As far as thriller go this was okay. Middle of the road. Not bad by any means but nothing to call you reading buddies up to talk about.

We follow multiple times lines which was a little confusing at times. I really liked the atmosphere of the coast of Maine. I've never read a book about managing properties for vacationers. I can imagine this as the scene of several thrillers. The character development was mostly factual developments and finding out clues about what happened. The writing style was a little annoying at times as it would repeat facts. I actually thought that my e-read messed up and jumped back because it felt like I already read this scene. I don't think this is plausible in reality for several spoilers reasons. I was intrigued at the beginning and the end and lost interest in the middle as the plot began to drag.

Overall, I would recommend this book. I also think this could be a great book to introduce yourself into the thriller genre.

Avery Greer grew up in Lilliport Maine watching from afar the wealthy life's of the Loman family. When Sadie Loman befriends Avery after the annual end of summer party, the two become as close as as sisters. Years later Sadie is found dead during a party. Avery is determined to uncover the real story behind Sadie's death. Avery has to choose who to trust, old friends or wealthy ones. What she discovers in the end will be shocking. This is a great twisted thriller, right in time for summer 2019.

Another of my favorite authors! I'll read anything by this author. (It could have an ugly cover and I'd still read it. Yes, I judge a book by it's cover) Top notch fast paced thriller that kept me guessing. An excellent read for all. *****

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher, and Megan Miranda for this ARC .
This is a book of mystery, friendship and murder. And to be honest I had no clue who was the bad guy in this book.
I enjoy this author and this book is no different. I do feel like at one point I needed to skim because it was not moving forward fast enough. But then you would catch an important clue here or there and you were totally sucked in again.
This book was good. I really enjoyed the small tourist town and all the characters.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't particularly unique as mysteries go, but it was good. I wasn't surprised at the twist which is disappointing. I also had some moments of confusion where I wasn't sure what was going on or I felt like the characters knew things I didn't so I had a hard time following why they did the next things they did, but that could've just been me. I do recommend it for a light summer beach read.

This book started out strong then sort of plodded along for awhile in the middle. The writing is good with strong characters and good descriptions but the back and forth in time frames tended to be confusing at times. The ending sped up with the surprising identity of the killer being revealed I liked the little twist at the end showing just how smart Avery was. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was my first Megan Miranda book and I wasn’t disappointed. It had some good unexpected twists as any good thriller should. The time table flips back and forth between Summer 2017 and Summer 2018 or before and after Sadie’s death. My favorite part about the book was that each section left you wanting to keep going to learn more clues in the events leading up to when Sadie died. Was she murdered or did she jump?

Avery’s detective skills are so good it really is not believable. I think any thriller has some of that though. I was pleased with the twists that I didn’t see coming. It really was hard to put down at times. If you want a quick beach or vacation read, this would be a great pick. It made me want to take a trip to Maine and stay in a small beach town.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this eARC!

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda is a very highly recommended mystery set along the coast in Maine.

Littleport, Maine is a summer playground for the wealthy and a simple harbor community dependent on tourism for the year-round residents. One surname that stands above all the others is Loman. The Loman's not only own a remarkable mansion on the shore, they also own a large number of rental properties currently managed by Avery Greer. Avery is a local, but she is best friends with Sadie Loman for almost a decade and has been welcomed into the Loman fold. They have stepped in to help after her parents and grandmother died and Avery had no one.

At the end of the summer in 2017 the young twenty-something adults are throwing their traditional last party of the year. Avery is setting it up at one of the Loman rentals while Sadie plans to meet her there later. Avery texts Sadie, but never gets an answer. The party gets underway and while Avery is keeping an eye open for Sadie, she never shows. When the police come to talk to Sadie's older brother, Parker, Avery learns that Sadie was found dead. It was ruled a suicide but now, as the anniversary of her death approaches in 2018, Avery can't help but look into Sadie's death on her own - especially after her phone is found in a chest of blankets in the cottage where the party was.

The narrative alternates between events in 2017 and 2018. Avery is a wonderful character, well developed and complex. She has a past, but has overcome much to get where she is now. And she's smart. She knows there is something going on, that someone is lying because Sadie wouldn't kill herself, but there are several suspects and chief among them is Avery, so she has to covertly begin to investigate what happened and piece clues together on her own if she wants answers.

This is an excellent mystery - and the key to my enjoyment is viewing The Last House Guest as a mystery rather than a thriller. With the flood of thrillers on the market, it is refreshing to read a mystery. A murder has happened under suspicious circumstances and we have out intrepid heroine trying to piece together clues in order to figure out what really happened. Avery is clever and it was enjoyable to follow her investigation as well as get her insights into all the people involved. This is a wonderful choice for summer reading. The pacing is great as the narrative alternates between what happened in 2017 and Avery's clandestine investigation in 2018. I especially enjoyed the conclusion of the novel. It was a well-played climax and a fitting ending.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/06/the-last-house-guest.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2865814365
https://www.librarything.com/work/22562249/book/170043655
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1141863179900899328

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon Schuster, and Megan Miranda for the opportunity to read her latest thriller - a great read!

This book takes place in coastal Maine at a resort town that exists mostly for the vacationers who flock there during the summer. The ones that stay all year are a different breed - mostly there to serve the other half. Such is Avery - alone after her parents died in an accident and her grandmother passed away, she lives in the guesthouse of the Loman's, a rich family who owns many rental properties. But she got the job through her friendship with Sadie Loman, who took her under her wing and encouraged her parents to hire her. At the end of one summer season, during an annual party, Sadie is found dead. Did she fall off the cliff on purpose, by accident, or was she pushed? Everyone at the party, including Avery is considered a subject but when a suicide note is found, the case is dropped. The next summer, Avery finds things aren't the same and finds herself still under suspicion, especially by Patrick, Sadie's brother. And things just aren't the same in town.

This is a great mystery - told in Avery's voice the summer Sadie died and the following summer. I loved the fast-paced storyline and I could picture the beautiful yet dangerous Maine coast. Greet summer read!

Avery Greer lives in Littleport, Maine. That summer, Sadie, visits and forms an unlikely friendship with Avery. The two teenagers come from different worlds but become close friends. One night at the very end of the summer, Sadie is found dead, in what seems like an apparent suicide. A year later, Avery tries to make sense of Sadie’s death, but becomes untangled in secrets, making her question who she can trust and what she can believe.

Overall, the book in fast-paced. I did not want to put it down.. At the end, I felt like the big questin was answered, but other things were left unaddressed. The book goes back and forth between the summer when Sadie dies and the following year. In addition, the book is told from multiple perspectives including Avery, Parker Loman (Sadie’s older brother), Connor Harlow (Avery’s childhood friend), and Detective Ben Collins (who was investigating Sadie’s death until it was ruled a suicide).

⭐️⭐️— The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
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Thank you to Simon and Schuster and @netgalley for a free copy of this book!
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Avery is a property manager for a very rich family. A year before, the daughter of said family died unexpectantly. Now a year later, Avery begins to have doubts as breadcrumbs are left for her. Told in alternating story lines, we find out what happened that night and what exactly is Avery’s role in all of this.
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What I liked: The plot had potential. I just didn’t think the twists were twists.
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What I didn’t: I have determined I need some different endings happening in my suspense/thriller books. I don’t need ridiculously gross or extreme (I Know Who You Are) but the neatness in every ending is getting to be a bit much. If these 800 coincidental things can happen to one character so can not a happy ending.
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Maybe I’m jaded and need a break from this genre. But then something like Nearly Normal Family or The Silent Patient comes along and I’m drawn back in. I didn’t love All the Missing Girls either, so maybe me and this author, who seems wonderfully delightful in meet and greets, just do not mesh.

The Last House Guest is a deliciously fun guilty pleasure of a murder mystery.

Avery and Sadie are summer best friends. Avery is a year round resident of Littleport Maine in charge of maintaining the summer rentals owned by Sadie’s family. Sadie has spent many summers in Littleport on vacation with her family.

It’s 2017. Before Sadie returns to her permanent home with her family, she usually attends the Plus-One, or summer’s end, Party. But not this year. This year Sadie never arrives after falling from a seaside cliff and drowning. The police rule the death a suicide. But is it? Could it have been murder? The suspects are numerous. Did her brother, Parker, or his girlfriend, Luce, have sufficient reason to kill Sadie? How about Avery or her ex-boyfriend, Connor? All have the party and each other as an alibi. But could one have snuck out and killed Sadie?

The Last House Guest is an enjoyable beach read. Setting it on the Maine coast is innovative for a thriller. Unfortunately, neither the characters or the plot made it stand out from its crowded genre. It is an amusing, but soon forgotten, book. 3 stars.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

First I want to say that I think this is my first book by Megan Miranda that I have read. I think I might have read All The Missing Girls but since I have read so many books, I start reading books I have already read. So I am going to revisit All The Missing Girls to see if I read it. With that said, let us get back to this book, The Last House Guest. As you have read from the blurb , Sadie a visitor to Littleport, Maine and Avery, a local become very close friends which is not usual for this town. They are steadfast friends for ten years till Sadie is found dead. Her death is ruled as a suicide but Avery. feeling such blame sets out on a mission to find out who is responsible and what they know. The book goes back and forth between two timelines, the night they find Sadie and the summer afterwards. It was an easy read but also a slow burn read. I started reading this book but got distracted by another book. I eventually finished the book. It had some good twists and turns but I was expecting more from this book. I was never truly able to get immersed in this book but it did redeem itself at the end. I want to thank net galley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC I received for an honest review.

All The Missing Girls by Meghan Miranda is one of my all time books, so anytime I see she is writing a new book, I get very excited. There wasn't anything wrong with this book, The Last House Guest, it just didn't really grab my attention the way her other books have. I never really felt connected to the main character, Avery and just didn't really get pulled into the story the way I would have expected.

Don't get me wrong, I love Megan Miranda's writing and I really enjoyed her first two books, All The Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger. So I guess I had fairly high hopes going into this book. It just didn't captivate me the way it should and I feel like this plot line I have read several times over from different authors. The plot of looking back at a crime in the past, from present day with fresh eyes. However, I always encourage readers to read the book and decide for themselves, because like I said, I am a big fan of her past work.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this book.

Littleport, Maine is a town that consists of two different worlds coming together to survive together. The town is known as a vacation destination for the wealthy elite to escape from the daily grind to an extensive coastline property, but it is also home for the locals who keep the harbor community alive year round. These two communities rarely come together and certainly don’t form friendships among them, but that is exactly what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and local resident Avery Greer.

Sadie and Avery met almost a decade ago through a chance encounter at a party. Each summer the girls have been inseparable, until the day the world changes forever. Sadie has been found dead. The police rule Sadie’s death as a suicide, but that conclusion doesn’t make any sense to Avery. All eyes are on Avery as rumors swirl that she was involved in Sadie’s death. She isn’t the only one with secrets in this vacation town and someone knows more than they are saying. Someone knows the truth that can clear Avery’s name.

Megan Miranda captivated my bookworm heart with ALL THE MISSING GIRLS and I could not wait to pick up THE LAST HOUSE GUEST the moment I heard about it. I was not disappointed at all!

THE LAST HOUSE GUEST is told through alternating timelines of present day and the summer of Sadie Loman’s death, just one year earlier. Avery Greer walks us through each of the timelines where she slowly reveals the details needed from the past and present to put this case to rest. I loved that the past timeline starts at the beginning of the party and slowly unravels what happened that night as Avery gets closer to the truth in the present timeline. This slow build up makes the story feel natural and not rushed. It’s almost as if the reader is working through the events of now and then with Avery.

I wouldn’t want to learn this story through anyone other than Avery Greer. She is the perfect main character for this book, as she was best friends with Sadie. No one knew her better than Avery, although it appears she may have missed Sadie’s deepest secrets. Their friendship isn’t perfect, but it gives an authentic feel that this book needs to make the story a success.

Avery is not the only fascinating character in the book. The reader gets a chance to learn more about those she has connected with throughout her life in Littleport. Miranda introduces us to those Avery held closest before she met Sadie and those that took over her new life the minute she found her way into the good graces of the wealthy tourist crowd. Each community has secrets that have been buried that will need to come to the surface in order for Avery to learn the truth. With each secret that is revealed we learn more about Avery and those she has been closest to.

If you’re looking for a summer thriller to get you through the warm days, than do yourself a favor and pick up THE LAST HOUSE GUEST! This book has everything you need with a fascinating cast of characters, a secretive vacation town, and a mystery you can’t wait to find out the truth behind.

Disclosure: Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

I’ve heard lots of great buzz about Megan Miranda’s thrillers. This is the first of her books that I’ve read. For me, this was a smidge better than a middle-of-the-road mystery/thriller. The storyline employed by Miranda, has been a bit overdone lately, in my opinion. This is the story of Avery Greer, who is the poor hometown girl, and her improbable best friend, Sadie Loman. Sadie comes from a rich family who summers in Littleport Maine. Avery was born, raised, and orphaned in Littleport. She’s one of the locals who has to scrabble to make it through the long, cold, jobless Maine winters.

Her friendship with Sadie, and the ensuing real-estate management job provided in Littleport by Sadie’s dad have helped pave the way for a better future for Avery. But she is straddling two worlds, and doesn’t really fit in either one now. For the last party blowout of the summer, the only party where the locals and summer visitors mix freely, Sadie doesn’t show up. Avery can’t reach her. Sadie is later found dead on the beach.

Then the story takes off; well – the story continues from there. The book uses a dual timeline that describes current events post Sadie’s death, and the events that led up to Sadie’s death. Was her death a suicide or a murder? Who in town can be trusted? Can Avery trust the young adults she grew up with, but whom she alienated along the way? Is there a deep dark secret the Loman family is hiding? Was Sadie trying to tell Avery something critical in her final days?

This was a perfectly fine mystery. There was a clever red herring that did distract me as to who the villain of the story was. Well done Ms. Miranda. About 20 pages from the end, I’d successfully guessed how the story would wrap up. To me, that is a good amount of suspense and mystery. However, I found the pace to be a bit plodding and the story overly angst ridden.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Simon & Schuster; and the author, Megan Miranda; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a must read! It’s filled with fun twists and turns and will keep u up thru the night not wanting to stop! Highly recommend this book!!

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda is a thriller that is told from the viewpoint of the main character in two different timelines. One time frame is that of the summer that the death in question in the book occurs and then another the following summer.

Littleport, Maine is a town in which the rich often vacation in during the summers and the locals cater to them while they are there. Normally there aren’t any friendships between the residents and vacationers but Avery Greer and Sadie Loman were an exception… that is until Sadie is found dead, the death ruled a suicide, but was it really murder?

I discovered Megan Miranda a couple of years ago with All the Missing Girls and loved it. Since then I’ve read a couple of others and also enjoyed those so color me shocked when picking this one up and finding myself feeling like it was dragging on and on. Maybe it was me or my mood as you have all the elements of a good thriller there but it just did not stand out to me. The characters are all suspicious with lies uncovered throughout but I didn’t connect to them so for me this one was just so-so and probably will become forgettable.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Megan Miranda's backward told thriller, All the Missing Girls, made me an instant fan since it completely blew my mind and remains an all-time favorite thriller, so I was thrilled to get an e-ARC of The Last House Guest, one of my most anticipated summer reads. The Last House Guest is an extremely readable summer suspense, one to put in your pool or beach bag for a quick, entertaining read.

Littleport, Maine is a town where the rich come every year to spend their summer vacations. Avery Greer is one of the locals, yet she becomes best friends with Sadie Loman, daughter of THE Lomans, the family who owns most of the town. Soon Avery moves into the guest house on the Loman's property and is given a job as the property manager for all their rentals homes in town.

The two girls become like sisters, telling each other everything so when Sadie dies by apparent suicide, Avery doesn't believe it—after all, Sadie had everything to live for. A year after Sadie's death, Avery is more convinced Sadie's death was anything but a suicide, especially when new evidence is uncovered that shows Avery might just be right but puts her at the top of the suspect list. Was it an accident or was it murder? Or was it really suicide? How will Avery prove she's innocent without getting caught up in secrets and lies surrounding Sadie's death?

Miranda tells this story through Avery's eyes with shifting narratives from the summers of 2017 and 2018. The tension builds from the summer of Sadie's death leading up to Avery's investigation.

The mystery in The Last House Guest is solid, the writing is fast-paced and well done, and the ending is totally unexpected and original.

This is definitely a light suspense read that's perfect, like I said, for a day at the beach or pool!

**Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. All opinions are my own.**

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well I didn't see that curve ball of a ending coming. Great mystery thriller combo and a great way to start my Summer reading. Take this along on your vacation you won't be sorry!!


Synopsis
"Littleport, Maine is like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them. Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of - but that's just what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.

Each summer for a decade the girls are inseparable - until Sadie is found dead. When the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can't help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie's brother Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they're saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name before the facts get twisted against her.