Book Review: The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

Title: The Only Survivors

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Adult Fiction

Pages: 339

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2023

Format: Audiobook

"A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennesse ravine- a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.

To keep one another safe.

To hold one another accountable.

Or both.

Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy and from the other survivors. She's changed her mobile number. She's blocked the others' email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven- and Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with grief- and suspicion.

Almost immediately, something feels off this year. Cassidy is the first to notice when Amaya, the annual organizer, slips away, overwhelmed. This wouldn't raise alarm except for the impending storm. Suddenly, they're facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters... again. Then Amaya stops responding to her phone. After all they've been through, she wouldn't willfully make them worry. Would she?

And- as they promised long ago- each survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Won't they?"

My Rating: 5/5

Right after I thought to myself that maybe this author's writing wasn't for me, I picked up this one and I LOVE it! Megan Miranda's ability to write a creepy and unsettling environment is really unmatched by any other author I've read in this genre. It's always the part that ties me in. And this one had the twists and turns to match! It kept me on my toes, it made sense by the end but the differing p.o.v.s, the plot and just the building sense of unease that is worked on throughout the books is what made it a five star for me! Would highly recommend!

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Title: All the Missing Girls

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: 2016
Pages: 396

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2016

Format: Audiobook

"Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda's novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearance of two young women- a decade apart- told in reverse.

It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge, without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne's case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler and Corinne's boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleaise Carter, Nic's younger neighbor and the group's alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic's return, Annaleise goes missing.

Told backwards- Day 15 to Day 1- from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor's disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago. 

Like nothing you've ever read before, All the Missing Girls delivers in all the right ways. With twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, you may think you're walking a familiar path, but then Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves us wondering just how far we would be willing to go to protect those we love."

My Rating: 2.5/5

I've read a few different works from this author and her ability to create a tense, spooky and unsettling environment is amazing. The plot however just hasn't worked for me over the course of the stories. I loved the start of this one and while I enjoyed the red herrings and the twists and turns it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't feel that jaw-dropping, how did she do that feeling at the end of the a thriller/mystery that I want. It was fun but just ok. I don't think I'd read anything else from her at this point, but I could be persuaded.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

Title: The Girl from Widow Hills

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 325

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2020

Format: Audiobook

"Everyone knows the story of 'the girl from Widow Hills.'

Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescue workers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden's mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye. 

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She's managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Soon Olivia feels like she's being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even walking outside her home. Until late one night she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows- from her previous life, as Arden Maynor.

And now, the girl from Widow Hills is about to become the center of the story, once again, in the propulsive page-turner from suspense master Megan Miranda."

My Rating: 4/5

This had such an excellent atmosphere and that's what I'm finding as I read more and more of Megan Miranda's work. Her atmosphere is fantastic, the feelings of being spooked, unsure and frightened live on throughout the story. I would definitely recommend it for that reason. The characters were fine. The ending was excellent. I would strongly recommend this one out of the other books by the author I've read. Fun, exciting and the audiobook gave me spooky fall vibes. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

Title: Such a Quiet Place

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 337

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2021

Format: Audiobook

"Welcome to Hollow's Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer- all on one street.

Hollow's Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow's Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby's back

With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow's Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she's terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?

Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow's Edge. It's increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of Truett's murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer's next victim."

My Rating: 2/5

I was excited to read more by the author and I don't think that this was a great place to start again with this author. But it wasn't for me. It felt very anticlimactic throughout the book. The characters felt unreal to me and there were too many of them to keep track of. That being said the atmosphere was creepy and that worked for me. I do plan to read more from the author in the future. Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

Title: The Perfect Stranger

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Adult

Pages: 339

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2017

Format: Audiobook

"Confronted by a restraining order and the threat of a lawsuit failed journalist Leah Stevens needs to get out of Boston when she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who has just left a troubled relationship. Emmy proposes they move to rural Pennsylvania, where Leah can get a teaching position and both women can start again. But their new start is threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah cooperates with Kyle Donovan a handsome young police officer on the case. As they investigate her friend's life for clues, Leah begins to wonder: did she ever really know Emmy at all? With no friends, family, or a digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Soon Leah's credibility is at stake, and she is forced to revisit her past: the article that ruined her career. To save herself, Leah must uncover the truth about Emmy Grey- and along the way, confront her old demons, find out who she can really trust, and clear her own name.

Everyone in this rural Pennsylvanian town has something to hide- including Leah herself. How do you uncover the truth when you are busy hiding your own?"

My Rating: 2.75/5

This book just isn't what I hoped it would be. I liked the mystery, but it felt a little bit like Gone Girl for me. I think that our main character was a little slow on the uptake. I was so confused why she just kept touching everyone's stuff. That was something that really bothered me. I also found that I had figured out where Emmy had done far before the book was over. I will read more by Megan Miranda because I felt her atmosphere was spooky enough for me to be interested in a different plotline.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny