CL Taylor has done it again! An ansolutely spellbinding read. SLEEP and STRANGERS were so mesmerising and expertly plotted I couldn't imagine her next book could be any better, but Cally has outdone herself yet again! I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this fabulous book. Highly recommended.

Her sister Jenna disappeared from a wellness retreat on the Island of Gozo. Two years later, Fran books herself onto a wellness retreat run by the same people to try and find out what became of Jenna. Can Fran find out the truth of what happened to her sister or will her questions about Jenna’s disappearance put her in danger?

A tense intriguing thriller with good twists which made for a suspenseful read.

Amazing book about a vacation gone wrong. This book is kind of a combination of a psychological thriller and a mystery. I enjoyed it immensely. I highly recommend it

It’s a good year when there are C L Taylor books to be published and so 2021 is shaping up pretty well!

This is such a powerful book with a cast of amazing and very deep characters – some which irritated me constantly and others which I really felt for throughout.

Secrets, lies and so much more weave some very unsettling undertones throughout this book and I don’t think anyone reading it will quite work it all out until the last pages. I love that about C L Taylor’s books – the suspense and build up is just brilliant and with great characterisation along the way her books are the complete perfect package.

4.5 stars

I enjoyed this book for so many reasons, and they were mostly unexpected.

The novel operates in three perspectives: Fran's, Jenna's, and Kate's. There are two primary time periods happening as well. At first, I worried this could be tough to balance, but I found that this really enhanced the pacing and complexity of the characters and central mystery. Points for style and format!

Fran is such an intriguing character. From the first scene, readers know that she's capable of more than she thinks she is. I love that she is painted in a relatively untraditional way and given so much room to both grow and shine.

There's a lot to enjoy here: mystery, thriller, women's fiction elements, and a really functional style. I recommend this to fans of any or all!

#HerLastHoliday #NetGalley
Clever writing.
Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of 2 people. But he has never let on what happened to the third suspected victim: Jenna.Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive?
I loved it from middle to end but the beginning was slow. It's a result of clever writing. How a Guru turned out to be a liar. I liked the plot.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.

Thank you Net galley and Avon Books for the eARC.
Two years ago, in Gozo, at a wellness retreat, Fran's sister Jenna went missing.
Her parents are still devastated and want Fran to find out what happened. Not really sure she wants to, she gives in to her mother's pleas and goes to the new retreat in Wales. There she meets the motley group of the other retreaters and the couple who run it. Over the length of the book, we follow Fran in the present and Jenna two years ago.
It gets more and more intense as the story unfolds and the characters are fascinating, some appealing, but most of them are quite creepy.
When we finally find out what really happened, it's quite shocking with a great ending. Highly recommended!

Two years ago Fran's younger sister Jenna went to a wellness retreat in Gozo... but she never came home. Determined to find out the truth about what happened to her sister, Fran joins Tom Wade's latest retreat. Can she find out the truth from Tom or one of the others who attended the previous retreat? Or could her search for the truth cost Fran her life?

Another fantastic book from C.L. Taylor. The plot was thrilling and tense, the characters interesting, and the twists and turns brilliant. A really gripping read - recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

I love CL Taylor books so was extremely excited to get my hands on this courtesy of NetGalley this week!
The story is set at a retreat attended by Fran who is determined to find out how and why her sister Jenna disappeared from a previous retreat led by the same hosts. Jenna’s story is told alongside Fran’s and one of the hosts, Kate, and the reader has to piece together what happened to a Jenna, whilst Fran does the same.
This book kept me gripped and I loved the way it had a number of red herrings as well as twists along the way. Would recommend.

C L Taylor takes us into a world of needy people in this tale of discovery and self-discovery, as a woman (Fran) sets out to discover what happened to her much younger sister who went on a holiday/extended therapy session two years earlier but never returned. The official verdict was suicide but with no body discovered and the fact that the organiser of the event, Tom Wade, was imprisoned for the manslaughter of two others at the same event, there is every reason to suspect that the full story has not been told. When Wade is released and organises a new retreat, Fran attends under an assumed name, determined to find out more.

The novel is billed as a psychological thriller, the tension builds as strange and scary things occur on the retreat and you cannot figure out who is really responsible. It reminded me of one of those Agatha Christie stories where a bunch of people are all in a lovely house together, with surface politeness but all sorts of friction and emotion underneath. The desire to know more kept me turning the pages. The story is told through the eyes of three women: Fran, her missing sister Jenna, and Tom’s wife Kate. We jump back in time for the Jenna sections, with helpful chapter sub-heads saying “two years ago”. Several people on the current retreat were also at the previous one, so we gradually learn more about them from these different perspectives.

Tom and Kate pitch their holiday retreats as “soulshrink”, events for hurt people to give them a new start. We join some of the counselling sessions, and in describing these the author shows deep knowledge of the subject; they are convincingly told and make the book though-provoking in terms of the ways people damage one another (and themselves) and the somewhat dysfunctional families they belong to. There is ambiguity in the telling: are Tom and Kate charlatans making promises to their vulnerable guests that cannot be fulfilled? Or are they doing good work (manslaughter and missing person incidents aside) that really does improve the lives of others? This is deliberate and even at the close of the book, when the facts of the matter are revealed, the reader is, I believe, meant still to have questions about what is sincere and what is fake.

I love books that challenge me to do some thinking, and this is one of them. Part of me though would have liked the loose ends to be more firmly tied up; there is also an incident described in the first chapter for which we never get full resolution.

Great read though, exciting, well-written, thought-provoking and insightful.

The Lie is one of my favourite books ever and this one sounded quite similar so I was really excited to read it. I'm happy to report that it definitely lived up to expectations and is now firmly in 2nd place on my list of favourite C L Taylor novels.

I really loved the idea of the retreats being run by people out to make money by exploiting vulnerable people (I hope that after the events of the book they all sought professional help instead!). The inclusion of psychosomatic illness was something I really enjoyed. Having studied psychology at university I find the subject so fascinating.

The main characters were all very well described, even if I didn't particularly like them (Kate!!) and the side characters were fantastic as well. I particularly enjoyed reading about Phoenix and Tom, and even after the novel is over I still can't quite decide how I feel about Tom.

I really enjoyed the plot and whilst I did guess parts of it, other parts came as a complete surprise. I found the ending satisfying.

There's nothing about the novel I disliked. Sometimes Geri was referred to as Fran and Renata as Erica by people who weren't supposed to know yet but I'll put that down to this being an ARC.

Overall I would absolutely recommend this book, I loved it.

I just finished reading Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor and wow, I was impressed. I thought it would be a light, fun mystery, but this was immersive and dark. It kept me guessing.

When the opportunity is presented to attend a self-help retreatin Gozo, Fran goes for one reason- to figure out what happened to her sister. Two years prior, Fran’s sister Jenna went on the same retreat and went missing. Suspected to have killed herself, Jenna’s body was never found and Fran has questions. She is determined to find the truth. But what she finds out is a layer of secrets and lies from multiple guests. Who can she trust and is she in danger too?

Synopsis:

You come to Soul Shrink to be healed. You don’t expect to die.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.

Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of 2 people. But he has never let on what happened to the third suspected victim: Jenna.

Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release – and finds herself face to face with the man who might hold the key to her sister’s disappearance. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive? Or does someone out there want Jenna’s secrets to stay hidden?

There is more to this fantastic story than what I briefly shared, and I highly recommend Her Last Holiday if you are into mysteries and thrillers. This comes out in April and you will want to put it on your To-Be-Read list immediately.

C.L. Taylor is one of my favourite authors of all time so of course I seized the opportunity to read her new book which is due to be published 29th April 2021.

This is a cleverly constructed story that had me hooked from beginning to end. I can’t help but to try and suss out the plot within the first few pages of any book but I genuinely didn’t see the ending of this story coming. The whole novel is full of secrets and lies that are all weaved together with well-built suspense throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cast of characters, especially the protagonist Fran and her ‘refreshing’ bravery but some of the side characters were equally likeable and dislikable which made for interesting reading. I thought the premise of this story was really intriguing and was delivered beautifully, as always, by the author. I find her writing style unique and gripping and she just has a way to leave you hanging on every word and telling yourself ‘just one more chapter’ until you’ve finished the whole book.

If you’re a fan of C.L. Taylor’s, you’ll know that with her powerful characters, tantalising twists and knack of immediately drawing you into a story, it’s the perfect package and Her Last Holiday is no exception. And if you’re not already a fan, you will be if you read any one of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley & Avon Books UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My love for C.L Taylor is on going. Her last holiday is centred around the the sisters Jenna and Fran. 3 years earlier Jenna goes away on a self help retreat which leads to deaths and it seems Jenna has committed suicide. So when Frans mother begs her to go on the retreat in present day to get answers surrounding Jennas death reluctantly she goes and what she uncovers is a lot more than she can handle.

The characters in this story are all amazing, we hear from Jennas POV 3 years before hand, she's going through alot and when she meets Tom the retreat leader she finds an instant spark between them. I liked the past story however the present story was much better it has to be said.
Fran is the main character and I find her character to be so relatable. She's middle aged tired, fed up guilt riddled and still trying to and failing to please her mother. This is why she ends up on the retreat. She's a very to the point person which I loved so much! Her character is full of depth and I was really routing for her to find out what happened to Jenna. Her guilt for not listening to her sister has followed her making her believe she was part responsible for her suicide.
Kate is the wife of Tom who is the retreat leader. Kate has waited for Tom to come out of prison and is pushing forward the most recent retreat. Kate is our story baddie and I just loved her!
There are alot of side characters throughout the story that all add something to it.

I love that our leading characters are all strong women. They all have their own issues and this is clear and further gets dived into throughout the story. Fran is my favourite and her family dynamics I found very interesting to read. Especially the mother daughter relationship the idea that you can be 51 and still have a very torturous relationship with your mother.

What the book also looks at really well is how people who are in dark emotional places can be suckered in by aimed phrases like I can save you life. This is the tag line that hooks Jenna in and many others on the retreat. It just shows how low everyone is that they have turned to an unqualified life coach instead of seeking professional help. It's very interesting how this is used espically from Kate POV.

I really enjoyed this book. When I read the blurb and title I thought yes another book like The Lie by C.L Taylor, I must say I preferred the Lie and almost wish I hadn't read it before hand as I spent alot of the book comparing the two, I chastised half way through though!
I recommend this book great suspense and loved finding out how it all played out. I had guessed the plot twists but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. Happy to give 4 stars 🌟

Thank you first of all to C.L Taylor for yet again another fantastic read, Netgalley and Avon publications for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Another solid thriller from CL Taylor. Her Last Holiday carried me along like the tide, with the voices of Fran and Jenna hooking me in. I always feel that Taylor's novels are very character driven, and that she excels at creating multifaceted, intriguing characters - particularly women - and this book is no exception. A brilliant story to escape into.

This book is told through the perspectives of three pivotal women in the story and moves back and forth between the past and present. There are a handful of good twists and turns, although not necessarily a "keep reading even though your eyes are shutting" type of book. Overall, a good easy read.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Her Last Holiday" by C.L Taylor. Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fran is an English IVT teacher, whose sister Jenna went missing during a wellness retreat 2 years ago. The owner of the company, a self proclaimed self-help guru, who runs the retreats and his wife, are about to lead the first retreat since their last went terribly wrong. Fran's mother Geraldine begs her to go undercover to try to find out what happened.

Once Fran arrives at the retreat, she encounters a quite a cast of characters, and finds it difficult to know who to trust. Fran and an undercover journalist team up to uncover unexpected secrets as they rush to find out what happened to Jenna.

There may have been some mistakes in the ARC using Fran's undercover name, Geraldine, a few times it seemed that people who didn't know she was Fran called her Fran.

This is a thriller that will keep you guessing until the end!

I haven't picked up C. L Taylor's work before but will definitely keep an eye out for it now.
This was an enjoyable thriller with good character development and a decent plot.
We follow Fran, a woman in her fifties, who goes on a wellness retreat  to investigate the disappearance of her sister Jenna who had travelled to Gozo, as a part of the same retreat group a few years ago.
The prose was simple and easy to read and the multiple POVs really helped  strengthen our connect with the different characters.
The twists were decent though a bit predictable and the story was tied up with a nice bow.
Though the book was on the longer side, I didn't find myself struggling to finish it and was content with the pacing.
Yes, overall the premise did feel familiar, but it was still a pleasant read and I found myself quite engaged with the story.
I recommend it for a quick and pleasant weekend read.

I thought Cally's last book was my favourite but this one most definitely is. Cally's books just keep on getting better and better. When Fran's sister Jenna disappears from a wellness retreat in Gozo, people are suspicious as to what really happened to her. Fran sets out on a journey to see if she can piece together what happened to her sister, did Jenna have secrets to hide and will Fran get caught up in it all. Will Fran get the answers she so desperately needs. Expect drama, lies, secrets, twists and turns that I did not see coming. I thought I knew half way what had happened but I could never believe what I found out. The story kept me on edge the whole time reading it and my hand was over my mouth as I was shocked to discover the truth. An addictive read.

Sisters who have disappeared are a trend for certain. This follows Fran whose sister Jenna disappeared from a retreat 2 years prior. There’s a lot of back and forth from then to now, which gives us a good slow burn. I love the characters and the suspense but the best part of all is the ending. What a twist! You won’t see it coming!

This book was brilliant! I’ve always loved CL Taylor books so I was thrilled to get this ARC from NetGalley. She has outdone herself with this new book - It was such a great suspense thriller / murder mystery.

Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared from a SoulShrink wellness retreat that went wrong. Now she’s set to go on her own retreat to try and uncover what really happened to Jenna and why there are still so many secrets around her disappearance.

Lots of suspense, great characters that you can get invested in and a really psychologically twisted ending. I liked the flashbacks as they really let you get to know Jenna rather than the whole story being from Fran’s point of view. It was interesting to see how the two sisters approached the SoulShrink retreats with different opinions about how it could help them both.

There are some really great chapters full of retreat style activities (water rafting, trust activities, late night games and swims). I loved Joy’s character the most - no spoilers but I’d love to read a book where she was the main character! (With all of her crazy jumpers).

I would definitely recommend this to my criminology students who love a good suspense thriller book.

When Jenna disappeared it was ruled a suicide, but some think it may be a little more than that.

Frans mum co'erces her onto a soul shrink retreat, run by the same people that were running the retreat where her sister went missing. They just want the truth. Fran feels bad she didnt take more time with her sister and is working through that regret and her own upbringing, and the wife of the retreat lead is worried that Fran is an under cover reported.

Like all of Taylors book I couldnt wait to read this, couldnt put it down, and was annoyed with myself for how quickly I read it. The characters were interesting, and some clues to who poeple were became obvious with hindsight. I was suprised by some things the characters did, and where and they impacted Jenna or Frans lives.

I have recently read two upcoming CL Taylor books quite close to one another. One of them being The Island - Taylor's YA thriller, and then Her Last Holiday - which is her newest adult thriller offering. To say they are completely different would be an understatement. They both have Taylor's fantastic plotting and inevitable twists, and they are both written exceptionally well. But that is where the similarities end.

In HLH we meet Fran, who is still grieving the loss of her sister, Jenna. Jenna disappeared two years ago while on a retreat in Gozo. Fran finds herself at the retreat with the man who may or may not have had something to do with her sisters disappearance.

What follows is a rollercoaster ride of high energy, action packed thrills and you won't be disappointed if you pick this one up.

Fran's character is developed really well throughout the book. It feels like she really grows as a person the more she 'investigates' Jenna's disappearance. I wasn't keen on a lot of the secondary characters to begin with, they aren't all that likeable. But this is something I love in a book. It keeps you grounded - who likes everyone in real life?!

A life long fan of Taylor's work, this one will be coming home with me as soon as it is released. Congratulations Cally on another fantastic book.

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor is another gripping novel that does not disappoint! Fran’s younger sister, Jenna, disappeared 2 years ago while on a wellness retreat. The wellness host was sent to prison for 2 deaths that happened that weekend. Now that the retreat host has been released from prison, Fran wants to see if she can get more details on her sisters suicide by attending the retreat. Great read with many twists.

Thank you NetGalley, C.L. Taylor, & Avon Books for the ARC.

This was my first time reading C.L. Taylor’s work, and I was impressed and will definitely be reading more.

The books tells the story of a woman and her search for her sister’s murder. There are countless twists and turns and it’ll definitely keep you on your toes.

You’ll be shocked by the end of the book! :)

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!!

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!

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!

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.

Another fantastic book from C.L. Taylor. Tom Wade, a motivational speaker and joint owner with his wife Kate of SoulShrink, are hosting a retreat in Snowdonia. Tom has recently been released from prison after two people died in a tragic accident at a retreat in Gozo two years earlier. Kate has been working hard on recovering the business and moving forward in a positive way despite Tom’s incarceration. It doesn’t go quite as smoothly as Kate hopes but she is not for giving up.

Fran’s sister, Jenna, disappeared at the Gozo retreat. Fran has been told it was likely her sister took her own life but no body has been found. Geri, the mother of Fran and Jenna, booked a place on the Snowdonia retreat in the hope of finding out the truth about what happened to Jenna. Geri can't face going so cajoles Fran into going and using her name so Fran can remain anonymous.

The book is told over two timescales – now and two years earlier – and from the viewpoints of Fran, Jenna and Kate. As with all C L Taylor there are many twists and turns along the way with a good pace that keeps you wanting to just read a bit more before putting it down. It was really well paced and I liked the ending.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Her Last Holiday by CL Taylor is a suspenseful, mystery-thriller with a fantastic ending! It is the third book I’ve read by Ms. Taylor and each one is better than the last. I’m loving her writing more and more.

The characters are varied, interesting and well developed. I liked some, detested others, and that is one of the characteristics of a great novel. I enjoyed that there were many characters adding to the storyline, each with their own motives and secrets. And through her fluid, easy manner of writing, it was not difficult to follow each character through the different timelines.

The ending was superb! True to form, it was unexpected. It was brilliant. And in hindsight it was completely right.

#herlastholiday #cltaylor #netgalley #avonbooks

It has been a while since I read a Cally Taylor book. I got introduced to her and her books on the Facebook group The Book club. She writes brilliant books and I don't know why it has taken me so long to return to her books.
I liked the different points of view in the book as it allowed us to get to know the characters a little better. We are introduced to a whole cast of characters some likeable and some not so likeable. Fran is trying to figure out what really happened to her sister two years ago and this book takes us on a journey of unexpected twists in finding out the truth.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for a nice thriller to enjoy.

You can always guarantee a good thriller with Cally Taylor and this one is no exception. I'm not going to go on any retreats of holidays with her mind. She has a twisty mind! Haha it works really well here as this novel has you gasping for breath and ringing your hands. If you read this at an actual retreat I think it would make you leave or at least look around at your fellow guests.

Blimey. 2020's last read went off with a bang!

"Her last holiday" is a slow burn thriller with lots of unexpected twists in it. The books starts off really strong but in the middle it kind of loses steam. It picks up the pace and bombards us by the end of it. The language used in the book is articulate. The narration is from multiple POV's written in the first person.

The story revolves around two sisters, Fran and Jenna who are separated by an age gap of 12 years. The book starts off three years after the death of one sister Jenna by suicide. Jenna had gone to a retreat called Soulshrink lead by the enigmatic Tom Wade. In that particular retreat 3 people had died, 2 due to a negligence in one of the excercises and Jenna by suicide. But Jenna's body was never found.

Her family is still not at peace after all these years and to make things worse, Tom Wade is released from jail. After he comes out, he picks up right where he left off and arranges another retreat. Fran's mom forces her to go on this retreat and find out the truth behind Jenna's death. Fran decides to go undercover and unravel the mystery. What will happen during the retreat? Will she reveal more than she bargained for? How many more people will get hurt in this quest for justice? Read to find out.

The ending was really something great. I loved the ending. Though, some parts of it was unrealistic. It was still quite thrilling. Recommending this one to all thriller lovers. The book will be out in April, 2021. Make this your first of 2021!

First of all I’m a huge fan of C.L Taylor’s books. I’m always in a dilemma,part of me wants to take my time saviour the experience, but as soon as I get started I end up hooked and reading it in one sitting!! There are worse dilemmas I guess!!!

Fran’s sister Jenna went missing two years ago while she was on a wellness retreat at Gozo, the police told them she may have committed suicide but her mother wants answers and pushes Fran to go to Wales on a wellness retreat.

She meets the couple Kate and Tom who ran the retreat in Gaza along with three others who were also there. Surely someone will know what happened to Jenna?

The story is told in 2 timelines, the present and back when Jenna was at the retreat.

This story kept me captive from the first page until the end. I love how the suspense slowly builds and I would never have guessed the ending.

A brilliant book that I would highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Another great book by C.L. Taylor. Like her previous books I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t read it quick enough. It’s sort of a cross between a mystery book and a psychological thriller. A few twists thrown into the suspenseful storyline make for a great read. I highly recommend this book and author.

I read this book in one sitting. SO GOOD! I could not put it down. So suspenseful and some unexpected twists that made the story that much better. I even went back and re-read a few pages to see if I could catch the twist coming. Taylor's writing is just captivating and I'm so excited to read more!