I originally picked up Our Last Resort to check Utah off my 50 States reading challenge. It sounded like a good story, and I’ll choose murder and mayhem over romance and flowers any day of the week. I’d never read anything by Clémence Michallon before, so I went in with an open mind.
The story begins in a luxury resort. Gabriel and Frida were raised in a cult and chose each other as brother and sister, not knowing who their biological parents were. (To the uninitiated, this happens in cults. Children are often separated from their parents because they have a different purpose in the eyes of the cult leader.) Michallon takes her time setting the scene and building the characters before anyone dies, but she doesn’t drag her feet either.
Soon enough, we learn these two have been connected to three deaths:
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Edwina, a young woman from the cult, who died in the fire Gabriel and Frida set to cover their escape.
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Annie, Gabriel’s wife, whose murder he was suspected of but never convicted for.
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Sabrina, the much-younger wife of a wealthy older man tied to the tabloids.
The multiple timelines worked perfectly for me. As the past unfolded, the present did too, making the reveals feel layered and deliberate. Gabriel and Frida are definitely memorable. Not necessarily likable, but they are survivors through and through. I respect that. Also, Michallon deserves a storytelling gold star to have them live in a storage unit after their escape from the cult.
The cult-trauma backstory felt very authentic. You’ve got the leader convinced he’s God complete with the entitlement to sex with anyone he chooses anytime he chooses, the isolation, the communal living, and punishments that are wildly disproportionate to the "crime". Gabriel and Frida first bonded while being punished for giggling in church; hardly a jailable offense, but the shared misery forged an unshakable loyalty.
The most memorable quote in the book in my opinion was, hands down:
"Here’s the truth about committing murder: There are no perfect crimes. Only lucky ones. Only a hundred cursed stars aligning just so."
My only gripe is the ending. It just…hung there…like wet clothes on a clothesline forgotten in the rain. I wanted the ending, not a fade-out. With a stronger finish, this would have been a five-star read. As it is, I’m giving it four out of five.
