I loved this! Hauntings are my favorite type of horror and this one did not disappoint. I was a little hesitant going into it because Christopher Golden a bit hit or miss but this one was certainly a hit! There was one part where the MC's annoyed me with their selfishness but the delicious, creepy bits made up for it. I'll be buying a copy on release day to support the authors!

What's not to love?! A small -town Italian village, a haunted house with a dark history (unbeknownst to the new owners...until of course it is!)

I love Golden's writing style and I always love his plots. I didn't love Tom and Katie, they were very unlikable characters. But with that said, the book was a haunting, fun ride! Looking for happily ever after? Not sure this is the book for you or is it?!

Maybe a 2.5- 2.75? This is really disappointing to me after loving Golden's earlier book, Road of Bones. I enjoyed this book for about 60% of it, and it was a solid 4-star read, maybe 5. There was an amazing sense of creepiness and dread building up, and Golden managed to make me scared even while describing beautiful Sicily. The characters developed naturally, and I loved the slow-burn aspect of the book. There wasn't a lot going on, but Golden managed to make it foreboding and sinister, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unfortunately, once we started getting the reveals, I quickly lost interest. There were also a few things that really bugged me about Golden's portrayal of the Catholic Church. I may be biased, since I am Catholic, but how hard would it have been to Google the keys of Peter? They're referenced in the book, but the name isn't given; instead, they are clumsily described. I've met a few exorcists myself over the years, and these are not weak, abusive men. Of course, being Catholic priests, they are portrayed that way here. Also (this one really irks me, both in books and in movies), ghosts and demons are NOT the same thing. This book kept going back and forth between the two! The two main characters repeat over and over throughout the book that they aren't superstitious and don't believe in possession, and because of that the poor possessed people must have just had mental health issues and were being abused by the Church. Even after this has been proven wrong in the book beyond a shadow of doubt, and it is very obvious to both MCs that these people are actually possessed, they keep coming back to the evil exorcists who abused these poor people. Please, could Mr. Golden keep his story straight? Finally, after a certain point, the writing style seemed to become much more juvenile, and many of the things Kate and Tommy did made no sense. I think I even caught the word "realer" in there. All in all, a very promising start, and Golden clearly has talent as an author, but this one fell apart for me in the latter half.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC copy. All opinions are my own.

This was not my favorite Christopher Golden book. It felt like it was missing something? I didn't care about the characters or the plot, to be honest. Might be good for someone, just wasn't for me.

You can’t go wrong with the set up of this book- small Italian village, haunted house with a dark history, demonic possession. This is stuff that horror is made of.

What brought this book down from a 4 star to 3 was the characterization of Tom and Katie. They are such unlikeable, entitled people. Example- these two decide to turn the local church catacombs into a TOURIST SPOT after only living in this village for a short time. I know your grandparents live down the street and everyone is glad you’re here, but you don’t know anyone and I’m fairly sure the mayor isn’t going to give you free rein on what is actually church property. I’m assuming these remote jobs they have must be high paying to afford all this. Something about their interactions just rubbed me wrong from the beginning, especially Katie.

The last quarter of the book was a wild ride, and I’m really glad it ended the way it did. After that set up, it was really the only way it could have ended. No happily ever after here, we’re in Italian horror living on top of a mass grave!

Thanks so much to Christopher Golden, St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance copy to check out!

Since appearing on the scene in the mid-nineties Christopher Golden has been incredible prolific with a wide range of fiction which confidently crosses the genres. Although I have read a relatively small selection of these, I was a fan of his Ben Walker trilogy, in particular Ararat (2017) and Red Hands (2020) and also thoroughly enjoyed the relatively recent, Road of Bones (2022). If you have never read Golden all the forementioned titles are terrific places to start, with his most recently published All Hallows being another absolute belter which had me on the hook from page one to the last.

Or if you fancy something brand new then The House of Last Resort keeps Golden’s fine run of quality supernatural fiction burning brightly. In this latest outing the action all takes place in the small and scenic fictional Sicilian town of Beccina. I lived in Italy for over three years in the nineties and visited Sicily on two occasions and felt Golden gave a decent account of foreigners struggling to settle in Italy. This is more of an observation than a complaint, considering the American couple had very limited spoken Italian, way more people were able to speak English than in reality. This is a country that dubs absolutely everything on television and cinema, although it may have changed more recently due to technological advances with streaming. Personally, I will never forget the nightmare of trying to pay a telephone or gas bill and dreading being asked a question from the cashier!

That aside, Golden nicely recreates the lifestyle, atmosphere, café culture, and mood of a small-town where everybody knows the business of their neighbour, which goes back several generations. The backdrop to the story was both clever and plausible, Beccina is one of many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate from the coastal areas to the cities. To combat this, its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild, selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years. Not blessed with a natural tourist industry, the town is desperate to survive by any means necessary.

This is perfect for main characters Tommy and Kate Puglisi who can both work remotely, whilst he can live close to his elderly grandparents, his closest living relatives. Tommy speaks limited Italian as his father abandoned many years earlier (with good reason, as is later revealed) and Kate speaks none. The young couple, see this move to Sicily as an adventure and an opportunity to escape the American rat-race and develop a large property for a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere in Europe or America.

The first half of The House of Last Resort was very slow and nothing much supernatural happens beyond Golden building tension and atmosphere, particularly when their elderly grandmother reacts badly to the couple buying a different house than initially planned. It is clear the house has some sort of history, but nobody will tell Tommy and Kate much and soon they hook up with a few other outsiders. However, things take a bad turn when Tommy’s grandfather has a very bad stroke and the escalation of odd stuff in the house escalates.

It is worth being very patient with The House of Last Resort as the second half was seriously cool cracker jack stuff. When the story moves beyond the standard haunted house melodrama with doors creaking and slamming it shifts through the gears when the couple discover secret rooms and begin to investigate what they were originally used for. The anxiety for Tommy and Kate is made worse by the fact that they truly are strangers in a country which has ancient superstitions they do not understand or believe, until they are forced to.

Told onto your hat for a terrific ending and if you do not like rats I would recommend treading very nicely with this novel. Christopher Golden has become one of the most reliable names in horror fiction and The House of Last Resort is another winner.

Ooooh this book satiated every spooky desire I have. It was so good, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I loved everything about this.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect. There are so many Haunted House books and one can get burnt out on those quickly. However, this one was much different. I loved how the atmosphere was built and the character development as well. The premise was much different than other haunted house books and I was not disappointed. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a creepy read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Secrets Wrapped In A Cursed Shroud

My first experience with author Christopher Golden was The Myth Hunters, and his fantasy world building is masterful. While reading Road of Bones, I discovered that he's also a consummate writer of horror. With The House of Last Resort, he's created another superlative and deeply disturbing book.

Dread crept into me steadily from the moment the young couple arrived at their new home, but by the last chapters, my reading was revved up to breakneck speed. Sicily lends itself to combining many delightful motifs of the horror genre and Golden has used them dexterously to give us yet another haunting and original novel.

Tommy and Kate are very likable, and the strength of their commitment to each other gave their characters charm and integrity. It was nice to read about a married couple who aren't dysfunctional, haven't cheated on each other, and aren't deliberately hiding clandestine secrets from each other.

There's never any guarantee that conditions in the beginning of a book will last until the end, but their happiness together never seemed saccharine or contrived. Their mutual commitment would surely have been tested by their overseas move, lured by a house hunting bargain that they discover can't be easily or cheaply renovated. Those stressors alone could fracture the strongest bond.

But, the endurance of their relationship strengthened my sympathy for them as mounting problems with their new home continued to catch them unaware. However, a hidden force of terrifying malevolence had barely begun to manifest, leading to ordeals where the survival of either seem tenuous at best. And sometimes, survival might not be a good thing.

Thank you so much to Christopher Golden, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the free advance reader's copy of The House of Last Resort. Their gift placed me under no obligation to give a positive review, but my opinion is entirely positive. It's a gem of a horror novel and will be a quality read for anyone who enjoys fiction with demons, exorcisms, catacombs, haunted houses, earthquakes, or historic secrets.

★ ★ ★ ★ //5
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭
by Christopher Golden

THOUGHTS:

I am a big fan of this author so when I saw he had this book coming out, I was very excited and anxious to read another written by him. Did not disappoint at all. This book cover has all the vibes—the vibrant colors are my favorite and it sets the mood for what’s inside its pages! This book is going to look fabulous when I get a physical copy for my shelf. The characters are well developed and the storyline/plot were well thought through. The idea of moving to a tiny little town and starting over is so fun especially if the house was previously owned by the Vatican & haunted like the one in this book. I love a fun haunted house book. I absolutely loved the creepy aspects throughout the book and I definitely didn’t see some things coming. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time wondering what was going to happen. I enjoyed and was so thankful for all the amazing details the author put into this novel, I felt as though I could imagine this entire book in my head as I read.

You HAVE to read this book if you love :

- Paranormal
- Haunted Houses
- Ghosts
- Exorcisms

Race and put this on your TBR NOW!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4/5 has the makings of a horror classic.

Recently, I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to read an advance readers copy of The House of Last Resort by New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden. It’s been an absolutely awesome experience and a great pleasure to be given such an opportunity.

I can see how and why Golden has gotten his accolades, the way he allows the reader to envision the events playing out is artful. High praise to this book, I swear if this doesn’t become a feature film I’ll be surprised. The book comes out January 30th 2024, you will not regret its possession of you.

Millennials Thomas and Kate Puglisi find the rat race of American life impossible to keep up with, and wish to cultivate a growing and fruitful family. After receiving a spam email about homes in Sicily selling for a euro (with certain strings attached) they both jump on the opportunity of a simpler life in the Old World. Incredibly, the town in which the advertisement comes from, is in the hill town his grandparents still live in. After the loss of his own parents, he finds this is a great chance to bond with the paternal side of his family, and maybe gain more perspective of his family.

Little do Kate and Thomas know, they’ve bought a house previously owned by the Vatican. The House of Last Resort, where the Vatican shipped those with overwhelming cases of possession too hard to handle by church exorcists. All information of this house has been withheld by their real estate agent and neighbors, as the come well acquainted with apparitions, strange noises, and a disturbing history of their home.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC . I have read books by Christopher Golden before, and have loved his unique concepts. I am already looking forward to his next book
This is a haunted house tale with it's own unique twist. In Becchina, Italy, an old town with abandoned homes, the mayor has begun selling these abandoned homes for one euro. Tommy and Kate come to Italy to take advantage of this deal, and live closer to Tommy's grandparents. The house comes with more than they expected.
I really loved Golden's characterization of his main characters. The house's backstory was interesting. The first part of the story built the foundation for the fast paced second half.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

3.5 stars rounded down for this one. This was definitely not what I expected! Maybe that’s a good thing? I’m not sure.

Kate and Tommy must have some kind of high-profile remote careers, because they decide to move to Sicily on whim. Sure the houses are marketed at 1 euro a piece to encourage growth and the restoring of prosperity to a town on the brink of disappearing from the map, but still. That’s wild. Once they move into this big 15 room house, they realize something creepy is going on when they discover a locked portion containing mysterious rooms. And Tommy’s grandmother really does not approve of this house in particular. She knows what’s up.

There was just so much going on. Things started hitting the fan at about half way, and it just kept getting crazier from there. I also found that the ending wasn’t very surprising after I found out what was going down.

I haven’t read Golden before (apparently I’m just reading a bunch of new-to-me authors right now), but I enjoyed his writing style. I thought the novel was pretty fast-paced and entertaining. However, the characters were honesty quite annoying at times and not very consistent. I know a story like this isn’t supposed to necessarily be believable (based on the nature of the content), but this book was layered with one utterly unbelievable thing after another making it almost ridiculous. So, I’m not sure how I feel about this.

I’m planning on reading All Hallows around Halloween, maybe that one will redeem this author a bit for me!

A great thank you goes out to Christopher Golden, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I get so burnt out on the haunted house trope at times, but this was actually a really good one. Creepy, suspenseful and full of thrills. A good story worth reading

When Kate and Tom decided to take advantage of the one euro home ownership offer, they were very excited Tom has great memories of going to the little town in Italy where his parents grew up. His family used to visit on and off but the visits abruptly stopped due to Tom’s father and his grandfather having an issue and Tom wants to know what really happened. The couple know the little village is half empty and get even more excited when they see a chance to help tourism and put the little place on the map. They call meeting for all the one euro homeowners to come together to collaborate on all the great things they’ve heard about the new home and to see what ideas the others in the group can come up with but this is where they find out their home is known as the house of last resort. Tom and Kate heard the same thing at his Nonna‘s house but no one would tell the couple what it meant but the other ex-pats have no problem explaining the new homes horrible past. It doesn’t help matters that they’ve already heard a door slam footsteps in Kate has been sleepwalking but when toms grandpa who is suffering from A form of dementia attacts Kate it seems things are getting out of hand but the couple hasn’t seen anything yet. For the most part this was a really good haunted house story but I did not like Kate she acted as if she knew everything and didn’t believe in ghost and that is fine but she also acted like because Tom did he was an idiot. There were other things I didn’t like about Kate and at one point I didn’t like the couple equally but as I would be giving something away I will not put it in my review what I will say if I am being asked whether to recommend this book or not I will say yes yes and yes if you love A haunted house story than The House Of Last Resort is a really good one. The haunting has a great origin story and they really don’t get any better than that the only drawback in my opinion is Kate and her ignorant attitude because I do have more than one example of her know it all personality but I would just put it down to that because ultimately if you read this book you’re getting a great authentic horror story with a minor flaw.. I want to thank Net Galley and Saint Martin’s press for my free art copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
******************************************************

The next high-concept horror novel from NYT bestselling author Christopher Golden.

Across Italy, there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild―selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years. It’s a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely and Becchina is the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize.

But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy’s grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they’ve bought. There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn’t know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they’re certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbour refers to as The House of Last Resort.

Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years…and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina…something stirs.

I am not sure what HIGH-CONCEPT HORROR is, but this is one freaky book --- a dream that becomes a serious nightmare in a country with a fractured system of laws and justice (just ask Meredith Kerchner’s family about that!) Throw in religion, freaky priests and catacombs and I do not recommend that you read this book before bed as it may give your nightmares.

Highly recommended to those who love a good scary read …someone please turn this into a movie or streaming miniseries! #shortbutsweetreviews

Can I make a comment about the cover? I would have preferred, over the nice drawing, a real crumbly old Italian Villa on a seaside cliff...I am sure that there are tonnes of them to photograph!?!?

When Tommy and Kate get the deal of a life time in the form of a one euro home in the tiny half empty town of Becchina in Sicily, they jump at the chance. Who wouldn't? A beautiful house that they never would've been able to afford, the chance to reconnect with grandparents who he hasn't been close with since childhood, and of course, secrets, secrets, and more secrets.

As an avid horror fan I found this book to be a little creepy at parts, but not scary. The majority of the action was limited to the last little bit of the book whereas the rest was mostly renovating and talking about the house, the town, reconnecting with grandparents, which all dragged a little bit with only barely enough creepy instances peppered in to keep my interest.

It is a tribute to Golden's writing that I didn't skip over the bits explaining the history because usually I feel my eyes glazing over anytime anything like that comes up in a book, but he kept it interesting and spooky enough that I stayed actively interested and wanting to know more!

Overall I did enjoy the book! It's not going to be my favorite book of 2023 but I would read other books of his based on this. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC, and giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

Arc from netgalley.

This book was a 2 for me. I felt like the same couple of sentences were repeated over and over again. “We can to Sicily because we wanted something more.” “I wanted this move because..” it took until part 2 of the book before anything solid happened. I was just bored.