Rating - ⭐⭐1/2
"Across Italy, there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild—selling 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 the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives.
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, and the true dread, 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."
The House of Last Resort is a standalone horror novel by Christopher Golden.
Swing and a miss...swing and a miss. I wasn't very optimistic going into this. The synopsis seemed interesting enough but the ratings were not very good which was a warning sign. A very valid warning sign because this wasn't a very good book.
Right from the start I was put off because the first chapter was weird, and not in a good way. I didn't like the characters who were way too unconcerned with the fact that their house had a creepy chapel attached to it and no one else wanted to live there. Sure, I like the idea of morbid tourism, but that house had bad juju written all over it and any sane person would have been out of there instantly. I also wasn't a fan of the rats. Not in the way that I just don't like rats, but I didn't like how of all things the author chose that as the method in which to tie the supernatural instances. When I think of demons my first thought wouldn't be, oh I know, they're connected to rats.
With the supernatural and morbid tourism in mind, I also didn't like how the books had all these interesting elements and the author fumbled with them. There was a distinct lack of tension throughout the book which didn't match the tone and setting. This is a case of interesting concept but bad execution. 85% of the book was bland and the last 15% got a bit wild but again, not in a good way. I didn't like the ending which didn't surprise me at all. It gave me Hereditary and The Nun, but even The Nun was a way better movie compared to this. And, finally, there was the last line which was just straight out of a bad 90s movie.
The best thing about this book was that I ended up talking about it to my mom who coincidently just read it as well and had similar thoughts...so good to know I'm not alone here.
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