Monday 4 December 2023

The Last Resort by Heidi Perks BLOG TOUR #TheLastResort @HeidiPerksBooks @PenguinUKBooks @RandomTTours @Rachel90Kennedy #BookReview

 


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.

But their therapist Maggie can't work out whose version of the truth she can trust.

Then Erin is brought into hospital in a critical condition following a hit-and-run accident. Now everyone is desperate to unravel the truth.

Because if this isn't an accident, then someone close to Erin must be responsible . . .



The Last Resort by Heidi Perks is published on 7 December 2023 by Penguin. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour. 



I'm not sure how Heidi Perks' books have escaped me in the past, this is her seventh novel, and the first of hers that I've read. I'll certainly be checking out more from this author as this story kept me gripped and intrigued throughout. 

This is the second book that I've read recently that has featured a couple whose marriage is in difficulty, and the impact that their counselling sessions have on them. It's a great way of exposing the intricate plot lines, whilst learning more about the individual characters. 

Perks tells this story through a dual time line, not far apart, there's the now and then we are taken back around six months to discover a little more about what led the the current situation. 


The story opens at a hospital as a patient is blue-lighted into A&E. Erin has been seriously injured in a hit and run accident, she was found on a dark roadside alongside some woodland. 

Erin and Will appear to be very happily married, they have a small child; Sadie and Erin has given up work to care for her. However, just recently Erin has begun to feel uneasy in Will's presence, in fact she feels a little bit scared, but has no idea why or where these feelings have stemmed from. Determined to save their marriage, they enlist the help of counsellor Maggie. 
Maggie appears to be the perfect person to help, she has very high ethics, prides herself on her ability to stay focussed and not get personally involved. However, Maggie has issues of her own, and there's something about Erin and Will's case that bring those to the fore. 

Nipping back and forth, from Erin's hospital bed and the mystery of why she was in a place that she vowed never to return to, and then being aware of the previous counselling sessions and their impact on both the couple, and on Maggie is a clever way to keep the reader intrigued. I was trying to second guess what was happening all the way through, but this author is clever and the final reckoning was an utter shock. 

Not just a thriller, The Last Resort is a dark and telling tale of domestic noir, of hidden secrets and repressed memory. It's pacing is perfect, fast and furious at times, but slowly uncovering truths at others. 

Cleverly structured, gripping and at times, very intense. Recommended by me. 






Heidi Perks is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Now You See Her, which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, Come Back for Me, Three Perfect Liars, The Whispers and The Other Guest.

She is a graduate of the inaugural Curtis Brown Creative Online Novel Writing Course and lives in Bournemouth with her family where she sets almost all of her novels.

Follow Heidi on Twitter @HeidiPerksBooks and join in the conversation with #THELASTRESORT






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