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A review by paperbacks_and_planners
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
3.0
I received an arc of this from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
The Loman's own Little Port, Maine. The small, seaside town survives on the influx of tourists every summer. And the Loman's own all the rentals.
This follows our main character Avery who is in a downward spiral after losing her entire family. Avery meets Sadie Loman and is brought into the family. Years later, she is managing all the rental properties and living in their guest house. Then Sadie dies and her death is ruled a suicide after they police find a note in the garbage.
A year later, mysterious things are happening all over the Loman properties. And Avery starts unearthing secrets that lead her to believe there was more to Sadie's death.
Overview
This is told in alternating timelines - the present and flashbacks to the night of the Plus One Party the year before.
This book is pretty dark. There is lots of talk about self harm, depressive thoughts, sudden death, neglect, etc.
Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Depression, Self Harm
What I Liked
1. This book was insanely atmospheric - and the setting was one of my favorite things about the story. The town itself almost felt like it's own character with the way it was described as "claiming" people.
2. I loved the dynamic between the tourists and locals. I've never seen this dynamic explored before and found it really fascinating. There was so much built in tension and it just added to the mysterious, dark tone of the book.
3. Working off my first too points - this book was suspenseful. Megan Miranda built so much tension and mystery into this without it feeling forced or outwardly trying to be scary. Which this book definitely wasn't. But the suspenseful feeling of this entire story felt so natural and gripping.
4. I suspected everyone!
What I Didn't Like
1. This started to feel a little long and drawn out right around the halfway point. I felt like things were being rehashed a few too many times.
2. I didn't really care about any of the characters. We got lots of back story but I never connected with anyone... I'm honestly not sure what was missing there for me.
Overall this was a solid thriller. The twist wasn't anything mind-blowing but it was a good, suspenseful mystery/thriller. If you are new to the genre and want a good kicking-off point, I'd highly recommend this!!
Summary
The Loman's own Little Port, Maine. The small, seaside town survives on the influx of tourists every summer. And the Loman's own all the rentals.
This follows our main character Avery who is in a downward spiral after losing her entire family. Avery meets Sadie Loman and is brought into the family. Years later, she is managing all the rental properties and living in their guest house. Then Sadie dies and her death is ruled a suicide after they police find a note in the garbage.
A year later, mysterious things are happening all over the Loman properties. And Avery starts unearthing secrets that lead her to believe there was more to Sadie's death.
Overview
This is told in alternating timelines - the present and flashbacks to the night of the Plus One Party the year before.
This book is pretty dark. There is lots of talk about self harm, depressive thoughts, sudden death, neglect, etc.
Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Depression, Self Harm
What I Liked
1. This book was insanely atmospheric - and the setting was one of my favorite things about the story. The town itself almost felt like it's own character with the way it was described as "claiming" people.
2. I loved the dynamic between the tourists and locals. I've never seen this dynamic explored before and found it really fascinating. There was so much built in tension and it just added to the mysterious, dark tone of the book.
3. Working off my first too points - this book was suspenseful. Megan Miranda built so much tension and mystery into this without it feeling forced or outwardly trying to be scary. Which this book definitely wasn't. But the suspenseful feeling of this entire story felt so natural and gripping.
4. I suspected everyone!
What I Didn't Like
1. This started to feel a little long and drawn out right around the halfway point. I felt like things were being rehashed a few too many times.
2. I didn't really care about any of the characters. We got lots of back story but I never connected with anyone... I'm honestly not sure what was missing there for me.
Overall this was a solid thriller. The twist wasn't anything mind-blowing but it was a good, suspenseful mystery/thriller. If you are new to the genre and want a good kicking-off point, I'd highly recommend this!!