I’m so upset!
I can’t believe I’m writing this review with just 3 stars but rounding it up to a 3 .5 star because at least the nosiness in me kept me picking this book up.....
Explained below
⬇️

I’ve loved, actually loved and always anticipate every book this author writes and I have such praise for her because her writing is sublime. She takes ‘normal every day people’ then creates a plot, a plot that I hang on each crumb being fed to me. Each clue, and ask myself hmm aha is she taking me down a dark alley.

There are lots of things in this plot that it just beggars belief for me.

Yes it’s a work of fiction. Yes you can stretch the boundaries.
This was stretched too far to even accept certain events and situations.

Ok, the character has been persuaded by her Mother to go to this retreat where is believed her sister (mother’s daughter) has killed herself.
Or was she murdered?

It’s a plot.

I wouldn’t go! I’d send someone else as this bloke who was in prison because of this death has now reset up his health retreat.

He’s a nutter.
His wife’s a nutter.

(My opinion lol)

I know there’s something going to unfold all the way through, it’s only my nosiness and never knowing that I ploughed through.

He gets them in this raft event. We assume they filled in a form before they went saying they can swim, right?

This guy is believed by her mother that her sister was murdered.....
So would you meet him alone in the dark?

I don’t know, maybe it’s me.

But I just couldn’t invest myself in this story.

My regrets to the author and publisher.

I still love you’re books though Cally Taylor!
And will continue to read them.

Couldn’t wait to get stuck in as I’m a fan of C.L Taylor. I was engaged from the the beginning. I love Claire Corbett as a narrator, she adds a lot to a listen. There is a dual storyline of past and present which is always a firm favourite of mine as your only given enough information so your mind goes into overdrive. I didn’t find any of the characters that likeable which is unusual not to like even one 😆. It’s well written and the pace was perfect for this storyline. There are a good few characters to get to grips but a few chapters in and you know whose who. I was expecting a different ending but it was a really good listen that never let up.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook that will be published on the 27th of April.

Her Last Holiday is a psychological thriller full of twists and turns. Fran is determined to find out what happened to her sister Jenna who went missing while on a wellness retreat with the Soul Shrink company on Gozo. Other members on the same retreat also lost their lives, and the leader, Tom was sent to prison to serve a short sentence.
Fran attends another Soul Shrink retreat undercover, in the hope of finding out what really happened on Gozo, but soon discovers she isn’t the only one looking for answers everything isn’t as it seems.
This is a great read for fans of the genre, but I found the plot a little too complicated at times. The narrator was excellent and added drama to the narrative.

Perfectly Paced...
An idyllic wellness retreat on the beautiful island of Gozo may not be all it seems in this wholly addictive, compulsive suspense which shows C.L. Taylor on top form. A taut and chilling plot populated with a credible cast makes for fully satisfying and utterly escapist listen. Clare Corbett gives a first class performance with a perfectly paced narration.

The story has a strong start with Fran heading off to a wellness retreat to try and uncover what happened to her sister Jenna, who two years prior disappeared from a similar event. Simultaneously to Jenna’s disappearance there were two accidental deaths at the retreat and Tom, the leader of the group was deemed culpable and sent to jail. Now two years on, Tom released from jail, is persuaded by his wife Kate, to restart their business and lead a new wellness retreat. So the stories of Jenna, Kate and Fran will collide as the truth of what happened unfolds.

This was a decent thriller, an interesting cast of characters and with a good pace throughout. I love unexpected turns and surprise endings (within reason), so I was a bit disappointed that the end was predictable from fairly early in the novel. Regardless of that personal preference, it is worth a read and I can easily recommend the audio, which was wonderfully narrated by Clare Corbett.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor is the first book I have read by this author.

Tom is a self-help guru with his puppet strings being pulled by secret wife/assistant Kate. He has just been released from jail after two deaths at their last retreat. Fran gets sent by her mother to their next retreat to uncover what happened to her sister Jenna a possible third victim from that retreat.

Told from Kate, Fran and Jenna’s perspectives the author weaves us through now and then seamlessly with other characters who were at retreats helping the pieces fall into place.

Unfortunately while I was interested enough to keep reading, I wasn’t super invested in the story as I didn’t really like any of the characters.

The narrator did a great job, with good pacing and different accents for the characters.

This was an average three star read for me. I will look for more of this author’s work in the future to see if other books are more to my liking.

I am a huge fan of CL Taylor. I have read many Taylor books over the years and I usually love them.
However, this book just didn't do it for me.

I liked how all of the lead characters were female (which makes a change) although that wasn't enough for me to enjoy it.
I usually find CL Taylor's books to be fast paced and highly addictive, but I just didn't get that with this book. I found the latter half of the book to be very repetitive, and the first part of the book took far too long to get into.

I switched between kindle and audiobook with this. I thought the narrator was good, and she used her voice to help with the different perspectives very well.

I will definitely read other CL Taylor books, but disappointed that this one didn't excite me as much of her others.

I have read other books from this author and enjoyed them so was expecting a really complicated plot in this one. Not disappointed however the plot was somewhat unbelievable at times, slow burner and couldn't put it down towards the end. Narrator was very good and kept the characters authentic. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook.

Wow, I really enjoyed this! I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it since my book friends either loved it or hated it. I can happily say that this one really worked for me. I listened to this as an audiobook and loved the narrator.
So many things happen in the story and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many screwed up people trying to hang out! And as everything started to unfold I just couldn’t predict one thing. Brilliant!
What happened on those retreats?
Who was responsible?
Great crazy characters and I loved the drama. This was mysterious and had me gripping the edge of my seat the entire time.
I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Avon Publishers via Netgalley for this audiobook. I’m voluntarily leaving my review.

4.25* I really enjoyed the book. I had the 🎧 audio version narrated by Clare Corbett. The narrator is very good, she does 3 very different voices for the 3 narrators.

Fran is pushed into investigating her sister’s disappearance by her domineering and hateful mother from a retreat called Soul shrink retreats which helps the depressed and stressed. Jenna disappeared 3 years previously when the retreat was based in Malta, there were 2 deaths at the retreat which resulted in Tom being jailed. He is now released and the retreat has reopened in North Wales,so Fran is booked in under a pseudonym by her mother and emotionally blackmailed into attending.
Tom is a charismatic self professed guru.
The writing style is light hearted in tone and very easy going with gentle humour.
It’s got a good pace. We are told the story from Fran’s point of view in the present and Jenna is in the past at the time of her retreat stay. There’s some input too from Kate in both past and present. She is the organiser of the retreat and secret wife of Tom.
The characters develop nicely through the book. Not all the characters are likeable. Fran grew on me, she is frosty, brittle and socially awkward. She is 12 years older than her duster and didn’t have a close relationship. Her relationship with her parents is awkward to say the least.
Jenna is referred to as having disappeared and also referred to as being dead, which has been determined as suicide. This aspect felt a bit wishy washy.
The suspense and tension ramps up as the twists and turns develop.
The sweat tent symbolism had me chuckling with its corniness.
A fav quote from the book ‘ the heat was turned up to incinerate all human life’
The ending was quite emotional, I do have an issue with believability though, on one aspect.

I had already read this book when I got approved for the audiobook, so I will state again that I enjoyed the story very much, it is fast paced and really packed with twists and turns right to the end. It is true that the many characters and their name change might be a bit confusing at times, but it is so well written that this is just a secondary feature. The storyline is extremely captivating and very well delivered in my opinion. And the narrator made it even more enjoyable, very good work!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Claire was amazing as always 5 fantastic stars for her narration

I really enjoyed this story and like all of the characters but the stand out for me was Kate. I want to hear more about her and trouble she got into after this

Fran is determined to find out what really happened to her younger sister, Jenna, during a wellness retreat in the Med. Jenna disappeared but authorities believe she killed herself by jumping off a cliff into the ocean after a wellness activity went terribly wrong. Fran doesn’t believe it, and has joined mindfulness guru Tom Wade on a retreat to try to ferret out the truth. Tom has just been released from prison after being charged with deaths of two of his clients. Fran believes Tom is up to his old tricks and is determined to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone else, while uncovering the truth about her sister’s disappearance. Told from both past and present narratives, Corbett’s crisp no nonsense delivery is an excellent counterpoint to this suspenseful story

What a story. It kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. All you want is for Fran to find the answers she is looking for.
Tom Wade didn’t seem to get a very long sentence for the deaths of two people, so you know there are unanswered questions.
I thought Fran was mad, going on a holiday run by the man she felt killed her sister. But I did understand why she needed to find out for sure.
There are some real, heart stopping moments in this book- not wanted to spoil the story- I’ll say no more.
I listened to this book as an audio book. The narrator really brought the book to life. The different voices used really worked to clarify who was who.
Well worth a read. It’ll keep you on your toes.