The Last Resort

Starred review from April 1, 2019

Among the couples who sign up to attend Harmony Resort are Johanna and Ben, Shell and Colin. Run by married therapists Miles and Grace Markell, the resort offers counseling by the celebrity doctors in a paradise setting, in hopes of repairing their marriages. As the couples begin therapy, they realize that both the Markells and the resort are not all that they seem. Not to mention that a deadly storm is approaching, putting everyone in danger on many different levels. Stapley (Things To Do When It's Raining) brings forth an addictive story line, using seductive language compiled with raw emotion in this fast-paced novel. Readers will pay close attention as the intensity builds, as the book is divided into sections corresponding to the days the couples are at the resort. With multilayered characters who all have deep-seated issues stemming from childhood, and some based on religion, this title will force readers to think about what it means to be broken and made whole again. VERDICT An excellent read, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Anna Quindlen.--Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2019
In the gripping latest from Stapley (Things to Do When It’s Raining), celebrity marriage counselor Miles Markell and his wife, Grace, run the Harmony Resort, located on an island off Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, where unhappily married couples can enroll in a two-week course designed to rebuild troubled relationships. District attorney Ben Reid and his social worker wife, Joanna, come hoping to reestablish intimacy in their two-year-old marriage. Also present are mining industry executive Colin Williams and his wife, Shell, who longs to reconnect with her workaholic husband. Nothing is as it appears. Underneath the surface, everyone is hiding secrets that could put them all in peril, more so than the category 4 hurricane barreling toward the island. A teasing prologue reveals that Miles goes missing after the hurricane strikes. The question of his fate will keep readers guessing to the end. Stapley shows a real knack for suspense. Agent: Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Literary.

April 15, 2019
Harmony Resort is the place to go if your marriage is in trouble. It is the domain of Miles and Grace Markell, celebrity marriage counselors and, apparently, the perfect couple. Over the years, they've helped dozens of couples regain intimacy, repair relationships, and recover from almost certain divorce. Miles and Grace's methods involve breaking down people's hidden pain and using it to build them back up. Everyone has secrets. Shell and her husband, Colin, have a secret; Johanna and Ben have secrets; even Miles and Grace have secrets in their marriage. Over the course of a week, with the threat of a devastating hurricane looming, all those secrets will come to light. All of them. And when it's over, and the storm has passed, some marriages will be saved, some will end, and Miles will be dead. Featuring vivid, heart-pounding storytelling and a compelling depiction of the heartbreaking ways that long-term abuse can destroy your will, Stapley's latest (after Things to Do When It's Raining, 2018) is an excellent beach read for anyone who loves romantic suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)