Absolutely loved this book. First, I must confess I am a big fan of author Megan Miranda. Loved her last few books. But this newest book, The Girl from Widow Hills is her best so far.

Six year old Arden Maynor is swept into a storm drain system while sleepwalking. With the help of family, friends and volunteers there is a city wide search for young Arden, Three days and she is discovered clinging to a storm grate. The story of Arden has made her and her mother a national story. Arden's mother writes a book and capitalizes on the story.
As an adult Arden makes the decision to move to North Carolina, change her name and take a job working in a local hospital. Life is good, no one knows her story. She can make a fresh start, and at last she is living a happy life.
On the twentieth anniversary of the day she is saved a man recognizes her. The stress of this has caused her to start sleepwalking again. One evening while asleep she hears the sound of a phone ringing outside her window. She goes outside to a wooded area and discovers a dead body. To her surprise it is the body of the man that discovered her twenty years ago clinging to a storm grate.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review

Four and a half stars, rounded up.

I absolutely loved Megan Miranda's first two novels, and this one doesn't disappoint!

Olivia is the Girl from Widow Hills. When she was six years old, Olivia was swept away while sleepwalking by a terrible rainstorm. She spent three days in the underground pipes before being discovered. Unable to cope with all the media attention, she changed her name and disappeared. Now, twenty years later, she is forced to reckon with the past when a man turns up dead in her yard.

It was so refreshing to read a thriller that did not center around a man trying to harm a woman. I need my thrillers to have strong, smart women and Olivia fits the bill. I didn't see the end coming at all! There were so many different potential suspects.

The fame Olivia gained at a young age certainly played a role in her development. The novel explores how people can feel a claim to you if they've helped in some way or if they've watched your story develop on TV. It also looks at ways we shape the stories other hear and ways our own story can be out of our own control.

Two small quibbles: [I didn't understand if Sean was in on the setup. Nathan seemed to imply that he knew about it when he blackmailed the mom, but it wasn't ever explained why Sean would need to know. Also, I'm not sure if Elyse knew she was supplying drugs used on Olivia unwittingly. It seems like a harsh thing to do to a friend, but I don't understand why she would freak out at Olivia's house otherwise. Did she see Olivia's mom and figure out what happened? Seems like a stretch. (hide spoiler)]

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an arc of this book in exchange for a review!

Megan Miranda has done it again-- hooked me in right at the start... and I thought I had it all figured out up until the end. Great story full of twists and misdirection and guessing right up the very end!

"The truest type of story is the kind you tell all alone, to yourself."

An atmospheric new thriller that has you walking on eggshells for the entire book. Olivia wakes up from a deep sleep and finds herself in her front yard. A phone is ringing by her feet and it is in the pocket of a dead man. The man was killed with a knife. Olivia has blood on her hands . . . and the next day she realizes her box cutter is missing. The whole book takes place in about a week's time, but there is 20+ years of baggage to deal with. A surprise lurks around every corner and most of them are not good. Unsettling, compelling reading. Will find its way into many a suitcase and beach bag this summer, no doubt.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review:

So here it goes:

Such hope.

Such promise.

Such. A. Letdown.

So much description. So little character development. The plot moves slower than a sloth and turtle race.

I’ve loved Miranda’s previous books but this one was just not for me, I suppose they can’t all be winners. Maybe next time.

I read this book in two days and I really enjoyed it. The characters were vivid and there were a lot of twists and turns that were surprising and shocking. I think the author did a great job of writing the main character. I was a little thrown off by the ending. I feel like the ending was rushed and everything happened too fast. I also didn’t understand the point of the 911 call at the end of the book. I do realize that she says “she” so maybe that’s why it is there? Other than that I was disappointed in the ending, otherwise I would have rated the book five stars. Like I said, it just felt a little too rushed, and I also feel like there was no closure when it came to her neighbor or her best guy friend. They just kind of disappeared from the story.

Great writer! Really amazing talent for creating suspense! Thank you so much for letting me provide a review of this book!

A very enticing thriller about a woman who is hiding from her past, finds it catching up with her as she wakes up one say while sleep walking and finds a dead body at her feet.
This was a very exciting thriller with very interesting characters that leave you wondering who to trust all through out the book. The story is so masterfully written that is kept me glued to the book all the way to the very surprising ending.
Great read!
#TheGirlFromWidowHills #NetGalley

*** 3.5 - 4 Stars ***
Expected Publication: June 23, 2020

Arden Maynor was sleepwalking during a rainstorm as a child and was swept away, missing for days. Somehow, days later she was found hanging onto a storm drain. One can only imagine the media attention that ensued from this miraculous recovery, and therefore Arden changed her name to Olivia and moved away, trying to leave her old life behind. Until many years later, she is again sleepwalking and awakened outside in her yard with a dead body at her feet. Not only was there a dead body in her yard, it was someone she knows.

This was my first read by Megan Miranda and I did enjoy her writing style. She intermixed current day with media/police transcripts from the days Arden/Olivia went missing as a child which I enjoyed as it explained more of what Olivia went through. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters but because of that I didn't trust anyone, and thought everyone was a suspect which, lead to the mystery and suspense of the story.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Miranda is quite good at writing books that leave me with no idea who to trust. This one gave me a few scares.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free read in exchange for an honest review

Megan Miranda has done it again! If you loved the juicy hidden secrets of her other books, you'll love The Girl from Widow Hills. This is a book you pick up and are suddenly 200 pages in because you can't stop turning the pages. And the ending was masterfully crafted - I truly did not see the twist coming and reveled in the surprising, twisty reveal.

When Arden Maynor was six years old, she was swept away by floodwaters while sleepwalking, spurring a three-day manhunt that gained nationwide coverage as rescuers frantically searched for "the Girl from Widow Hills," finding her clinging to life and to a drain grate three days later. It was a miracle. Arden's mother wrote a book, made talk show appearances, and Arden quickly became the kind of celebrity no one wants to be - reporters waiting at the door each year on the anniversary, too many letters in the mail, emails and phone calls. When Arden turned 18, she changed her name and Olivia Meyer moved away to disappear into her newly private life.

As the 20th anniversary of her rescue nears, Olivia has built a life for herself in Central Valley where no one knows she is the Girl from Widow Hills. But a package in the mail triggers old memories that set off a new bout of sleepwalking, and when Olivia wakes up outside with the body of a man she knew in her previous life as Arden at her feet, her past has caught up with her and she doesn't know what's coming next.

Miranda does an excellent job building the suspense in this novel, feeding you different possibilities and suspicions that keep you on edge and unsure until the very end. This book can be compulsively read in one sitting, leaving you as shocked as Olivia at the unexpected conclusion. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

***ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review***
I don't think I have enough words to explain my love for this author. This story is no different than any of her others just perfect. It'so suspenseful to the point where you in the last 10% and you still don't know what you think you should have figured out by this point. Its a must read.

Wow. What a spellbinding thriller. As a mother of 4.5-year-olds, this really hit me thinking about the possibility that my own child might sleepwalk and be swept away! I was relieved when she was found again, but her life would never be the same... When she wakes up, almost twenty years later after a sleepwalking episode next to a dead body, things really pick up the pace.

I was easily able to read this in 1 day, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you Netgalley & Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

This is the second book I have read by this author. She really knows how to write a good thriller. At first I had a hard time getting into the story of Arden/Olivia getting lost in a flash flood all those years ago, but after a murder at her home in present day I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. As always, I was stumped on how I thought the story ended.

Definitely give this one a read!

A dark, hypnotic tale about the danger of becoming the stories you tell, The Girl From Widow Hills is beautiful and sinister, with a haunting, atmospheric heart. What happens to the people who find themselves at those sensational news stories that capture the nation’s attention? Where do they go after the story has finished? Is it ever finished?

The Girl From Widow Hills tells the story of Arden Maynor, who was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a rainstorm. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain days later.

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. But with the 20th anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. And when she wakes up one night outside, in her yard, the corpse of a man at her feet, the girl from Widow Hills will become the center of the story, once again.

I loved the way the story is sprinkled with interviews and broadcasts from the time of the flood. The characters felt real and authentic, and there were plenty of shocking twists thrown in, too. Everything I love in a suspense book. If you're looking for a gripping summer read, look no further. I highly recommend!

A big thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda had me hooked from the beginning. Really interesting to see things from the perspective of a child caught in one of the sensational trapped in a drain (or the like) stories. Loved the character and the mystery behind who done it. I think I had it figured out a few times only to not really have it figured out yet. This book definitely kept me hooked.

I very much enjoyed this one by Megan Miranda! The Last House Guest still remains my favorite, but this comes in at a close second! This book takes you for a ride- you're introduced to a major plot line early on and everything builds seamlessly from there. With a complete cast of suspects, Miranda creates a twisty web that is very fun to weave and work your way through. Whether you're a longtime Miranda fan or just now discovering her, pick this one up (and then go pick up all her other work)! Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Megan Miranda for this e-ARC!

The main character of this novel, Olivia, became famous as a child for disappearing while sleepwalking during a storm and then being rescued 3 days later from a storm drain. 20 years on, she has outgrown the sleepwalking, changed her name, and tried to escape from her former fame/notoriety. But then her mom dies, she starts sleepwalking again, and next thing she knows she wakes up from sleepwalking standing over a dead body near her house... And that's all really just the beginning of the book as things proceed from there. I really enjoy Megan Miranda's thrillers - they have a good combination of elements you can guess and total surprises, but without going completely off the rails towards the end as so many thrillers do.

When Arden Olivia Maynor was 6-years-old she sleepwalked out of her house during a violent storm, was presumably whisked underground by the flooding, and was missing for three days, finally found clinging to the underside of a grate. Now, 20 years later, she's Olivia Meyer and just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, one night she wakes up outside, tripping over a dead body, someone from her past...

This was another fun summer thriller, perfect for a quick read when you don't want to think too hard and just go with it. I liked the Megan Miranda books I've read previously, and this was no exception. Yes, you have to suspend disbelief a bit, and the ending is pretty far out there, but it still worked.

I thought Olivia could have asked more questions about her own childhood when she had a chance, but at the same time, it seems very human to accept as truth what you're told by your parents when you're that age. I also liked that the author didn't feel the need to throw a random romance into the middle of this book just for the heck of it, and just allowed platonic relationships to evolve as they would. It was nice to read a thriller that focused on the thriller part.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book. It has not influenced my opinion.

Another WIN from Megan Miranda! Each and every book is different! The best part is ... the twist I never see coming! I recommend all of her books to my friends and have read every single one! This one will be a great summer thriller!

She's the girl who lived. Arden Maynor survived a hellish ordeal as a child and received national attention. But she doesn't even remember it and just wants everyone else to forget too and leave her alone...

She doesn't get her wish.

This book did a really great job of creating a creepy atmosphere. The characters were checking over their shoulders and locking doors and it made you want to do the same. That was what I loved best about this book.

Honestly... the plot seemed a little way out there.... BUT if you can suspend believability it was a entertaining read with a nice creep factor!

MY RATING
Characters: 4
Story: 3
Overall: 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!!
See this & more reviews @ mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com