Our Last Resort

Innocence doesn't bail you out; it just makes you easier to trap.Frida and Gabriel arrive seeking a fresh start at the stunning Ara Hotel in the secluded desert of Escalante, Utah. Once so close they were able to finish each other’s sentences, they’ve grown apart in recent years after a sudden, unspeakable tragedy. Now, at the luxe resort, they are ready to reconnect between dips in the pool and hikes on spectacular desert trails. It all feels like paradise—until the dead body of a beautiful young woman who was vacationing at the Ara with her powerful, much older husband is discovered.When the local police arrive and suspicion quickly falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to revisit memories from their upbringing in a cloistered cult in upstate New York, their dramatic escape, and the scandal that followed. Frida’s belief in Gabriel’s innocence never wavered at the time, but now even she can’t ignore the evidence mounting against him.

“Michallon masterfully weaves past cult abuse into a taut present-day procedural, blending psychological complexity with enough terror to make you white-knuckle your beach chair.”
—Oprah Daily

“Nail-bitingly taut."
—Boston Globe

"Clémence Michallon has done it again. . . . With each novel, Michallon cements her place as one of the most spellbinding thriller writers of our time, and we’re already counting down to whatever she writes next.”
—New York Post

“Though she’s written only two novels, Clémence Michallon has already made a distinct impression with characters who exist on a different plane from the rest of us. . . . Michallon’s commitment to these characters is powerful and her plotting is elegant.”
—Air Mail

“Clémence Michallon is a genuine talent, with a gift for unexpected angles, finding fresh ways of approaching even the darkest subjects that make them feel reinvigorated and daring. You come to Michallon for beautiful, thought-provoking prose and deep characterization. In Our Last Resort, she finds tenderness in a story about cults, dreaminess, and compassion in the lengths to which people will go to save themselves.”
—Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour

“Michallon does incredible work building both characters and tension…. The novel offers mystery aplenty, but at its core, there is a deep and compassionate humanity.”