The Last Holiday by Amy Sheppard
Published: May 30, 2023
Bookouture
Pages: 345
Genre: Psychological Thriller
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Amy Sheppard lives by the sea in Cornwall with her husband and two teenage boys. Amy creates recipes for her followers and for brands under @amysheppardfood She has written two cookbooks.
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.
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…
I just hope she knows when to stop. Because if she reveals my darkest secret, it will tear my family apart.
Wednesday morning: It’s the little things that stay with you. The hurried rip of zips being opened. Figures stumbling into the cold night air. The screams echoing across the campsite as flashlights scour the ground. That’s what happens when a beautiful young woman’s life is stolen.
One of us is responsible for Annie’s death. But how far will they go to keep their secrets hidden? And now all our lies are coming to light, will I be able to protect my little boy, or are we in terrible danger too?
“That’s when everything changed.”
Charlotte is a devoted mother to Theo, and she tries to be a loving wife to Tristen, but he has been distant lately. Jack and Kelly are living a life of luxury, but the secrets hiding in their life could ruin everything. Annie tries to be a loving mother to Rose, but it isn’t easy. She wants to do it all. Stella has found happiness with Nate, and she is looking forward to their future. But one of these people won’t be returning from vacation.
Holy buckets. This was a twisted web is lies, secrets, scandal, and toxic friendships. This was told by alternating narrators with alternating timelines, and the way this overlapped throughout the story was clever.
There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but they were all well-defined. Charlotte was obsessively in love with her husband, who was stuck by doing what he considered the right thing. Annie was desperate to find an investor to help her save the business she had built, but she couldn’t be honest about her struggle. Jack looked like he was living the life, but he was on the verge of losing everything. Stella wanted a fresh start, but the past wasn’t willing to be forgotten.
This was such a well-laid-out house of cards. The way the build-up was done and the way everything crumbled was so intense. Amy Sheppard has such a talent for creating absolute chaos, and then when the big reveal happens, you don’t see it coming.
This was such an excellent read. I devoured this book in a day- it was impossible to put down.