Review: The Last Resort, by SJI Holliday

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I do like how SJI Holliday comes up with these intriguing tales. This is another one that compells you to keep turning the page.

Seven strangers gathered on a remote island to experience what? That is the premise. It takes a sort of sci-fi twist (which might not go down well with devoted crime or mystery fans) which includes advanced technology able to access memories, and definitely has a very Black Mirror feel. But I wouldn't liken The Last Resort to And Then There Were None by Christie though, it was more like the film, The Game, with Michael Douglas. Nothing is quite what it seems.

Each chapter flicks between different character POV's, and also flashes back to something from the past, which is undefined. I would say that you are waiting for something to happen all the way through, and every now and then you are thrown a bone to keep you going, but really it is the last 20% where you get clobbered with it all, and it really does feel like that. It is a shock, and a cleverly played red herring really, but I liked the very end, which sort of twisted things again. Susi Holliday likes to do that and is what keeps me returning as one of her faithful readers.

Why not a 5 star? The ending made the rest feel null and void, as though there hadn't been much point to it really. Connecting with characters and getting invested and then wham! It was like another story being introduced, which might have been hinted at along the way, but felt added at a later stage. But it was sewn up well at the very end though, with a slight twist, which personally helped keep the books integrity.

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