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.

This is another really good book by this author. It’s original, intriguing and has lots of twists and turns.
The characters got a little confusing at stages due to the various name changes, however it was still an enjoyable read.

C. L. Taylor never disappoints and “Her Last Holiday” is another smash. However, not only does Taylor never disappoint, she just keeps getting better too. This may be her most addictive novel yet! I was on the edge of my seat throughout and quite literally had to be forced to put it down. Dripping in tension, taut atmosphere and laden with interesting characters, this is thriller not to be missed.

Tom Wade and his wife Kate run SoulShrink, a therapeutic programme that offers self-help retreats. After two guests perish and another goes missing from one of these retreats, Tom is sent to prison and Kate is left trying to rebuild their tarnished lives. Fran’s sister Jenna is one the guests who didn’t return from that retreat and when Kate and Tom (newly released from prison) advertise a new retreat, Fran’s mother pleads for her to attend to find out what happened to Jenna. Adopting a false identity, Fran attends the retreat. Once there, nobody is quite who they seem and it will take all of Fran’s ingenuity to discover what Jenna’s fate was...

“Her Last Holiday” is an entirely gripping and masterfully plotted thriller. Taylor builds her narrative at a steady pace, creating an excellent sense of place, an atmosphere that crackles with tension and richly constructed characters. The narrative builds to a break-neck pace and the final third of the novel flies by, as it is simply impossible to put down. The story is told from three different perspectives (Fran’s, Jenna’s and Kate’s), across two timeframes (the previous Gozo retreat and the present day retreat), which helps to layer suspense, provide multiple shock twists and keep readers guessing until the final revelations are woven together. I loved that I could not predict what the conclusion to the story was going to be. As I started to piece together theories, Taylor adopted her usual trick of completely pulling the rug out from under me! There are so many surprises as the plot develops, which kept me turning pages well into the night. I was also really drawn into the suspense of the cat and mouse game between Fran and Kate. Taylor constructs so much tension around Fran’s presence at the retreat and Kate’s suspicions and investigations into her identity. There are a number of genuinely nail-biting sequences as Fran snoops around trying to find out the truth about Jenna and Kate similarly skulks around trying to catch Fran out. Similarly, the simmering romantic anticipation and subsequent tension that brews during the first retreat is written so well, drawing audiences into Jenna’s story and providing so many plausible theories for what may have happened to her.

As well as a tightly plotted thriller, “Her Last Holiday” is also an accomplished exploration of dysfunctional family relationships and particularly the feelings that can fester amongst siblings under the care of parents who essentially pit them against each other. The pressure on the younger sibling to not make the mistakes of the older sibling and the subsequent jealousy of the firstborn over the attention and favouritism that the younger sibling receives is perfectly traversed. Fran’s indifference to Jenna forms much of the guilt that she feels and spurs her on to discover the truth. Similarly, the toxic relationship with her mother and the ambivalence her father shows her has moulded Fran into the strong, independent, fiery woman she is. She has a strong moral compass and knows wrong from right (as evidenced in our first encounter with her), which makes her a refreshingly outspoken and powerful character. I instantly fell in love with her brashness and her commitment to saying exactly what she thinks. This countered her ability to covertly investigate Jenna’s disappearance in both a comical and frighteningly tense way at various points in the plot. What I enjoyed most about Fran’s story though, is the journey that she undertakes and the emotional impact that it has upon her. The experience and the conclusion to the story has a huge impact on her, allowing her to grow as a person and to ultimately heal. In fact, the impact on the entire family is both beautiful and poetic, whilst also being entirely plausible. After so much nerve-shredding suspense, I found this really joyful to read!

“Her Last Holiday” is a compelling and multi-layered mystery, with a rich tapestry of memorable characters and more twists than you could imagine. This is set to be one of 2021’s biggest reads - don’t miss it!

Thanks so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book I loved Strangers Taylors previous book. This one is just as good & even though the characters are slightly annoying you can't help but to get sucked into their world. The plot is fast paced & the characters are credible. Another fantastic read from a better talented writer

Although this starts out slowly, I found myself wanting to know what happens next. Fran’s sister committed suicide while on a self-care retreat. Fran and her parents have so many questions, because her sister’s body was never found. Fran finds herself signing up for a retreat with the same group and plunges herself into the group, trying to find answers, which include several twists and turns.

This is the first of my Christmas reads. Which is really just a bunch of bboks I've set aside to read over Christmas break 😊. And what briliant one to start with. As always, C.L Taylor delivers a briliant, dark, twisty and mysterious thriller. The string and the characters were perfect too. This book has everything. Highly recommended xx

The ending of this was so fantastic.. took me a bit to get into the story line at the beginning. Was a good first read to start the new year. Hasn't been the first for me from this author and will continue to enjoy books from her.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

A real treat for me as I am reading this at Christmas! The book has a slow start, but the short chapters pull you along and the story takes off. It is quite a complicated format as it is told from three different points of view and over two time frames.such is the authors skill that this adds to the suspense and actually adds to the characterization. Her characters, even the minor ones are well rounded an believable. Of course the suspense continues to grow with clever twists along the way until the final unexpected revelation. I happily recommend this to mystery and thriller readers, an excellent read.
Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was an enthralling read with so many twists and turns. I did not like the first few pages and put it away for a few days and then came back to it. I then read it in one go as needed to know how it ended.

I hadn't read this author before but had heard a lot about her books and so she was on my to be read list.

This is definitely well worth a read and I am now off to explore more books by this author as the hype is warranted.

Not doing a plot summary as this has been done much better than me in other reviews and by the publisher. Do yourself a favour and put this in your to be read pile.

I was given an advance copy by the publisher and netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review which I have done so.

I needed this! I was in a book slump. First, I was totally engrossed the whole way through the story. Every part was interesting and important. There was no useless fluff to make the storyline longer.

Second, wow. There were so many characters! The author made it easy to keep track of who was who (when you realized some have changed their names). There was also a lot of character development in a lot of the characters, especially Fran throughout the story.

Third, what a brilliant storyline idea. I personally have never read anything like it and found it so very interesting. I did not guess who the “villain” was, and even then, did not guess the true ending.

5/5 stars and would highly recommend this book!

An enjoyable book,... read over 2 longish sittings! This book moved between two time frames which is a writing format I particularly enjoy! A believable story with interesting characters and unexpected ending!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fran's sister, Jenna, disappeared at a wellness retreat 2 years ago. She presumably committed suicide at the same time 2 other retreat participants were killed. Tom, the retreat leader was charged and spent 2 years in jail. Now that he is out, his wife, Kate the true brains behind the retreat has scheduled another retreat. Fran's mother booked herself onto the retreat to get answers answers about Jenna's disappearance but can't attend due to an injury and sends a reluctant Fran in her place.

This was told from the points of view of Kate and Fran in present day and Jenna at the retreat. Overall I enjoyed it, as I have all of this author's previous books. It moved along pretty well, there were plenty of oddball characters that could have been guilty and I did not see the ending coming.