I have read & enjoyed several of CL Taylor’s previous books. This one didn’t disappoint but isn’t my favourite to date. She has a fertile imagination & the stories I’ve read so far have all been different & fast paced. For me this one slowed in the middle, but once I got over the hump it picked up pace again & I had to read to the end for the mystery to be solved.
Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared from a retreat two years ago. Is she still alive? Where is she? Others died that night but Jenna’s body was never found. Infamous Tom Wade now out of prison for his part in the deaths, is persuaded by his wife to conduct another of Soul Shrinks retreats. Fran, at her mother’s insistence books herself on the retreat in the belief she can find out what really happened. The story is told in two parts, Fran’s from the present & Jenna’s from the past.
Overall a good read, but not as gripping as some of her other works.

Twisted, twisty. Messy and messier.

For a thriller to work for me I have to be allowed to get on the moving thrill ride. I have to have a hopping on point. This book started off utterly bereft of any character familiarity and ended on a line by the main character that was absurdly perfect and encompassed the entire lot of it.

I guess I mean I thought the characters were absurd and did not connect with them in a thriller way, in any kind of way actually!

I thought of them as amusing. And not in a GONE GIRL, LAST MRS PARRISH way. More of a sad amusement. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the plot. Looking back, I should have DNF’d but I’m a sucker for finishing a book to it’s entirety.

I do not recommend this book.
I do not have any one I recommend this to except perhaps her loyal fan base.

Two Stars

Thanks to #netgalley and #avonbooksuk for this gifted copy!

I have read a couple of title by C. L. Taylor so I was so excited to read her latest title, Her Last Holiday. This is the story of two sisters, Jenna and Fran. Jenna went on a retreat that ended up with the death of two people.

However, her fate remains unknown and it is suspected she might have committed suicide. There is no body though. Her sister, Fran, signs up for another retreat with the same team who were with Jenna when she disappeared. Fran hopes to shake something loose and get answers on her sisters’ last days.

The mystery of what happened to Jenna kept me turning pages. There was quite a bit of secrecy at the retreat that gave the organizing team a cultic feel which I liked. I wondered whether Fran would get the answers she sought without putting herself in danger.

I struggled a bit with this book though because I couldn’t connect with either Fran or Jenna. I also didn’t understand the angle of Fran’s mother forcing her to go on a retreat with people who possibly had a hand in her sister’s disappearance. If you can suspend disbelief, this won’t be an issue for you at all. This wasn’t my favorite read by the author but I did enjoy the remote setting and the mystery. I look forward to her next book.

An amazing tale of a vacation gone wrong. What unfolds is told from multiple perspectives and through the past and present. A very interesting tale, and it kept me hooked.

Interesting characters within a dark and gripping story. I couldn't put it down, had me gripped from the start.

CL Taylor is one of my go-to authors for a gripping read and this didn't disappoint.

Her Last Holiday is tense, dark, emotional and confusing. It features really intense characters that draw you in to their stories and a very tangled web that needs unpicking.

This isn't my favourite of the author's books but it is still definitely a must read!

Interesting mix of characters in this novel and knowing who were the good guys and the bad. Discovered I could really not like one character!! Quite a page turner in the end, although was quite frustrated at times with the then and now .

Tom Wade, a wellbeing guru, has just been released from prison after two people died on one of the retreats. Apart from, there were three people who died that day and not two. The third was Jenna, whose body was never found. Tom, however, refuses to comment on that.

The story runs as a parallel between the present and 2-3 years previously. Jenna's mum refuses to accept that Jenna is dead. Jenna's sister, Fran, is determined to find out what happened.

It was one of those books I couldn't put down and read in a jiffy.

Thanks to @netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

Really loved this story. Lots of twists and turns. I loved books by this author and this was so good. CL Taylor is superb

3.5⭐

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this Ebook ARC via NetGalley.

It is the first book I have read by C.L. Taylor.

I felt straight into the story, it didn't take me any time to settle into to it. However, I did find the characters quite hard to keep track of with their different aliases and the changing timelines. I also felt it was unlikely that "Geri" would be so concerned about her physio.

My favourite quote:
"Followers? That makes me sound like Jesus." "Well he had loads. You've only got one."

Fran is searching for answers. Two years ago, two people died while in a sweat lodge while attending a wellness retreat. Fran's older sister disappeared. Investigation led to the imprisonment of Tom Wade for the deaths. They also said that Fran's sister 'probably' committed suicide somewhere in the area. Investigation closed.

Tom Wade has just been released from prison and he's back in business. To find the truth, Fran signs on to his next retreat. Facing the man she feels is responsible is not easy ....

Does he know what happened to hr sister? Who wants Fran to go away.. maybe permanently in order to keep some secrets hidden?

Suspenseful from start to finish, there are more twists than a roller coaster ride. It's well written with characters that are deftly drawn. The plot showcases self-help groups and the charismatic people who tout them.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books UK / Harper 360 UK / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

After reading the synopsis, this book gave me the same vibes as Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (which was a real disappointment).. but... I was hoping this thriller by C.L Taylor would be different.

I thought this was a good book told in the dual timeline. Overall, this gave me the kind of claustrophobic vibes of "And Then there were none" but the health/wellness version.

This book was so easy to fall into, even when I took a small break from reading I just couldn’t wait to delve right back into it. I loved how atmospheric this book was and could easily picture everything in my mind and for the characters I loved seeing Tom & Kate’s relationship and the dynamics between the two and how crazy and the lengths people will go to just to protect their relationship.
I also loved the lovely author’s note at the end of the book which told us how some of this book is based on a real life case which got me super intrigued! So now I’m off to google that!

I love CL Taylor books! I wasn't sure about the subject of this one though - a wellness retreat - not really my thing but oh wow its good! Two years ago, in Gozo, at a previous wellness retreat Jenna went missing presumed dead. Fran's sister Jenna went missing. Her sister Fran is coerced by her mother to go to the next retreat in Wales following the leader Tom's release from prison to find out what really happened to Jenna. An array of diverse characters and suspects lead to a great conclusion.

Thank you Avon Books UK and Netgalley.
Another amazing book by C L Taylor - can she do not wrong?!
Expertly plotted, and a real holiday gone wrong!
I am lucky to have been given this and hopefully will get the next one.
Highly recommended

Her Last Holiday is a fast-paced, entertaining read. Some of it felt a little over the top to me, but it was good fun all the same.

We follow Fran as she books onto the same retreat her sister Jenna disappeared on many years ago – the person who ran it and was sent to prison for the death of two people is now out and running the same retreats again. This in itself is a little hard to believe, but just go with it.

I enjoyed the action and the secrets and air of mystery that surrounds the book. We jump between different timeframes, which I often enjoy in a book, so we find out more about what happened then. We also ‘visit’ the mind of Kate, whose boyfriend Tom is the person who was put in prison, and is now trying to piece his life back together. There are some seemingly ruthless people in this book, and this just adds to the drama – but is everyone quite as they seem?

As mentioned, some elements of this novel I found quite hard to believe but I enjoyed it and have enjoyed many other books by C L Taylor too; this is just not my favourite, but definitely still worth a read!

A brilliant read. I was gripped from the first page and it kept me guessing all the way through. So much for wellness retreats being relaxing. Very twisty and kept me on the edge of my seat!

This is the first I’ve read from C. L. Taylor and was an enjoyable read.

Fran is desperate to find out what happened to her sister, Jenna, after she vanished on holiday two years ago. The holiday was to a retreat run by Tom Wade of SoulShrink. Tom promises self-help for your soul and describes himself as a somatic symptom survivor and motivational speaker. The disappearance of Jenna plus another guest leads to Tom being accused of manslaughter and sentenced to two years imprisonment. The story begins just before he is released, with his wife Kate eagerly waiting for him with great plans to relaunch SoulShrink and start to rebuild their shattered lives. When the pair arrange a retreat in Wales, Kate decides to book herself on it, in at attempt to learn more about what happened to her sister.

As the story unfolds the events of the past begin to unravel themselves with chapters switching between now and two years ago, being told by Jenna, Fran and Kate.

This was an enjoyable read, with interesting characters, a few heart stopping moments and thrilling ending which had me racing towards the conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the review copy.

Her Last Holiday was a book that I was super excited to read, especially as C. L. Taylor is one of my favourite authors to read. And delightfully she has two books out this year, so if you haven't read The Island yet, then I highly recommend a read. 

Alternate chapters are told from the perspective of three women - Jenna, in the past about her time in Gozo and Kate and Fran in the present day on a retreat in order to put the past to bed and find out the truth about what really happened. 

I was gripped by the idea of Tom and his speech at the retreat. In so many ways I felt that he was a con man and I was confused about how many people believed him. I was utterly convinced of his guilt!

Okay so the only thing that really bugged me about this book was the ending. The ending was just frustrating as I has so many practical issues to deal with and it felt unrealistic. Although the whole murder thing was strange so I am not sure why I was judging this.

Her Last Holiday was an addictive read, that keep my hooked and made me stay up late into the night. I enjoyed reading this and cannot wait to forget it so I can read it all over again.

Okay, we'll start with the good stuff. This book jumps between the POVs of three women: Fran, who decides to sign up for Soul Shrink under a fake name so she can find out what happened to her sister. Kate, who runs the Soul Shrink retreat and has some dirty secrets that may or may not have lead to Fran's sister's death. And Jenna (2 years ago), who is Fran's sister and who comes to Soul Shrink to figure her life out.

I loved that all three of these women, in their own ways, were strong, yet flawed, characters. I think a lot of books try to make characters out to be perfect, or they end up 2-dimensional, and that leads to me not loving the book.

All in all I enjoyed this book, although it was a little slow to start and there were A LOT of characters to keep track of. I found myself stumbling a little bit, but this would be a great book to throw in your beach bag on your next vacation.