I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Finally a heroin who's older! That alone breaks the mold of most thrillers I read, the heroine is usually the younger sister, and if older, they'd be 30s, top. Finally a mature heroine who may or may not know what she's doing.

This is my first time reader this author's book, and the book is at a slower pace than most thrillers. It switches between present and the past, and written from the perspectives of the younger sister, the older sister, and the wife.

It was a decent book, with numerous of twists.

Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an incredible way to start off the new year, Her last holiday had a steady pace throughout with some exceptionally written characters.

The three main characters – Fran, Jenna and Kate were all vibrant and lifelike, some likeable and others not. For me Jenna was 100% likeable, she had been dealt a really rough hand but still remained a good person. Fran in the beginning seemed cold and uninterested in everything and everyone but by the end her demeanour had completely changed and she became a lot more likeable, but Kate however was vile and vindictive throughout.

I loved the authors writing style, how the book was separated by the then and now chapters, I thought it really broke up the story, which progressed perfectly. It had me gripped by the end of the first chapter, remained at a steady pace throughout until the end part which left me with my head spinning.

This was another fantastic book written by C.L Taylor which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend you to go and pre-order now. 😊

"Her Last Holiday" is the story of Fran, whose younger sister Jenna is missing, presumed dead, after attending a spiritual retreat in which two other people died. The handsome and charismatic retreat leader, Tom, was sent to prison for his role in the deaths, but now he's out, and Fran - or more accurately, Fran's mother Geraldine - wants answers about what happened to Jenna.

When Tom and his wife Kate advertise another retreat, Geraldine books a place for Fran to attend so that she can do some digging and try to find out once and for all what happened to her sister. Using Geraldine's identity, Fran is soon ensconced in a Snowdonian farmhouse with several other attendees, some of whom were at the ill-fated retreat where her sister went missing. Can Fran found out what happened to her sister? Or is someone intent on keeping that secret for good, no matter what it takes?

I really enjoyed this twisty, well-written thriller. It's well-paced, and I liked that it was told from two perspectives - Fran's in the present and Jenna's in the past - so that we got to see the whole story unravel. I also didn't guess the final twist, so bonus points for that! Would recommend this one - I loved the spiritual retreat aspect which gave it an original angle, and I liked that the characters were well developed and believable.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

C L Taylor is a go to author for me, I've enjoyed every book she's written. Whilst not my favourite, Her Last Holiday is a thrilling read with a great plot which keeps you hooked and a satisfying twist at the end.
4 stars

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor was my first by this author but won't likely be the last.

I found this novel engaging and gripping but the downside was that I couldn't quite get into Jenna's mindset since I'm a bit dubious about self-help kind of things. I think those that are deep into it may get more from this book.

I feel it drug a bit during the story building but the awesome character of Fran made up for it. She's not your likely heroine (older single woman, no romantic storyline here) but is a badass none the less!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Sisters who have disappeared are a trend for certain. This follows Fran whose sister Jenna disappeared from a retreat 2 years prior. There’s a lot of back and forth from then to now, which gives us a good slow burn. I love the characters and the suspense but the best part of all is the ending. What a twist! You won’t see it coming!

This book was brilliant! I’ve always loved CL Taylor books so I was thrilled to get this ARC from NetGalley. She has outdone herself with this new book - It was such a great suspense thriller / murder mystery.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared from a SoulShrink wellness retreat that went wrong. Now she’s set to go on her own retreat to try and uncover what really happened to Jenna and why there are still so many secrets around her disappearance.

Lots of suspense, great characters that you can get invested in and a really psychologically twisted ending. I liked the flashbacks as they really let you get to know Jenna rather than the whole story being from Fran’s point of view. It was interesting to see how the two sisters approached the SoulShrink retreats with different opinions about how it could help them both.

There are some really great chapters full of retreat style activities (water rafting, trust activities, late night games and swims). I loved Joy’s character the most - no spoilers but I’d love to read a book where she was the main character! (With all of her crazy jumpers).

I would definitely recommend this to my criminology students who love a good suspense thriller book.

When Jenna disappeared it was ruled a suicide, but some think it may be a little more than that.

Frans mum co'erces her onto a soul shrink retreat, run by the same people that were running the retreat where her sister went missing. They just want the truth. Fran feels bad she didnt take more time with her sister and is working through that regret and her own upbringing, and the wife of the retreat lead is worried that Fran is an under cover reported.

Like all of Taylors book I couldnt wait to read this, couldnt put it down, and was annoyed with myself for how quickly I read it. The characters were interesting, and some clues to who poeple were became obvious with hindsight. I was suprised by some things the characters did, and where and they impacted Jenna or Frans lives.

I have recently read two upcoming CL Taylor books quite close to one another. One of them being The Island - Taylor's YA thriller, and then Her Last Holiday - which is her newest adult thriller offering. To say they are completely different would be an understatement. They both have Taylor's fantastic plotting and inevitable twists, and they are both written exceptionally well. But that is where the similarities end.

In HLH we meet Fran, who is still grieving the loss of her sister, Jenna. Jenna disappeared two years ago while on a retreat in Gozo. Fran finds herself at the retreat with the man who may or may not have had something to do with her sisters disappearance.

What follows is a rollercoaster ride of high energy, action packed thrills and you won't be disappointed if you pick this one up.

Fran's character is developed really well throughout the book. It feels like she really grows as a person the more she 'investigates' Jenna's disappearance. I wasn't keen on a lot of the secondary characters to begin with, they aren't all that likeable. But this is something I love in a book. It keeps you grounded - who likes everyone in real life?!

A life long fan of Taylor's work, this one will be coming home with me as soon as it is released. Congratulations Cally on another fantastic book.

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor is another gripping novel that does not disappoint! Fran’s younger sister, Jenna, disappeared 2 years ago while on a wellness retreat. The wellness host was sent to prison for 2 deaths that happened that weekend. Now that the retreat host has been released from prison, Fran wants to see if she can get more details on her sisters suicide by attending the retreat. Great read with many twists.

Thank you NetGalley, C.L. Taylor, & Avon Books for the ARC.

This was my first time reading C.L. Taylor’s work, and I was impressed and will definitely be reading more.

The books tells the story of a woman and her search for her sister’s murder. There are countless twists and turns and it’ll definitely keep you on your toes.

You’ll be shocked by the end of the book! :)

Thank you to netgalley for the oppurtunity to read her last holiday by the brilliant C.L Taylor. Having read all her previous books, i knew this would be as good as all her others. I wasnt disappointed. The story follows Fran on her mission to find out how and why her sister Jenna died. There was lots of suspense and of course a twist was added in for good measure. I was hooked from the beginning and i my attention was kept the whole way through as i wanted to find out what was going on. Another brilliant read from C.L Taylor.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat, SoulShrink, in Gozo that went terribly wrong.

Tom Wade, whom we come to learn is the man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his 2 year sentence for the deaths of two people. Whilst he was imprisoned, his wife Kate has been busy planning the rest of their lives, a restart of SoulShrink - but will it have the same grizzly consequences?

Kate’s sister Fran books herself onto Tom’s upcoming retreat, wanting to face the man behind her sisters murder and to find out exactly what happened. The retreat isn’t all
It turned out to be, Fran learns more than she probably ever wanted too with regards to her sister, just exactly how did she die, or did she?

Told in the format of a then v now narration, the story jumps back and forth, reeling the reader in and along a lot of twisty, windy hops and skips within it. Not my favourite book of CL Taylor, but easy to read and keeps you guessing!

Great story with lots of twists and turns throughout making you wonder if anyone is actually who/what they say they are!!

Writing carefully as not to leave any spoilers. Firstly I should say I have enjoyed all of this author's previous books and this was no exception. It is an intriguing and twisting tale with turns and surprises I did not see coming, which had me reading late into the night. The storyline weaves an intriguing selection of characters between a past and a present day setting without once loosing the reader, thanks to clever guidance by the author. The characters developed well over time although I found it difficult to sympathise with anyone to a great degree.

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes as little as mis placed sentence or event to spoil a book and this one lost me with the final sentence of chapter 53. I won't reveal the details as I'd hate to spoil the specifics for another reader, but I feel strongly enough to say I felt let down. For a strong book with such a gripping plot, woven by such an accomplished author I'm surprised that sentence even made it into the final edit. For me, the remainder of the story was tainted from that point on. There had been an event just a few pages earlier when one of the characters was taken to hospital, which I thought was written in a hurry, almost pushed into the narrative to solve a problem later on, then this error of judgement with that final sentance of Ch 53 just sealed my disappointment I'm afraid.

Just one point further I would like to make, a query perhaps you could say. The author in the notes at the end, explained that the location of Gozo is a lovely, safe destination, no hint of police corruption etc... Then why, I would like to ask our of curiosity, did they feel the need to use a "real" place and not describe a fictional setting instead? Just a curious thought.

4 STARS

This was my first read by C.L. Taylor, and I'm a fan now! This book was full of suspicious deaths, missing persons, secrets, crazy family members, and suspense! I liked the multiple POVs, and how the characters kept secrets and began to uncover everyone else's secrets for leverage...OMG!

It was a quick read with interesting characters. I enjoyed the mystery of the story, the suspense, and trying to figure out what was going on! I am adding this author to my watch list, and plan to read more from her in the future!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this digital copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. This book publishes in the US on April 29, 2021.

I had so much fun reading this. It's a beautiful story about sibling's relationship and lost opportunities, while providing a clever commentary on the ins and outs of the wellness industry. I really empathised with C.L.Taylor's main character, Fran, but the author's deftness in characterisation means that she supplies us with a number of well rounded characters, as the narration shifts between three characters and over two timeframes (now and then, 2 years earlier). Rooted on the beautiful backdrop of Malta and Wales, the plot's twists and turns ensure you are unable to put the book down (I was literally reading this until the early hours every time I picked it up) – I also love how Taylor manages to balance tragedy with comedy - (certain comments and thoughts her characters made me laugh out loud).

Wow! Another fantastic book from C.L Taylor. I was hooked from the start and it didn't take me long to read through.

I loved how the story would go back and forward through time, so you get the view from both.
The character base was just right, so you didn't get lost with who was who. This also made it good, to not be able to guess who was up to no good. I'm normally pretty good at guessing a plot, but I had no idea with this one.
Great ending, to the point I was in tears!

Great work, Cally!

The story starts with an intriguing plot and surroundings but somewhere along the way it loses steam and direction. The story doesn’t fall into the psychological thriller category and the twist is predictable. The narrative is prolonged unnecessarily and the names are being confused with the pseudonyms of some characters, which needs to be rectified in the editing phase. The characters are shallow and their real feelings are unclear. I so liked the previous book Strangers, but this one is nowhere near it.

4.5 stars! I loved this twist turning book. So many twists and surprises. I will definitely be recommending this book on Goodreads! Thank you for this advanced copy of this book. I don’t think I’ve read by this author yet and I will definitely be looking for more. It was a fast and easy read and just the right length for this story.