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EXCERPT: As Caroline continues to rant, Fran stares at her in awe. It's been a while since she met someone with such fervour and passion, such a powerful drive to vanquish injustice and reveal the truth. It's really quite inspiring, despite Caroline's dubious taste in knitwear. Everything is kept upbeat. Sure, Gil talks a lot about the bad decisions he has made, but he never actually relates many events where he did something very wrong. That’s the question her sister Fran is desperate to answer! Jenna vanished from a retreat two years ago. Blood was found on the edge of the cliff. But her body was never discovered. Fran is determined to get answers and solve the mystery behind her sisters disappearance. Keeler, Janet (January 12, 2006). "Saving the best for last". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007 . Retrieved January 6, 2013.
The Last Holiday | Amy Sheppard | 9781837902163 | NetGalley The Last Holiday | Amy Sheppard | 9781837902163 | NetGalley
It should be harmless fun, but Annie's questions worry me. She's always been the keeper of our secrets. She knows all the infidelities, the indiscretions, the stolen kisses... 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. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. This is another book that I've read this year that's a very character-driven story. On paper it doesn't sound like a lot is going on but under the surface you do get a fair amount of interesting narration from Fran, Kate, and Jenna.
C.L. Taylor writes a suspenseful read that will keep you glued to your kindle. I thought I had this one figured out but I was completely off base! 🤦🏻♀ Like the drug issue, his estranged relationships with his three children is given the silent treatment, and this would have been fine with me (family is private, and none of my damn business) except Scott-Heron attempts to put a positive spin on his refusal to recognize his son by spinning a very unlikely story that it was all just a misunderstanding. If you don't want to talk about it, Gil, that's fine, but don't ask me to believe the story you tell putting the blame on the mother. Truthfully, the synopsis of this one never really grabbed me, I only requested it because CL Taylor’s name was on it, and I was convinced it was going to be better than it sounded. And I was worried when I struggled to make it through the first half due to the slow, boring pace that I had made the wrong choice. Thankfully, the last half was better, and I did quite like the ending. It wasn’t amazing, but I would place it in the above average category. Okay, so maybe the plot was a bit outlandish, but at least I didn’t guess it! The only thing I could’ve done without was the huge info dump in the second to last chapter. Saturday night: It starts as an innocent holiday game amongst old friends. As we sit around our campfire, the evening sky streaked with peach, my little boy sleeping peacefully in our tent, the wine flows and secrets are spilled.
The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron – review
As the story unfolds so does a tangled web of deciet, insecurities and the ultimate betrayal - you can decide which is which if/when you read it as there is more than one
Filled with intrigue, suspense and drama; exactly what you want from a psychological mystery thriller. 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. If you don't know who Gil Scott-Heron was, I recommend the following: Go to a party, get drunk, have fun. Then, when you come home, it's 4 am or 5 am, have your post-party melancholy - open the beer you stole when you left, realise that it's already Sunday and you have to go to work or uni again soon, realise that you're alone and lonely, realise that you've grown apart from your family, realise that perhaps you were never that close in the first place, realise that you're incapable of closeness and warmth, realise that you'll die alone. Then put on Scott-Heron's last album, I'm New Here, because it will help. Overall, it’s a pity the book tails off as I was enjoying the first half and I usually really like this authors books but I don’t think this one is up there with her best. Fran's quirky character was well developed and I enjoyed the supporting characters of the other wellness retreat attendees.
The Last Holiday: A completely unputdownable psychological
However, it got a bit confusing to tell the characters apart. I think multiple narrators would have made this more enjoyable.
Advance Praise
I’ve read and enjoyed quite a lot of mysteries this year about people going missing or being killed while trapped on a secluded island, but they’re starting to get a bit samey now. This one features a particularly unlikeable cast of characters, (not necessarily a bad thing but you do actually need one protagonist to care about) and confuses the reader further by having many of them change names. This is told from the present tense (ugh) POV of Jenna is the past and Kate & Fran now, and the first half was quite good, as we learn about poor emotionally stunted Fran infiltrating the group and gradually piecing together what happened, but after her first brush with death I couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t get out of there and call the police. Then the revelations keep coming as each character comes under suspicion, but their motives don’t make sense either.
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