“Our Last Resort” by Clemence Michallon is a psychological thriller that is told in dual timelines. The author presents a very real picture of two children who grew up in a cult and the effect that life has had on them, even as 15 years have passed. Now producers want to make a documentary about the cult and tensions grow between the two, as they discuss whether to participate or not.
Frida Nilsen and Gabriel Miller grew up together in a cult. They escaped when they were young adults, but the trauma of those years remained. Frida and Gabriel used to be very close, but after Gabriel’s wife, Annie, died, they grew apart. (Tabloid papers had always inferred that Gabriel might have been involved in Annie’s death.) Frida and Gabriel meet at a desert resort to discuss whether to participate in interviews for a documentary about the cult. While at the resort, a young woman is murdered . . . and Gabriel is suspected in her death. Frida begins to wonder what secrets Gabriel is hiding and whether he could be a murderer . . .
“Our Last Resort” was an interesting novel – the cult society was described really well and it was easy to see how Frida and Gabriel had trouble adjusting to normal society after their escape. The murder at the resort kept my interest too. When the novel started to drag, the murder investigation piqued my attention again. This wasn’t the very best thriller I’ve read, but it was a good end-of-summer book with a nice twist at the end.
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