Her Last Holiday
by C.L. Taylor

Amazon / B&N / HarperCollins / GP/ Apple / BookBub

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 two 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?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

To men like that we’re either sluts or lesbians. Limited vocabulary. Tiny brains that match their tiny penii.

… she’s been reprimanded several times at work for saying something tactless to another member of staff. She doesn’t mean the words to come out the way they do but she can’t always stop herself. She does try though. Yes, Frances. She hears her mother’s voice in her head. You are very trying.

It’s a conundrum she can’t solve – how she can be such a great teacher but such a terrible conversationalist. She can command a classroom like no one else… but when it comes to social interaction with anyone over eighteen she either manages to insult them, misunderstand them or else she finds herself in such an awkward conversation that he only recourse is to feign a coughing fit and swiftly leave the room.

My Review:

I lost sleep over this one as I couldn’t seem to put it down until my eyes refused to stay open, and as I was so deeply engaged and entrenched in their tale, I continued on with the characters in my sleep. The multi-layered storylines were cunningly textured and maddeningly paced while fraught with danger and taut with tension as more issues, twists, and concerns continued to be unearthed rather than solving the mystery we started with.

I was sucked into an oddly disconcerting vortex as I’ve never been so enthralled by such an overwhelmingly toxic and obnoxious group of characters who were unfailingly annoying and capricious yet also bizarrely intriguing. There wasn’t a one I would choose to share air with yet I couldn’t wait to learn their secrets. Multiple theories were devised and cast aside as I perused this twisty tale but I never came close to guessing the outcome. C.L. Taylor has mad skills and devilishly strong word voodoo as well as a new fangirl for her bookish cult. I have added her entire listing to my TBR.

I was provided with a review copy of this riveting missive by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. Her 2019 novel, Sleep, was a Richard and Judy pick. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.

Find out more about her at her website, and follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

6 Replies to “Book Review: Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor @callytaylor @TLCBookTours”

As always, I am intrigued by this book you’ve read, just because of your eloquently written review. Her Last Holiday isn’t one I would have normally picked up on my own, but you’ve made me want to read it 🙂 Great review!