Wow CL Taylor has done it again and Her Last Holiday may be the best one yet. A brilliant psychological thriller.

I've both read the book and listened to the audio and Claire Corbett does a fantastic job reading the book with really good voices for the different characters as usual and brings the story to life as usual.

Tom and his wife Kate run Soulshrink, a wellness retreat, but after 2 deaths and the presumed suicide in Gozo, Tom is sent to prison for two years. On his rerelease, Kate wants to start things up again and organises the next retreat.

Fran's sister Jenna was the person who disappeared and is pushed on by her mother has to find out what happened. Did she die? How did she die or has she disappeared. If so, where is she now? and does anyone who what really happened?

The book is told from the points of view of Jenna, Fran and Kate who runs the wellness retreat. It also flits between then and now and is really cleverly written.

I'll definitely be looking out for the few books I've not yet read by Callie Taylor and cant wait to read them.

Thanks to the author, Netgalley, Harper Collins Audio and Avon for the chance to read and review this arc/audio arc. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. and hope C L Taylor writes many more.

You can never go wrong with a thriller by C.L. Taylor and this one more than delivers. The mystery of Jenna's disappearance at a Soul Shrink retreat, a kind of self-help therapy break from the outside world in Gozo. weighs heavily on her sister Fran.

After two accidental deaths at the retreat, plus Jenna's disappearance, which is ruled as a death, the owner is sent to prison but emerges a couple of years later and is pressured into running another retreat in Wales to get the brand going again.

Fran's mother pressures her into attending under a different name to try and solve the mystery of what happened to Jenna.

I was quickly drawn in to the story and although Fran / Geri wasn't the most likable of characters straight away, I warmed to her prickly nature and the reasons why. It was a quick read and entertaining throughout with a multitude of characters and two timelines running simultaneously. As I said you can always guarantee a good read from C.L Taylor and this is no different.

This book is full of unexpected twists and quite a lot of unlovable characters. That’s not a bad thing. I really enjoyed listening to this tale. The main characters are prickly females and creepy blokes but in general there is something good to be found in all of them ... well, nearly all. The set up is a little cult-like, which adds to the creepy vibe. The end is lovely

I’m new to C.L Taylor books so I can’t compare to any others but I must say this one was very good and left me on the edge of my seat throughout.
This is the story of Fran who’s sister Jenna disappeared whilst on a wellness retreat in the Mediterranean two years ago.
Tom Wade who runs the wellness retreats has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for killing two people but he has never let on what happened to the third victim. Jenna.
Fran wants to find out happened what has happened to her sister so she books herself on to the retreat to do just that.
Of course nothing is straightforward and Fran is putting herself in danger.

I am fairly new to this genre so the twists and turns really surprised me. I just wanted to keep going. I think the narrator really added to the suspense throughout and I actually felt on edge whilst listening.

Following the death of two attendees at a wellness retreat in Gozo the leader of Soul Shrink Tom Wade is sent to prison. But someone else also died. Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared from a cliff top, did she commit suicide or was she murdered? Fran attends the next Soul Shrink event, determined to find out the truth but all is not quite what it seems. A clever storyline with an unexpected ending.

I didn’t really enjoy this one as much as I’ve enjoyed her others. It was still good and somewhat suspenseful but it didn’t wow me overall

Fran's sister Jenna disappears on a wellness retreat in Gozo. Two years later and the man behind the retreat has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people at the same retreat. But no one knows what happened to Jenna.

Fran is determined to find out the truth and ends up on his upcoming retreat in Wales.

I struggled with this one. The story itself was ok, but the characters and their actions didn't seem very believable. The mother sounded horrendous and I can't imagine why she would book her daughter on a retreat where her first daughter disappeared!

I wouldn't say I liked any of the characters - even if some are awful, there's usually one that I like. Not much that happened in the book would you ever believe would happen in real life.

On the upside, there was some suspense and I didn't see the twist coming at the end (it did seem a bit random, though!) I listened to the audiobook and Clare Corbett was a fantastic narrator.

2.5/5

I have read a number of C.L. Taylor’s books and have enjoyed them so I was happy to be given the opportunity to read and review her latest release. Thank you to @callytaylor and @HarperCollinsUK for this advanced audio copy of Her Last Holiday in return for an honest review. Her Last Holiday is due to be published on 29th April 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Fran’s sister Jenna went to a wellness retreat in Gozo two years ago and didn’t return. She lost her life trying to fix her life and her family have their suspicions about what really happened to Jenna.

Tom was the man who ran the retreat and ended up serving time in prison after three people died in Gozo. Upon his release, his wife is more than eager to throw him back into work and has organised another retreat. Fran seizes the opportunity to try and find out what really happened to Jenna and goes on the trip under a different name. Will she find out how Jenna’s life really ended or are there too many people that want to keep it secret?

General Thoughts 🤔

I was expecting drama and tension and twists and turns with this book. I got some of that but unfortunately not all of that. There are plenty of unknowns and different threads of the story to make the reader create their own endings in their mind but I think I was expecting a little more thriller. I thought that it was a little tame in that respect.

I can’t say that I saw the ending coming but I did find it a touch disappointing. I found it hard to believe and personally for me, the joy of a thriller is being able to think back and piece the clues together.

Characters 👫👭👬

Unfortunately I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters in the book. Some of them I was indifferent to and some of them annoyed me. Firstly, I couldn’t get my head around the relationship between Fran and her mother. I can’t imagine a mother sending her only remaining daughter into a potentially dangerous situation and I can’t imagine any grown woman just going along with it.

Kate was the most annoying character for me. There was a lot of Kate’s point of view in the book but I struggled to find the huge relevance in it. She really got under my skin and not in the way where you think oooooh, this character is supposed to make me feel this way.

Writing Style ✍️

The book is written from the points of view of three of the characters and flips between Jenna’s retreat and Fran’s retreat. I like that it flipped between the two and allowed the reader to draw parallels between them and also reveal what happened on the first retreat.

I’m not really sure what happened with this book. I didn’t feel like I was reading a C.L. Taylor book. Her other books that I’ve read have been great and I’ve really enjoyed the mystery and thriller aspects of them. This one kind of felt like it was reaching to achieve a huge shocking ending that was actually an ending that didn’t feel believable.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I can’t help but feeling disappointed with this story and it pains me to say it. It was quite an easy read and I got through it quite quickly but it didn’t rock my world. It won’t be the last C.L. Taylor book that I read however as I know she is capable of a great story. Unfortunately, for me, this one just missed the mark.

I've enjoyed CL Taylor's books before and was looking forward to a nice twisty read. I switched between reading on my Kindle and listening to the audio and I have to say the audio was fantastic, Often when the same narrator is doing multiple characters it can turn into a mish mash of confusion but I found it really easy to follow who was who.

As with Taylor's books there are plenty of twists and for me this was where I started getting a bit lost. While I like plenty of twists and sub plots it did begin to lose it's way for me towards the end,. All in all an ok book (especially the audio) but not my favorite by Taylor.

Great book with great twists. I enjoyed the narrators voice it was quite soothing to listen too. When Fran goes in a retreat her sister attended to find out what lies behind Jennas su use she is shocked and uncomfortable around the guests.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna goes to Gozo on a wellness retreat. On the retreat things go horribly wrong. Two years later the leader of the retreat is released from prison after serving a sentence for the deaths of two people but he has never mentioned what happened to Jenna, the third suspected victim.
Fran find out that Tom is running another retreat and she signs up for it determined to find out what happened her sister. Will Fran discover what happened in Gozo or will it be her Last holiday ?

I have read and loved all Cally Taylor’s previous books but unfortunately this one just didn’t hit the spot for me this time. I found the then and now and the constant changing of names quite confusing at times. It took me a good while to get into the book and whilst the last quarter of the book was good the rest of it was just ok.

C.L. Taylor is not an author I’ve read before, so on reading Her Last Holiday I had no preconceptions but after reading the reviews on this site I think it’s fair to say this book isn’t up to the author’s usual standard.

Jenna, struggling to come to terms with recently revealed life ‘stuff’ decides to go on a retreat in Gozo so she can get her head back together. But Jenna never returns and at the same retreat 2 other participants die. Not believing that Jenna committed suicide as the police have ruled, Fran (Jenna’s sister) goes on another retreat put on by the same self-help team. What could possibly go wrong?

So,
What I liked:
I was lucky enough to be sent the audiobook in exchange for an honest review and the narration was excellent, it added another dimension to the story telling.

What was ok(ish):
The story itself was well executed but I didn’t feel there was much tension buildup until the very end. Which meant my attention was not as fully engaged as it should have been.
The suspension of belief necessary stretched the bounds of reality somewhat (absolutely fine in a fantasy novel, not so much in a thriller). Would you really send your only surviving daughter into the jaws of what caused your first daughter’s death?

What I didn’t like:
The characters, basically, I didn’t like any of them - I thought they were drawn well - I just didn’t like them. Without having someone to root for I was less invested in the story. It says a lot that I found the most interesting character to be Kate.
The last issue I had was that all the loose ends weren’t tied up, there was mention of evidence going missing, including witness statements but this was never followed up and resolved.

All in all Her Last Holiday was not a bad book but it wasn’t great either. It was an ok plot with ok writing. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for supplying an advanced copy. As always, all opinions are my own.

‘Her Last Holiday' as an audiobook is well worth a listen. It tells the story of Fran, who, under pressure from her mother, goes undercover on a spiritual retreat, in an attempt to ascertain the truth behind the disappearance of younger sister, Gemma, 3 years previously.

The story is told in a 'past' timeline from the viewpoint of Gemma, and a 'present' timeline from Fran. Several characters feature in both timelines. Tom, the guru behind the retreat and his controlling wife, Kate, in addition to 3 guests who have attended both retreats. Which, if any, of these characters is behind Gemma missing, presumed dead, status?!

This is a gripping stôry, and felt both original and authentic. The narrator did a fantastic job, rising to the challenge when several accents were called for!

Overall I would recommend this audiobook for listeners of the mystery / thriller genre, and I thank Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I don’t usually listen to audiobooks, preferring to indulge in a book. However, they are a great way to consume literature while doing housework!

This book has multiple viewpoints set ‘then’ and ‘now’ to understand the parallel stories of the different retreats and characters. This works quite well, although knowing that characters changed their names made me quite suspicious of everyone as I tried to figure out who knew more than they were letting on.

It’s well-written (despite a few questionable facts about London and a few confused names) and characters are believable and relatable (although far from likeable). They develop nicely throughout the story and it’s difficult to work out who is genuine and who is not, making it hard to figure out who is guilty and of what. Other reviewers have commented on their lack of interest in Kate's story; while I see their point, her perspective was necessary to ensure there were plenty of shady characters for readers to suspect.

More importantly, the ending isn’t obvious. Readers will probably come up with multiple theories but actually I was quite surprised with how it all played out. Yet there are also some side plots which are equally as interesting and throw in some red herrings to make you question what you thought you knew about what happened. Suicide? Murder? Tragic accident? Who knows...

The audiobook is engaging, with good use of accents to distinguish characters and a nice flow. However, I did struggle to focus on the story at times and it took me much longer to finish than if I’d read the book.

I enjoy books by CL Taylor and once again, I’m not disappointed. Her Last Holiday is an intricate and twisted thriller filled with psychologically complex characters. Central character Fran is on a mission to find out whether her sister’s death at a wellness retreat was really suicide. The organisers are creepy. One is bossy and manipulative, the other is an unknown quantity having just been released from prison. In addition to the suicide, there were two deaths at the retreat and one of the organisers was culpable.

This is a tale that’s filled with slightly weird people. They’re all a little quirky in different ways, which adds to the suspense because as the plot develops, it’s difficult to know whose narrative is reliable. The viewpoint switches between past and present as the details emerge, but it’s impossible to second guess and there’s a subplot of revenge running through the present theme. It’s very clever and the narration is superb. Tense and twisted, impossible to second guess where it will all end and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My thanks to the publisher for an audible version.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and C.L Taylor for an ARC in return for an honest review.

C.L Taylor is the undisputed queen of thrillers!

What a fantastic book. I read this in one reading, I was completely gripped. I will recommend this to everyone. It was so satisfying. I loved the whole thing! It was even more captivating in audio !

If you look a book that draws you in and won’t let you put in down till the very last page then this is that book.
I loved the way the author kept throwing little clues into the mix. I certainly didn’t expect the ending I got.
Tom Wade has just been released from prison. He’s the man who is behind Soul Shrink retreats. On serving his sentence his dutiful wife Kate is waiting for him to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.
Two years ago the couple were leading a wellness retreat. Unfortunately two people died and one woman Jenna went missing. People believing she committed suicide.
With Tom and Kate restarting the retreats Fran who is Jenna’s sister enrols herself. Desperate to discover what actually happened to her sibling. But by uncovering the truth is she putting her life in danger.
I reviewed this book by an audiobook. The narrator brought the characters to life for me and made the swapping between timelines so easy. If you want a summer audiobook or beach read. Then this is it. I cannot praise C.L. Taylor enough.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK (Avon Books) for approving me for an audio ARC of this book. I have a few of C. L. Taylor’s books sat on my bookcase and have always been intrigued by the synopsis but not got round to picking any up. When this popped up on NetGalley I thought it was the perfect way to be introduced to the author.

The story is told from three POV, Jenna, Fran and Kate, switching from past to present events. Jenna books herself on a wellness retreat in Gozo after discovering something deeply upsetting. Whilst there she befriends the other members of the retreat and starts to work through her troubles. Throughout Jenna’s story I was anxiously waiting to discover what happened to her. Did she die, commit suicide? Was she murdered? If so then by who?

Two years later and Jenna’s sister Fran is booked onto a wellness retreat with the same organisers that her sister used. Fran is there because her mother, Geraldine, has forced her. Fran does want to know what happened to Jenna but she isn’t entirely comfortable being around Tom Wade, who was imprisoned for the deaths of two people.

Finally we have Kate’s story. She’s the wife of Tom Wade and has been trying and struggling to keep things afloat whilst he was in prison. With him out she thinks this is their opportunity to gain back control of the lives they had before the Gozo retreat. Kate’s story also dips into the Gozo retreat and we start to learn what actually happened there.

Out of the three main characters I thought Fran’s story was most interesting. She started as a cold person who obviously hadn’t received much love growing up. She wasn’t into cuddles, saying I love you or sharing how she felt emotionally but I did like her candid nature. I also thought she was quite clued up and had great investigative skills, her and Caroline made a great pair and often made me giggle at their conversations. By the end of the story I felt she had learnt a lot about herself, she remained her true candid self but she was warmer and more open to uncomfortable situations.

Overall this story started off very pacey and hooked me in very quickly. I loved the back and forth of the different time frames and found it really difficult to stop listening. The only let down for me was the ending. There were aspects of it that didn’t make sense and I hadn’t seen it going that way. There were almost too many reveals and it made it hard to understand Jenna’s action.

I particularly enjoyed this book as an audiobook as it made me feel more engaged with the storyline and really bought the characters to life.
The story was full of suspense, hidden clues and twisty turns. Really very enjoyable

C L Taylor has done it again. This is a cracking psychological thriller told from the POV of 3 women. Jenna died under mysterious circumstances whilst attending a retreat run by Tom Wade, the SoulShrink, on the island of Gozo. Her sister, Fran, is trying to find out the truth and is attending the SoulShrink's latest retreat in Wales. Kate is Tom's wife.

I was hooked right from the first page, trying to work out what had happened to Jenna, and who was responsible. Just when I thought I knew where the book was going Ms Taylor threw in another twist to bend my mind! The three women are all brilliant, interesting characters, and there's a whole host of strange characters attending the retreat in Wales.

Clare Corbett is a brilliant narrator and made this book a joy to listen to.