"The Last Resort" by Marissa Stapley

  What is more exciting than author visits for readers?
  Before her latest book was on the library shelves, Marissa Stapley was visiting the Kitchener Public Library.  I went with my daughter.  Here we are with Marissa.

Wendy, guest blogger

  My daughter's friend, Wendy, accompanied us to the author reading.  When I discovered that Wendy enjoys writing, I asked her to be my 'guest blogger'. 
                                                   Thank you Wendy for this excellent review!

   I didn’t like any of the characters when I began my reading journey. It was not until I learned their individual stories and troubles that I began to sympathize with each of them. It wasn’t until later that I began rooting for them. Every good story requires tension and conflict. One character carries that responsibility to the fullest, building in intensity from page one right to the end. But I won’t tell you more than that, you’ll have to discover that on your own.

 The tag line for the novel is “We all have thirteen secrets. Five stay buried forever, but the rest will be revealed.” As you can imagine even before opening the book you have all the ingredients for a great story; an exotic secluded resort, twelve couples, intense therapy sessions and secrets. The author does not disappoint. 

   The story is centered on the secrets of four women; Grace, Johanna, Shell and Ruth. The setting is paradise, somewhere on the Mayan peninsula. A couples therapy resort lead by Miles and Grace Markel, counselling experts that have built an empire fixing broken couples - or your money fully refunded.

   Two couples are in the spotlight; Shell and Colin, Johanna and Ben. Consider making note of who is with whom and what their main issue is. I found it a bit difficult to remember each character, spouse and issue as the story went along. Each chapter is told in a different point of view, not that there are too many, but it may help to keep a roadmap handy. 

   The story arc is like one of those really sharp green covered mountains. The climb may take some dedicated effort, but the peak pulls you over to the downward side which you’ll find is the can’t-put-it down part of this fascinating psychological thriller. 

   It has a great ending. That’s all I’ll tell you and perhaps that is giving away too much.

Marissa Stapley is the Globe and Mail bestselling author of the novels Mating for Life, Things to Do When It's Raining and The Last Resort. Her fiction has been published around the world and her journalism has appeared in magazines and newspapers across North America. She has taught creative writing and editing at the University of Toronto and Centennial College, and still mentors/teaches a small group of writing students every year. She lives in Toronto with her family. Goodreads Author