Tommy’s grandparents live in a small town in Italy. This town is basically dying. The mayor has offered a great deal to people willing to move to this small town and put down roots. Tommy and his wife, Kate jump on this offer. Little do they know this house has a terrible past!

Tommy and Kate definitely have their hands full with this house. Oh boy! The exorcisms and the catacombs…GEEZ! I could just picture this in my mind. And yes, Kate is right. There are quite a few things about this town that would make a great tourist attraction…the history and the spookiness just add to the mystique! This is definitely an attraction I would want to see!

The only reason this is not a 5 star read, there is something that just doesn’t sit well with me on the writing. And I am not sure what it is. I think it is the conversations. They just don’t seem to fit the characters well. BUT, The intensity is definitely there! I swear, there are places where I gasped and could not stop reading because I just had to know what was about to happen!

I have read another book by this author, Road of Bones. And I can’t decide which one I liked better. I loved the paranormal suspense and the settings in both. So, you read them both and let me know.

Need a good suspense with a wicked house and a few exorcisms…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Books rarely scare me, it’s only happened a couple times and this one actually got me. It was a loooong build up and the writing was just ok but the story was really good and it got pretty creepy at the end! Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalleyfor my copy!

The House of Last Resort was creepy and suspenseful. It was a slow build/burn but so worth it! The last 25-30% of the book is when it gets CREEPY, so push through! I don’t want to spoil the book or say too much so go read the book to find out what I’m talking about!

I absolutely loved the way Golden made the house a character. I only wish we got a little deeper into the history of the house itself. As for the main characters, Tommy and Kate, I couldn’t really connect with them. I didn’t like how they were “imports” and then had many ideas to make the town better when they just moved there and didn’t know much about the town or the people.

This was my first book I’ve read by Golden, and I can’t wait to read more of his works!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to @netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of The House of Last Resort by @christophergolden

“𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.”
—-
Among Italy sits Becchina, a nearly abandoned and falling apart beautiful old town. To breathe life back into the town, the mayor has become somewhat desperate and is offering to sell abandoned homes to anyone in the world for one euro, as long as the buyer agrees to live there for at least five years.
Americans Tommy and Kate Puglisi decide to jump at the chance, especially since Tommy’s closest living relatives, his grandparents, live in that very same town. Their realtor shows them one last property that they fall in love with, that has been named The House of Last Resort, and they jump right into fixing the place up.
Right from the beginning, strange occurrences start happening and whispers about the history of the house start to spread around. When they learn of the dark history and what horrors had happened deep in the depths of that very house, they end up in a fight for their lives and a hold on their sanity.
—-
This one had character. The town, the dark history, the deeply religious undertones… I really enjoyed it. Although a big slow going at times, there was enough action and creepiness to keep the story rolling and it really ended with a bang! If anything, I would have liked more on the religious aspect and dealings of the story but otherwise I had a lot of fun with it 🙌.

I'm usually a huge fan of Golden's work, but House of Last Resort did not work for me. The pacing is slow and feels off, and the amount of detail is repetitive and unnecessary. The "action" starts picking up about 50% in for me. That said, just because this book didn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The hilltop town of Italy called Becchina was once a gorgeous busy town. Over the years many residents moved to be closer to the coast of Italy. This leaves Becchina and many other towns in Italy to be abandoned.

The mayor of Becchina has decided to sell houses in the town for one Euro. The catch was they had to live there for five years.

Over in America Kate and Tommy were in desperate need of a change. Becchina is the town that Tommy’s family comes from. He had visited once when he was younger and loved it. Kate stumbles upon this promotion and thinks it is a great opportunity for them especially since both of them work remotely.

They pack up their things and head to Italy. Once they are there, they realize people in town have been giving them some strange looks which they find odd. They then realize that it was due to what had happened in the house before it was abandoned. They start looking into it after some strange things start happening in the house, from doors slamming to finding rooms in the house that they had no idea existed. I was hoping to learn more about the history of the house, which we didn’t get.

This book had some creepy elements to it. The ending did leave you with more questions than you would like.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the #gifted ARC & NetGalley for the e-ARC!
——
Tommy and Kate are fed up with the capitalist lifestyle of The States and decide to relocate to a small town in Italy called Becchina where Tommy’s relatives reside and where the local mayor is offering houses for one pound in order to revamp the aging town. During the process of finalizing a house, the realtor shows them a much bigger mansion, which unbeknownst to Tommy and Kate, is called The House Of Last Resort due to a very ominous past that only the locals are privy to.

As the couple settle down into their home and new lifestyle, strange events begin to unfold around them, starting with an earthquake. They realize a little too late that Becchina comes with a lot of dirty secrets and their house is at the epicenter (pun intended) of a decades-long grim history. There is a reason the couple ended up in that house and the past is about to rear its ugly head and take them hostage to the point of no return.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 pubs 𝑻𝑶𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾 so grab your copy if you love supernatural mysteries with an Italian setting! The entire book is narrated in third person and the plot is mostly linear which was very helpful in keeping up with all the characters and history of the town as well as Tommy’s family. This is my first novel of Christopher Golden’s and now I can’t wait to read 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 and 𝑅𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑂𝑓 𝐵𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠.

3.5 stars. I was riveted until the very end and because the ending just fell flat, I'm not giving a full 4 stars.
Kate and Tommy move from American to Becchina, Italy for a deal of a lifetime. In order to save the town, the mayor has been offering properties for a $1.00, as long as the people buying the homes also renovate. Seems like a dream offer, especially since Tommy has his grandparents right down the street. Unfortunately, the couple weren't told that their new dream home was once a haven for people who were demon-possessed. Dubbed the House of Last Resort, Catholic priests used to live on the premises in order to help the possessed. Oh and there are spooky catacombs underneath the house that hold all the dead that couldn't be helped. And, the house is extremely haunted.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

This novel just wasn't for me. The plot was incredibly slow and there was a lack of tension built. If more spooky incidents occurred in place of the painfully drawn out descriptions of things and innocuous events, such as walking from one area to another the story would have been much stronger.

Small towns across Italy are being abandoned for the coast or cities and, to boost population the homes are being offered for one euro to anyone in the world willing to stay for five years and remodel their new home. Kate and Tommy are full of optimism and excitement moving into their new home close to his only living relatives. But soon the strange sounds, whispers from the townspeople, and the fear on his Nonna's face when she learns what house they bought leave them full of dread. When they find out who owned the place before and what the secret annex behind a locked door was used for the may not make it out alive!
Christopher Golden has become a go to author for me when I want a truly creepy horror novel. Although not as great as The Road of Bones, I still enjoyed this book for the beautiful and unique setting in Italy, the haunted old house, and the terrifying catacombs. The story from the start gave me the shivers, but it wasn't until the last 30% or so that the true horror came out.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read Road of Bones by Christopher Golden and I thought it was great; therefore, I was excited to read his latest book, The House of Last Resort. I thought I would be lucky if I liked this one half as much. However this one totally blew me away. When I read, "The rats opened their mouths as one, and they screamed," I about fell out of my chair. I knew I was in for a frightening thrill ride!

Tommy and Kate Puglisi, a young married couple in the U.S., come across a real estate ad. Across Italy, there are many half-empty towns; children grow up and move away, while others migrate to bigger cities or the coast. However, the mayor of Becchina, a beautiful but crumbling hilltop town in Sicily, has a novel idea to lure people to his town - sell abandoned homes to anyone who wants one for one Euro, with the caveat they stay there for five years and renovate the house. Tommy and Kate think it's a marvelous and romantic idea. They both work remotely, and Tommy's grandparents live in Becchina; this will give him a chance to reconnect with his remaining family. When they arrive, Tommy's Nonna is angry when she discovers which house they chose...and why does she also seem afraid? The young couple soon discovers there's an annex at the back of the house which they were not told about. They hear strange noises at night, and locked doors suddenly open. What really concerns them, however, is the whispering they hear at a gathering at his grandparents' home about themselves and their new home. Why does one neighbor call their home "The House of Last Resort"? When they discover that their home was owned for decades by the Vatican, they are stunned. But what truly terrifies them is what they find out the priests who lived there were doing in the strange chapel in the annex. They should be afraid...VERY afraid.

I used to love horror novels, but they fell by the wayside for me. Recently I've made my way back to the genre. Most horror tropes aren't very exciting any more...how many monster tales, witch stories and homicidal maniac books can you read? The ones that scare me the most are the ones that I believe can actually happen (okay, so maybe the homicidal maniac ones, but not too often) - and to me believable stories concern demonic possession. Lest I sound like a total nutjob, hear me out. I believe there is good in the world; but to balance that out, there is evil. How do we know what goodness is unless there is evil? In addition, I'm also Roman Catholic. I think most people who are believed to be possessed actually have mental health issues or have been abused; but I think possession is very possible, and I know there are priests who still perform exorcisms to this day. Therefore, I found this story quite terrifying. Tommy and Kate were a loving young couple, though a little naive. (For goodness sake, they were excited about socialized medicine!) When they first arrived at their beautiful - albeit a bit rundown - new home, there was an earthquake. Though that happens a lot in areas like that, I would have taken it as a sign to go the heck back where I came from. But not our intrepid couple! They work to make this their new home, even though locked doors open, they see human forms out of the corners of their eyes...and what's up with the creepy rats, besides their usual ick factor? After being taken on a tour of the local church's catacombs, they believe that spooky element would be an attraction for tourists, giving the small town an influx of cash and new residents. The have a meeting with other "Imports" - others who moved to Becchina for the same reasons they did - and decide as the new tourism bureau the idea would greatly benefit their new neighborhood. But then Tommy's cousin Marcello confesses what the name The House of Last Resort truly means, and they feel like they've been hit in the solar plexus. People whose cases of "demon possession" couldn't be exorcised had been locked up there...and buried in the catacombs?! That would have been good to know a lot earlier! Tommy and Kate still seem to think it's a good business venture, until their world starts going to hell in a handbasket. I am not going to ruin any surprises for you; I was glad I went in there blind with no preconceived notions. I will tell you to look out for two things: Tommy's Nonno, when Kate is with him alone in a room, and "Senora Housecoat". You won't want to turn the lights off when you go to sleep...but evil doesn't only come out at night, now, does it? When ARE you safe? Chew on that thought for a bit.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I’ve been of fan of Golden for a few years now; it all started with Ararat, the first in the Ben Walker series. I’ve got to be honest, a great archaeological adventure with a good dash of horror mixed in is my bag. I think I could read Ben Walker stories until the cows come home. As time and stories go by, it looks like Ben Walker was the thing that Golden did for a while and not who he is as an author.

The concept behind The House of Last Resort looked like it was right up my alley: a house owned by the Catholic Church with buried secrets. This has got a lot of potential going for it, let’s get back to that biblical, archaeological horror that I fell for years ago. So much potential…

But that just isn’t what Golden had in mind. Tommy Puglisi is not Ben Walker; he just isn’t that interesting. Sure, he and his wife, Kate, have some baggage, who doesn’t? But Golden spends far too much time telling us about it rather than having it affect their decisions and actions. He just failed to create characters that I cared about.

I think I am one of the few who love details, describe the scene for me, put me in the picture, I love that. But somehow Golden got that all wrong. The details he spends his time on are repetitive and not descriptive. I really couldn’t put myself in the story. Golden was ticking off boxes that were more important to him than the story.

I think that I’m at a point where I need to be a bit more selective about what I read. Just because I’ve enjoyed an author’s work before doesn’t necessarily mean that their new book is the one for me.

*3 Stars

Thank you to the author Christopher Golden, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of THE HOUSE OF LAST RESORT. All views are mine.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. It's a slow build, but it gets abruptly creepy at about the 20% mark. I love this kind of step-up in tension in suspense and horror.

2. The house, where a priest once lived and before that was once a chapel owned by the Catholic church, is one of the main characters in the book. I love stories about strange houses, and this is a good one. The house seems to mirror the

3. I love the amorphous antagonist in this book. Haunted House or all of hell or only human nature?

4. I love how this book always swivels away from traditional or what may be considered "true" evil, like devils and demons, toward a more human face of evil, life grief, capitalism, or xenophobia. It creates a sord of internal dualism in the story that smarts as the reader tries to decide where they stand.

5. The trope vs. trope battle is pretty great. It's also very subtle, so a brilliant example of metahorror.

6. This book has so many unexpected turns, it's delightful! Including that wonderful last line!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

No complaints.

Rating: 👹👹👹👹.5 / 5 new roommates
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Jan 22 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley, SMPI
Read this book if you like:
👻 horror books
🏚 haunted house stories
🌅 new beginnings horror trope
⛪️ demon/possession stories
😵 family curses

This story is told in third person and follows Tommy and Kate. This is my fourth read by this author and my favorite so far. It had a great haunted house vibe including creepy rats, mysterious house, suspicious locals, secret rooms, creaky and cobwebby everything, plus local catacombs. I enjoyed the young couple and their reasons for uprooting their lives in America to buy a house in Sicily. Tommy had a complicated relationship with his paternal family. His father was estranged for unknown reasons, and he’s excited to be near them and get to know them better.

When they went on the tour of the local catacombs and started making plans to help the mayor with their publicity for tourism, I was utterly fascinated. The committee that formed to assist with tourism included an interesting group of people they called the “Imports”, all couples, like Tommy and Kate, that had moved to Becchina for the house deal though some had found it difficult to assimilate and left.

The closed-lip nature of Tommy’s family was a little frustrating, especially when it comes to the house. Kate has some rather crazy encounters with Tommy’s grandfather that no one else witnessed. It almost felt like she was being gaslighted at times, but when the purpose for which the Catholic Church used this house in the past was revealed, I was all in. The ending had me on the edge of my seat.

Recommended to haunted house horror lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.

Tommy and Kate have just bought the perfect house. It’s close to his family but it also seems to be haunted.
I thought it was a slow moving book at least til the last few chapters. I’m just not sure about the ending. It’s left me thinking what just happened?

In the beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina, the economy is dying and there are many abandoned homes, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild—selling those 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 where Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives, live. 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 neighbor 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 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.....

This was SO good. It was one of those books that slowly got creepier and creepier, until BAM! Also, can I just say, I hate rats. I don't care what anyone says, no they are not just large mice, and I dare anyone who reads this book to say otherwise. The ending on the book was perfect and sent chills up my spine. It couldn't have ended better. If you are a fan of horror/thrillers, then you definitely need to add this to your TBR list.

The House of Last Resort is a horror novel that follows an American couple, Tommy and Kate, who move to a small Italian town when they get a great offer on an abandoned house. They are excited to live in this town, especially since they will be living close to Tommy’s grandparents. They can’t believe their good fortune and they are excited to embark on this new chapter in their lives. However, things aren’t what they seem and soon Tommy and Kate’s dream turns into a nightmare.

I had a fun time reading this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Golden and I really enjoy his writing. This story drew me in from the beginning and it definitely had some creepy moments. I loved the setting in this book. It really makes me want to take a trip to Italy where some of my distant relatives reside. Italy is such a great setting for a story!

I loved the paranormal elements in the book. The house the couple moves into is creepy but there’s also catacombs that Tommy and Kate explore and the town itself just seems off. I felt dread while reading this book, just knowing that something bad was going to happen.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love haunted house or possession stories. I hope to read more from this author soon.

Interesting premise that dragged along at a lot of points in the middle. Sometimes the story, characters, and actions seemed dated. I think some editing would have kept the tension going. I love the idea of saving a dying town, moving to a new place, learning a new culture...all of it. But the characters acted in unnatural ways and the story just didn't move like it should have. It was OK.

This was my first Christopher Golden book, and I love the concept of haunted houses especially in beautiful locations like Becchina. I would love to be able to move to a beautiful place and just completely reset our lives.

Kate and Tommy have left their Boston home to resettle in Becchina, where Tommy’s family is from. In an effort to promote others to live in the town, the Becchina Mayor has started an initiative for couples to buy a fixer upper for practically nothing. Kate and Tommy have jumped on this and have decided to purchase a beautiful home that just needs some renovations. Shortly after moving in though, weird things begin happening around the house and even learning the history of the house doesn’t stop their questions of what’s really buried beneath them.

The premise is fantastic, but the story ended up feeling flat for me. I never felt particular connect or anything actually towards our characters and the ‘American Savior’ complex that Tommy and Kate had irked me, though in Tommy’s defense his family does live there. I was hoping to be more ‘scared’ throughout this book and while I’m a big fantasy reader (aka I’m on board with demons, ghosts etc) the delivery of on this aspect wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, ie nothing outright scared or particular shocked me. While there were certain aspects that made this a page turner it’s a slow burn horror story, that doesn’t pick up until the very end. For being under 300 pages this took me much too long to read.

The House of Last Resort comes out January 30, 2024. Huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy in exchange for an honest review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

The House of Last Resort begins with a fantastic premise based on real-life. Some small towns in Italy are offering vacant houses for the price of a single euro. Some stipulations must be met, but it's still a steal. Tommy and Kate decide to take them up on their offer and move to Becchina, the town where Tommy's grandparents live. They find the perfect house, but soon strange things start happening until they can no longer ignore the truth.
I loved the premise but I found the execution to be a bit lacking. I found myself fairly uninterested in the mystery about half way through the book.