"The House of Last Resort" by Christopher Golden is a chilling horror novel that blends a haunted house story with demonic possession. When American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi purchase an abandoned home in the crumbling Italian town of Becchina for just one Euro, they think they've found the perfect romantic adventure. But from the moment they move in, strange occurrences and a dark history begin to unfold.

Golden skillfully builds an atmosphere of dread as the couple discovers hidden rooms, unexplained noises, and a disturbing connection between their house and the Catholic Church's history of exorcisms. The revelation that the home was used by priests to hide away supposedly possessed people, many of whom died there, is deeply unsettling.

The story is told from both Tommy and Kate's perspectives, though Tommy's family ties to the town make him the central character. While some readers may find the young couple hard to connect with, Golden's clever premise and creepy setting keep the pages turning.

The ending provides a moderately satisfying conclusion, though it leaves some room for interpretation. Golden's vivid descriptions of the haunted house and the town's dark catacombs are highlights, and the novel's blend of gorgeous Italian setting and artfully grotesque horror is sure to appeal to fans of the author's previous works.

Overall, "The House of Last Resort" is a fresh and frightening addition to the haunted house genre, with a unique twist on demonic possession that will leave readers unsettled long after the final page.

The small, Italian town of Becchina is one of many trying to revitalize. So when American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi get the opportunity to purchase a home for 1 Euro as long as they live there for five years and work to help bring some tourism back to the area, it sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime.

Tommy’s grandparents even live there, and they see it as an opportunity to spend the couple’s golden years with them. As they settle in, however, a shadow seems to hover over them, and Tommy’s grandmother is furious when she discovers exactly which house they bought. Everyone in town seems to know the house’s dark history, and when the couple finally find out, they agree it might be an interesting tourism angle. That is, until maybe the stories are true, and maybe that dark history is about to rise up.

I enjoyed this book. It had a nice slow burn that actually built to something, yet it wasn’t such a slow build in tension that I lost interest. It was an interesting angle on the haunted house story, the haunted history of the Catholic Church, and people’s belief in the supernatural.

It was a quick, entertaining read, and I’d definitely pick up another book by Christopher Golden.

I went into this novel with a heavier horror expectation that did not match the creepy, environmental slow burn that Golden built throughout the story. I genuinely enjoyed the way it was written, and I will definitely recommend it to those who don't quite like full horror novels.
Would I have made many of the same mistakes Tommy and Kate made throughout this novel? Yes.
If I got a house in Italy for a euro, I too would overlook many haunted attributes in an attempt to live out my Italian countryside dreams.
Being the hypocrite I am, I think their denial of the spooky going-ons of their house made this a bit more of a frustrating read than it needed to be. I also understand that if they moved out as soon as something ghosty happened, there wouldn't be a book. I just found the ring around a bit overdone.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially the religious horror aspects. This was my first Christopher Golden novel and I look forward to delving into his other books.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Christopher Golden for providing this ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a slow burn but worth the wait. I wish things picked up a little sooner but overall I still enjoyed this one.

I so really wanted to love this one, but I just never really connected with it.

Moving to Italy with a program to help you buy a house sounds perfect. Maybe the demons and the back story were just out of my wheelhouse and it's really just me and not the book. That mixed with the very slow burn just had me wishing for a little more.

Terrifying! Golden truly never disappoints. The House of Last Resort was no departure from his usual horrifying, exciting, rip-rousing fun. I absolutely TORE through this. Couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

This has been my least favorite book of this authors. And it is 100% due to the whole demons and
storyline that smacked me in the face for the last quarter of the book. I was enjoying this so much. I liked the characters, loved the town and the storyline of all of these people moving here to fix it up. I was having a great time reading about that. But there just had to be exorcisms. I have just never and will never enjoy reading books or watching movies about that kind of stuff. It's been done and done and done. I was really hoping this book was going in another direction, but was so disappointed once the demon came out to play. And that bit of the story felt so rushed. Maybe if there had been a few more chapters going into more detail. I still wouldn't have liked it but maybe it could've had a more solid ending. I don't know, I am a fan of this author and will continue to read his work, but this one just wasn't for me. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The House of Last Resort follows an American couple who are Tom and Kate Puglisi. They have bought a dilapidated property in the town of Becchina in Italy for the price of one euro and in effort to breathe new life into this village. What happens when you learn that the house you bought has a sinister history and you start hearing strange noises or experience occurrences that cannot be explained. The plot of this book is intriguing and I was looking forward to reading this author's new book after reading Road of Bones and All Hallows but sadly I did not love this like I did the others. This book was written well and had interesting characters but I felt like the story took some time to get going. Overall I did enjoy this book and would recommend this to any reader who loves a good horror book. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this book in exchange of my honest review of The House of Last Resort.

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
3.75 stars

This one was hard for me to rate as I’m typically drawn to a character driven story and this one is definitely more setting and plot driven.

The set up being that an American couple takes advantage of a program to get a house in Italy for one euro. Which apparently is a real thing to try and help boost struggle economies. This happens to be the town where his grandparents are from so they move there with plans on starting a new life, as you can probably guess things do not go as planned when the locals start whispering about the house they’ve chosen.

I think Golden does an excellent job with the setting he really brings you into the house and the small town it’s in. The plot does take a minute to get going but it never felt like a slog because I was engrossed in the worldbuilding.

The characters are definitely the weakest part of this work in my opinion. They mostly felt like they were there to fill one exaggerated trait without a lot of dimension.

This would normally be a huge problem for me, but somehow I still found myself highly engaged in the story. I finished it in one day so that says something about it.

It’s really hard to say more without getting into spoilers, but if you you like atmospheric horror I’d say it’s worth reading just curb your expectations that it’s not to the level typically expected from Christopher Golden in my opinion.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book early; I received this ARC in exchange for review, however this does not affect the outcome of my review in any way.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read. I'm a Christopher Golden fan and after his last book (Road of Bones) I was nervous going into this one. This one too fell flat for me.....I wanted to like it from the synopsis but never really got there for me.
2.5 rounded up to 3

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for the eARC! This was an interesting conundrum for me. I adored the beautiful setting and scenery - great descriptions and atmosphere. Additionally, the final act was astoundingly engaging. Unfortunately, most of the book moved very slow. A slow burn isn't my favorite in a thriller or horror novel. I'm glad I stuck it out because it was worth it, but not my favorite. Very enjoyable though in the start and end.

I enjoy Golden’s books. They are always quick to read and atmospheric. This one drew me right in with the setting in Italy. I can’ imagine the house and all the creepy nooks and crannies within. I wasn’t blown away by the plot or characters, but I did enjoy the reading experience.

There is maybe nothing more relatable than ditching everything in your big city life, and going all in on a cheap house in a dream location. I can't even tell you the amount of real-estate listings for "abandoned summer camp," or "former schoolhouse," or "run-down church," that I've sent to my group chat in the hopes we can pool our limited funds together and start a commune. (I've also assigned everyone a job, in case you're curious, even if it doesn't relate to this review.)

So when Tommy and Kate get the opportunity to move to an idyllic town in Italy, a place that his family has roots in, it absolutely is a no-brainer decision. While the house needs work, lots of work, it's a huge space that they can grow into. But when Tommy's grandmother see's which house they've purchased, she refuses to step foot inside.

The house is making strange noises. Neighbours are unfriendly as soon as they see where Tommy and Kate live. And when a locked door suddenly pops open overnight, they discover an entire wing they didn't know the house contained. As they start to look into the history of the house they discover it's connection to the church, and a collection of bones that can only belong to the trouble youths that resided here many years before.

Some doors are best left closed.

This was such a fun possession story, and I really connected with the characters. I thought the story developed in such an eerie way, and it reminded me of classic exorcism horror. While I've seen people complain about the pacing, I personally couldn't put this book down. As someone who has reviewed a few Golden books now, this is definitely my favourite of his books.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for an arc of this title.

Christopher Golden is a recent fav thriller author and this latest haunted house story set in Sicily was creepy AF and I was totally here for it! Great on audio with an excellent backstory, super atmospheric and perfect for fans of authors like Jennifer McMahon or Simone St. James. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This would make an EXCELLENT Spooky season read for all the horror lovers out there!

This book was ok. I thought it might be spookier or more thriller like but it was ok.
It had a few jump scare Mike RX but I feel it lacked atmospheric impact and character development.

Christopher Golden is quickly becoming a favorite author.. I love his use of history in creating absolutely unsettling novels. I will definitely be recommending this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

This was not it. This is, yet again, a prime example of why I don't read books, specifically horror books, written by male authors. The fact that the main female character was consistently described as wearing a thong, including when sleeping, is just a pain in the ass. I found myself heavily rolling my eyes.

That aside, it really was just bad. The dialogue was cringey, the couple was obnoxious, and I honestly can't tell you the point or message of this book. There was definitely some heavy anti-Catholic rederic that I wasn't expecting and actually started feeling a bit attacky which got uncomfortable.

The book was so boring for the first 80% of the book and then everything happened in the last 20%. It wasn't a good 20% though... Nothing was even remotely explained about what was actually going on and the ending was incredibly abrupt. This honestly just needed so much more thoughtful planning and for the first 80% of the book to not be wasted talking about thongs and focused on the setting.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden is the story of an American couple who receive an online solicitation to participate in an Italian city’s (Becchina, Sicily) plan for rejuvenation, one that offers homes for sale at the price of 1 Euro in exchange for an agreement to live in the community for five years. Kate and Tommy Puglisi, beneficiaries of the work-at-home economy in America, decide to move to Becchina, Sicily in order to take advantage of the cheap housing and return to Tommy’s paternal ancestral village, where his grandparents still reside. Soon after moving in and joining the local community of bargain-minded expatriates, Kate and Tommy begin to discover things about their house and its history that cast a new light on their interactions with inhabitants (including Tommy’s family) of the town.

Kate and Tommy are initially excited at the prospect of saving (exploiting?) the town through tourism. They join with others to develop ideas related to promoting tourism of catacombs located beneath the local church. Kate and Tommy demonstrate a paternalistic approach to economic development of Becchina; in one passage told from Kate’s point-of-view (page 90): “Suddenly, this project was starting to become expensive, even just in her head. Fortunately, it would be up to the mayor to foot the bill.” This streak of self-interest (narcissism?) comes out repeatedly – and not only with regard to economics - as both Kate and Tommy interact with the townspeople, both locals and expatriates. On reflection after finishing the novel, I thought there may have been an intentional overarching theme of selfishness to better fit the denouement. Bottom line for me: Good old fashioned religious horror based in Catholic theology. Kate and Tommy are unattractive individuals that invite some schadenfreude, but who make for a good novel with a good ending.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I am a HUGE Christopher Golden fan, and have probably read all of his books, including the "Body of Evidence" series which is my personal favorite. This latest book, The House of Last Resort had me intrigued, as it seemed a bit different than some of his other works.

The House of Last Resort starts with a couple, Kate and Tommaso (Tommy), who have just moved to small-town Becchina, Italy to start a new chapter in their lives. Becchina's mayor, in an effort to revive the dying town, has offered abandoned houses for sale for a single Euro, to encourage people to move there; So for the 15-room house Kate and Tommy picked, it seemed like quite a steal! Additionally, Tommy has family in Becchina, his Nonno and Nonna, and a cousin, Marcello.

This is one of those times that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What are the odds that anything good can come out of buying a huge house for a single Euro? There's always a catch. It appears that the catch in this case, is that the house is haunted. And has a secret creepy chapel that was used for exorcisms (i.e. the last resort). And it was apparently built over some old catacombs, where there are hundreds or thousands of mummified corpses. And there's a rat problem (an understatement). And earthquakes. Things in the house (and Tommy & Kate's marriage) go from bad to worse when Tommy's Nonno dies. Tommy and Kate's plans to overhaul the town's tourist market by using the Catacombs as attraction are met with a lot of resistance, and the town has other ideas in mind.

This book will take you on a wild ride! It has everything you could want in a thriller: a creepy catacomb full of bodies, a haunted house, ghost priests, a swarm of ultra-intelligent rats, demonic possession, exorcisms, and more! It was dark and creepy, and there were so many twists and turns! I did not see that ending coming!! I definitely recommend this book!

If you are a fan of horror books/movies that involve exorcism, you will most definitely want to read this book. I am not a huge horror lover so this creeped me out. I could only read in small doses so I didn’t get nightmares! Oh and the rats! Ugh! So many scary aspects! And good twists and turns throughout!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for the gifted copy!