Title: THE LAST RESORT
Author: Heidi Perks
ISBN: 978 1804 9405 01
Publisher: Random House UK
Pages: 400
Source: Penguin Random House South Africa / NetGalley
Two people.
Two sides of the story.
Whose do you trust?
When Erin and Will start having couples therapy, they hope it will fix the rift that has appeared out of nowhere in their marriage.
Their therapist Maggie can’t work out which of them to believe, and whose truth she can trust.
Then Erin is brought to hospital in a critical condition following a hit and run, and everyone is desperate to unravel the truth.
Because if it isn’t an accident, then someone close to Erin must be responsible . . .
Official Summary
30 August 2023
This was my second book by Heidi Perks, so I am new to this author. However, when I saw The Last Resort was available for review, I could not wait to get my hands on it. This book grabs your attention the moment you open it and refuses to let go before you reach the very last page. I raced through this book and loved every moment. When you reach for The Last Resort you can expect a gripping read that will leave you questioning the characters and never knowing for sure who is telling the truth. This is a five-star read you will not want to miss.
A huge thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for this review copy!
Heidi Perks crafts a tale that draws you into the lives of her characters with this book and while you are eager to pick sides you are left doubting who you should trust. The character’s emotions draw you in and you are left wanting to interfere. I found myself eager to tell Erin not to believe a word Will was saying. Initially, Maggie left me a little confused – I was not sure what her role was. Yet as you keep reading all is revealed.
When Erin and Will start couples therapy, Maggie, their therapist has no idea who is telling the truth. She battles to trust this couple and believes they may be messing with her. However, when Erin is involved in a hit-and-run that lands her in hospital a hunt for the truth starts that unravels everything.
I loved the uncertainty of this story. I could not figure out who to trust. While on the surface it seems to be a classic case of gaslighting, the surprise that awaits you will leave your head spinning.
The characters in this book were perfectly suited to the story. Erin steals your heart with her insecurity one moment while the next you cannot help but think that Will is right and that the woman has lost her mind. I found myself caught up in Erin’s thoughts and could not help disliking Will. This man left me convinced that something was not right. I loved the twists in this book – I did not see them coming at all.
I have not been handing out five-star reviews very easily this year. I find the more I read the more I expect from the books I do read – but The Last Resort had everything required to make it a fantastic read – so yes – this one got a five-star rating from me. It’s a brilliant read.
If you are looking for a book that will keep you guessing, while forcing you to pick sides and then changing your mind just when you think you have it all figured out, then this is the book for you. I cannot recommend this one highly enough. It is a fabulous read. I have two more Heidi Perks books on my TBR shelf and I cannot wait to make time for them.
Also By Heidi Perks
The Other Guest
She thinks she knows the truth. But what if she’s wrong?
Laila and her husband arrive for a week’s holiday in Greece in desperate need of a reset.
As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort.
Em has no idea who Laila is, or that she has been watching her and her teenage sons and husband so intently.
Five days later their worlds will be blown apart by a horrifying event.
Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she’s seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear.
And what if she’s got it wrong?
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
I’ve always loved reading and writing and for as long as I can remember I’ve been making up stories, poems and even magazines that I’d sell to unsuspecting family members for 20p. I fell in love with Enid Blyton and books like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and somehow managed to get through GCSE’s and A-levels while spending most of the lessons staring out of the window and creating other worlds in my head.
In 1997 I graduated from university and moved up to London to begin a career in marketing. But after three years I moved back down to the south coast and, drawn back to the sea, eventually to my home town of Bournemouth where I still now live with my husband and two children.
After fifteen years of marketing and thrown into the new world of motherhood I decided to make some changes to my life. I left my job in 2012 to look after my family and finally took pen to paper to start writing a novel I’d been thinking about since a holiday six months earlier.
The following year I was accepted onto the inaugural Curtis Brown Creative online Novel Writing Course, which fuelled my desire to become an author even more, and I began writing Beneath The Surface. This was published by Red Door in March 2016.
By then I was already deep in the throes of Now You See Her. I met the amazing Nelle Andrew from PFD who offered me representation and after a year we had two incredible pre-empts for the book from Emily Griffin at Century and Marla Daniels at Simon and Schuster in the US.
Thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa and NetGalley for this review copy. While this is only my second Heidi Perks book I am hooked! I cannot wait to read more of her work.
Are you a Perks fan? What is your favourite book? Please leave a comment below. If I do not have it yet, I will add it to my TBR pile.
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