Review: HER LAST HOLIDAY by C. L. Taylor

 

Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You come to the retreat 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 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 heart-in-mouth rollercoaster ride from the Sunday Times bestseller.

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I have to admit, this book didn't blow me away like I'd hoped it would. I'm a massive fan of C.L. Taylor's other works, but this one just fell a bit short me. I don't know if it was because I had such high expectations, or if it's because I loved her first-person narrators so much (and this is third person and three narrators), but it just felt a bit...flat. I didn't really think the tension was there, and a few of the twists I managed to guess. 

And the ending--well, I just didn't think it was 'enough'. The whole story seemed to have been leading one way, and then well, it didn't. It just stopped, taking us a new direction as we discover the truth--and I just found that it all wrapped up too nicely. It felt like it was just too convenient. Too perfect an ending for such a dark novel. 

Having said that, the characterisation is solid and the setting was really well written. I do love stories set in retreats as you get this locked-room mystery vibe, and we do have two timelines here too, both with retreats. 

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