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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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. 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. 😕

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.I loved the machinations between the characters. A lot of people aren't who or what they appear to be (highly improbable, I know, but fun) and there are many hidden agendas. So we have two main characters here, the sisters Jenna and Fran. A few years ago, Jenna took a wellness retreat on the Maltese island of Gozo and committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. Her mother cannot understand what happened to her ideal daughter and forces her much older sister, the rebellious Fran, to attend another retreat and find answers to the questions that haunt her. I went to this trip with my wife. We went by train. There was my first visit of Tbilisi but my wife was there a year before. So she knew all interesting places and sightseeings and showed me the city.

It’s got a good pace. We are told the story from Fran’s point of view in the present and Jenna is in the past at the time of her retreat stay. There’s some input too from Kate in both past and present. She is the organiser of the retreat and secret wife of Tom. 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. The supporting cast is delightful, and the eclectic hotel staff alone will make any audience member want to book a vacation. Also staying at the hotel are a congressman, a senator, the head of the fictional department store chain, and his "secretary". Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Nouri, Timothy Hutton, and Alicia Witt, respectively, are all essential and three-dimensional. At times they're superficial, at times they're cynical, at times they're friendly, and all of them are potentially willing to change if a phenomenal woman shows them the way. There's a fine line between making a saccharine-sweet movie about one character who changes a village, and making a realistic, moving movie about one person's influence on a host of different people. Obviously, this movie belongs in the latter category. If all you've seen is the trailer that shows Queen Latifah and Timothy Hutton ski racing, you're in for a very pleasant surprise. Compelled by her grieving mother, teacher Fran books onto it in the hope of uncovering who was responsible for her sister’s death.

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). What a story. It kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. All you want is for Fran to find the answers she is looking for.