This book was great! I think that the multiple POVs were done really well and have bits and pieces of the important information made you want to keep reading.

I quit reading at around 20%. I found the plot uninteresting and the main character to be a bit odd. This was not a book for me. Thank you for the arc.

Her Last Holiday is my first read by this CL Taylor, she won me straight over in the very first chapter, by showing me Fran’s character. She is the sort of woman you want on your side when life isn’t going to plan, we all need a Fran in our lives.

The story centres around the disappearance of Jenna, while she is attending a Soul Shrink retreat on the gorgeous island of Gozo. The official verdict is suicide, though Jenna’s body has never been recovered.
The story is told, and led, by the points of view of three very different women. They are all connected, whether they like it or not.
Fran is a strong, independent woman, someone who doesn’t feel the need to conform to others expectations.
Jenna is Fran’s Sister, she disappeared 2 years ago, while attending one of Tom’s retreats.
Kate is Tom’s long suffering wife, who was left to pick up the pieces of their shattered joint life, when Tom was imprisoned.

There is an interesting supporting cast of characters, quirky and troubled, who have willingly subjected themselves to the full wellness retreat experience. I share Fran’s feeling of dread at the very prospect of such treatments.

I look forward to reading more from CL Taylor, and hope to find more strong female characters. I absolutely loved the author taking a swipe at unreasonable book reviews, it did make me smile. I didn’t know who to trust, constantly changing my mind as I read.
I really enjoyed this 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read, but I certainly won’t be booking a retreat in the near future!

This was ok but not great. A little bit slow for me. It felt like the book dragged on with no real direction and I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Just not for me this one but not a terrible book.

A fun, twisty thriller that'll keep you guessing right to the end! Set on the beautiful island of Gozo, Her Last Holiday follows Fran on her search to discover what happened to her younger sister, Jenna, on a retreat two years ago. A sweat lodge went wrong and two people died, but Jenna's body was never found. What happened to her and why are people trying to cover it up? Intriguing right to the final pages!

C.L. Taylor is my favourite thriller writer. I have read all her books and she has always managed to surprise me with unexpected twists and growing tension. And although I have to say I don't read this genre as often nowadays, I still get excited with every new release from this author.

Her Last Holiday was a very intriguing book. I found the storyline very original, at least I think this is the first book I have read set in a retreat lead by a life guru, especially one who has just come out of jail! The interactions between the guru and the attendees were interesting, I was always trying to figure out who really was a fan and who was there with hidden intentions.

I think the story was very well resolved and although I could see where it was going (very vaguely), it still had a good bunch of surprises in store for me.

A gripping read, as it always is with the author. I read this one in an evening and couldn't put it down. Lots of twists and turns.

Aaahh how brilliantly twisty! None of the characters are all that likeable but I really enjoyed this book. Twist after twist! It got a bit ridiculous by the end but it didn't really stop my enjoyment particularly. Great book by this great author.

Ooh I loved this. It flips from present to events two years before, has some really dark characters and I did not guess the twist at the end! 😊

I love a thriller that takes place on vacation! C.L. Taylor knows how to write a compelling thriller, and this didn't disappoint.

Her Last Holiday is a drama thriller based on a retreat.
Fran wants to find her sister and what happened to her after booking on a wellness retreat and disappearing.
The story is told in alternate timelines which I always enjoy, however I did find the story far fetched even for fiction.
C.L. Taylor is one of my favourite authors but this did not just grip me.
I would like to thank both netgalley and Avon books uk for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I loved the Strangers by this author and was eager to read this one, but it didn't have the same type of suspense level sadly.

Although I thought this was a quick read I did think that it was very unmemorable. There were far too many characters in my opinion so none of them really held my attention. At the end i was just skimming to finish it. Unfortunately this book just didnt do it for me :(

Fran's sister Jenna disappears on what was going to be an idyllic retreat and was never heard or seen again.
Now the man who owns and ran the retreat is out of prison but will not disclose what happened to the third
victim at the retreat - Fran's sister.

Fran wants to discover what happened to Jenna, and books herself for the retreat coming face to face with whom
she considers her sister's murderer. Is Fran putting herself into too much danger because there are secrets that
people would like to stay buried with Jenna.

Told in two separate time lines - when Jenna was alive and the present the suspense is quite electric.

A well written thriller.

Her last holiday was an enjoyable twisted thriller that many other people will love.
The characters are unlikable in most of the novel and their actions really put me on a break at times. But the turns and twists kept me invested and I wanted to know what happens next and how this will end.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor was a great read. It was a pleasure to read a book that hooked me in from the first few pages, I read this book in one sitting I could not put it down. Great plot twist that kept me at the dye of my seat. Another great book by C. L. Taylor.

Her Last Holiday was my fourth read by CL Taylor, and my least favourite.

Nearly three years ago, a wellness retreat on the Mediterranean island of Gozo ended in tragedy – with two people dead, and one missing, and the face of @soulshrink, motivational speaker/self-help guru Tom Wade being charged with gross negligence.

It’s now been nine months since Tom was released from jail, after serving a two-year sentence, and his wife Kate (who looks after the business side of @soulshrink) has a new plan to relaunch the brand and get their lives back on track. She’s organised another retreat, this time at a large estate in the Welsh Valley.

Geraldine Fitzgerald, the grieving mother of Jenna (the woman who went missing at the Gozo retreat) has never gotten over not knowing what happened to her daughter, and is sure that Tom holds the key to the truth. To find much needed answers, she convinces her eldest daughter, Fran, to enrol in the retreat.

Truthfully, the synopsis of this one never really grabbed me, I only requested it because CL Taylor’s name was on it, and I was convinced it was going to be better than it sounded. And I was worried when I struggled to make it through the first half due to the slow, boring pace that I had made the wrong choice. Thankfully, the last half was better, and I did quite like the ending. It wasn’t amazing, but I would place it in the above average category. Okay, so maybe the plot was a bit outlandish, but at least I didn’t guess it! The only thing I could’ve done without was the huge info dump in the second to last chapter.

The format followed the familiar NOW (Fran and Kate) and THEN (Jenna) narration, with chapters cycling through the three POV’s. I really enjoyed Fran’s personality and familial hang-ups, but failed to connect with any of the other character’s. Kate’s POV seemed unnecessary, and quickly grew redundant and repetitive. And, what was up with all the ‘slapping nonsense’? I also felt two characters underwent complete personality transplants. Other character’s were just so bland that I failed to understand why they were included. FYI, those group activities seemed kind of risky too? I also wish it would’ve had more of a gothic horror tone, given the isolated nature of both settings, but at no point was I creeped out.

An average read overall, but there was just nothing unique enough to make it stand out from every other domestic noir.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Avon Books UK, and CL Taylor for the e-ARC.

This was a great read. Very suspenseful and good character development. Thanks for letting me read this book!

This is my first book by the author and I have no idea why I haven't read her other books. But I will be rectifying that.
There are our three POVs: middle-aged Fran is still haunted by her sister’s memory who has been missing for two years. She attended to a wellness retreat in Gozo but things went dangerously wrong there. Fran decides to visit the same retreat again because the same health guru couple Tom and Kate reopen the place after Tom has been set free from two years-long prison time. Fran is desperate to uncover the truth and books herself onto the retreat under a pseudonym so that she can come face to face with Tom and find out what really happened to her sister. As she digs more about the past, she gets more tangled in a web of lies.

Jenna is the sweet sister who attended the retreat where so many strange and unexplainable things occur.

The final one is that of Kate who is the wife and assistant of Tom who tries to keep together after murder accusations ruined their lives financially and mentally.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who like mysteries and domestic suspense. It had some good twists and a suspenseful finale.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.