A little slow paced but still a great story. I quite enjoyed the characters and the story plot. It was a good read during the lockdown!

Jenna went to Gozo in Malta to a retreat to find herself after some distressing news. She never returned with the police ruling suicide. Tom, the leader of retreat has been released from prison for the manslaughter of 2 other members of the retreat. Toms wife Kate arranges another retreat and enna's sister Fran is sent to by their mother to find out what happened to Jenna.
Ive read a few of CLTaylors books and I love them for the great storylines. She us very good at keeping the reader interested in where the story is going and this book is no exception.
I received this book from Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

A well written plot and character development - this was a page turner that made me want to see what else the author has available to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for a free Advanced Review Copy of this book.

I have read all of C L Taylor's books and was thrilled to receive an ARC of Her Last Holiday. Add to that a good murder/mystery and I'm hooked.

The narrative is given to us via three main characters, all female: Jenna, Kate, and Fran.

Jenna's story is told from 3 years ago and leads us up to what happened before she disappeared, presumed to have committed suicide. However, reporters and her family believe that foul play was involved.

Kate's story unfolds both in the past and the present. She is a prickly character who you might love to hate. The real founder of SoulShrink, she allows her husband to be the figurehead. 3 years ago, tragedy struck at a retreat in Gozo, after which, husband Tom ended up serving time in prison. Once he's released, Kate organises another retreat, this one in Wales, to try and rebuild the SoulShrink brand.

Fran is a 50-year-old IT teacher at a school. After growing up under a hard, demanding, and unforgiving mother, she breaks free. However, she has learnt to hide her emotions and avoids getting close to anyone. This leads to a lonely life for her. After much bullying from her mother, she attends the new SoulShrink retreat in Wales to try and discover what happened to her sister Jenna three years previously.

Usually, I give any book from C L Taylor a solid four or five stars. However, Her Last Holiday fell a little flat for me. The plot and pacing was much slower than I'm used to, and I found some of the narrative long and rambling. All of that said, I enjoyed this book and the characters. I worked out the main plot twist fairly early on, but I still enjoyed this read. It gets a good 3 stars from me, which means that I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it. It was a fun and okay read. I'm still eager to read more of C L Taylor's books, and for an easy, relaxed read, I would highly recommend this book.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

I'm a big CL Taylor fan so was super excited to read this ahead of release. Two years ago, a woman named Jenna went missing presumed dead from a wellness retreat. The organiser of the retreat was jailed and held responsible for two other deaths at the same retreat and this book starts just as Tom is released from jail. His wife convinces him to run another retreat to try and make up for the money he lost during his sentence. Looking for answers, Jenna's sister Fran enrolls on the course. I found this a fun read and the ending definitely kept me guessing. It's well written and holds your attention throughout. Would definitely recommend!

What a rollercoaster ride. Twisty, turny. Just when you think you have the characters figured out, you don’t. A clever, intricate plot. A fantastic read.

I have liked all of the books I've read by C.L. Taylor, Her Last Holiday is no exception. It's a great psychological thriller. It's an easy read, nothing too heavy, but had few twists I don't see coming! The premise is one sister (Jenna) goes missing under cloudy circumstances during a spiritual retreat led by a self help guru (Tom) and a few years later her older sister (Fran) goes to a similar retreat led by none other then Tom I'm hopes to finally find out what really happened to her sister. If you like Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapeña and B A Paris this will be right up your alley.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once again C L Taylor had me totally engrossed, a good storyline and again the twist at the end was so unexpected.
At first a couple of the characters were hard to like but that made the retreat setting a bit more realistic.
Look forward to reading more of her books.
Thank you Netgalley

This was a great book.

It was an unpredictable thriller in a health retreat setting. I enjoyed the multiple POV's from different characters, some likeable and some not so much.

I got through this book quite quickly, I couldn't put it down.

I definitely recommend this one to those who are fans of psychological thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ebook via Netgalley

‘Her Last Holiday’ -C.L Taylor
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- 4.5 stars
“You come to Soul Shrink to heal. You don’t expect to die.”

Shrouded in mystery, a young girl’s apparent suicide in picturesque Gozo causes irreparable wounds to her family: older sister Fran (under considerable duress from her emotionally devoid mother) agrees to visit Tom and Kate’s wellness retreat ‘Soul Shrink’- where her sister had met her demise three years prior.

This time the location is different (set in Wales) but the deceit, corruption and manipulation is ever prevalent... seeping it’s way into the visitors, grasping hold of their sense of logic and rationality, refusing to let go.

Will Fran get the answers she so longingly desires? Someone must know the truth behind what happened to Jenna?

Superb, tantalisingly tense writing by C.L Taylor- told predominantly through three female characters within two contrasting time frames- ‘then’ and ‘now’. You’ll never see it coming...

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books UK for the opportunity to receive this psychological-thriller ARC.

I am a real fan of the works of CL Taylor. Her last Holiday was good, but it wasn’t my favourite. Fran is closed, Fran has few friends, Fran finds her own company preferable. She’s spent her whole life trying to get out of her cloying house to do her own thing. Even if that means she doesn’t have the closest relationship with her baby sister Jenna, 12 years younger than her.

Now Jenna is dead. The ruling is that Jenna committed suicide while attending the all popular SoulShrink retreats led by the charismatic Tom who is well known in his cult like following, to change everyone’s unhappy lives. While Tom may be the face, it is Kate who is the woman behind all of the retreats successes.

Flipping between past and present we find out the events of that retreat from Jenna’s point of view, flipping to the present we have Fran who is guilted by her Mother to go to the newest retreat to try and learn more about how Jenna died and we have Kate in both the past on that last fateful retreat and the new one three years later.

With a cast of characters to build suspense and motive, how far is someone willing to go to find out what happened that last day anyone saw Jenna alive.

Interesting premise I just had a hard time staying with it. But I did see it through. It will appeal to a lot of readers. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it held my attention immensely. I thought I had everything figured out, but then I was proven wrong...twice! I was definitely anxious to get to the end to see who did what to whom and why. Right to the last page, it did not diappoint!

I am a huge fan of C L Taylor’s novels and was thrilled to have a chance to read her latest before it was published. The story starts of slow,, but by the end, you will be dying to know who did what. I thought I knew how the story was going, but like all her novels there was a twist you won’t see coming. I look forward to reading her next novel.

Fran goes to Gozo to attempt to find out the circumstances of her sister’s death but who to trust?
Interesting characters and intriguing storyline that I have come to expect from this author. A compelling read

I really like this author so when I saw she had a new book out I had to read it. If you like a good thriller with lots of mystery then you'll love this book.

Frank's sister Henna went missing on a retreat, she's presumed dead but no body has been found. When the man responsible for other deaths at the retreat is released from prison and sets up a brand new retreat, Fran decides to go and find out what happened.

Another brilliant thriller from a great author. I'd highly recommend this.

"You come to Soul Shrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die“
One to play with your head and spin you around- perfect! Fran is on a retreat at her mothers behest. The man running itTom Wade was let out of prison 9 months ago having been convicted of two deaths on one of his retreats in Gozo. At the same time Fran’s sister Jenna went missing, presumed dead. Fran has gone under an assumed name and her mother has insisted that the only way to get to truth is to confront Tom and see his reaction when Jenna is mentioned. On the first night there Fran receives a note addressed to her real name informing her that Jenna didnt commit suicide as the police thought but was murdered. Someone knows her real identity and more about Jenna.
This draws you in and keeps you there. A mystery as well as a thriller. That air of suspense and whodunnit, brilliantly written as ever. My view of whodunnit changed as I went through (and was totally wrong) something I enjoy to keep the grey matter active. A suspenseful read right until the very end. We get alternate chapters from Jenna and Kate (Tom's wife) in the past at Gozo and various other characters in the present. Each chapter is entitled with a name and time frame making this easy to follow. Guru or charlatan, wife or employee, friend or foe? A captivating gripping read to make you challenge everyone in the story.

(rest of links on publication)

What a twisted web C.L. Taylor has spun for us to unweave.

This book is told by 3 narrators focusing on the now and the past (2 years ago) with some overlap.

The book begins nice and slow, introducing us to Kate (the power behind SoulShrink and the wellness retreats) and sisters Jenna and Fran.

Jenna attended a retreat 2 years ago, never to return. Police deemed it a suicide. Her sister Fran is unconvinced and is persuaded by her mom to attend one of the retreats herself to dig and find out the truth about what happened to Jenna.

I really appreciated all the character development and loved how the conflict unfolded in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC I’m exchange for my honest review.

Her Last Holiday is the latest psychological thriller from brilliant mind of CL Taylor.
An excellently written, character driven story that weaves events from the past and the present together to form the narrative of how Jenna disappeared nearly three years ago and the mysterious events surrounding her disappearance. The police in Gozo were convinced that Jenna committed suicide but her family believes otherwise and now, her elder sister Fran is attending a similar retreat to Jenna and is determined to find the truth. Several of the people from the original retreat are attending with Fran but as the story is narrated by three different women, with opposing points of view, that are plenty of twists to come and some truly exciting revelations. With manipulation and self-preservation at the centre of most actions, this story is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish and Taylor has done a excellent job by creating a twisty narrative to build up the tension and keep the reader on their toes.
In summary: a must read for fans and if you enjoy a well crafted thriller, with tension and twists, this is one for you.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of this author and have read all her work to date, so I was grateful to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review. I'll be honest, it wasn't as fast paced as her other works, and it took me a bit of effort to stick with it. But there is mystery from the off and I found Tom and Kate particularly intriguing. A good read overall, and I will always look forward to future releases from this writer.

I really enjoyed this book. Based upon a retreat for people who need to find themselves and move away from their troubled pasts it is less than tranquil when 3 people are dead. One of them is the main characters sister who goes on the next retreat to uncover what really happened to her sister. Good plot, good development of characters and when you think the end is near more keeps on coming. A great read