| Publisher | HarperCollins |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 20 January 2022 |
| ISBN-10 | 0008379254 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0008379254 |
| Format | paperback |
| Pages | 400 |
| Price | £ 8.99 |
Her Last Holiday
by
All Fran wants is the truth about her sister’s death, but in a viper’s nest of liars that won’t be easy.
Review
Present day: Kate is waiting for her husband, Tom Wade, a self-heal guru and the public face of SoulShrink, soon to walk out of the prison gates after serving two years following tragedies at his last retreat in Gozo. Kate will do anything to revive SoulShrink and put the past behind them.
Present day: Fran, an information and communications technology teacher, has a vested interest in what the Wades do next because her younger sister Jenna vanished from the same Gozo retreat, leaving all her possessions in her room and blood on the rocks. But when Tom and Kate offer another retreat, this time in Wales, it is Fran’s overbearing mother who bullies her into going to find out what happened to Jenna.
Then: Jenna, let down by her entire family, needs a break, a retreat where she will find peace and meaning. What she doesn’t realise is she will also find love and hatred in equal measures.
I am a fan of CL Taylor’s books, but this story reminded me of one of those songs that a band releases after a few successes, one that feels hurried in its writing and slightly tired, maybe sliding from the quality camp to the quantity camp.
The plot, while not new, could have shone, but the story suffered from too many incidences of questionable behaviour from extremely early on, causing my suspension of disbelief to hang by a frayed knicker elastic. I just couldn’t buy into the idea of a mother who suspects her younger daughter has been murdered on a retreat forcing her other daughter into going on on one organised by the same people, especially when one of them has also just served a prison sentence. And the surviving daughter simplydoing as she was told felt equally unrealistic.
I cannot think of a single character that I liked. Kate is obsessed, Fran is utterly negative, her mother is manipulative in the extreme, Jenna is irritating, Tom is wet, and the others are flat stereotypes. While it’s not necessary to like every character on the page, it does help to be able to identify with them, and the main ones need at least one redeeming feature. But redeeming features were clearly In short supply at the time of writing.
Present day: Fran, an information and communications technology teacher, has a vested interest in what the Wades do next because her younger sister Jenna vanished from the same Gozo retreat, leaving all her possessions in her room and blood on the rocks. But when Tom and Kate offer another retreat, this time in Wales, it is Fran’s overbearing mother who bullies her into going to find out what happened to Jenna.
Then: Jenna, let down by her entire family, needs a break, a retreat where she will find peace and meaning. What she doesn’t realise is she will also find love and hatred in equal measures.
I am a fan of CL Taylor’s books, but this story reminded me of one of those songs that a band releases after a few successes, one that feels hurried in its writing and slightly tired, maybe sliding from the quality camp to the quantity camp.
The plot, while not new, could have shone, but the story suffered from too many incidences of questionable behaviour from extremely early on, causing my suspension of disbelief to hang by a frayed knicker elastic. I just couldn’t buy into the idea of a mother who suspects her younger daughter has been murdered on a retreat forcing her other daughter into going on on one organised by the same people, especially when one of them has also just served a prison sentence. And the surviving daughter simplydoing as she was told felt equally unrealistic.
There are also too many secondary characters, most of whom are decidedly herring-shaped and a suspicious red colour. To make maters worse, they all have double identities and fake names, which leads to a confusing and disjointed read. Even Fran and her new-found sidekick are in disguise.
I cannot think of a single character that I liked. Kate is obsessed, Fran is utterly negative, her mother is manipulative in the extreme, Jenna is irritating, Tom is wet, and the others are flat stereotypes. While it’s not necessary to like every character on the page, it does help to be able to identify with them, and the main ones need at least one redeeming feature. But redeeming features were clearly In short supply at the time of writing.
There is atmosphere, but it is unfortunately wrapped up in long-winded descriptions of the events at the retreat, which detract rather than enhance. The finale starts with an implausible but predictable culprit with unconvincing motives, and while almost everything is tied up with ribbons and bows, the protracted reveal feels too cosy, almost too nicey-nicey,
Despite the many twists, turns and dead ends, the reveal is still
relatively easy to work out in the first few chapters, although there
are one or two little Taylor-esque gems to delight loyal fans.This isn’t Taylor’s best book, but Her Last Holiday is a fast, easy read, if you can keep up with the name-changes and disguises. I’m hoping the next one rises to previous standards.
Reviewed 12 November 2022 by Kati Barr-Taylor
Kati Barr-Taylor lives in her ‘cosy pigsty’ in the Dordogne. She satisfies her literary cravings by translating, writing, editing and reading.
