The Last Resort

From the bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Lucky comes a gripping novel about marriage, loyalty, and the deadly secrets that unravel over the course of a two-week couples’ therapy retreat in Mexico. We all have thirteen secrets. Five stay buried forever, but the rest will be revealed. Miles Markell is missing, and everyone is a suspect. To the guests at The Harmony Resort, Doctors Miles and Grace Markell appear to be a perfect power couple. They run a couples’ therapy retreat in a luxurious resort in the Mayan Riviera where they help spouses deal with their marriage struggles. Johanna and Ben’s relationship looks great on the surface, but in reality, they don’t know each other at all. Shell and Colin fight constantly—Colin is a workaholic, and Shell always comes second—but what has really torn them apart is too devastating to talk about. When both couples begin Harmony’s intensive therapy program, it becomes clear that Harmony is not all that it seems—and neither are Miles and Grace. What are they hiding, and what price will these couples pay for finding out their secrets? As a powerful hurricane descends on the coast, trapping both the hosts and their guests, confidences are revealed, loyalties are tested, and not one single person—or marriage—will ever be the same. A gripping exploration of relationships and trust, The Last Resort is a propulsive read about all the big truths we hide, even from ourselves.

In the fourth Harith Athreya mystery, a murderer strikes at a luxury resort - can detective Athreya prevent them from capsizing his holiday? BOLLYWOOD Detective Harith Athreya is recuperating from an illness in the beautiful backwaters of Kerala when he stumbles into a new form of intrigue: a family of vacationing Bollywood royalty, who want his help making a murder mystery film. BANKRUPTCY But not all is as it seems with the family - there are rumours of major money troubles, links to organised crime and growing rivalries between the scions. BUTCHERY One of them is found dead, murdered in the exact manner of the film that Athreya has been helping to put together. Is this the work of an angry co-star, or something more sinister? Tensions rise as the family starts to point the finger at one another. Fearful that he has unwittingly provided a blueprint for the murder, Athreya has no choice but to put his holiday on hold to solve the case.

A Pulitzer Prize–winning author’s “sparkling, smart” tale of an aging writer and his younger wife looking for new life—or a way to end it—in Key West (The New York Times). Every schoolboy in America knows the work of author Wilkie Walker, who won fame and fortune with his accessible nature books. But as he turns seventy, his renown is nearly gone. Now he sits up at night torturing himself with fears that his career was a waste, his talent is gone, and his body destroyed by cancer. His wife, Jenny, twenty-five years younger, can tell only that he is out of sorts. She has no idea her husband is on the verge of giving up on life. When Jenny suggests spending the winter in Key West, Wilkie goes along with it. After all, if you need to plan a fatal “accident,” Florida is a perfectly good place to do so. And when they touch down in the sunshine state, the Walkers find it’s not too late to live life—or end it—however they damn well please. The National Book Award–shortlisted author of Foreign Affairs Affairs, The War Between the Tates, and The Last Resort writes a “sparkling, smart . . . highly volatile” novel (The New York Times). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author’s collection.

Thrilling, heartbreaking, and, at times, absurdly funny, The Last Resort is a remarkable true story about one family in a country under siege and a testament to the love, perseverance, and resilience of the human spirit. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Douglas Rogers is the son of white farmers living through that country’s long and tense transition from postcolonial rule. He escaped the dull future mapped out for him by his parents for one of adventure and excitement in Europe and the United States. But when Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe launched his violent program to reclaim white-owned land and Rogers’s parents were caught in the cross fire, everything changed. Lyn and Ros, the owners of Drifters–a famous game farm and backpacker lodge in the eastern mountains that was one of the most popular budget resorts in the country–found their home and resort under siege, their friends and neighbors expelled, and their lives in danger. But instead of leaving, as their son pleads with them to do, they haul out a shotgun and decide to stay. On returning to the country of his birth, Rogers finds his once orderly and progressive home transformed into something resembling a Marx Brothers romp crossed with Heart of Darkness: pot has supplanted maize in the fields; hookers have replaced college kids as guests; and soldiers, spies, and teenage diamond dealers guzzle beer at the bar. And yet, in spite of it all, Rogers’s parents–with the help of friends, farmworkers, lodge guests, and residents–among them black political dissidents and white refugee farmers–continue to hold on. But can they survive to the end? In the midst of a nation stuck between its stubborn past and an impatient future, Rogers soon begins to see his parents in a new light: unbowed, with passions and purpose renewed, even heroic. And, in the process, he learns that the "big story" he had relentlessly pursued his entire adult life as a roving journalist and travel writer was actually happening in his own backyard. Evoking elements of The Tender Bar and Absurdistan, The Last Resort is an inspiring, coming-of-age tale about home, love, hope, responsibility, and redemption. An edgy, roller-coaster adventure, it is also a deeply moving story about how to survive a corrupt Third World dictatorship with a little innovation, humor, bribery, and brothel management.

‘Gripping, twisty and dark’ Lucy Clarke ‘Nail-biting’ Jane Corry ‘Dark and intriguing’ Alice Clark-Platts __________________________________ 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 . . . __________________________________ Praise for Heidi Perks: 'A gripping thriller.... with a killer twist' CLAIRE DOUGLAS 'Kept me up late into the night' LUCY CLARKE 'I flew through this book in three days' LISA JEWELL 'Reads like Liane Moriarty at her Big Little Lies best' TONY PARSONS

Rafael Molinet Rojas, an inconspicuous Spaniard living in London, regrettably finds that there is nothing worth living for when his closest companion–his mother–dies. Hoping to make a dignified–and, although he won’t admit it, dramatic–exit from this world, Molinet plots his escape, picking an elegant setting for his suicide via sleeping pills: Morocco’s L’Hirondelle d’Or, one of the most luxurious resorts in the world. There, he will be able to forget his cares, drape himself in a white caftan, and try to make a little money playing backgammon before he does himself in. The day before his trip, Molinet has a lunch date with his vivacious niece–who enthralls him with the story of a scandalous and deeply suspicious death. Jaime Valdés, high society lothario, has seemingly choked to death in the presence of both his mistress and his wife, but all of Spain is atwitter with the possibility of murder. Coincidentally, when he arrives at the spa, Molinet realizes that the stylish woman sitting by the pool is none other than Valdés’s widow. And when a throng of gossipy Europeans arrive on the scene, it quickly becomes clear that despite its air of tranquility, many sinister things are happening at L’Hirondelle. Before he knows it, Molinet’s eavesdropping leads to a startling turn of events. Internationally bestselling author Carmen Posadas has created a corrosive and witty high society whodunit in the vein of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. The Last Resort mixes poolside cocktails and acid-laced gossip with privilege and murder to marvelous effect.

From the winner of the XOXO Connects flash fiction contest comes a story about an uber-focused executive knocked off her stride by a riding accident and then swept off her feet when she least expects it! Alejandra Barros doesn’t know the meaning of failure until fate pulls the rug right out from under her Louboutin stilettos. Board of Directors’ meetings, corporate takeovers, and jet setting around the globe don’t allow for much of a personal life—and even Ali’s limited free time is dedicated to her beloved horses, show jumping at a championship level. When a freak riding accident shatters her wrist and messes with her confidence at work, her boss mandates a month-long hiatus. If she wants to save her career, she has no choice but to go. Pebble Creek Lodge is not far from Denver, but the high-end retreat might as well be a world away from the frenzied pace of Manhattan. From the moment she arrives, Ali feels so out of place she’s practically ready to skip the whole “required recovery” nonsense and hop on the next plane back to New York. The only thing stopping her is the ranch hand Hank Mathis and his perfectly chiseled abs, which are intriguing and delicious enough to make her linger. By the time Ali admits she’s in a bit of a funk, not even the moral and physical support of a gorgeous cowboy is enough to bring her back to her old self—especially when the object of her desires is secretly battling his own demons. To get her life back on track, Ali will have to decide what it is she’s really fighting to regain and what it will take to find it—or she’ll risk losing the one thing that could truly make her happy.

Margaret Atwood meets Raymond Chandler meets Greta Thunberg: Jen Lu is back on the case when the death of a lawyer sparks an even more intriguing mystery in Michael Kaufman’s second book in the thrilling series. It’s March 2034, six months after D.C. police detective Jen Lu and Chandler, her sentient bio-computer and wannabe tough guy implanted in her brain, cracked the mystery of Eden. The climate crisis is hitting harder than ever: a mega-hurricane has devastated the eco-system and waves of refugees pour into Washington, D.C. Environmental lawyer and media darling Patty Garcia dies in a bizarre accident on a golf course. Of the seven billion people on the planet, only Jen thinks she was murdered. After all, Garcia just won a court case for massive climate change reparations to be paid out by oil, gas, and coal companies. Jen is warned off, but she and Chandler start digging. Signs point to Garcia’s abusive ex, a former oil giant, but soon Jen turns up more suspects who have an even greater motive for committing murder Soon Jen is in the crosshairs of those who will ensure the truth never comes to light, no matter the cost. She has to move quickly before she becomes next on the killer’s list.

This riveting story is part mystery, social commentary, and fascinating Hawaiiana. Grace Hill, the narrator, tells the hidden truth about what goes on behind closed doors of The Palms, an independent retirement community in Hawaii. Grace and her Clue Crew of three friends help a Hawaiian police detective solve six mysterious deaths among the residents. Characters are the flamboyant manager of the home and her bumbling husband, a transgender masseuse, a tipsy Cajun chef, a militant social director, and 110 rattled seniors who survive a ballistic missile alert, a hurricane, and a norovirus epidemic. This irreverent romp through everyday life in a retirement home is the sequel to Menu For Murder, published in 2015, in which the Clue Crew and police crack the murders of five residents.

The Prayer for the Last Resort recounts the wartime story of Mordecai Popovtzer, a child survivor of the Holocaust. Originally from Lwow, Poland. Popovtzer lived with his family under the Soviet rule until the Nazi invasion of their hometown. After losing his father, he—along with his mother and sister—went into hiding as they continually evaded apprehension by the Nazis. Throughout the war, they were forced to move between different hiding places and joined a group of partisans fighting against the Nazis. Shortly after the war, Popovtzer made aliyah with his family, and succeeded to live a rich life filled with many professional accomplishments and a loving family.

A revised edition of the classic book that launched Martin Parr and transformed the world of documentary photography.

The capacity of national central banks to 'step in' and bail out an economy is one which has proved to be vitally important over the years. This collection from Wood and Capie brings together important literature for the first time in book form.

Why would Abigail Bissett suddenly resign as an FBI profiler to take a position with Carnival Cruise lines revamping shore excursions in Mediterranean ports? Why would she embark on a new life thousands of miles from Brookline, Massachusetts, her hometown? "I don't understand why you'd leave a job that you spent years training for and clearly love for a position that is inconsequential in the scheme of things," her mother pleads over coffee hours before Abby departs. "Because I can no longer deal with psychologically sick people out there," Abby responds. "The serial killers. The serial rapists. The child molesters. You get the point, Mom." "I do," Carole grudgingly responds. "But I've never known you to run from a challenge." "Maybe my FBI career has changed me," says Abby. "Look at it this way, Mom. I'm taking on a new challenge-one that's less stressful." In LAST RESORT, travel with Abby on an anything but typical cruise aboard the Carnival Liberty.

The global financial crisis (GFC) has renewed interest in emergency liquidity support (sometimes referred to as “Lender of Last Resort”) provided by central banks to financial institutions and challenged the traditional way of conducting these operations. Despite a vast literature on the topic, central bank approaches and practices vary considerably. In this paper we focus on, for the most part, the provision of idiosyncratic support, approaching it from an operational perspective; highlighting different approaches adopted by central banks; and also identifying some of the issues that arose during the GFC.

Using evidence from her long-term research in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Kelly M. McMann traces the situations that drive individuals to illicitly seek employment and loans from government officials.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and global financial crisis, governments swiftly served as financiers of last resort through large financial support measures (FSMs) such as loan and guarantee programs and equity injections in firms. This Staff Discussion Note argues that such FSMs prevented bankruptcies and attenuated the recession by increasing firms’ liquidity, reducing risk premiums, and boosting confidence. But FSMs also carry large and long-lasting fiscal costs and risks. The note presents recommendations for managing the legacies of the COVID-19 programs and preparing for future crises. Ideally, FSMs should be assessed and included in budget plans, though a balance needs to be struck between speed and scrutiny.