#BookReview: Her Last Holiday by C L Taylor @callytaylor

Hi everyone. Today, I have a book review for you from a favourite author of mine C L Taylor. I received a free ARC of this book via NetGalley and Avon Books >>>

 

About the Book:

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?

The master of suspense is back. Prepare yourself for the latest nail-shredding, heart-in-mouth rollercoaster ride from the Sunday Times bestseller.

My Review:

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for a free Advanced Review Copy of this book.

I have read all of C L Taylor’s books and was thrilled to receive an ARC of Her Last Holiday. Add to that a good murder/mystery and I’m hooked.

The narrative is given to us via three main characters, all female: Jenna, Kate, and Fran.

Jenna’s story is told from 3 years ago and leads us up to what happened before she disappeared, presumed to have committed suicide. However, reporters and her family believe that foul play was involved.

Kate’s story unfolds both in the past and the present. She is a prickly character who you might love to hate. The real founder of SoulShrink, she allows her husband to be the figurehead. 3 years ago, tragedy struck at a retreat in Gozo, after which, husband Tom ended up serving time in prison. Once he’s released, Kate organises another retreat, this one in Wales, to try and rebuild the SoulShrink brand.

Fran is a 50-year-old IT teacher at a school. After growing up under a hard, demanding, and unforgiving mother, she breaks free. However, she has learnt to hide her emotions and avoids getting close to anyone. This leads to a lonely life for her. After much bullying from her mother, she attends the new SoulShrink retreat in Wales to try and discover what happened to her sister Jenna three years previously.

Usually, I give any book from C L Taylor a solid four or five stars. However, Her Last Holiday fell a little flat for me. The plot and pacing was much slower than I’m used to, and I found some of the narrative long and rambling. All of that said, I enjoyed this book and the characters. I worked out the main plot twist fairly early on, but I still enjoyed this read. It gets a good 3 stars from me, which means that I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. It was a fun and okay read. I’m still eager to read more of C L Taylor’s books, and for an easy, relaxed read, I would highly recommend this book.

 

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NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.


I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

12 Comments on “#BookReview: Her Last Holiday by C L Taylor @callytaylor

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book, Harmony. To me, three stars isn’t a bad review. It just means the story didn’t leap off the pages.

  2. The plot sounds really good. It’s a shame the delivery was off. But I get it.

    I just finished a book from an author I love, but it wasn’t up to the 5-star read I expected. Like you, I thought it was a pretty good book. Just a bit disappointing after his previous work.

    • Thanks, Staci. Not as gripping, and not really a murder/mystery, but still enjoyable. 🙂

  3. Oh dear, sorry to hear it didn’t live up to the other books of Taylor’s that you liked. Still, as you said, three stars isn’t bad. Sounds like it’d be a nice beach read, and even though all three POV characters are women, they seem like an interesting mix of personalities and backgrounds. Good review!