My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this a 3.5 stars or 7/10. Reading the synopsis of this, the story sounded just right up my street. However, it didn't quite deliver as much as I thought it would and I was expecting great things from it.

This is a thriller that airs on the side of dystopian in some ways. What sounds like an experience to good to ignore an all expenses paid retreat for seven strangers. They all have secrets and there is one perfect crime. Arriving on the Island that the retreat is on, they are all informed that they are there to help test out a brand new product. What starts out quite innocent, soon takes an unexpected turn that none of them saw coming. As the product that they are testing, which is a memory tracking device that inadvertently begins to reveal the secrets that they have all kept hidden to one another. Tension amongst them all begins to mount and they begin to react to what is being revealed to them.

As they begin to turn on one another, who will be the ultimate survivor as it looks as though they are fighting to survive.

Whilst, on paper this sounded perfect for me. I felt that it was lacking and that at times the story became a little lost to me. Please don't let this review put you off grabbing a copy of it yourself if you come across it as we all read books differently and take something different away from what we have read.

Great book! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

Amelia gets an invitation to a luxury weekend away. Too good to refuse, despite the disclaimers and non-disclosure agreements required of her, she embarks on the trip to an unknown destination in the company of 6 strangers. It’s not too long however before things start turning strange and eventually nasty.
I’m afraid that one word sprung to mind after I had finished, and that was ridiculous.
The Last Resort is well written and very easily read but its potential to be developed into something rather chilling felt wasted. Most of the characters were see- through, annoying and superfluous, and the denouement was a “what?”
Many readers will really like this book.
With thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK.

Amelia is no stranger to travel, but she’s not used to luxury. She generally travels to poor or war-torn countries for her humanitarian work. But now she’s on a small plane with several strangers, heading to what was described as a luxury vacation. Each person on the small plane was asked to sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement, about the remuneration they were offered and about the trip itself.

The trip seems to start innocuously enough, with the small plane heading to an undisclosed location, where this group of strangers will enjoy a vacation they will never forget. There is the Instagram influencer and her game designer boyfriend. A photographer. A gossip columnist. A venture capitalist. And a man who sells nutraceuticals, fancy vitamins to help improve health and performance.

And then the plane hits turbulence, shaking the plane so badly that the oxygen masks come down. Amelia is able to get hers on, but then everything goes dark. When she wakes up, the plane has landed. They are parked inside of a building, and most everyone is still asleep. As they slowly come back to life and find their bearings, they figure out that they are on an island, but they’re not sure where. And when the doors of the hangar close behind them, locking their belongings on the plane, they wonder if this really is a luxury vacation that they’ve stumbled into.

Their host shows up and tells them a little about the island, outfits them all with trackers, and explains that there will be a party at the end of their journey. And then he leaves them to their adventure.

They theorize that they’re in an elaborate game, and when they solve the puzzles along the way, the party at the big house will be their prize, a celebration filled with champagne, caviar, and anything else they desire.

But then they discover that the trackers are more than just trackers. They can be used by the masterminds behind this odyssey to share the wearer’s secrets, vulnerabilities, and even to broadcast videos of their most shameful moments for everyone to see.

The group starts to break apart and then to break down, as these individuals are faced with these memories of their worst moments. And as they find themselves coming apart at the seams, each individual wonders what they’ve gotten themselves into. Is this really a game developed for playful tourists? Is there a luxury vacation waiting at the end? Or is there just some psychopathic tech wizard who brought them all together just to make them pay for their deepest secrets?

The Last Resort is a twisty thriller about secrets and survival, about the things that draw us together as humans and the things that split us apart. Author Susi Holliday has created this creepy adventure filled with questions and she takes her sweet time leading us to the answers.

I enjoyed The Last Resort. I thought it was a fun, if really dark, trip through the jungle of human emotions. I’m a big fan of stories where a group of disparate people are thrown together and have to figure out the puzzle together. These stories generally don’t end well for everyone in the story, and The Last Resort is no exception. But the ending is mostly satisfying, and I would recommend it to others who are drawn to this type of story too.

Egalleys for The Last Resort were provided by Amazon Publishing UK through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Based on the synopsis of this book, I was expecting something super fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. Unfortunately, this wasn't as thrilling as I'd hoped. First off, I found it very difficult to keep all of the characters straight. The switching back and forth between perspectives made me forget which character I was reading from, so I was constantly looking back to figure it out. The middle of the book was pretty good...there were some really suspenseful scenes and I found myself becoming more and more intrigued by where the whole story was leading. The end was what really brought my rating down. None of the reasoning behind why all these people were on the island made and sense to me and it was so far-fetched that I still don't even understand what happened. The main character's tie to the plot and what was in her past that brought her here was ridiculous.

I've seen The Last Resort summarised as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None meets Black Mirror and it's almost the perfect description except I'd also add that there's something for Famous Five fans too!
I love a bit of genre blending and it's something that Susi Holliday does superbly; I realise some readers might be reluctant to try a novel with a sci-fi element but although the sinister technology employed on the mysterious island is integral to the plot, it never feels intrusive or out of place. I suspect opinions will be divided as to whether the memory-tracking devices used on guests are a frightening glimpse into the future or something that could never happen but the writing never becomes bogged down with overly technical explanations and I thought added a fascinating new dimension to a familiar scenario.
The book actually opens on a different island in the summer of 2000; two young girls calling themselves Anne and George are involved in a horrific event - more of which is revealed in later flashback chapters in the novel. However, most of the story focuses on the guests who have been handpicked to test out a luxury island resort. Each has signed a non-disclaimer agreement and each has the own reason for accepting the invitation. Although the third-person narrative switches between the female guests - Amelia, Lucy, Brenda and Tiggy, it's Amelia who is central to the novel and she is perhaps the most likeable of the characters. She is also the most unlikely guest as an aid worker who is more used to staying in rather more basic accommodation than a private island with all expenses paid.
After an unsettling flight, however, it soon becomes clear that this experience isn't what any of the guests had in mind, particularly when they are all fitted with their memory-tracking devices. I really liked their reluctant compliance here; they are obviously not keen on being attached to the trackers but as people are inclined to do, accept them with little more than a few questions and complaints. As the book progresses, these little gadgets prove to be deceptively powerful and to the collective distress of the group, are able to reveal their darkest secrets. Each of them are darkly representative of modern life - there's the apparently vacuous influencer, the seemingly ruthless financier, a gossip columnist, paparazzi photographer, sleazy games designer and a cynical snake-oil nutraceuticals salesman.
Their most shameful moments are exposed intermittently as the guests are forced to work together in what rapidly becomes evident isn't the luxury environment they were expecting. The dreadful revelations do little to foster trust between the group and the recriminations are almost as dramatic as the terrifying surprises the island has in store for them. Without giving anything away, there are some horrifying encounters here, as they attempt to cross the inhospitable terrain in a bid to reach the main house and what has been described to them as a lavish party where everything will be explained.
The characters are all deviously flawed and the addictive plot twists and turns, becoming increasingly tense as the story heads inexorably towards the shocking conclusion. I loved The Last Resort, it's a deliciously dark story and quite possibly the best fun I've had with a book for ages. Very highly recommended.

This was a fun thriller. Quite Agatha Christie with a modern twist. I enjoyed it and read it quickly!

Oh what a fantastic concept - brilliantly delivered. Part futuristic, part take-you-right-back, Susi Holliday has done it again.
An easy five stars for The Last Resort and a massive recommendation from me.

I had high hopes for this book. It sounded great really exciting. But sadly I couldn’t get into it. I found it dull. It failed to capture my interest. It just didn’t play out the way the description had told it

This is a great book that had me gripped from start to finish. It gives you brilliantly flawed characters that both horrified me but who still had a real likability about them.

Told from three different perspectives in real time and woven with short snippets of one fateful day in the past, it follows 7 people as they are all mysteriously invited to a luxury adventure weekend. However, things go dramatically wrong the moment they take off and it's clear that all is not what it seems. Each person on the island as a secret they want to keep hidden, but one by one each secret is revealed in dramatic fashion. Part adventure, part drama, part mystery and part high tech sci-fi, The Last Resort has a lot going on!

Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect as when you look closely at the story and think about it, not much really makes sense. There are definitely holes and some motivations are a little questionable. However, it is really well written with enough character development and action to keep you turning page after page and you just have to know what happens.

This book was not one that I enjoyed. A bit strange for me. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Amelia is an international aid worker, tired and stressed after years of gruelling work in disaster zones. For years she has dedicated her life to making the world better for others, some seeing what she does as selfless, but Amelia knows she has a different reason for carrying out this work. She has a secret she has never divulged and it eats her up from the inside.

But when she received her invitation from Timeo Technologies to test out a new product as part of a luxury, all-expenses paid trip, she thinks that perhaps it is time that she allowed herself some personal relaxing time.

That’s her first mistake. Soon she finds herself on a secluded island with six strangers; the most self-obsessed, unlikeable bunch of characters that she has ever met. Social media influencers, a photographer, a hedge fund manager and a games developer are all given technology to wear that will have a significant impact on their actions throughout their stay.

Soon it becomes clear that these four women and three men all have something to hide. Each has a guilty secret they do not want to divulge; but what is it and who has brought them together and for what purpose?

As the seven navigate the secluded island, their dream of a luxury retreat becomes a nightmare that threatens their very existence.

Susi Holliday’s book starts with an ominous prologue that clearly sets the scene for what is to come, but it is for the reader to try and guess just how that relates to the seven guests on the mystery island.

A sort of The Hunting Party meets Lord of the Flies, The Last Resort uses the idea of advanced technology to create a tense and exciting scenario where that technology is used to drive people apart and reduce them to their basest fears.

One by one, the participants are set against each other and Amelia wonders when her turn will come.

Susi Holliday’s book is a quintessential locked room mystery expanded into an island setting and with the added fun of technology to offer bite and intrigue. This is a book where you let your imagination have free reign and just enjoy where it takes you, as you find yourself horrified and surprised by each turn of events.

Verdict: Susi Holliday has created a fun and interesting mystery overlaid with technological advances that are just plausible to create a fascinating story. I would personally have liked to know a great deal more about Amelia’s story and particularly the aspects of it that related to why she was on the island. Perhaps though, that’s another book to come?

In The Last Resort, a mysterious invitation brings seven strangers together on a seemingly deserted island. The strangers include:
• Amelia, a humanitarian aid worker
• Lucy, an anonymous celebrity gossip columnist
• Giles, a game designer
• Tiggy, Giles’ girlfriend and a brand influencer
• James, a cameraman
• Brenda, an investor
• Scott, an American CEO
As each person’s worst life decisions are played one-by-one on video in front of the group, the strangers stumble on toward the promised “party”.

Taking the premise of a fantastic Agatha Christie tale, and then “modernizing” it, is a gigantic risk for an author. In The Last Resort, only the setting from And Then There Were None is used. Because the plot itself is original has resulted in some bad reviews. So if you want to read a new Christie, you will need a time machine—not this book.

However, if you are willing to suspend disbelief for a few hours, this book is a compelling and twisty near-future thriller combined with an underlying mystery. The reason I took a star off was that the mystery cannot be solved using clues provided by the plot. It is just a reveal at the end. The armchair detective in me was extremely disappointed. Still, it’s a fun fall down a rabbit hole. 4 stars!

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

📣 Review 📣

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One perfect crime.

7 strangers get invited to a luxury retreat on a private island... how could you turn it down? What could go wrong? Each has been asked to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement. That is just the beginning of where it all goes wrong.

This book gives Black Mirror vibes,of a future that seems far fetched but too real all at once.

I loved this book and loved the ending. It was gripping with an ending I did not expect. It was at times unrealistic, but if you can let yourself just go with it, it was a good read. Slower in the middle but ultimately a mind bending read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Where to begin with The Last Resort. This book completely pulled me in with that stunning and creepy cover. After reading the synopsis I was genuinely intrigued. The Last Resort had so so so much potential and really it was a good book, until that rough ending that made absolutely no sense.

Seven strangers are given a chance of a lifetime. They are all told they can go to this private island, all expenses paid retreat. Once they all arrive, things start to get quite weird and mysterious. All seven of them start to realize it probably is to good to be true. We get perspectives of all seven of the characters, which I thought was a great idea and made it that much more mysterious. They all have secrets they would rather keep hidden, but the creator of this island has other ideas. They want all of their dirty secrets to be spilled and let me tell you the secrets are crazy.

While I did really enjoy the weirdness that was this book, it honestly doesn't even make sense. I liked the drama and the technology aspect, as well as, the creepy dark part that had me wondering what was going to happen to all the characters. I guessed what the ending would be and was completely disappointed that there wasn't some crazy plot twist. Not to mention, the ending doesn't even make sense. It is so beyond weird and it just felt like the author took zero time to look at the plot holes. It was completely unbelievable and actually made me mad. If it wasn't for that ending this book would have definitely been a better book, but the ending was just awful

Have you ever had a secret that you kept from everyone? Well, imagine that secret being used against you... and in front of others as well. That is the nightmare faced by the characters in this disturbing read.

I was hooked by the blurb and thought this would be a creepy read with an interesting storyline. The book starts off slowly but the tension builds and it culminates in a climactic ending, which was completely unexpected. The characters are well-developed, and it is easy to form opinions on them early on in the book, although few of my opinions were good! The characters are the predictable and rather spoilt bunch which you might expect from a cheesy horror movie.

I did enjoy the book, and decided to take it at face-value. That is, even though a bit of an unrealistic storyline, it is a work of fiction.

An enjoyable read.

Seven strangers are invited on an exclusive getaway in The Last Resort, each coming with their own pasts and terrible secrets. As the secrets start to be revealed, the strangers come to realize that this might not be the luxury getaway they were promised. The secrets are revealed, one more despicable than the last, until all the visitors are horrified with not only themselves but their new friends. Eventually the book gets to the final, last reveal, one final secret that has caused all this.

The book started off a bit slow for me, but picked up as secrets were revealed and the characters moved around the island they were on. This wound up to what I thought was a relatively anticlimactic ending. Overall I enjoyed the book. It was an easy, escapist read, but not as twisty as I thought it might be.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is well-written and had an intriguing premise but didn’t deliver. The premise was intriguing but it just never went anywhere.
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC.

The description of this book drew me in and even the beginning had my attention. Shortly after that it went off track for me. The futuristic vibe seemed a bit far fetched for me. There were a good amount of characters and suspense and it was well written, just not my cup of tea. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Love Susi Holiday's books and this one was no different. Eeriely atmospheric and a great cast of characters to carry the plot along at a perfect pace.