This was a slow-moving novel from Megan Miranda. To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy it. The story spends a lot of time building the atmosphere, which it does quite well. You get a sense of the place and can feel the isolation of the location clearly. However, what the story develops in atmosphere it loses with the character - most of them felt flat and I did not feel a connection to any of them (so had trouble caring about the situation). Unfortunately I don’t recommend this one.

This was another interesting suspenseful book from this author. The setting is a touristy mountain town. The area has become known as a place where people have mysteriously gone missing. Abby has been living in Cutter’s Pass the last ten years and is working at an Inn. She has questions about the missing people but is still trying to be accepted by the people in the strange tight knit town. This is a slow build atmospheric story and there are some interesting twists and turns. Check this one out if you are looking for a book with suspense.

Cutters Pass has an infamous history. It seems people who go there tend to go missing. The most infamous case was the one of the fraternity four followed by two other girls going missing at different times. Most recently a journalist Landon West went to investigate what was going on at Cutters Pass and he too disappears. You see Cutters Pass is out in the country and has rough terrain and lots of forest so you can easily get lost.

When Landons brother refuses to accept his brothers disappearance he shows up at Cutters Pass to do his own investigation. What he uncovers is something nobody expected.

I have read a few books now by this author and really enjoyed them all. However, for some reason I had trouble getting into this one and it just fell flat for me. I found it hard to connect with any of the characters and couldn’t seem to follow the storyline that well. The ending of the book definitely picked up for me and was a good surprise that did redeem the book for me somewhat. This is just my opinion but I think everyone has different tastes and you should give this one a shot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderfully atmospheric, slow burn thriller. The best part was the descriptions of the town of Cutter’s Pass. A moody, mysterious and isolated town, on the edge of the mountains, Cutter’s Pass is definitely the best character in the book! After a series of seemingly unconnected disappearances spanning decades, the townsfolk have turned inward and insular and our main character, Abby, must navigate the hidden tries and connections between the close-knit townies. I loved the tension between Abby and the town and it’s inhabitants as she tries to make sense of the town’s mysteries while healing from her own past tragedies. One of my favourite reads this year!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Miranda and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Miranda's writing and her last novel wasn't my favourite of hers, but this one definitely was. I was thoroughly immersed into this story and I kept feeling like I was on the trail of these missing people in this little tourist town, but I was never on the right track. I loved the main character and would really recommend to those who have enjoyed Miranda's writing in the past.

First of all, thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda is a slow burn of a story. We follow Abby Lovett, who has spent the last ten years working at an inn in the small mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. The town has been haunted by a series of unsolved disappearances, most recently a journalist who came to town to investigate these unexplained vanishings. The journalist’s brother, Trey, arrives to ask questions and seems to have secrets of his own. Things unfold from there.

This is my third Megan Miranda and in the past I’ve found her books to be slow and a little boring, but this one redeemed her for me. It was still slow paced, but the intrigue and suspense were constant and I never lost interest.

The setting is a huge part of the story and the author does a great job of placing the reader right in the middle of the mountains of North Carolina. The cast of characters is well drawn and varied. Miranda does a great job of dropping hints to make everyone untrustworthy. There are lots of secrets revealed and lots of surprising twists.

I’ll definitely keep picking up her books. Stick with this one and you won’t be disappointed.

I loved this book!

Thanks NetGalley for an advance e-copy for an honest review

I loved this story! A small town where people start going missing, anyone out of town who comes along and asks questions slwint get any answers from the town people.

Our main character works at the lodge/inn and slowly tries to figure out what happened and slowly finds that all the missing hikers are connected.

I loved the ending. Omg LOVED IT!!!!

This was so hard to get into. I don't know how many times I tried. It feels like I never really did get into it, honestly. It seemed like nothing happened throughout the story. The mystery surrounding the missing people who never made it out of Cutter's Pass held my interest. It wasn't what I was expecting. The twists were really good. It is a solid story. I recommend it if you like slow burns.

This book was incredible, the setting was very realistic (having just visited a mountain resort myself) and the characters were a lot of fun. The twists were surprising and I definitely didn't guess the ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I love love love Megan Miranda's books. The characters are always well developed and the stories are always more complicated that one expects. This book is no exception - a decades old mystery is connected to recent disappearances. Follow Abby as she becomes enmeshed in the history of a town who, after living there for 10 years, still considers her an outsider. A fast-paced read that will keep you guessing until the end.

Read if you like: murder mystery, small-town vibe.
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Abbey has worked and lived in Cutter's Pass for ten years at the Inn at the base of a hiking trail. The town has been the location of a string of disappearances, the last being a few months ago. When the brother of the latest missing person arrives at the inn, Abby begins investigating the disappearance and starts to unravel a number of secrets that the town has been hiding.
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This book was a slow start and I wasn't sure about it, but I became a bit more invested as I read on. I liked Abby as the main character, and I definitely didn't guess some of the twists, which was fun.
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CW: disappearances, murder, gun violence, cancer, death of a parent, drug use and addiction.

If you like a slow pace thriller with a wild ending then this is the book for you. The pay off the ending made beginning and some of the book worth it. I’ve read a few slower thrillers lately and it’s a preference for me but I just need more in the beginning. I still recommend this book and think many people will enjoy it!

New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda gives us a captivating mystery/thriller that begins with the disappearance of a journalist who is investigating a string of vanishings in Cutter's Pass NC, a small town in the mountains near the Appalachian trails.
Seven people have vanished without a trace in the past 20 years.
Abby Lovett has lived in Cutter's Pass and worked at the Passage Inn for the past 10 years and it isn't until Trey West arrives in search of his brother that she begins digging deeper into the disappearances of the past. When she learns the truth about the decades old secrets she quickly realizes that over her lengthy stay in Cutter's Pass people and things are not what they seem.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada Scribner/Marysue Rucci Books for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely love the concept of this book - an inn in a secluded region where mysterious disappearances keep occurring? Yes please! The atmosphere throughout the book was amazing; dark, suspicious, cold and isolated. Despite the many twists and constant misdirection however, this book was soooo incredibly slow burn. I unfortunately felt my mind wandering as a result. Admittedly, despite the great concept and atmosphere, I feel like I would’ve been more invested if the characters were more developed; they had plenty of potential but turned out rather one dimensional. The book picked up a little bit in pace in the second half but it ended up lulling again and the ending fell flat for me, even if I didn’t guess who the murderer was. All that being said, I did enjoy the writing and will be giving this author another try.

CW: Violence, death, guns.

A huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

THE LAST TO VANISH gripped me from the beginning. An atmospheric, small town setting with a cast of characters who may or may not be harbouring secrets.

Cutter’s Past has a notorious reputation as people have gone missing over the years, and Abby Lovett, who has been working at its inn for 10 years, has quietly been trying to figure out what’s going on.

I thought the plot was intriguing and some of the scenes and plot lines felt tense due to the mystery and the environment, which I always feels adds to the ‘what’s going to happen’ feeling.

I found the middle to be somewhat repetitive, describing the location and people who lived there again and again. Honestly it was starting to lose me and that feeling of anticipation.

When I made it to the ending, it picked up speed and intrigue again, and although I wasn’t shocked, I was more interested.

Overall, I liked it, I just wish there was a little more tension in the middle of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This was a slow burn thriller of a sort. I enjoyed reading it and the pace definitely picked up at the end, bringing a resolution of sorts to the story.

The story plate takes place it in in in a town called Cutters Pass, Town at the base of the Appalachian known for its outdoor activities and hiking. 25 years ago four young men went hiking in Cutters Pass and were never seen it again, no trace of them was ever found. They became known as a fraternity four and the story became notorious in the town and with future visitors. 25 years later over a couple of years there’s a rash of new vanishings, all without a trace, all to be last seen near or around the trails, one trail in particular to Shallow Falls and the Inn nearby; Passage Inn.

It’s small town, everybody knows everybody at its finest. Abby works in passage in but as she’s only been there 10 years she still not excepted as an insider. Abby gets caught up as a new guest appears, in the past and in the missing people stories. Is Abby in over her head, is someone in town responsible or is there another answer.

I have read all of this author's other books and this one did not disappoint. While not my favourite, it still held my interest and kept me entertained! This book was a little slow to get started but as the plot unravelled, I was sucked in til the twisted end! 4-star rating for this psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC version of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This was a really well done twisty thriller. I was not expecting that ending at all. Miranda always keeps you guessing.

Thank you so much to @simonschusterca for the complimentary arc of The Last To Vanish by Megan Miranda. TLTV published earlier this week, on July 26, 2022.

Abby Lovett has lived and worked in Cutter's Pass for ten years, since she was a teenager and her mother died. The town is a popular stop for hikers of the Appalachian Trail and is the location of multiple disappearances over the past 25 years. Where do people keep vanishing to? How are the cases all connected?

I was very quickly pulled into this story. I love to read the blogs of thru hikers of the Appalachian and PCT Trails every year when hiking season starts and follow along the journey of hikers, so the setting of this one couldn't be more perfect.

I found Abby to be a great character to live the story through, and was rooting for her to solve the mystery the whole way through.

I enjoyed the atmospheric writing, and the descriptions of the small hiking and outdoors centered town.

I was a little confused during the big reveal at the end. I missed a rather important bit and needed to check in with a friend who had also read it to figure out what I'd missed.

It was so easy to get into Miranda's writing, I will definitely be looking for more of her backlist (I have two waiting for me on the shelf already).

I’ve loved the other books from Megan Miranda that I’ve read but unfortunately this one wasn’t my fave. I liked the spooky vibes & the mystery around the disappearances but I felt like this was a super slow burn with not much happening til the end. I certainly didn’t guess the ending which is nice but I just felt like it was a little lacking in the thrill of the read.