When seven strangers are invited to an all-expenses paid luxury retreat in order to test a new product from the mysterious Timeo Technologies, they eagerly accept. But soon their excitement turns to terror when it's revealed why they're really there.

Each of them has a guilty secret and instead of luxury they find a trap. Will any of them make it out alive?

I have to say, the premise of this book is a lot more exciting than the actual novel. It's a quick read that does not move quickly, if that makes any sense. The plot is slowed down by a lot of backstory, but its backstory that doesn't illuminate anything. The book rests on two narratives: the present tense of the guests POVs (only the females; the three male protagonists never get a chapter) and the past story of "Anne" and "George." It's clear the past plays an important role in why the strangers were brought together, but it's simply to tell us over and over that "Father was a bad man." But we're never really shown anything to make us care. This leaves the ending bizarre and lackluster.

Likewise, in the present story, no one's really developed in a way to make you feel connected to them or care about what's happening and their reactions to what's unfolding are just strange. As their secrets are revealed and each is shown to be a terrible (actually, how are most of them not in jail?) person, they keep hammering home that, "no, this isn't real, it's all a game. And even if it's not, everyone does terrible things so our terrible things are justifiable!" Amelia repeats this to herself so much it's annoying, and no dear, while a lot of people may harbor memories they're not that proud of, most of us haven't committed acts of murder/brutal, bloody assault.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for making this available to review. I'll have to recommend this lightly. It wasn't the worst thing I've read, and it was entertaining enough to keep me reading, but I was hoping for a little more intensity throughout. Or at least be a little more believable.

I received a free e-copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

A few times a year I receive those tempting invitations to go somewhere warm and sunny (obviously not this Covid year), stay in a nice swanky hotel and do it all for nothing - so long as I'm willing to sit through a hard-sell about investing in a time-share or a time-share dressed up as something else. I'm no millionaire or famous person but even I can tell it's just not worth getting involved. If something seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. I just wondered why the seven strangers - or one couple and five singles - would have accepted the offer of a luxury trip to an island without thinking "Hmm, is this a good idea?"

The seven spend a day being drugged, manipulated and having their minds and their memories mined for their guiltiest secrets. As my old French teacher would quote - usually at people who'd not done their homework "Be sure your sins will find you out". As the seven blunder about the island wondering what the heck is going on, we readers soon work out who might be behind the invitation but in most cases, we're not sure why the people have been chosen.

I enjoyed this. Well, the first 85% or so after which it all got a bit more weird than I was ready to swallow. Word to the wise; if invited to a luxury retreat on a mystery island, be really careful what you swallow.

The book is well paced, a lot of what happens requires the reader to suspend rather a big chunk of disbelief, but it thankfully avoids following the Agatha Christie style 'And then there were none' approach, preferring instead to save up a lot of the action and deliver it in a 'blink and you'll miss it' finale. Did I believe the baddie would do what they did? Not entirely. Did I believe the mighty powerful techno-brains behind the world's great innovations? Only partially.

If I wanted one improvement it would be for the seven weekenders to be more logically linked to the story and for there to be a better reason for at least five of them to be there.

I'm a Susi Holliday fan and have yet to read anything by her that doesn't blow my mind and The Last Resort was no exception. Even if the story hadn't been brilliant, the creativity of the technological ideas was enough to carry this book. How on earth does Ms Holliday come up with such innovative and unique concepts? Sheer genius. The story was so taut, at times I could feel myself tensing up, waiting for the next shock. The two strands of the story seemed so disparate, I couldn't begin to figure out how they would connect. But connect they did and with a huge WOW! I had to stay up until 3 in the morning so I could finish because I was totally engrossed and wouldn't have been able to sleep without knowing how it ended. Taut, tense, atmospheric, engrossing, captivating, unique, brilliant, I could go on and on. I'll precis my thoughts for you. Buy The Last Resort today. You can always thank me later.

This book is definitely the genre I normally like to read...mystery and a little Sci fi. It was good from the start and had me guessing what was really going on. While you can kind of figure out what will happen, there are some surprising elements. I will say, it does get a little slow in parts and the end is disturbing and a little rushed. Not sure if I will read another from this author. Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced thriller that doesn’t just pique your curiosity but it frantically drags you along with every disastrous & dangerous moment for the guests of the island. The first chapter when we meet Amelia had made me interested and the middle section of the book was full of tension. However the ending left me feeling deflated and slightly disappointed after such an exciting journey with these flawed but addictive characters. The resolution felt lacklustre and sadly meant that my overall enjoyment was spoiled.

As the rating system doesn't allow half marks, I will be generous and round up my rating.

A huge thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Susi Holiday for the Uncorrected Proof, in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that locked room mysteries are my absolute favorites. I love using the clues throughout the book to figure out who will be the last one standing and how it will be done. A locked room mystery with a technology twist, sure why noy?

The story started out great! The characters were developed well, there was just enough question to make you keep reading but not so much that your head is spinning. I loved all of the false starts and stops just when it looked like something was going to be revealed. Unfortunately, these "stops" also applied to the characters as well. Mid-way through the development of the character, they are killed off and their story is ended just as abruptly. This left holes in the story.

The technology angle also had a lot of promise but jumped the Sci-Fi train along the way. I don't regret reading this one and if you are looking for a fairly quick read with short chapters, this is it! Just don't forget that there may be some suspension of reality and no Agatha Christie.

Thanks NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This book was exciting & full of twists! If you enjoy mysteries, atmospheric settings, and interesting characters, I would definitely recommend this book.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Great read but honestly, the ending hugely disappointed me! But overall it was well written and pretty creepy! Will recommend to a few of my friends who I know will love this book though! Really well written and kept my mind running, heart racing

3 Stars. I was attracted by this book because of the description, as a fan of Agatha Christie's "And Then They Were None". This book is a good thriller with a surprising final twist. Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC!

Seven people sign up to go to a private island to test a product from Timeo Technology. A device you wear that punctures into your skin and reads thoughts , reveals secrets and pits people against each other. Felt like something I watched before on reality TV and something I read before . Characters were complaining a lot and I could not really get into this. Not a page turner. I tried. I felt I had to force myself to continue . Expected more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me the opportunity to read The Last Resort by Susie Holliday.

I loved the idea behind this book - 7 strangers heading off to a luxury island, all eager to see what time in this mysterious resort will bring to their professions and lives. They very quickly become aware however that things are not as they seem.

The story was fast paced, had great relevations that kept me entriqued and I enjoyed the chapters changing between characters.
I struggled with the ending of the story however, after such an intense read, I felt the ending fell a little flat and didn't quite keep up with the pace of the rest of the book.

I was strongly reminded of writing by John Marrs as I read this book and I would definitely read more of Susie Holliday.

A fast-paced thrill ride that keep me guessing right to the end. With a brilliant ensemble cast ego each get a moment in the limelight, I raced through this book to find out how it would end. I wasn’t disappointed!

The Last Resort was a brilliantly entertaining read, a mix of mystery and mayhem, both speculative and traditional in a kind of locked room mystery that just happens to have a wide vista.

One luxury resort that turns out to be rather deadly and not terribly luxurious, a cast of characters that engage throughout and a black mirror meets the famous five vibe that is addictively brilliant. There's even a cave although no ginger beer unfortunately.

Cleverly timed and implemented death lots of creepy stuff some insightful psychological trauma and a lot of great writing add up to a book that is a pure pleasure to read. Recommended.

I love a good locked room mystery and thankfully there are lots to choose from these days. This book is well-written and had an intriguing premise, combining the locked room (or in this case, island) mystery with futuristic technology in a kind of Fyre Festival meets the Matrix situation...but with murder. I can suspend my disbelief for a great thriller with the best of them, and I love a creative idea, so I was hyped for this, but ultimately it didn’t work for me. I think the book was a little too ambitious, trying to do a few too many things at once. The author could not really come up with a believable explanation for the invention and use of this technology the way it was used in the book. And the ending just flew totally off the rails for me - came out of nowhere and was not believable.

I give the author credit for trying a very cool and creative idea, and she’s clearly got writing skills, but ultimately the plot just did not work for me as a believable mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley, Susi Holliday and Amazon Publishing UK for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
When I read this blurb I was immediately on board,
Without giving too much away, the 'secrets' that each of these individuals have, ready to be revealed to us throughout, reminded me of the Saw movies. These are people who have done some terrible things and devastated other people's lives. So you're not quite rooting for any of them to survive, which means you're ready to be taken on the rollercoaster ride that is what happens on the island.
The bizarre technology, how they arrive on the island and even the notion of drinking water being tampered with, made this such a unique type of thriller/mystery.
However, the ending, even after what was a pretty disappointing few twists, left me asking myself 'all of this happened for that?!'
Up until probably the last 30/45 minutes, this had me completely engrossed and immersed.
It still is a really interesting concept for a story and had the ending and resolution been handled better, this could easily have been a 4 or 5 star read for me but the frankly silly and rather ridiculous ending ruined the whole experience for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

★★½
I went into The Last Resort expecting a fun and silly thriller along the lines of Christie's And Then There Were None, and that's essentially what I got. Seven strangers are invited to a luxury island retreat and soon start to find out that things are not exactly what they seemed and everything becomes a bit more complicated.

The plot moves along fast and the revelations keep on coming so it was easy to speed through and kept me reading, which is a definite plus. I also liked the technological gadgets that were used and the references to real world topics and inventions like deepfakes, as well as the fact that the characters actually knew enough about these things to not be completely fooled by whatever they saw.

However the writing style didn't really work for me, it felt more like the description of a film plot than an actual novel (he went there, they did this, they put their glasses down and went to join the rest of the group, etc). Too much unnecessary description of exactly what everyone was doing and how they were doing it. It also felt sort of disjointed at times, the conclusions that were drawn weren't always logical, there were some unnecessary things happening and the plot twists didn't always feel connected. The stakes throughout the book didn't feel very high and the conclusion felt like more of the same and didn't leave me satisfied.

Overall I liked the concept and I liked the fast pace, but I didn't think the execution was great. I'm not against checking out the author's other books if the concepts appeal to me though.

This book is ridiculous,but fun.

Until it becomes JUST ridiculous.

That's pretty much all I can say.

This book about seven strangers chosen to enjoy a free weekend stay at a luxurious resort in exchange for their participation had a promising start. Instead of starting their weekend at the resort, the participants are left on the island to find their way to the house. Interspersed throughout the book is a flashback to an event that occurred on an island in the summer of 2000, apparently involving one or more of the characters. Based on the frequency of these flashbacks, the reader is led to believe that the event that occurred that summer has something to do with the weekend retreat.

About half way through the book the narrative began to bog down with descriptions of numerous climbs over omnipresent hills dotted throughout the small island where they are stranded, together with holographic projections of each characters most horrendous mistakes drawn from a tracker inserted in their ear. The tracker appeared to be accessing memories from their brain, which each character would have preferred to remain hidden. Then as each of them is seriously injured, they are whisked away by the host’s spokesperson, leaving the remaining participants to fend for themselves in finding the house. The ending devolved into a deranged monologue by the evil perpetrator, explaining the rationale behind the events that occurred.

Although the character development was good, showing how each participant reacted to the stress of their situation, the repetitive bleak landscape, together with the somewhat farcical ending, prevented this book from reaching its full potential.

What a great book for the first 85% — suspenseful, can’t put down. Seven strangers on an island for mysterious reasons, futuristic technology, everyone with secrets to hide and an unknown, malevolent host. Then comes the end of the book—totally disappointing. Five stars for the 85%, two stars for the rest. But still a recommended read