Thank you to my partners, NetGalley and Bookouture, and the author. I appreciate the gifted eALC, and I am leaving this review voluntarily! Swipe for the synopsis!

1. 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 - This story is a perfect example of how close a group of friends can be until secrets and lies begin to tear them apart.

2. 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 - This came out of nowhere for me. It’s amazing the lengths that a person can be forced to go to. Even the best of friends can sure surprise you!

3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 - I kept wondering what the heck happened back then. There are references to Charlotte’s incident several times, and you will want to know what it was! And just when we find out what it was, well - you just wait!

4. 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 - It just bubbled for years. And with almost all of the characters. Each one of them is guilty of something and a few will shock you!

5. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 - Wow! I sure didn’t see that coming! What in the heck! It isn’t often that a twist can come completely out of nowhere, but here it is!

This gripping psychological thriller is fast paced and kept me guessing throughout. It’s told through several points of views and adds to the intrigue with everyone having some sort of secret they want to keep hidden. Sheppard left me shocked with some secrets and major ones revealed at the end that I never saw coming, with a heartbreaking turn for one character. What a whirlwind of a book! It’s simply great and the narration of the audiobook is wonderfully done by NaomiFrederick!

Thank you, AmySheppard. Bookouture, bookouture audio & netgalley for my ecopy & audiobook! All opinions are my own.

This was a thriller that was compelling enough that I wanted to see how it all unfolded, but I wasn’t blown away.

I love dual timeline and multiple POV but this felt like a LOT of both. Consuming via audiobook, I listened in sometimes short segments so I would have to take a few minutes to think about which POV and timelines I was on.

The characters were all messy, all hate-able, but also interesting and worthy of my time.

I loved the way the detective’s life was probed and that she ended up being a bigger character in the story than I anticipated.

But I gotta say… that ending?!?! WHY?!?! Other than to just shock us, I cannot figure out why that’s where the story went. I’m angry! haha
But also… I definitely didn’t see it coming, soooo!

Seriously, that old adage, with friends like these.. Well, this fantastic tale throws that saying at us with full force.
Lifelong friends, all grown and navigating life join for what will definitely prove to be their last reunion.
Flows with ease and an eerie sense of doom, imploding with each new page that you just have to turn until the very end which will blow your mind away.
Shocking secrets, repercussions and regrets are all recipes for a great read and here, within the cover that’s exactly what you get.
5 Stars and highly recommended.

This is the first book I have listened to/read by Amy Sheppard and, overall, I wasn't disappointed.

The story centres around a group of friends on a camping holiday to celebrate one of the groups daughters 18th birthday. It becomes pretty clear early on that the group is full of secrets and angst that ends up having deadly consequences.

The narrator did a great job but due to the amount of characters with each chapter being from a different point of view, I did find it difficult to keep track of which character I was with. You wouldn't have this problem with a physical book but dipping in and out of an audiobook (as I tend to do), made this a tad confusing and did reduce my enjoyment just a little but not by much.

The characters were an interesting and eclectic bunch most of which I found not particularly likeable so didn't have a lot of sympathy with what befell them but I loved the twists and turns that I didn't see coming which kept me listening intently until the whole story was revealed.

Overall, a good audiobook but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the physical book but I must thank Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Last Holiday.

This is a pretty interesting thriller, with lots of twists and turns. It starts with a group of friends who have been friends since college gathering on a weekend of Rose's 18th birthday. Rose is Annie's daughter and Annie is a bombastic character that both brings everyone together and repels them with her over the top personality. If you read the blurb of this book you know Annie dies and everyone at this party has reason to do it.

The story reminded me a lot of the book Big Little Lies where you kind of go back and forth in the time lines. I think it would have been a great idea to reveal who died toward the end because honestly, all the characters were pretty terrible people. I could see someone offing every single one of them (minus the kids). This friend group has so many secrets and none of these secrets are small, all are life changing.

There are quite a few POVs, most of the adults in the friend group have their own POV plus the police detective investigating the murder. In audio format I always like the idea of different voice actors/narrators for each POV it always makes it more clear and concise for the listener. However, I think the narrator did a pretty good job with each of the chapters. The voices were very similar though so be sure to pay attention to the chapter POVs if you're listening.

The author did a fantastic job weaving these stories together and giving so many shocking twists. I kept changing my idea of who the killer was after each chapter because of all the twists and turns. I did not see the ending coming and I love that. If you love a good thriller that will keep you guessing this one is worth all of your reads!

I was able to guess who the killer was going to be quite early in the book but i definitely did not guess the motive, that was worth the wait. I also was not expecting that twist at the end with the funeral. I am looking forward to reading more of Amy Sheppard's novels in the future. I have already added Beach Party to my TBR.

Naomi Frederick did a great job narrating this novel and I loved listening to her accent. I have already added Naomi Frederick to my search list in NetGalley.

I really enjoyed The Last Holiday by Amy Sheppard. The Narrator did a wonderful job as well. I didn't guess the ending and it's always special to me when it happens. I'm definitely looking forward to more books of this author!

This was an unexpectedly excellent mystery that had my head spinning with all the unexpected twists. I thought the characters and their relationships with one another were all perfectly complicated and added that extra level of curiosity needed to keep me guessing. The English campsite setting was just the right amount of isolated but also had moments where it felt like a bit of a beach read, until someone died that is, lol

I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more from Sheppard in the future!

Thank you Bookouture Audio for the alc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

A group of friends and rgeir partners and children vome together to celebrate Rose's 18th burthday. As always noone really wants to be there as secrets are bubbling under the surface. Then Annie is found dead and so begins the unravelling.
Told through the female friends and police officer over multiple times this is an essential who done it. The pace is good the true twists and turns in the big reveal took a long time to come a little too long as the tension wasnt there. Each chatacter narrative was carefully crafted to give you enough to see the story through their eyes .
The Male characters seemed to be not so important and I felt the story could have benefited from their narrative. The narrator did well to cover the diffrrent characters but it could have worked better with multiple narrators.
I really enjoyed the story . Its a good solud 5 star read.
Thank you net gallery for my arc audio version

A group of lifelong friends go on a camping trip yo celebrate the 18th birthday of Rose, Annie’s daughter. Everyone in the group is harboring secrets and one night during a drinking game, things are said that are regretted in the morning. Later, Annie’s body is found and the search is on to find out who is the murderer and why. There were a lot of people to keep up with, but once you have them down, it was fun to see who was hiding what. What a tangled web this group of friends weaved!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this listen - plenty of twists and turns - some I did NOT see coming. Narration was excellent and did not detract from the story. I will gladly keep an eye out for more Amy Sheppard in the future!

This is my first book by Amy Sheppard. I found it a little hard to follow in the beginning. The book seems to flip from the present to the past quite often.
A group of friends head out for a camping trip to have a great time for it to turn into not very fun. They have been friends for a long time. There are some issues among the group. People filing bankruptcy, people cheating, there is just a lot going on. They awake one morning when they find that one of their own is dead. No one is sure who did it. Follow along this thriller to find out why they died and who did it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoutre for allowing me to read this book and this review.
#netgalley, #bookoutre, #thriller

I listened to The Last Holiday by Amy Sheppard and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Told from the viewpoint of the characters in the novel, I did find it a bit confusing to start with but gradually got to know them.

We meet a group of very different friends all with secrets and they meet as a sort of "reunion" and go camping. What starts as something enjoyable, soon turns ugly and one of them is dead.

Told through the eyes of Stella, Annie and Charlotte, the scene is set and the reader is drawn into these women's dark and mysterious worlds.

Unfortunately (not going to say who) is found dead and suspicions arise and we learn of more secrets that these once friends possessed.

Really good narration and a strong plot, this is a very good thrilling read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Amy Sheppard for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Secrets, scandals, and lies...OH MY!!

A group of friends (since high school) go on a caping trip...and an innocent game by the campfire has everyone on edge as it's clear that Annie has something on everyone. Unfortunately for Annie, someone took it to next level resulting in this being her last holiday...ever.

Now, the question is, who killed her?

Throughout this book, we find out nearly everyone has a motive. Some dating back to their high school days as grudges are kept to this day, and other are more recent and are desperately trying to get out of the reaches of what Annie has hanging over their heads. Regardless, it makes it hard for the detective on the case to nab down the killer.

I was enthralled with this story and found myself guessing who did it around every corner only to be dead wrong. Pun intended. ☠️ Twists and turns galore make this novel a sit on the edge of your seat thriller and I know you'll devour it!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio a copy of this #arc 🤩

I finished this one on May 30th. This book is filled with secrets and drama. I really enjoyed listening 🎧 to this, it pulled me in from the beginning, and was entertaining throughout. There is multiple POV’s in this, and you also get a before and after timeline. The last hour and a half of this book 📕 was crazy and filled with so many twists. I didn’t see them coming, and just when you think there are no more twists there’s another. That final twist though, 😮 so surprising! The narrator was fantastic and very enjoyable to listen to. I will be reading more of this authors books 📚 for sure!

This was my first exposure to this author and I was not disappointed. Sheppard rolls out this story in the eyes of three of her main characters, Annie, Charlotte and Stella, moving back and forth between the recent past and long ago past, to the current day.

This is a well-written, suspenseful, complex, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave you breathless at times in anticipation of the next twist in the plot of which there are many. Her characters are well-developed though not necessarily likeable. None of them are whom they appear to be. This provocative, somewhat dark and twisted story grabs you from the first page and keeps you guessing until the very end where the author inserts a deliciously wicked twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The Last Holiday by Amy Sheppard and Narrated by Naomi Frederick was a great psychological thriller. The audiobook was brilliant especially as it just kept you guessing till the end, it has some really great twists and turns throughout, that had you hooked from the beginning till the end.

The narrator Naomi Frederick was superb, she was excellent for this audio book and did a job of bringing all the characters and the story to life.

I highly recommend this book and the narrator.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book.

I ended up really liking this book. I thought that the characters were really well developed and their personalities were distinct and palpable throughout the audiobook. I also liked the multiple POVs and how that helped shape the story as we got glimpses into everyone's past. The story was fast paced and really interesting, I listened any chance I got and did not want it to end. I do wish we got more at the end, I think it would have been interesting to find out how exactly things played out after their trip. But I am still more than satisfied with the book. I did not expect the ending at all, so that was very well executed in my opinion. I did not like that the person who ended up actually dying at the very end was fully innocent and robbed of her own happy future because of messy and chaotic people.

The narrator was pleasant to listen to which only added to the wonderful experience. I'd love to read more from this author/listen to more audiobooks by this narrator. Both did a great job making me feel like I was watching a movie or a part of the group, everything was very realistic and well written.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this audiobook!

So this is going to sound weird, but you have a bunch of old friends get together for a holiday reunion and they all seem to be sleeping around on their partners and spouses, but it doesn’t read like a housewives book. None of the characters are likable, but that isn’t a deal breaker for me in a thriller/mystery. As long as the story makes me want more. In this one I wanted to know who killed Annie. As the detective, who happens to know this group of friends from school, tries to solve the case in the present, it’s really the time in the past that gives us insight to the characters and their personalities.

There is no shortage of suspects as the group of friends isn’t small. They have been through a lot together over the years giving many of them a motive for murder. I’m always a little leery of spoiling things by telling too much. This is multi layered and complex. It is not fast paced, but you are rewarded when finished with an ending you won’t see coming. At least I did not.

I both read and listened to this one and enjoyed both versions. I am a huge audiobook fan because it allows me to continue a story when conventional reading isn’t possible. While this doesn’t have multiple narrators to go along with the large cast of characters, Naomi Fredrick does a good job of trying to differentiate the characters. I did find I could get a little confused if I did not pay attention as the chapters changed, so if you find audiobooks a little challenging, then you might want to stick with an eBook/book copy. But for audiobook veterans, this is a great way to keep “reading” this one when things get in the way of reading time.

If you’re a fan of character driven mysteries with a lot of drama, you should pick this one up.