult they fled years ago, challenging everything Frida believed about their unbreakable bond.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its focus on cults, a subject I find really interesting, and while those aspects were compelling, much of the rest of the story unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. This leans more toward a murder mystery, but the murderer is fairly obvious, which takes away any real suspense. As a thriller, it lacked the thrill.

The pacing was slow, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it never built up to anything truly explosive. Instead, it felt anticlimactic and a bit dull. That said, the writing itself was strong, which kept me turning the pages even when the plot wasn’t gripping enough for me. The ending in particular left me wanting so much more. I felt that it wrapped up too abruptly and felt like a missed opportunity to dive deeper.

Overall, I loved the premise but the execution didn’t quite live up to its potential.

I loved this authors first book, the quiet tenant, and I’ve got to say that this book also did not disappoint!!! It really grips you and is just written so well. I found it really engaging and just didn’t want to put it down.