Member Reviews

Megan Miranda is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors in the psychological thriller genre. Every time I pick up one of her books I think that there’s no way it’s going to be as good as the last, and it always IS!

This book is no exception. I thought I had the killer figured out early on, but Miranda completely threw me for a loop and pulled out a surprise ending. The book is a fast paced nail-biter....prepare to stay up past your bedtime with this one! Highly recommend.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an ARC of this great book!

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What struck me most about this book was how the writing made me feel incredibly uneasy, trapped, and watched, much like the main character, Arden. When she was six, Arden sleepwalked into a rushing torrent during a rainstorm and was found three days later, clinging to a sewer grate. It's a miracle she survived. The media attention, initially supportive, turned mean-spirited over time due to the money donated to Arden and her mother. Arden's memories of the event are fuzzy, relying mostly on what her mother wrote in a book about it.

At sixteen, Arden changed her name to Olivia and tried to escape the attention by moving and changing schools. Now, twenty years later, working in a hospital, Olivia's safe life is disrupted when the man who found her in the sewer confronts her. After rebuffing him, Olivia sleepwalks again and wakes up to find the man dead at her feet, with blood on her hands. Everyone seems suspicious, either for the murder or for wanting something from Olivia, the girl found in the sewer. With the police involved, Olivia struggles to unravel her past, which has collided with her present, creating a constant sense of unease and fear.

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I had such a fantastic time reading this book! I've really been getting into Megan Miranda's mysteries this year, and this one sounded really fantastic. Which it was, I loved all the twists and turns of this mystery, it was thrilling to read!

There's two things that may or may not be connected. When she went missing, the Girl from Widow Hills, and the now, where there might be something going on. And I just wanted to know what was going on, and this story kept coming and being so good.

Olivia does have some difficult emotions for her mom-she profited off of the experience, of what Olivia went through, something that Olivia wanted to move past, and a contributing factor as to why she changed her name. So there's some hard feelings there, which is totally understandable, and then between the anniversary and her mom's death, well, that's a whole can of worms.

This is a Megan Miranda book, so of course the mystery would be more intricate then it seemed. I loved watching all these pieces of evidence coming to life, to find out what was going on. It just kept coming, and I loved watching it play out!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Megan Miranda!

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2.75 stars
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TW: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism
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I have a bit of an unpopular opinion on this one, as a Megan Miranda lover this one just didn't hit the spot. When I read the plot I was intrigued by what went down. Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. After lengthy searches and prayers for a safe return, Arden is found alive clinging to a storm drain. The entire town is thrilled that Arden has returned safely, including her mother who seems to be soaking up the 15 minutes of fame that comes with the situation.

As the twentieth anniversary approaches Arden, now going by Olivia is trying her best to bury her past and who she is. That is until she begins to sleepwalk just like she did many years ago even sleepwalking outside of her home. Olivia suddenly jolts awake to find a corpse in her yard and it's someone from her past when she was known as Arden. The pacing was a little slow for me I don't think much really happened, we get to know a lot of characters to throw us off of the loop of who Olivia can trust. I wish we had gotten more of a conclusion for some of these characters, at some point they just disappear and we never hear from them again.

The plot was a little all over the place for me, a lot of it could have been edited down and we would have gotten the same effect. The ending was shocking but it wasn't enough to save the entire plot for me.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Megan Miranda for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opininons are my own. This book was originally published on June 23rd 2020.

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I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

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It has been a while since I read this, but never got around to posting my review on here. This was an exciting, eerie read with lot's of twists and turns and kept me on my toes! Very fast paced and I found Olivia's character to be really enticing the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC!

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This was sadly, not my favourite Megan Miranda release. It was definitely a page turner as all of her books are, I just found it a bit predictable.

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3.5 stars. Interesting plot line but much to be desired.
During the book I thought I had it figured out but I will say I did not see that ending coming. The ending redeemed the book for me

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I love a good book that has an incident or mystery happen and then it's 15+ years later and we're following the aftermath or having a look back at what actually happened. This story is of Olivia who, at 6 years old, went missing for a few days after a sleepwalking incident. It's the fallout of the media circus that had followed her for years, so she changed her name, moved away and lives quietly. And now the past is coming back to haunt her. Lot of twists and an decent plot.

I will be trying more from this author as she has an extensive backlist and some new releases I'd like to check out.

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Intriguing premise, interesting characters, and great suspense. This was a fantastic thriller! I really love how unique the story is and the insight into how Arden/Olivia was affected by her past and her mother's behaviour was truly fascinating.

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Arden was the girl from Widow Hills, the one swept away during a storm while sleep walking. Her mom wrote a book about it the experience, the media followed her. It all became too much, now Arden is Olivia living far from Widow Hills living her own life having put the past far behind her. That is until she wakes up in the middle of her night in her yard beside a body of someone from her past.

I loved this! Twists I didn't see coming. Questions I had that kept me guessing. I loved the spooky vibes and creeping feelings. An edge of town, questions about who is who and what their intentions might really be. Loved every moment of this and I couldn't get enough fast enough. This wasn't my first Megan Miranda novel and it definitely wont be my last.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers, particularly domestic thrillers. A great secluded atmosphere, with twists that leave you guessing and wondering.

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Slow burn thriller. Really, more of a “frog in the cook pot” style than a slow burn. I wasn’t sure I was feeling the vibe in the beginning. I couldn’t connect with Liv, and didn’t think the characters were being developed fast enough. I stuck it out, and man was I happy I did! Things start to heat up when Liv sleepwalks, and finds a dead body! Okay, so, who killed the guy? Who IS the guy?! Everyone around her starts to act super suspect, and things get more and more confusing. I think I changed my mind on who the killer is about 509 times lol. In the end, I was way wrong! I did not see that coming! That truly is a mark of a great thriller for me, if I can’t believe how wrong I am, and get the full shock of discovering the “who” in the “done it”.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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3.5 stars
I loved All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda so I was excited to read this one.

I really loved the plot of this story, the characters were fantastic and the ending was so good! But...it was repetitive and had lots of news/newspaper excerpts which were also repetitive/didn't add anything exciting. This made the book drag on for me which is why I've given it 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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3 STARS

Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”

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I'm embarrassed to admit how long this has been on my #netgalley shelf - so I figured it was high time to get to it. I was initially intrigued by the plot: a girl goes missing in a small town and is miraculously found alive, against all odds. Years (and a name change) later, she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life.

THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS would definitely fall in the category of "slow burn" and the story felt a bit drawn out. Although I almost immediately knew what the "twist" would be, I still enjoyed following Olivia's journey to realize it too.

Overall I enjoyed this one but wasn't always pulled to pick it up. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my copy. THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS is out now.

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Arden Maynor was just a young child when she got swept away in a storm in the middle of the night while sleepwalking, winding up on a storm drain. She was discovered days later by a passerby, and her life was forever changed. Her mother got swept up in the media storm surrounding the case, cashing in on offers of my money and media deals that were thrown her way. Arden wanted nothing more than to escape and start her life over. And that's exactly what she's done, changing her name to Olivia and moving away to start again on her own. But the past soon catches up to Olivia, as the stranger who found her as a child is found dead in her yard. Olivia begins to question everything and everyone she knows, trying to unravel how her new life was discovered and what the stranger wanted from her, parallel to the police investigation in which she is a person of interest.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the twists and turns in the plot. There were many characters to suspect were involved in the death and the strange things that continue to subsequently happen in Olivia's life. Her character was well-developed and easy to root for, being an independent and self-sufficient woman. The ending was a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it all the same. I'm looking forward to reading more of Miranda's titles. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I went into this book with an open mind, I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting other than a psychological thriller.

Olivia, formerly known as Arden, was sleepwalking when she was a little girl and was swept away in a storm. For three days the town of Widow Hills searched her, only to find her holding onto an access point. This incident launched herself and her mother to fame, everyone knew Arden as “the girl from widow hills” which left a huge traumatic imprint on her life. Given the chance to move to a different town, she created a new identity for herself as Olivia, to leave the past behind. Arden’s mother lived off the fame; she appeared on talk shows, sold books, all because of Arden’s trauma. Olivia finds out one day that her mother is dead which sets the story in motion.

The ending was… something else. I really enjoyed the twist along the way; I certainly didn’t see it coming. I thought I knew who did it but I was wrong when it was finally revealed. I keep thinking about this book it was so good, which is why I bought it shortly after publication day!

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😳 Book Review 😳

The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

3⭐

Genre: Suspense, thriller, mystery

This was an average book for me. I originally picked up my arc of this one, but I couldn't get into it, so I listened to it as an audiobook instead. I started listening to it at 1.5 speed, but the book is such a slow burn that it was too slow for me, so I switched it to 2 times the speed. That was much better.

I enjoyed reading about the side characters, especially the next-door neighbour Rick.

I liked that there were excerpts from the past. The sleepwalking aspect was interesting.

Overall, the last 10% of the book was the most enjoyable part of the book. It is too bad that the only plot twist was saved until the very end of the book. If it didn't have this ending, this book would have been a two-star for me.

Thank you, @simonandschuster and @netgalley, for a free advanced copy for an honest review.

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Megan Miranda is one of the reigning queens of thrillers! She always delivers a solid story with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep you turning pages. This one was no exception. She's always a solid buy for me and her writing never lets me down.

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This book was so good! Kept me guessing until the very end. Megan Miranda came through again with an awesome novel!

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I’m going to be honest, I was nervous about this one. I wasn’t sure about the idea of a sleepwalking protagonist because I don’t typically like an unreliable narrator. That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised!

The Girl From Widow Hills was a great atmospheric thriller. While it isn’t one that’s particularly fast paced, the tone was very creepy and mysterious. I loved how the story of what happened to Liv as a child was slowly unraveled to us throughout the story via news articles, transcripts, and other media pieces at the end of each chapter. I really looked forward to them.

As for characters, I really liked Liv! I found her to be relatable and I was hoping things would turn out well for her. There were multiple secondary characters throughout that I wish I had felt more connected to, but I still enjoyed reading them.

If you’re looking for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat and is brimming with action, this might not be the one for you. If you’re looking for a creepy, mysterious thriller that keeps you turning the pages because you have SO many questions, The Girl From Widow Hills might just be what you’re looking for.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for proving me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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