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A love-starved middle-aged housewife, a novelist suffering from prolonged writer's cramp, and the general manager of a resort hotel find their lives inextricably intertwined. When Edna Connor fails to show up for meals at the beautiful Balsams grand resort hotel, general manager Warn Barson fears the worst. Not wanting to alarm the other guests or risk bad publicity that would spell almost certain ruin for the hotel, he enlists the aid of his old friend, professor-turned-novelist Kary Turnell, whose inability to shake a well-established reputation as a one-hit wonder has him taking refuge at the resort. Kary tries to put his own problems on hold as he works against time to unravel the mystery of Edna's disappearance.

A Last Resort is set in one of New England's finest grand resort hotels. To lend authenticity, the author spent two years interviewing the staff and examining every nook and cranny of the resort to ferret out likely crime scenes, such as secret passageways, hidden corridors, and out-of-the-way service elevators.

"Mark Okrant has used remarkably accurate settings and true-to-life characters to capture the flavor of daily life for guests and hosts at The Balsams. The compelling mystery he has spun will have you wondering right to the last pages of the book. Now, whenever I walk through the halls of the Hampshire House, I still revisit how some of his characters played out the final chapter of their lives."

—Stephen P. Barba, Innkeeper Emeritus, The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel

"There is going to be a murder at the Balsams. Mark Okrant won't say who is going to be murdered or why. He is a cagy one, this murder planner…a very sinister man…stalking around…scheming and planning and plotting…the resort hotel setting is perfect for a murder mystery."

—The late Dennis Joos, The News and Sentinel, Colebrook, New Hampshire