Frans sister goes missing on a retreat holiday, 2 years later she attends a new retreat thrown by the same hosts to try and get to the bottom of her sisters disappearance.
A huge fan of C.L Taylor, I eagerly awaited reading this and it didn't dissapoint.
The characters were not the easiest to connect with, and usually I'd struggle with this but I found this added more intrigue and mystery and made it more realistic.
It was a brilliant read, the complex characters helped to really build and conceal the outcome and the damaged and unstable emotions of each of them really made this a tense read.
The fast pace and switching between characters kept you guessing. Throwing you in one direction the turning you in another. The twist really shook things up just when I started to think I had slotted the story together, they were thrown apart again and I was kept guessing until the end.
A fabulous read, thankyou to netgalley and C.L Taylor for the copy!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Great book showing that people are not always what they seem. Loved the ending!

A great read highly recommended!
Jenna visits Gozo to attend a wellness retreat , and never returns home it is believed she has committed suicide, this doesn’t sit well with her sister Fran and she wants to find the truth about the visit to Gozo.

The retreats were organised by a husband and wife team Tom and Kate , the trip ended in such a dreadful way that Tom has to serve a prison sentence .

This book is expertly written it has a past and present narrative and also perspectives from the female protagonists. This could lead to confusion but due to the calibre of writing the book is an easy and I feel unique read.
There are plenty of twists in the fast paced story and overall an entertaining and intriguing book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this arc copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for my arc of this book!
I read The Island at the end of 2020 and completely fell in love with it so as soon as this came out I knew I had to read it!
After reading a few disappointing reads before this one, I knew this had to live up to expectations and it did!
I completely fell into Fran's character and had to find out what happened to her sister, Jenna. I disliked her parents and felt they should be proud of their daughters, whatever life threw at them.
It was gripping and I loved getting to know the characters at the retreat with Fran and also on the 1st retreat with Jenna.
I loved how both stories crossed over with some of the characters so you could get a feel for both.
The only reason I didnt give it 5stars was because I felt the twist at the end wasn't on the same level as previous books, as some of the storylines you could see coming, however it kept me gripped and wanting to read more, definitely would recommend!!
Out 29th April 2021

I am a bit of a sucker for retreats as well as mystery stories, so I was attracted by the premise of this book.
The characters within were very real, flaws and all.

The main theme was dysfunctional families which is very topical at the moment.

There were lots of interesting storylines which kept me engaged in the book until the very end. Easy reading with great characters and relationship issues, All the loose ends were tied up in a neat bow at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
Generally a fan of this author I was looking forward to reading this one. Sorry to say it wasn't as good as previous ones. The main problem I had was that I didn't feel engaged and care about any of the characters. The book is very well written. Another problem was I felt like I had read the book before. Granted there are only so many plots a thriller/crime novel can have but it really did feel like a more drawn out version of another book.
Shame but I look forward to the next one

This book started off with a really intriguing plot. It kept my attention until about 80% after which it started to unravel and it became unrealistic. The characters were well thought out and I enjoyed the “cult” concept but the ending really could have been more interesting.

When Jenna goes missing during a retreat 2 years ago on the island of Gozo the local police said it was suicide but her mother Geraldine and Sister Fran think it was a cover up. Two other accidents took place there and Tom Wade the front man for SoulShrink is sent to prison.
On his release Tom is pushed to restart his business by the bullish Kate who is a very manipulative character. Geraldine discovers that another retreat is going ahead and demands that Fran attends insisting that she uncovers the truth of what happened on Gozo.
This story is full of strange characters, some creepy, some odd but none that I would describe as nice.
My thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books for the digital ARC of Her Last Holiday.

This had been sitting on my huge ‘to read’ pile for ages and as a lover of all Cally Taylor’s books I’m so pleased I’ve finally got round to it. It started a bit slow for me, but definitely picked up pace and I’m pleased I persevered. I’d definitely recommend

I’m a huge C.L. Taylor fan and Her Last Holiday was a much anticipated read for this year. When I first started it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it as much as her previous books as it had a very different feel to it that I couldn’t put my finger on! But I very quickly became caught up in the mystery of what happened to Jenna while she was in Gozo on a wellness retreat run by Kate and Tom. When her sister Fran is bullied into investigating one of Tom’s retreats after he has been released from prison for crimes committed whilst on the Gozo retreat. And it’s when Fran meets Tom, Kate plus others who had been there when Jenna disappeared that things start to get very tense and no one seems to be telling the truth about what happened to Jenna…

I loved the different viewpoints throughout Her Last Holiday as we are introduced to 3 very different women. There’s Fran, older than her sister by 12 years so hadn’t really had much to do with her what she was growing up so they had had a strained and distant relationship. Her guilt at this is played upon by her manipulative mother and she’s suddenly put in a very dangerous position by searching for the truth about what occurred 2 years ago. The reader also sees first hand what happened on that first retreat in Gozo as Jenna narrates her first meeting with Tom and Kate. And finally there is Kate-Tom’s wife and the driving force behind Soul Shrink Retreats who has been waiting for her husband to be released from jail. So it’s a real female character led narrative with a twisty storyline where nothing is quite what it seems.

Her Last Holiday is a slow burner but no less gripping for it. Emotionally draining at times due to the relationship between the sisters (and how it leads to tragedy for all involved) I found it unexpectedly poignant but thoroughly gripping throughout.

Cally Taylor never disappoints! This is such a cleverly woven mystery of intertwining strands, but it's always possible to follow the story and timelines. I loved it, can't wait for the next one!

I did enjoy reading the book although it was rather far fetched and really not at all believable. I also have to admit to finding the constant forwards and backwards in time with all the characters (quite a number of them having more than one name) rather confusing at times. Some of the characters were interesting although I couldn’t say that I warmed to any of them.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

This book was a slow burn. Fran has gone to a retreat on her mothers orders to find out what happened to her sister Jan at a similar retreat run by Kate and Tom of Soul Shrink in a place called Gozo .Jan disappeared and 2 other participants died under suspicious circumstances and Tom went to jail. This retreat is his first on his release from jail organized by Kate who is the driving force behind the facade of Tom being a womanizer and a liar. Kate and Tom are unaware that Fran is Jan’s sister and she is adamant that Fran is a reporter attending the retreat to get to the bottom of what happened in Gozo.

Unfortunately all the characters are unlikeable with a conflicting and confusing storyline.

3 stars

This book /really/ requires its readers to suspend disbelief. The prose itself was quite enjoyable, however the chaotic story, unlikeable characters, and unfulfilling ending served as a massive disservice to C.L. Taylor. I personally found there wasn't much to like here.

Thank you C L Taylor and Netgalley for the advance copy. Jenna disappeared two years ago during a Soul Shrink retreat in Gozo. Her flip-flops and some of her blood was found on the edge of a cliff and suicide is suspected. Jenna's family believe she would never take her own life and suspect foul play. Her mother books herself into another retreat to find out more. After a bad fall she sends her other daughter Fran to find out the truth. A brilliant page turner. C L Taylor at her best

Set up in two different timelines, Her Last Holiday is set between "now" and "two years ago".

Two years ago, Jenna goes on a retreat in Malta with the famous life-coach, Tom Wade to get over a hardship in her life. However, she never goes back home to the UK after this trip. With an unexplained disappearance, the police announce that she has committed suicide.
Tom Wade, is tried and sent to a year in prison for negligence; not for Jenna's disappearance, but for two other deaths that occurred at the same retreat.

Two years following retreat in Malta, Jenna's sister, Fran is still trying to come to terms with her death. She blames herself for not being there for Jenna. However, shortly after Tom Wade's release from prison, another retreat is announced on his social media accounts and Fran is talked into attending the retreat to try to find out what really happened to Jenna.

Overall, Her Last Holiday has a pretty interesting plot, and I liked the way the story unfolded. While reading, there were times when I felt like I knew what was about to happen, but there were many surprises and I definitely did not see the ending coming. However, I found the many POVs across two separate timelines distracting.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman goes on a retreat to Malta to find herself, or at least be comfortable with herself. She doesn’t come back.....
This book just didn’t excite me, I read it quickly but didn’t find the storyline or characters believable. It wasn’t a thriller, more of a whodunnit but by the end I found that I wasn’t really that bothered in finding out what had happened.
Thank you #netgalley for the chance to read from an author new to me, but this wasn’t to my taste.

Two years ago, Fran's sister Jenna went missing while on a wellness retreat organised by the company "SoulShrink". The police ruled it a suicide, but Fran's mum is convinced that Jenna is still alive, and pushes Fran into attending SoulShrink's next retreat to confront the organisers and find out what really happened to Jenna.

Throughout the book, you follow 3 different perspectives; Fran in the present day, and Jenna in the past, plus another perspective in the present of a woman called Kate, who is one of the organisers of the SoulShrink retreats.

Two years ago on that same retreat where Jenna went missing, two people died, and Kate's husband Tom was held responsible. Now that he's been released from prison, she's determined to get their lives back on track.

I have read most of C.L. Taylor’s books and enjoyed all of them. This was no exception, and it was quick and easy to breeze through.

I liked that the present-day storyline takes place in Snowdonia which isn't far from where I went to university! I felt I could picture it pretty well in my mind.

This isn't the type of thriller that has lots of shocking twists and turns. It definitely has more of a gradual build-up.

There are a lot of characters (which could get a little confusing at times), and I found most of them were pretty unlikeable. Although this wasn't a major issue for me because I tend to be more of a plot-based reader when it comes to thrillers anyway.

The main issue I did find is that I had to really suspend disbelief at certain parts, but overall I enjoyed the writing and I found that I wanted to keep on reading to find out what happened to Jenna.

TWs: sexual assault, suicide references

3.5/5
Another fun thriller where things aren’t what they appear to be on the surface, twisted up with the complexities of sister and mother-daughter relationships. Do we really ever know who our siblings and parents are inside?

I loved Fran and her no-nonsense personality right from the start. It really lent credence to her adventure to go undercover and dig around. The title threw me at first (as far as what I thought the book was about) since I don’t consider self-help retreats holidays (aren’t holidays usually FUN?)….but nonetheless the story was entertaining.

Fran’s sister Jenna went unexplainably missing two years ago while on a self-help retreat. Now Tom, the retreat leader, is out of jail after being convicted for the deaths of two other retreat participants. To find out the truth of her sister’s disappearance, Fran goes undercover to Tom’s newest retreat and finds things aren’t what they appear to be. As she digs into her sister’s final days, Fran also begins to come to terms with the relationship she never had with Jenna.

Absolutely loved this book, it was a real page turner that kept me guessing until the end. Superbly written, looking forward to the next offering from C.L Taylor, will definitely be reading it.