This was another gripping read by one of my favorite thriller writers. The author has created a unique story about a six year old girl that sleep walks and then goes missing for three days before she is found. Twenty years later, after moving and changing her name, her past catches up with her as the twentieth anniversary of the incident is once again in the media. People from her past as well as those in her new life all come under the microscope as the thrilling story progresses. Well done from a talented author! #TheGirlFromWidowHills #MeganMiranda #NetGalley

The Girl from Widow Hills started strong. What a premise! Girl goes missing as a child while sleep-walking, girl starts new life, old life comes to find her. I truly do believe that people can change, but we can never truly overcome our past.
And that’s the life that Olivia is living. On the surface, she’s successful enough. She’s carved out a life for herself in a small town, working as an administrator at the town’s claim to fame- and main employer, a mid-sized hospital. She’s even bought herself an old farm house on a huge lot.
But there’s a lot missing and there’s trouble in her life. Like the fact that she has been estranged from her mother for years, and just found out she recently passed. That she has recently broken up with a boy toy- because he never took her seriously enough to call her a girlfriend, and that she probably isn’t hugely capable of having a true relationship. Oh, and the fact that she tripped over a body in her front yard while sleep-walking. Oops!
All-in-all, it was a good enough plot, but for me the story unfolded very slowly and it was hard for me to truly get into. If I really had to nitpick, it also wasn’t my absolute favorite type of ending, where out of nowhere, everything gets tied up nicely with a bow and I’m left wondering why the narrator hadn’t seen any of that coming from a mile away.
Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out June 23, 2020. My review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on May 25, 2020.

This book was just "okay" to me. A bit slow and I couldn't figure out why people would be mad at someone who had survived a tragedy as a child. The part about people thinking she "owed them" because they prayed for her when she was little was a bit much for me to buy into. I'm a Megan Miranda fan, but this was not my favorite.

Torn from the headlines, reminiscent of the story of Baby Jessica from the 80's (a girl stuck in a well, the whole country watching, praying for her) comes the wildly entertaining newest story from Megan Miranda, The plot sounded so interesting and familiar. 20 years ago, Arden Maynor, from Widow Hills, KY, was swept away in a storm while sleepwalking. The town, the country, everyone was on the edge of their seats hoping and praying for her healthy return. Three days later, nobody was more worried than Arden's mother, and she was found underground, stuck in a drain by a hero, Sean Coleman. The country rejoiced her healthy return and then some unwanted yet lucrative fame ensued.
20 years later, Arden has changed her name to escape her unwanted fame and moved on with her life, until a dead body turns up at her feet while sleepwalking. And her past comes roaring back to haunt her as the trauma of her childhood is re-visited. She can't remember how she found the dead body and begins to wonder, did she have something to do with it? Then enter, creepy stalker, conspiracy theorist and a missing best friend. This story takes you on a wild ride as you wonder who can you trust and with an unreliable narrator who can barely remember her childhood that made her so famous.
This book had me gripping the kindle in anticipation, I went from blaming one character to the next, never sure what was around the corner. I was starting to doubt the unlikeliest of characters when the bombshell of an ending had me tearing across the pages in utter disbelief and excitement! YOU WON"T SEE the ending coming and it will leave you completely satisfied.

The Girl from Widow Hills focuses on Arden, a girl who captured the attention of the media at age 6 by sleepwalking out of her home in the middle of the night. She was caught in a storm and found under a storm grate three days later. As an adult, she’s tried to shed all of the notoriety and attention that came from that and settled in a seemingly quiet, unassuming town. She has a great job, good friends, and has made a home for herself. Suddenly, the past comes back into play when she receives a mysterious visitor. However, things aren’t all that they seem to be, and Arden suddenly begins to doubt the intentions of everyone around her.
This book is well-written with a well-developed, albeit somewhat predictable, plot.

Megan Miranda can tell details in a way that draws me in quickly and deeply. This book was no exception and in my opinion, the strongest she's done since The Missing Girls. This story really reminded me of Baby Jessica. Definitely some similarities to the true-life story and if you don't know what I'm talking about, do check it out. But this is about this particular book. So when our main character, Arden (Olivia,) was a young child, she went missing for three days and was found in a storm drain. This (just like baby Jessica) received a great deal of media attention and her mother wrote a book about the experience. Obviously, this is a lot to deal with so she eventually moves away and changes her name to get away from the past and her new name: "the girl from Widow Hills."

Fast forward and one night, she begins sleepwalking again and awakens from an episode outside her house. She discovers the body of a man at her feet and her hands are covered in blood. But, as the story unfolds, the reader can't really determine if Olivia is a liar or truly can't remember what happened to her - that night, or two decades ago when she was swept away. In the first chapter, Olivia's response (relief tinged with guilt) to the news about her mother's death is the first clue that all was not as it seemed twenty years ago. Throughout the novel, Olivia is more and more secretive and weird about her privacy.

My final thoughts to leave here are: Be careful who you trust because in the end, you may be able to change your name, image, livelihood, whatever but you cannot change who you are. No spoilers. Thank you, Publishers and Net Galley. I loved this one as I always do Megan Miranda's books!

I really liked All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda but I struggled through this book. It started off slow and stayed that way for a long time. But then at 80%, something shifted and a huge twist came into play that I did not see coming. A little after that ANOTHER BIG TWIST came out of nowhere and I had an a-ha moment!! Holy cow!!!! What an ending! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I really struggled to finish this book. They were a few time I wanted to just stop reading and call it quits. But I kept reading. The reason for a 3 stars was because it did not end the way I had thought it would. It ended up being an ok read for me.

Great psychological thriller and a unique story line. I love Megan Miranda books and this book delivered with suspense and intrigue. It took a little to get going, but once it did, I did not want to put it down. This will be a great summer read for those who love psychological thrillers. I rate it a solid four stars

I’ve been reading Megan Miranda for YEARS and her books just keep getting better and better! The Girl from Widow Hills may be my new favorite of hers, and honestly one of the few books I’ve been able to stay engaged in in the current quarantine stress fest. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and twists of this one, and definitely did not see the ending coming!

An original story line with a couple of unexpected twists. Trying to escape her notoriety a young woman has relocated and changed her name. She has spent most of her life as "the little girl who" and just wants to be left to live her life as a normal person. Circumstances place her in the middle of a murder investigation where the only clues to the present crime can be found in her life as that little girl who......

I absolutely loved The Last House Guest so I had very high hopes for The Girl from Widow Hills. It absolutely lived up! I was completely hooked from the minute this book started. No spoilers, but why is there a corpse at Arden's (AKA Olivia, but that's another story)'s feet? Read this book to find out!

Olivia was the girl from Widow Hills you read about, the girl you prayed for, the girl you knew as Arden. The girl forced to change her name to rebuild her life. Slowly, her past backing to haunt her and Olivia learns that what she thought happened might not be the true story of what occurred nearly two decades ago.
Suspenseful story that will remind some readers of Baby Jessica years ago.
"You become the stories you tell - I'd learned that much from my mother."
"The truest type of story is the kin you tell all alone, to yourself."

Easy book to recommend to readers looking for a suspense read with just the right amount of twists.

Possibly my favorite Megan Miranda to date.

Another great read by Megan Miranda! This was a good mystery story about Arden, who now goes by Olivia. She was at the center of a dramatic search and rescue twenty years ago and as the anniversary approaches, so does her anxiety and stress. This story kept my interest right from the start and it read quickly. I was hoping for a little bit more at the end or an epilogue because I wanted to know even more about the characters. I will continue to read all of Megan Miranda's books and I can't wait to read the next one! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ehhhhh. I enjoyed reading this book but a lot of things about it bothered me. First of all, the 2000 incident didn’t seem sensational enough to have caused such a fuss, let alone 20 years later. A kidnapping or serial theme might have made for a more believable story. Also, like in many thrillers, the ending/resolution happened too quickly relative to the rest of the story. The first 90% was a little slow, and in the remainder things went down so fast I could barely follow the chain of events. It was attention capturing and engaging, though. 3 stars.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Simon & Schuster, for my ARC! I am a huge Megan Miranda fan. There isn't one book by her I haven't enjoyed. This one was no exception. I liked that before every chapter, the author gives a glimpse into the protagonist's past life, with old interviews and news from what made the protagonist rather "hometown famous" as a child. I thought was a clever, unique way to weave the past into the story. The whole book I wondered "whodunnit" and the twists and turns made it so I couldn't stop reading. I highly reccommend!

The beginning of the book was a little slow. For 80% of the book you are bouncing around between 3 characters on who actually killed the man outside Olivia’s house, but the ending more then makes up for it. Did not see that twist coming!

After experiencing and surviving a terrifying childhood trauma, Arden Maynor has moved away from where she grew up, changed her name and done her best to forget and move on from her tragedy. That all changes one night when she stumbles over a corpse in her yard. Her relationship to the deceased becomes a key in solving the murder, as well as unleashing facts that bring into question what really happened to her when she was a child.

As with all of Miranda’s books, I devoured this. I was hooked from the start and by the end, I couldn’t stop reading until I figured out what happened. I found the plot to be intriguing and captivating. Miranda is excellent at creating a hook and slowly reeling the reader in for a heart pounding finale. Readers of Lisa Unger, Wendy Walker and Alafair Burke will relish this.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Megan Miranda for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS
BY MEGAN MIRANDA

I absolutely loved Megan Miranda's first book called, "ALL OF THE MISSING GIRLS." I read that in 2016 and thought it was incredibly innovative and unforgettable. This latest novel called, "The Girl From Widow Hills," has been eagerly anticipated by me to read, so you can imagine how excited I was to read and review an ARC. I had been saving it like a special treat as a gift to myself and decided that I was torturing myself by reading other novels first. I liked the beginning and it was a fast read until about half way through and it started to lose its propulsive suspense. To be fair to the author sometimes they write such an outstanding first debut novel that high expectations for their future books could possibly set the standards for their future books to be just as high. When that doesn't happen whose fault is it the reader or the writer?

This is maybe unfair of me to expect the same mind blowing results as I read her latest work. I am the last person whom to place such high expectations each time. However, since I have read other author's work and loved everything they write for the most part I admit that although this one was still good and because the ending was fantastic that I still enjoyed it I would rate this a solid four stars. I was loving it and enjoyed it but was slightly disappointed that it wasn't as good all the way through as her first book. I think there are many good things about this one that I admired and I haven't yet read her third book but I am looking forward to it as it takes place in Maine, which borders my State and it is just a 25 minute car ride and I go there often.

This one held my attention and has an intriguing premise. I loved the protagonist named Olivia and thought the premise was clever. I wasn't really ever bored but it didn't keep building the suspense from the half way mark until the ending. I applaud the author for the way she surprised me in her final reveal of who the culprit was. I didn't even come close to guessing and had to go back and read the ending because I was so shocked and a little confused about how much culpability and just how much responsibility did the surprising character at the final reveal hold in all of the events that happened? It was a bit muddled about which character did what and how much. Although this isn't my favorite I think Megan Miranda fans will enjoy this and I do wish this book, Megan Miranda and the publisher, Simon & Schuster the best of luck and am grateful for having the chance to read an ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley, Megan Miranda and Simon & Schuster Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Publication Date: June 23, 2020

#TheGirlFromWidowHills #MeganMiranda #Simon&SchusterPublishing #NetGalley

I actually enjoyed this one!

3.75 stars

The Girl from Widow Hills is a psychological thriller about a girl who became a sensation when she went missing as a child. 20 years later, the events from the past have come back to haunt her, causing her to question all that she thought she knew.

Olivia has worked hard to bury her past, including changing her name, moving around, and isolating herself from others. When she was six years old, her story captivated the nation. She was the little girl who went missing during a terrible storm but was found clinging to a storm drain. She and her mother became famous, capitalizing on her experience, feeding her mother’s addiction. As hard as Olivia has worked to shed any association with her past, when she receives a box of her mother’s belongings, her past is reawakened, leading to murder, mayhem, and craziness, as Olivia begins sleepwalking and wakes up one night to find herself with a dead body.

Narrated by Olivia in the present, media transcripts, newspaper reports, book excerpts, voice mails, piece together a fragmented past. Olivia is an unreliable narrator, and there are a lot of holes in her story, some of which are left unresolved in the end.

After not loving Megan Miranda’s past two novels, I went into this one with low expectations. If I didn't like this book, I was going to be done reading books by MM. I was pleasantly surprised when I got hooked early on and found myself enjoying this! Similar to other MM novels, this one moves slowly, but at the same time, there’s enough intrigue surrounding Olivia’s past and current events to make it a page-turner. There are two major mysteries, one involving Olivia's past, the other in the present. Part of the mystery is easy to solve, while other elements threw me for a loop. Other parts were left unresolved, which might have been intentional, but I wanted answers! The ending was also a bit rushed. At the same time, the mysteries kept me riveted. Overall, The Girl from Widow Hills is a solid thriller, and I will definitely be reading Megan Miranda's next book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.