This was a fun thriller that kept me turning the pages; I raced through it in only two sittings.

The story is about Arden Maynor, who as a child was missing for three days following a flash flood; media coverage of the search and Arden's miraculous rescue turned her into a national celebrity. As an adult, Arden thinks she has succeeded in creating a new life for herself away from the fame and everything that brings: she goes by Olivia, has no contact with her mother, has never told anyone about what happened to her when she was six years old. However, things go wrong when Arden/Olivia is notified that her mother has died, and not long after that Arden/Olivia's childhood tendency to sleepwalk returns, and one night she wakes up next to a dead body. Arden/Olivia is used to keeping people at a distance and hiding her secrets, so of course she doesn't know who to trust anymore, because nearly everyone in her life is a suspect - including herself.

Overall I thought this was a well-crafted psychological thriller. The story starts out simple enough, but quickly becomes more complicated as details about Arden/Olivia's disappearance and its effects on her are revealed, both through the main story, and in transcripts of letters, 911 calls, and interviews that are dispersed between chapters. I was so invested in this book that I stayed up late reading it, then got up early to finish it before work the next day - I absolutely didn't see the ending coming until the last few pages when I finally saw where Miranda had been leading me all along.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me this ARC of Megan Miranda’s latest. I had read one of the author’s books in the past and thought it was only average but decided to try again with The Girl from Widow Hills. Wow, what a difference. I thought this book was excellent. I could not figure out who the guilty party was and kept see sawing back and forth and second guessing myself. When it was revealed, I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it coming but I didn’t. Any one who is already a Miranda fan will of course love this, but if you haven’t read her and just enjoy a good mystery, start here.

Megan Miranda’s books have been on my to-be-read list for some time now and I have finally read her most recent book and it was amazing. I was up late into the night finishing this book!

Arden Maynor is known as the child who surprisingly survived three nights in a storm drain during a flood. It was widely believed that six-year-old Arden had been sleepwalking when she left her home and became lost.

Once rescued, Arden had no memory of her ordeal, but she did have some lingering effects from the trauma of the event. Due to the publicity, Arden decides to change her name and moves to a new state, working in administration at a small hospital.

When Arden gets word that her mother has died, she seems to have a sudden relapse of sleepwalking. She receives a box in the mail with her mother’s things, but there was not much inside and most of the items related to her disappearance as a child.

One night when Arden is sleepwalking, she stumbles across a dead man at the edge of her property. Even though she does not recognize him, she finds out he is a man from her past.
At this point, Arden begins questioning everything she knows about herself and the people in her life.

The ending had a surprising twist that I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend this one to readers who love a good mystery/thriller. This is one that you won’t want to pass up!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

'I'm the girl who survived.'

Although this is Arden/Olivia's line, it should have been mine. This was not a terribly interesting book. Dare I say, I was bored through ninety percent of the story.

Mildly atmospheric, yes, but even that felt diluted to me...just like the characters and the mystery itself. I was underwhelmed.

And can I just mention, as an RN who has worked at multiple hospitals around the country, I've never seen or heard of one like hospital described in this story. A medicine room on the administrative wing? Patient rooms in the administrative wing? A nurse's lounge on the administrative wing? Boy, ummm...that's all very convenient to the nurses. Or not.

"Nurse, get me epinephrine, stat!"

"Sure thing, just let me run up three flights of stairs, type in codes on every door I come to, and run back down the stairs to get that for you, doctor."

(These are not actual lines from the book, just me making a point.)

2.5 average stars
Pick up your own copy on June 23rd!

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.**

I’m officially a MM Fangirl ❤️. This was the perfect beach-read whiling-away-the-hours (that flew by) 1st summer book of the season.

Shortest Summary Ever: Arden Maynor was a little sleep-walking girl swept away in a flood. After 3 days she was rescued. Now she is 26 yr old Olivia Meyer - renamed and reinvented, moved away from the notoriety and small town fame that’s followed her her whole life. The problem is her former life seems to be following her. And then there’s the dead body and a connection to her mysterious past...

My thoughts: It’s coronavirus quarantine time and this book was like a much-needed trip for my mind where I happily escaped. The pacing is quick, the story well-formed, and the suspense taut. As a mystery connoisseur, I enjoyed the twists👏🏼 and relished the turns 👍🏼. I was sitting outside as twilight faded into night at about 90% and I couldn’t put it down. Then I heard a noise and jumped. Lol... so yes it was THAT good. All the heebies and a few jeebies. This is my 3rd Miranda book and she is officially the queen of the “Middle Mystery” - contemporary, not too gruesome, but not cozy - just right when you’re in the mood for a departure from corona boredom but not wanting to be so scared you hide under the bed (don’t judge). What I respect is that the author’s topics in each novel are varied, crafted into situations that make me pause and think. This one drew me back to the “baby Jessica” (in the well?) from the 80’s. I wondered if that’s how life was for her... hmmm... so to start there and come up with a constructed mystery? You get all the claps from me.

All my reviews available at scrappymags.com

Genre: Mystery/thriller

Recommend to: perfect beach read, a medium mystery - not too gritty.

Not recommended to: you have to put up with a little redundancy in the flashback/memories of the flood, but it’s worth it.

Thank you to the author and Simon & Schuster for the ARC and my always-honest reviews. Thanks for keeping me on my porch and the 5 mosquito bites because I could NOT out this down. 😂

When Arden Maynor was a child she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Against all odds, she was found, alive. However, the fame, fans, and stalkers became too much and when she was old enough she disappeared. Now she goes by Olivia, who has managed to stay off the radar. But with the 20th anniversary of her rescue approaching, she begins to feel like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again. Until one night she she awakes in her yard and at her feet is the corpse of a man she knows from her previous life.

I think this was my favorite Megan Miranda book so far. I thought the plot for this book was different with a little creepy value thrown in. This book does move slowly, however there’s enough mystery and excitement that it does make it a page-turner. My biggest issue was I felt there were a lot of secondary characters and some were unnecessary. The author left a lot of their storylines very unresolved, which I’m not sure if it was intentional.

There were parts of the book that I felt were very repetitive. In between each chapter were articles, 911 calls, etc. from the night Arden disappeared. I don’t believe they brought anything new to the story and acted more as a filler. I was also shocked by the ending. I think the author introduced so many characters to the story to throw you off your track on who the villain was. I’m not sure if I liked the ending or not. Also, for how “slow” paced the book was overall I felt the ending was very rushed and would have enjoyed more explanation.

Overall, great Summer read - not going to change your life thriller, but exciting nonetheless.
Pub: 6.23

I was very excited to dive into this book! It was actually my very first Megan Miranda read. However, this wasn’t quite a 4 or 5 star read for me for a few small but important reasons. I personally felt that our main character Olivia just had a very dry personality. She has clearly endured a lot of trauma in her life, but the narration was very short and almost bland, and I found it difficult to distinguish anything memorable about Olivia other than the history that she is known for. There were also some aspects of the storyline that just didn’t connect or add up for me.

With that being said, this story did have a few interesting and unexpected twists and was easy to read once you got used to the narration style. I also really enjoyed how this story pretty much starts out with a bang, getting right into the mystery aspect.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was curious as to how it would unfold up until the very end. I would recommend this one to my fellow readers because it is an interesting concept and as I said, did have a few twists. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this Ebook version in advance in exchange for my honest review! This book is available on June 23rd, 2020!

Quick read. I enjoyed this book and I did not see the twist coming. Thanks to Netgalley for a digital advance copy.

Do you ever read a book and have two completely different thoughts on that book at once? That's where I'm at with this. For most of this book, I was all like, I LOVE THIS BOOK. But then there were a small handful parts of this book where I was like, WTF seriously? COME ON! Well, that is me. Overall, I loved this book. However, there were a few parts that were so UUGGHHH, that I was rolling my eyes.

I'm not going to give you a book report like most of the early "reviews" have done. I'm going to give you a quick rundown of what I liked and didn't like about the book/characters. So here I go...

This, like the authors previous books, is a pretty unique take on reinventing oneself and hiding from one's past. The concept itself isn't new, but the story truly stands on its own as unique. 

The characters in this one worked well for me. Some irked me, but they were supposed to, so I can't be mad about that. The interactions were believable and mostly realistic. I knew who most of the good and bad guys were. Mostly. This is a thriller and mystery. So obviously not everything is as it seems. I was in no way disappointed on the character front.

The flow of the book mostly breezes at a good pace. There are a few lulls that I could have done without. They were filler and completely unnecessary. Some were even eye roll worthy. 

The twists and turns were mostly aha-moments. There were a few that were from left field, that left me shaking my head, but not deal breakers. For the most part, the twists in this story hit at just the right time and had me wanting to get to the end even more.

I think I had an inkling on some of the things that happened at the end, early on. However, I dismissed them. Early on, I glossed over them. I think that was the point though. So when isht got real, I had to shake my head at myself for overlooking some things I thought were insignificant.

There was one loose end that was never really tied up in the book. Many might not even notice it. Maybe we're supposed to assume that it was A or B (so to speak), but it's not explicitly covered in the book. It's been bothering me since it happened. I wanted to know. But now I don't know for sure.

Overall, this book is GOOD. If you're a fan of this author, you will certainly enjoy this one. If you haven't read this author, it will be a good introduction to her work.

3.5 stars Olivia has managed to escape her past and start a new life where no one knows her real name or her history. Formerly Arden Maynor, the 6 year old child who was swept away in a flood while sleepwalking and found 3 days later holding on for her life. The story started a media frenzy that ended up ruining her life. But when she starts sleepwalking again and awakes in her yard next to a dead body, her past comes back to haunt her and she becomes a murder suspect.

This was an entertaining mystery. I feel like it started a bit slow but it did eventually pick up and then I had to finish and see what would happen. I started to suspect everyone midway through the book. This is a great book to pick up if you like mysteries with unreliable characters and a fair amount of action.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.pick up a copy June 23; 2020,

I volunteered to read this book, in exchange for an honest review through netgalley. Oh my goodness guys. Megan Miranda has done it again. This book is well written and the characters are described well. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to find out what happened next. I definitely can't wait to read more by this author. You guys need to get this book. It is so good. It has a twist of a ending.

Megan Miranda is quickly becoming one of my auto-read authors. I think this one is my favorite so far! Tense and twisty, it really kept me guessing right up to the surprising resolution.

I heard some rave reviews about this, and I love the genre, so I was excited to check this out. Sadly, it just didn't work for me.

First off the pacing was way too slow. I had a hard time staying engaged. It's unfortunate, as the premise of a sleepwalking six-year-old girl who's swept away by a flood and missing for days is an interesting premise. The whole time, however, it just felt like that "pop" I was expecting, and eagerly waiting for, was missing. There were some intriguing reveals and I did enjoy the ending, but it was a bit too late by that point to warrant a higher rating.

Megan Miranda is a five-star author for me. I enjoyed all the characters in this book. Even the characters I should have disposed of. Each character spins their own story through details the add and ignore.

At first, I couldn’t see where the story was going. Towards the end, there were several big reveals.

This book would make a great beach or quarantine read.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

Kudos to Megan Miranda for another awesome thriller! Arden Maynor was only six years old when she sleepwalked into the night and fell into a drainage system where she was found three days later clinging to a grate. Luckily she survived and the whole story created quite a sensation in her small town of Widow Hills. The story kept reappearing over the years, and a traumatized Arden changed her name to Olivia Meyer and tried to begin a new life in Kentucky. Then some strange things start happening - she has the feeling of being watched, and she's sleepwalking again. One night she wakes up out in the woods next to a dead body.

There were so many possible explanations and suspects here I really had no idea who had killed the man, who was watching Olivia, and who she should trust. The story was kind of unbelievable, but I was sucked in anyway and was engrossed in the story and couldn't wait to find out what was really happening. I felt bad for Olivia, but always considered her a suspect too. Good plot and characters. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy thrillers.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the rare thrillers where I had absolutely no idea where the story would go — which is a very, very good thing. The first 25% or so was a little hard for me to get into, but then I couldn't put it down.

Things I love:
- So many twists, and very few that I actually predicted
- Lots of characters who may or may not be up to no good
- An interesting backstory that escapes many of the tropes of the genre

I was happy to receive a copy of Megan Miranda’s latest book from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review because, although I can’t remember the details, I do remember liking The Last House Guest (2019). I. expected a mystery/thriller that was not necessarily a book club pick, but something to take me away from the current pandemic for a day or two.

There are those stories that capture the media’s attention, frequently featuring an attractive white female of some age. Think Natalee Holloway, Elizabeth Smart, or “Baby Jessica” McClure (the girl in the well). Sometimes even a cute little boy (Steven Stayner). If you’ve ever wondered about the impact on the families, or what a child who survives a childhood trauma and the resulting PTSD goes through, The Girl From Widow Hills is for you!

Olivia is a young woman who lives in a remote part of North Carolina and works as a hospital administrator. Years ago, there was a huge rainstorm and flood that swept away everything in its path, including a young girl named Arden Maynor who was sleepwalking during the storm. Three days later, the six year old was found, miraculously alive, clinging to a storm drain. The media went nuts, her mother wrote a book, and the Maynor family endured the gazillions of fans, letters, creepy stalkers, and generally unwanted attention. Every year on the anniversary of the rescue, it all comes back to the forefront of the news.

So as soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from public view. As the twentieth anniversary gets closer, Arden, know known as Olivia, starts sleepwalking again, and one night she wakes up in her yard, next to the corpse of a man she knew when she was Arden.

Hooked yet? I was. It’s not extremely fast-paced, but is a steady read with twists and turns and clues along the way (which, not surprisingly for me, didn’t give away the ending). Recommended for a quick read, a “beach book” (if only we were able to go to the beach to sit and read), and in general for mystery/thriller fans. Four stars.

I’ve really enjoyed Megan Miranda’s last three books, so I was happy to get an advance copy of this book. And she’s don’t it again - another five star book. It’s an interesting premise for a book. While sleepwalking, a six year old girl is swept away by a flood and is found alive three days later, clinging to a storm drain. As a young woman, she changed her name to escape the media attention. She’s even estranged from her mother, who capitalized on her daughter's experience. “The case made all of us, and then it unmade us.”
It’s now twenty years later and as the anniversary of her miraculous survival approaches, she learns of her mother’s death. Oh, and she begins sleepwalking again.
The book starts off very slowly for a mystery. We’re given alternating chapters of the present day with interviews and broadcasts from the time of the flood. The book is almost a third gone before a dead body shows up in her woods. It’s not a fast paced book. But there’s a nice edgy tone, that feeling that we, like Olivia, are off balance. Right up until the very end of the book, I couldn’t figure out what the resolution would be.
My thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

This was my first Megan Miranda book and it won’t be my last. If you like psychological thrillers, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on this one coming out 6/23/20 - thanks so much to Netgalley and Simon & Schafer for the advanced copy!

A troubling past ✔️
Suspense ✔️
Sleepwalking ✔️
Mysterious murder ✔️

The Girl from Widow Hills was good! I liked it, but felt like something was missing. This book was kinda like corn flakes. Not Frosted Flakes, not with fruit added, just plain corn flakes. Good...has some substance, but not spectacular. If you enjoy a quick read thriller, then check it out!