4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you @aaknopf & @prhaudio for the gifted digital and audio copies!

Our Last Resort
Clémence Michallon @clemencemichallon
Publishing Date: July 8, 2025

🎧 Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld @saskiaaudio 🎧


This is my second novel by Clémence Michallon and I liked it even better than the first!!

Here we get dual timeline as we follow Frida and Gabriel. They are found family “siblings” who survived and escaped the cult that they were raised in together. And the traumas didn’t end there for these two. Now they are on vacation trying to escape life for a bit and reconnect. But of course tragedy strikes again and they find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation.

This is a slower paced literary suspense/mystery novel. We go back and forth between the past and present day, learning more about where this duo comes from, what they’ve been through, and then figuring out what is going on in present day with the murder. The two timelines almost could have been elaborated on and made into their own own novels, but the intertwining of them together gives the story much more depth. The author does a really nice job of portraying cult life, the after effects of surviving and escaping that life, and then the long term effects of trauma as well.

I really enjoyed the authors writing style and prose here. I was definitely hooked in and flew through this one pretty quickly on audio.

🎧 Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite narrators and she certainly didn’t disappoint here. I will forever recommend listening to books she narrates.

I don’t have too much to say about this one. It’s a murder mystery whodunnit with two main characters who grew up in a cult.

Gabriel and Frida grew up on a commune in a cult with Émile, the abusive cult leader. The story is told in alternating timelines; them growing up in the cult and the years that follow, and now present day at a resort to which they’ve traveled together.

It was fine, a solid mystery novel. Nothing amazing to me, and I was able to guess what happened.

I did like her first novel much more, but this was a solid sophomore book, and I’ll continue to read her books.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon combines cult fiction and mystery into a fast paced novel that follows Frida and her brother Gabriel. They escaped from a cult fifteen years prior to the present day story timeline. Now they are vacationing at a resort in Utah in order to catch back up after a terrible tragedy made them drift apart. Unfortunately, the stunning paradise of the resort is shattered with the discovery of a dead body. And both Frida and Gabriel end up as suspects.

This was my first Clemence Michallon thriller and I definitely enjoyed it and will be watching for any future books to add to my TBR list. This was a fast paced thriller that will make a perfect summer read.

This was a thriller where halfway through I definitely guessed what the outcome was going to be. It was entertaining and I didn’t want to put it down because I needed to know if I was right. I enjoyed The Quiet Tenant and was so happy to have gotten to read this one early as well.

In Our Last Resort, Frida and Gabriel head to the remote Ara Hotel in Escalante, Utah, hoping to heal after a terrible tragedy tore them apart. The luxury resort feels like a perfect escape until the body of a young woman vacationing with her older, powerful husband is found dead. As suspicion falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to confront their complicated past, including their childhood in a cult and the dark secrets they have tried to leave behind. I enjoyed this book; it was my first by this author, and I really liked her writing style and how she wove the story together. The alternating timelines kept me hooked, and I was curious to see how everything would unravel. Overall, it was a solid, suspenseful read!

Thank you to @Netgalley and @aaknopf for the chance to review this ARC. Thanks to @prhaudio for the review copy of this audiobook!

Frida and Gabriel are siblings, survivors of a cult they were born into and escaped. They’ve always supported each other. But after Gabriel’s wife’s death, they’ve drifted apart. Now Friday is determined to rebuild their relationship. So she books them a week at a luxury resort in the deserts of Utah. She envisions relaxing by the pool and hiking through canyons. What she gets is her brother arrested for a murder she’s certain he didn’t commit. She’s determined to rescue him. Just like they rescued each other as children.

This mystery is a slow burn with lots of flashbacks as their childhood trauma is laid bare. (Definitely check trigger warnings on this one.) Frida and Gabriel are at times unlikeable main characters but I was still rooting for them to solve the mystery.

Having the story told from a single POV was a perfect choice. We only had Frida’s understanding of what was happening. As always, the great Saskia Maarleveld, a woman with 100 voices, lent her talent to bringing all the characters to life. I always forget there’s only one narrator when she’s doing the voice acting!

I thought this was a fun mystery with some good twists I didn’t see coming!

I really struggled to get into this book. I loved her previous but this one just wasn’t for me as I don’t think I’m the right target audience for this story.

After her debut novel The Quiet Tenant, it was a no-brainer to request this advanced copy of Our Last Resort. I’m delighted to report I devoured this one too. Her books have now cemented
the status of “auto-buy”.

Clémence’s dual-timeline narrative style flows with such seamless grace that readers will eagerly surrender to its pull.
Here, the story is delves into the past of Frida and Gabriel’s life of growing up in a cult and their journey outside the compound into adulthood. Desperate to be free from the psychological and physical abuse, orphans Frida and Gabriel make a plan to escape the cult. And they’re going out in a blaze of glory. The two are as close to family as one could be, like brother and sister. An inseparable force, consistently fighting for one another, even when confronted with the gravest of circumstances - including murder.

Clémence has infused main characters Frida and Gabriel’s lives with a chilling undertone. The vividness setting of the desert is incredible. Throughout the story, I could effortlessly visualize the unfolding events, as if watching them firsthand.

I recommend as an absolute must read, Our Last Resort, to those enjoy crime novels with psychological twists.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the opportunity to read and review.

Our Last Resort by Clémence Michallon ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

After reading and enjoying The Quiet Tenant, I was excited to receive an ARC of Michallon’s newest book. While this one didn’t grip me as much as the first, I still enjoyed it.

It took me a bit to get pulled into this one, but once I did, I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. I enjoyed the two timelines and thought the cult tie-in was well executed. I found this to have psychological depth that added to my overall positive experience. I did find that a suspension of disbelief was necessary for the ending bits.

All in all, fans of cult-related stories, questionable characters, and family bonds will enjoy this one.

I have to keep this simple because I do not want to give anything away, but Cult survivors and a current murder that happens where they are vacationing???!!! WHERE DO I SIGN!!!!!!!!!!! Because Frida and Gabriel????? There is more going on here, and the murder mystery is triggering another murder that happened 10 years and also 25 years ago. This book is typical Clemence Michallon, I loved it.
PS... I love everything Cults, & murder mystery, so this is up my alley.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Wow wow I loved this! I’ve never read a book about a cult entwined with a murder mystery and it was so good!

Our Last Resort was my first book by Clémence Michallon, and I wasn't disappointed. The tone was somehow a very quiet and smooth telling of a psychologically complex story.

Told in split narrative that smoothly makes connections of Frida and Gabriel's chosen family relationship, their early life in a cult, and their adult lives once leaving the cult. While meeting up at a luxury resort to reconnect, a woman us killed. Gabriel is the prime suspect... a position he's been in before.

The Last Resort is well written psychological thriller.. Frida and Gabriel's past is unconventional, yet Clémence Michallon made it relatable. It's a compelling read that kept me hooked. I've added The Quiet Tenant to my TBR list.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. You've introduced me to a new author to follow.

Our Last Resort is a balanced mix of crime and literary fiction. Two women are dead, 9 years a part, and cult siblings Frida and Gabriel find themselves enmeshed in their murder mysteries. What do they know and what secrets are they hiding? The literary piece was so well done. Growing up in a cult compound and escaping as 18-year-olds, they are both uniquely wise to human nature and also naively clueless at the same time. I appreciated how their adult paths developed differently and how their introspection led to both their suffering and their salvation. There are so many morally gray aspects of this story which would make fore fabulous book club discussion.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I really loved this book. The story and pace were so fantastic. I love a good thriller that really catches me off-guard. I loved The Quiet Tenant as well so I went in with high hopes. I was not disappointed.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon is a sad and haunting story about Frida and Gabriel who grew up being a part of a cult. The story alternates between past and present time so we learn the things they had to go through while they were in the cult as well as how they managed to escape.
Now in the present time, they have reunited at a resort to talk about the possibility of participating in a documentary about the cult. While they reconnect at the resort, something tragic occurs to one of the guests and Frida and Gabriel find themselves in the middle of the investigation. Frida tries to make sure to protect Gabriel at all time because of something dark that occurred in his recent past which makes him a target of this current investigation.
This was a page turner for sure and it kept me wanting to read more and more to find out what truly happened when they escaped the cult, what truly happened in Gabriel’s past as well as the truth behind what happened in the resort.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a whodunit, fast paced thriller!
Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor. All opinions are my own.

Our Last Resort is one of those books that quietly sneaks up on you. It took me a little while to settle into the story, the pacing at the start felt a bit slow, and the structure was slightly disorienting at first. But once I got into the rhythm of it, I found myself fully pulled into this dark, layered mystery. The writing is quietly suspenseful, more atmospheric than action packed, and there’s a simmering sense of unease that builds as the story unfolds.

The novel follows Frida, who reunites with Gabriel, the man she was raised alongside in a cult. Though not related by blood, they share a deeply complicated history, and the story moves between present day Utah—where they’re on vacation together—and haunting flashbacks from their childhood. Frida’s voice is the only perspective we get, which adds to the tension, especially after a woman is found dead at their resort. From that point on, the book becomes a guessing game, Frida is constantly questioning how well she really knows Gabriel, and I found myself doing the same. I truly couldn’t decide whether he was innocent or hiding something more sinister.

If you’re in the mood for a slow burn with a payoff, this one’s worth sticking with. It’s not a traditional thriller with shocking twists on every page, but there’s a quiet intensity that kept me turning the pages. Michallon’s writing is sharp, and the exploration of trauma, memory, and the messy bond between Frida and Gabriel adds depth to the mystery.

Siblings Frida and Gabriel are no strangers to trouble. While trying to reconnect on a vacation, a beautiful guest is murdered and they've somehow gotten wrapped up in the case as persons of interest. This doesn't look good (for obvious reasons,) but especially for Gabriel who has had a missing wife in his past. Through flashbacks of their cult upbringing and escaping the horrors that they endured, we find out what makes these two tick.

I couldn't put this down, yet I feel like something was missing. The end was a bit rushed, but I do really love the way Clémence Michallon can tell a story. 3.5 stars rounded down and a good summer read!

Thank you to Clémence Michallon, Knopf, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

Good book. Not as good as her last book but still good. I liked the cult aspects as cults interest me. Some of it was a bit confusing and far fetched. I would still recommend.

Clemence Michallon’s books are where terrible, horrible, and often tragic things happen to people but their stories are told in impeccably plotted and lovingly rendered ways. To say Michallon has a way with words is an understatement–she’s writing some of the most fascinating thriller fiction I’ve read in the last few years and she’s only just started.

Our Last Resort doesn’t lack for a good story or poor writing–it simply suffers from what I felt was a bit of a rocky start and a lack of cohesion between the two stories being told. I just felt like the two stories didn’t connect as much as Michallon obviously aimed for. Obviously, this could totally be a “me” problem, and I’m willing to accept that. Like I said, the book is written very well and it’s not like it was a bad book. It simply could’ve been so much better. 3⭐️


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews three stars or below will not appear on my main social media channels. Thank you.

This was a really easy and fun page turner! I was interested from the very beginning and it kept me guessing the entire time. I love anything that has cult vibes, so the two main characters, Frida and Gabriel, being “siblings” from a commune was totally a win for me! I enjoyed this a lot and will for sure be recommending it to others!