Good morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for C. L. Taylor's Her Last Holiday.
Fran's sister has been missing for two years. Everyone is certain that Jenna is dead. And self-help guru Tom Wade is sure to be responsible. After all, he was charged in the deaths of two other people at the same retreat Jenna was attending when she disappeared. But Tom has never confessed.
And now Tom is free. And hosting another wellness retreat with the help of his wife, Kate. And Fran's mom wants Fran to go undercover in hopes that she can finally learn what really happened.
From the start, Fran is sure that they're on to her. Especially when she struggles to keep to her scripted cover story. But it's not until she starts to fear for her own life that she realizes just how dangerous this trip might turn out to be!
Two women, two retreats two years apart! So yeah, it's clear from the start that there's something fishy about Tom Wade and his SoulShrink business, considering we know the man has been in prison for just over a year, but it's not immediately apparent exactly what the danger might be.
The book is split into two timelines: then, with Jenna's trip to Gozo, and now, which alternates between Fran's and Kate's perspectives.
In Jenna's timeline, the first hint that things are off occurs to the reader but not Jenna herself. When she arrives, nail polish she didn't pack has spilled all over her clothes. And that right there sets the tone for what readers can expect in her story. It's a gray cloud of foreshadowing that looms over what's supposed to be a great opportunity for Jenna.
In the present timeline, though, we immediately learn there's trouble in paradise. Kate has helped her husband build his business and she's determined to get it back up and running now that he's free. But Tom has come out of prison changed. It's apparent to the reader, though, that there have been issues between Tom and Kate for some time and his apprehension about getting back in the game sets her off pretty quickly.
Fran herself isn't meek, but she isn't one to stand out. And while she'd already traveled to Gozo to look into Jenna's disappearance, she's not jumping at the opportunity to play detective at her mother's behest. And yet, she does it anyway. Because she feels guilty about her last interaction with her sister.
All of these threads are woven together as the story begins, drawing the reader into a plot that is as carefully built as a spider's web. And as impossible to pull yourself out of, too!
Her Last Holiday is an incredibly immersive read. A perfect page turning thriller that explores family drama and the shady side of the self help industry...and that's just part of the story!
To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official tour page here.
For more on the author and her work you can visit her website here. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel!
1 comment:
I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Sara @ TLC Book Tours
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