Good read, enjoyable and keeps the reader guessing. I am a fan of the author and have read several of her books.

What happened to Jenna? That is the question her sister Fran wants answered in HER LAST HOLIDAY by C.L. Taylor.

Jenna vanished from a retreat two years ago. There was blood but a body was never discovered. Fran is determined to find out what happened to Jenna.

Fran joins the same retreat her sister disappeared from to get answers.

The story is told in two perspectives, Fran’s in the present and Jenna’s in the past.

The story is good, riveting and will keep you reading.

I really wanted to like this one after hearing such great things about the author, but I couldn't seem to connect with this one like I wanted. I found myself more annoyed with the actions of the characters as opposed to anything else.

I’m so beyond excited to have discovered this amazing writer!!! I looooooooved this book! It kept me enraptured from the very first page right up through the last! I loved the character development. I loved the nonlinear timeline!!! And i loved how my feelings toward each character morphed over time as I learned more about them! I absolutely loved how each secret was revealed one layer at a time! I cannot wait to read all of her other books!

This book was an interesting thriller, but it got on my nerves because who in their right mind would send their second daughter off to a place where the first daughter was possibly murdered?! I found this frustrating, and it ruined the book for me. Others may enjoy this, but it wasn't for me.

4 stars
This was a good story shared in multiple POVs and jumps between two timeframes. Sounds like it’s be hard to follow but the author made it easy to along without getting confused. That being said, the story was really interesting and I’m glad there weren’t any answers provided until the end. I hate when a little over halfway through, an author solves the main conflict leaving us bored for the remainder of the book. That wasn’t the case here. Also, this book wasn’t stingy on the PLOT TWISTS! I would read one, come to terms with it then *BAM* another one. Then I’d accept that on and feel the ending coming close but then *BAM* another plot twist. I was left with so many “what if’s” and while I wish the very end was a look into a different persons life, I wasn’t disappointed enough to dislike the story. This was a HEA, in its own unique way, even though it was a thriller.

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

I liked this book in that the three main characters had distinct back stories adn lives so they didnt blend together. It is a slow build up as i have come to expect from the author and psyc thrillers. You may live, you may die but you also may discover the secret of a last holiday.

Jenna went missing two years ago at a wellness retreat run by Tom, the man behind the Soul Shrink retreats. He has just been released from prison after serving time for the deaths of two individuals who attended the same retreat where Jenna had went missing. Is Jenna still alive or is she dead?
Fran, Jenna's sister books herself into Tom's upcoming retreat at her Mother's request. Will she finally learn what happened to her sister or is she just delaying her own demise!? Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Fran’s sister Jenna has been dead for two years, but the family never got true answers about what happened. When a SoulShrink retreat gone wrong left more than one body behind, Tom and Kate, the faces of the empire they built, suffer the consequences. Tom goes to prison, and Kate is left cleaning up the mess. Now, Tom is out of prison and Kate is determined to start the business up again—Tom still has loyal followers who love what he does. Fran’s mother still wants answers about Jenna’s death, so she sends her daughter to SoulShrink’s comeback retreat, where she will question Tom and hopefully get the answers her family so desperately wants.

I love a good thriller, and this one had me hooked from page one! I really loved the chapters rotating between Fran and Kate in the present and Jenna two years prior. I enjoy seeing unreliable characters in thrillers; I like the guessing game of figuring out who to trust. The plots twists near the end of the book genuinely shocked me—I had my eyes set on someone else as the killer, not the person it ended up being. I love being wrong in my guesses when it comes to thrillers. This is one of my new favorites of the year, and I cannot recommend it enough!

Trigger warnings for abuse, death, murder, manipulation.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360/Avon for the ARC of Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor!

Two years ago Fran's sister, Jenna, vanished at a Soul Shrink wellness retreat. Now self help guru Tom Wade has been released from prison and Fran is signing up for his first retreat, determined to find out what he's been hiding. Two guests died in the sweat lodge, but Jenna's body was never found. Fran and her family want answers.

I had a hard time keeping track of the complicated web of relationships. There are a lot of characters, both in the past and the present. Fran is using an alias, so when other characters are referring to her, she's got a different name...and it gets more confusing than that, but I don't want to risk spoilers. For me, the most intriguing part was Tom's relationship with his wife. I found myself more interested in the future of Soul Shrink than in what happened to Jenna.

Fran is searching for answers. Two years ago, two people died while in a sweat lodge while attending a wellness retreat. Fran's older sister disappeared. Investigation led to the imprisonment of Tom Wade for the deaths. They also said that Fran's sister 'probably' committed suicide somewhere in the area. Investigation closed.

Tom Wade has just been released from prison and he's back in business. To find the truth, Fran signs on to his next retreat. Facing the man she feels is responsible is not easy ....

Does he know what happened to hr sister? Who wants Fran to go away.. maybe permanently in order to keep some secrets hidden?

Suspenseful from start to finish, there are more twists than a roller coaster ride. It's well written with characters that are deftly drawn. The plot showcases self-help groups and the charismatic people who tout them.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books UK / Harper 360 UK / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book for my honest review and opinions. I neither loved or hated this book - it held my attention the last page but the story line was a little tough to believe. I would for sure give C.L. Taylor another chance in the future as the writing style was interesting and did keep me engaged. Thank you for the opportunity!

*Thank you to the Publisher, NetGalley and CL Taylor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/her-last-holiday/

Meet Tom Wade. He is the reluctant Tony Robbins of the millennial generation. Having just been released from jail after several years, his eager wife is ready to host retreats again. However, on the last retreat, two people died under mysterious circumstances and one disappeared. What happened and where is the third woman?

This is my very first dance with the CJ Taylor and I am hooked. We have several mysterious deaths, a missing sister who may or may not be alive, one dysfunctional mother and a wife who is walking the line between high strung and dangerous. This book is told from several points of view, alternating between past and present.

Fran, described early on as a soft gray lump, is Jenna’s older sister. Jenna disappeared two years ago after attending one of SoulShrunk’s retreats, and her body was never found. They ruled it as a suicide, though Fran believes Jenna would never have committed suicide. Fran and her mother are obsessed with finding out what happened and sign Fran up under her name for Soulshrunk’s first retreat after they release Tom Wade from jail. Fran is reluctant to go, set in her ways and quirky, she is not one to go undercover. She agrees, after an immense amount of pressure and guilt, to attend the retreat under an alias.

Kate is Tom’s wife, who has been waiting quietly and eagerly for Tom to be released from jail. They have lost their fortune from previous retreats and Kate is now living in a small apartment, doing odd jobs to make money. She works hard to manage their ruined reputation, but Tom is still in love with Jenna, the girl who disappeared. Once Tom is released from jail, he is reluctant to start retreats again. His heart is not in it. But Kate insists, and he agrees to do one last retreat.

Almost as soon as Fran begins the retreat, the lies pile up. On the first day, she meets another woman attending, who is an undercover investigative reporter, also researching the mysterious deaths and disappearance of Jenna. As they uncover more deceptions and dishonest people, they realize their lives could very well be in danger as well.

Her Last Holiday reads like an Agatha Christie novel in the sense that there are so many twists and turns, and the reader is never quite sure who the murderer is until the very end. There are many characters in this book vying for the title of worst person and it can become confusing as some attended the last retreat, under different names. They are not all delightful characters, but overall they are fun characters and the book moved quickly. I am eager to read more from this author.

This book was so well done! It was perfect from start to finish. The story was just the right amount of twisted to keep it interesting but not overwhelm the reader.

I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up - until 4 am to finish because I HAD TO KNOW.

Fran's sister died two years prior while at a wellness retreat. It's been called a suicide, but there are unanswered questions.

Wellness retreats, 'gurus"???? YES. Give it all to me.

CL Taylor is a masterful writer of mysteries. This was a quick read but it packed so much in the story.

This is sure to be a summer hit.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Terror, mystery, twists and turns are all on board with this thrilling thrill ride of a thriller. Grab a beverage, put on something comfy and prepare for intrigue. C.L. Taylor gets a nod of approval here.

Fran’s younger sister, Jenna, disappeared two years ago during one of guru Tom Wade’s spiritual retreats, during which two other participants died after a session in a sweat lodge. Wade was convicted of the sweat lodge deaths and sentenced to prison, but Jenna’s death was ruled a suicide. Now released from prison, Tom and his wife, Kate, are hosting another workshop and Fran’s mother begs her to go and find out what happened to Jenna once and for all.

The story follows two timelines - Fran’s in the present, when she’s attending the post-prison SoulShrink retreat and Jenna’s in the past as she attends the doomed retreat in Malta.

The set-up for this book is really fantastic, with Fran literally trying to walk in her sister’s footsteps as she attends this retreat in an isolated Welsh resort, along with, we find out, three people who were there with Jenna on that last Malta trip. And the story really lives up to the potential - the atmosphere is creepy, with all the characters also giving off shady vibes. It’s intense.

Both Fran and Jenna were awesome characters because they were slightly neurotic, a little “off,” but totally worth rooting for. Both made mistakes and acknowledged them, which really drew you to their stories.

The ending is where the book fell slightly flat for me. I’m not going to give away any details, but I wish it would have gone in a different direction. Not that it was necessarily terrible, just wasn’t my cup of tea, especially after such a great build up as the book gave us.

Overall, this book was as well worth reading and I would recommend it to fans of thrillers in search of a good weekend/vacation read!

Two years prior Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared during a wellness retreat. The disappearance was never solved. Tom Wade is in prison for his involvement in two deaths at the retreat. Fran suspects that he was also somehow involved in Jenna’s disappearance, so she waits until he is out of prison and starts playing detective by going undercover!

This was my first C.L. Taylor book and I enjoyed it. It held my interest and I would be interested to read more of her books in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360/Avon for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read C.L. Taylor's The Accident a few years ago and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to read Her Last Holiday. I thought this book was great too, and the ending really caught me by surprise. The characters were really well-written, and I liked that the story was told from a few different perspectives and that it went back and forth between the past and present. I've never read anything quite like Her Last Holiday, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360/Avon for giving me the opportunity to read and review this amazing thriller. : )