I loved The Quiet Tenant from this author so when I saw this one I had to request it. This one was slower paced but the plot was so good. The story alternates between past and present, which I enjoyed. There are some sensitive topics and scenes in this book so make sure you’re aware of that. I didn’t guess the big twist and I love when that happens. Overall I really enjoyed this one and it was an entertaining thriller!

Our Last Resort pulled me in from the very beginning and held my attention with its sharp writing, complex characters, and suspenseful pacing. What I enjoyed most was the storyline involving the cult — it was eerie, fascinating, and felt disturbingly believable. Michallon does a great job weaving past and present timelines, slowly unraveling secrets and building a sense of unease that kept me turning the pages. The setting of the remote resort only added to the tension and atmosphere. A few minor pacing issues kept it from being a full 5 stars for me, but overall, this was a gripping and memorable read. Highly recommend if you enjoy dark psychological suspense with a compelling twist.

I liked this one a lot! I love stories involving cults, as well as alternating timelines, and making family that doesn’t have to be blood. Frida and Gabriel are siblings not by blood, who are on vacation together when a murder happens. The story then alternates between their childhood and the present and how things twisted and turned for them and still do. I liked the ending and will definitely read this author again.

Our Last Resort is a slow-burn, atmospheric thriller that really gets under your skin. Clémence Michallon does a great job building tension in this remote, luxurious setting where nothing is quite as perfect as it seems. The characters are messy and believable, each carrying their own secrets, and watching things unravel is both eerie and compelling. It’s the kind of story that pulls you in quietly, then suddenly has you flipping pages late into the night. If you like your thrillers moody, emotional, and a little unsettling, this one’s worth picking up.

I wish there had been more background on the cult and upbringing. This story felt like the beginnings of two different stories and I wished there was more depth on both. The murder mystery was good but I again wish there had been more depth.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

For a while this hooked me in, between the flashbacks and the current predicament. But in some ways it felt like they weren’t fully formed characters for me. Maybe bc of the weird circumstances of their upbringing they were supposed to only be formed so much. I guess partially I could trust or relate to them that I found it hard to connect.

But it was still an interesting story that I wanted to get to the bottom of.

Gabriel and Frida, an estranged brother and sister, have retreated to a spa in Utah after years of absence. However, their relaxation is cut short when the wife of a newspaper tycoon is found murdered on the property. Adding to the mystery, Gabriel has only been recently cleared in the murder of his wife. Is it just a coincidence or is Gabriel hiding more from her sister than he's letting on. 

What I loved about this book
-dual timelines
-glimpse of life within a cult
-short chapters and even paragraphs
-full and complete story
-shocking twist
-loose ends tied up
-beautiful desert scenery
-likable characters

This book was full of surprises, and at the heart, was about the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister. Beautifully written, fast paced and keeps you guessing. 

TW: The two grew up in a cult and there is a mention of SA but in a very delicate way.

I highly recommend checking this book out when it's released on July 8th, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I read about 20% and was just kind of bored, I didn't feel like the stakes were high enough and I wasn't particularly invested in this one. The Quiet Tenant was just okay for me, I liked it but was hoping this one would be even better, but it just felt slow to me.

Frida and Gabriel are staying at a luxurious hotel in Escalante, Utah called the Ara. They are hoping to reconnect after growing apart and not being close like they once were. They consider themselves brother and sister, after growing up together in a cult run by a man named Emile. They escaped together as young adults and helped each other through rough times- often broke or homeless, trying to figure out how to survive and make a life. Now at the resort, they face new challenges when a woman is found dead and suspicion falls on Gabriel, mainly because his wife died under mysterious circumstances nine years ago. The book goes back and forth between current times and past years that include some from the cult years, some from early struggles once they were free and years when Gabriel and Annie were married. The book provides an interesting look at trauma that binds people and the depths of “family” love. I thought the characters could have used a little more depth in describing the cult years but overall we get a good sense of their tight bond. I give the book 3.5 stars out of 5 - a good book but not great.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 8, 2025.

Our Last Resort is a slow-burn literary mystery that blends the eerie beauty of the Utah desert with the haunting shadows of a shared past. Frida and Gabriel, once inseparable, check into a remote luxury resort hoping to reconnect after years of emotional distance—and a tragedy that still looms large. But when a young woman is found dead and suspicion falls on Gabriel, old secrets resurface and loyalty is tested.

Told in dual timelines, the novel weaves between their unsettling upbringing in a reclusive cult and the present-day murder investigation. The cult background adds intrigue, though it could have been explored more deeply. While not a high-octane thriller, the story is atmospheric, with steady pacing and enough emotional undercurrents that kept me invested. A solid 3.5 stars—rounded up to 4 for goodreads.

While I liked some of the characters in this book for their resilience I just didn’t get into the storyline as much as I thought I would. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

My thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Net Galley, etc for this arc.

I dnf . Could not hold my interest. I liked the mystery with the hotel but found it hard to follow the dual time lines. And what did the titles of the chapters The Fourth Day and the Fifth Day mean?

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy.

I liked this one much more than the Quiet Tenant. Not to say that the first book by this author was bad, but this one was addicting and I could not stop reading. I loved the setting and the cult setting. Cults in books don’t always intrigue me or but this one was perfect in every way. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the advanced reader copy.

When Frida meets up with her brother, Gabriel, at the Ara Hotel in the desert, she's hoping that it's an opportunity for them to reconnect. The two have only ever had each other to count on--they were born into a self-contained cult--but after the death of Gabriel's wife (where Gabriel was the prime suspect), they drifted apart. At first things are going well, but when the body of a young woman who was staying at the hotel with her wealthy older husband turns up in the hotel's courtyard old secrets and tensions rise up between the siblings. And when Gabriel is again looked at as a suspect (based on his previous history of having his wife die), Frida must decide how far she's willing to go to save the only family she has.

While the marketing copy calls this book propulsive, I would say that if you're someone looking for a super fast paced mystery/thriller then this isn't the book for you. Michallon does an excellent job of creating a slow burn in this story, where the desert becomes atmospheric and paints the tone of the story with a simultaneous freedom and claustrophobia. Frida and Gabriel are fascinating characters, as they didn't leave their cult until they were young adults and had to try to learn the world quickly. Their backstory makes many of the details in the plot work well without feeling forced or implausible. While the mystery of who killed the young woman at the hotel feels pretty clear cut from the beginning, there are definitely some twists I didn't see coming that made this a satisfying read.

Our Last Resort is out July 8, 2025

This was a nail biter from start to finish! The Past and Present timeline kept me so engaged and enthralled.

Our Last Resort is the kind of book I've been waiting to read. There's a mystery, but the story is less concerned with the sordid details and more about motive. There are twists and turns and revelations, but they don't jerk the reader around. Excited for Michallon's next!

Read this if: you like dual timelines, cult survivor backstories, and slow-burn mysteries set at eerie resorts

Our Last Resort weaves together new and old mysteries in a way that kept me turning the pages. The story opens with a woman found dead at a remote, boutique resort, and our narrator and her brother quickly become the prime suspects. From there, the novel moves between two timelines—one in the present, unraveling the murder investigation, and one in the past, as the siblings grow up in a cult and eventually escape.

As the timelines converge, we learn more about their secretive upbringing and the weight of everything they’ve been hiding from each other. The pacing is definitely a slow burn, but it works here—the mystery unfolds gradually, and the tension builds in both timelines in a really satisfying way.

I’ll be honest: the characters frustrated me at times. But in a good way. Their flaws and avoidance make them feel real—especially knowing what they’ve been through. As a reader, you can see them making choices that are clearly not going to end well, but it’s understandable why they’re still stuck in their patterns. That push-pull between empathy and exasperation actually made them more compelling.

A solid, atmospheric read with just enough darkness to keep it interesting without going overboard.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

Atmospheric, enjoyed the dual timelines, & loved the twists. Well written, complex, & dynamic, impressed there were different mysterious events but was still able to follow well.

Our last resort was a fun read. It follows Gabe and Frida who have started new lives outside of the cult they grew up in. Throughout the years from their escape they have grown apart. Friday books a stay at the lavish Ara hotel so they can reconnect. While at the hotel a women is found dead and Frida and Gabe are now suspects. Throughout the investigation Gabe and Frida revisit their past traumas to make sense of the current situation and how it is all related.

The overall book was a 3.5 for me. It was somewhat fast paced and I enjoyed the glimpses into the past to make sense of who and how Gabe and Frida have evolved since leaving the awful cult. I'd recommend this book for a quick fun murder mystery.

Frida and Gabriel reconnect at a resort for a fresh start that’s ruined when a guest is found dead. Suspension quickly falls on Gabriel and Frida is forced to review their past in a cult and their escape.

I loved Michallon’s debut novel so had high hopes for this one. It didn’t quite meet them for me. While the plot and mysteries were interesting, they just didn’t grab me enough to care. We didn’t get to know Sabrina at all and I found Gabriel and Frida’s deep friendship hard to believe, especially with the gap and distrust.

Our Last Resort comes out 7/8.