Her Last Holiday: from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Strangers and Sleep comes the most addictive crime thriller of 2021

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Although Jenna and Fran are sisters, they are pretty different from each other. In my opinion, they are perfect for guiding us through this story. They are both are lost, both suppress their emotions, and both try to find a place in their lives. Fran is a woman with a strong personality who has been suppressing her emotions and distancing herself from other people for years. Jenna is a lost young woman trying to find her true self and understand who she is. The picture is completed by Kate, the wife of the man behind the retreat, who we suspect from the very beginning of evil intentions. But is it true? Jenna is the sweet sister who attended the retreat where so many strange and unexplainable things started to occur incessantly as like she’s been trapped into a classic claustrophobic Christie story!

Once at the hotel, she sees the senator of Louisianna (who was supposed to attend her church service) and Congressman Kragen, the owner of the chain of shops that she works at. She also meets the hotel staff, ranging from a mean housekeeper to a kind chef she had wanted to meet. That is where the humor really starts. So, what does Fran’s mother do, when she learns that Tom Wade has been released after serving his two year prison sentence, and that he will be running another retreat? She books a spot for Fran, so she can go investigate her sister’s presumed death. The sessions led by Tom are ridiculous, he plays at being a psychologist while being an untrained lay person who just got out of prison. But Fran goes along with it, using her mother’s maiden name Geraldine Rotherham. As the participants arrive and meet up I couldn’t help thinking - awkward! The whole thing just screams awkward. Kate comes across as a deranged harradin, Tom comes across as a useless twat and most of the participants are either simpering females or highly annoying men for one reason or another. ABOUT 'HER LAST HOLIDAY': Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong.Another thing I didn’t like is that the second half kind of got repetitive, especially with Kate. I didn’t find her perspective very useful to the story. But it’s not like I particularly liked any of the characters either. I was mostly indifferent about them. I’m so happy this book put this brilliant author on my radar. I cannot wait to read the lord works of her. C. L. Taylor’s writing style is engaging and I have enjoyed her past work, so I look forward to reading what she releases next. But, this one was too OVER THE TOP, for me. 😕 I've read many of Taylor's books prior to this one and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. She is an incredibly talented author, and her stories always have my heart beating wildly in my chest while trying to put clues together to solve the mystery at hand, but something was missing from Her Last Holiday for me. Perhaps I had to suspend too much believability to swallow the story as a whole, or it could be that I just couldn't connect with the characters, and the motives behind their actions to get behind the conclusion. Either way, I'm still a fan of the author and can't wait to see what she pens next! Queenie works in the cookware department of a department store. She loves to cook, follows recipes on cooking shows, and photographs her food, but she doesn't get to enjoy her creations. Instead, she eats Lean Cuisine. She has a crush on LL Cool J, one of her coworkers, but despite encouragement from her friend, Jane Adams, she barely has enough courage to say hello. She has an accident at work and gets a CAT-scan, which shows she has the very rare and incurable Lampington's disease. With only three weeks to live, she throws caution to the wind. She tells off her boss, cashes in all her investments, and plans a permanent vacation to the place she's always wanted to visit: Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia.

How nice it is to read a thriller from the POV of three women with their own distinctive voices, good character arcs, and not running around being overly emotional and silly. As she digs more about the past, she gets more tangle into web of lies. ( did I tell you there were so many spooky supporting characters in this book act like innocent but keeping their own secret agendas to themselves?) I go to Thailand for a camping holiday, It was fun I go caving on the first day, I see many bets are sleeping on top of the cave.(no time to finish) Seeing online that

Here are our three POVs: middle aged Fran is still haunted from her sister’s memory who has been missing for two years. She attended to wellness retreat in Gozo but so many things went dangerously wrong! Thanks to the pressure and guilt tripping of her miserable parents who lost rest of their sanities after sudden disappearance of their young daughter, Fran attends to the same retreat because the same health guru couple Tom and Kate reopen the place after Tom has been set free from two years long prison time. The characters develop nicely through the book. Not all the characters are likeable. Fran grew on me, she is frosty, brittle and socially awkward. She is 12 years older than her duster and didn’t have a close relationship. Her relationship with her parents is awkward to say the least. THE AUTHOR: Cally Taylor was born in Worcester and spent her early years living in various army camps in the UK and Germany. She studied Psychology at the University of Northumbria and went on forge a career in instructional design and e-Learning before leaving to write full time in 2014. She lives in Bristol with her partner and son. Georgia impresses the hotel's staff, with the exception of the cantankerous guest services manager Ms. Gunther, with her naive manner and forthright kindness. She also mingles with some of the other guests, including Matthew Kragen, an arrogant self-help guru and the owner of the department store where she worked; Kragen's assistant/mistress Ms. Burns; and Louisiana power brokers Senator Dillings and Congressman Stewart. Kragen is wary of Georgia and suspects her of trying to sabotage his business, but the rest are charmed by her free spirit.

Jenna disappears on a spiritual retreat run by Kate and her husband Tom on the island of Gozo. It is presumed a suicide. However, a body is never found, and sister Fran is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. Another couple die on the same retreat leaving Tom in prison for manslaughter. Two years later, and with Tom newly released, Kate organises another spiritual retreat in Wales to salvage their reputation and finances. I liked Fran and found her to be a realistic character- she was trying to investigate what happened to Jenna but is not a detective, thus she makes a lot of mistakes. There is also personal growth throughout the book, as she explores her relationship with Jenna and the rest of her family, as well as reflects on her current lifestyle. Some reviewers said there were plot lines left unresolved, but I actually think that was done purposely, allowing the reader to make their own decisions about the true motivations of some of the characters. The ending was tied up maybe a bit too cleanly, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Jenna’s mother is set on blaming Tom for her daughter’s death. She sends her daughter, Fran, to the retreat that Tom organized (or rather his wife, Kate).Nearly three years ago, a wellness retreat on the Mediterranean island of Gozo ended in tragedy – with two people dead, and one missing, and the face of @soulshrink, motivational speaker/self-help guru Tom Wade being charged with gross negligence. And that,' Caroline says, 'is why I'm not going to let them drive me away. They might have found a way to cover up your sister's murder but they're not going to intimidate me into letting this drop.' Told in alternating timelines, then and now, from both Jenna's and Fran's point of view, plus one of the wellness guru's perspective, this is a fast paced thriller. I always love alternate timelines and different perspectives. Jenna is referred to as having disappeared and also referred to as being dead, which has been determined as suicide. This aspect felt a bit wishy washy.

Last Holiday wasn't quite the laugh out loud comedy I expected but it definitely was worth watching. It doesn't try to be complex but rather focus's on the main character, her caring attitude, and her adventures on her "Last Holiday." It makes for a cute, fun little movie without being too intelligent. It's just fun to watch. What really makes Last Holiday something is Queen Latifah. She offers a dazzling and enjoyable performance as Georgia. Her character is really hard to hate as well. LL Cool J plays Sean and he likes Georgia but he is kind of afraid to make a move. LL Cool J's performance is actually a little weak so it's a good thing that he didn't get a lot of screen time. Tim Hutton was pretty good as the bad guy. Alicia Witt was okay, a little bland though. There were some other supporting characters that were funny like Susan Kellerman as Gunther.

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I loved the way the author kept throwing little clues into the mix. I certainly didn’t expect the ending I got. Learn how to heal your trauma, free yourself from anxiety and fact the future with optimism rather than fear’ The story is told in a 'past' timeline from the viewpoint of Gemma, and a 'present' timeline from Fran. Several characters feature in both timelines. Tom, the guru behind the retreat and his controlling wife, Kate, in addition to 3 guests who have attended both retreats. Which, if any, of these characters is behind Gemma missing, presumed dead, status?! By the end, I was ambivalent and a little let down. Was it me or was it the book? I am not entirely sure. I have enjoyed other books by this author more. I am putting this in the liked but did not love category.