I loved the setting of this book! The Appalachian trail runs very close to home, so right away this story caught my attention. A small town just off the Appalachian trail, where people have mysteriously vanished over the years. Abby, who works and lives at the inn, where so many of them were last seen. She is thrown into solving the mystery when the brother of the most recently vanished person, shows up, and gets her to start asking more questions. The end is full of reveals that pull everything together and show the interconnections of so many characters. This one is definitely worth the read and has me looking forward to other books by Megan Miranda!

Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner, and Megan Miranda for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

The story starts out strong and has some interesting moments. But it overall never reaches a level of pure suspense or thrills. And the plot is so cringe with a few plot holes that never come together. I will admit the pacing is good, and it was entertaining enough, it just could have given a lot more.

The level of tension this book has starting from the first page to the last twist will keep you riveted. Having lived in North Carolina and visited many a town that was similar to the setting of this book, I felt like I could envision exactly how everything happened. However, what I couldn’t see were the multiple twists the author had in store for us. I loved it!

Miranda's books are hit or miss for me, and unfortunately this one did not work for me. The end grabbed me, but I was not captivated for the first 90%, sadly.

Thank you to Simon Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Megan Miranda is one of my go-to thriller authors. The Last to Vanish started a bit slow for me, but quickly picked up as Abby began investigating the mysterious disappearances in the small Appalachian town of Cutter's Pass. I have to admit, the twist at the end was one that I did not see coming!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

3.5 Stars

A good read from Megan Miranda but it slightly lacked the suspense and mystery normally associated with her. The shocking twists at the end didn't hit as well and the entire "mystery" seemed forced and unbelievable. Even the reveal seemed a little too good to be true and slightly crazy. It was decent but not as good as I expect from Miranda.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲.

My initial thoughts is woah everyone in this town is a dick. Alright that might be a bit harsh but I felt like just about everyone in this town was hiding secrets. Added to the fact that they weren’t very friendly or trusting of outsiders, even to the ones who’ve been there for over a decade. They were all so fake and passive aggressive. I would never want to live in such a cold, untrusting place like this. I thought Megan Miranda‘s last book Such a Quiet Place that the neighborhood was a bunch of busybodies, but this town took it to another level. It definitely made everyone seem like a suspect. I was pretty surprised by some of the the twist and turns and the way things connected. This was a slow-burn thriller with a ton of misdirection making for an overall clever plot. The writing was also very suspenseful despite it lacking action. I really do think this is one of my favorite Megan Miranda books. Especially with the straight forward ending that actually provided closure unlike her other ones.

The premise: Abigail Lovett has been working at The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass for the past 10 years. She was searching for a home after her mother passed away. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offering and it’s close proximity to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—but it’s also known for the fact that 6 visitors have gone missing in the last 25 years. Dubbing it the most dangerous town in the state. Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she’s come to view Cutter’s Pass as her home. So when the brother of the last person to disappear shows up at the inn looking for answers, she begins to question to people closest to her.

Read if you like:
- Thrillers
- Unsolved cold cases
- Close knit community
- Mountain life
- Secrets/Lies

I rated this book 4 stars. This story takes place in North Carolina, in Cutter's Pass, which has been labeled the most dangerous place in America due to the fact that 7 hikers have vanished in the woods over the past several years. Abby, who is the main character, has been working at hotel/resort that is close to the woods. She is connected to the disappearances, due to the fact that one time or the other all the vanished hikers have either been in the resort or stayed there. The latest victim, Landon Weston, who is a reporter and came to cutter pass to investigate the disapearances - mysteriously disapeared himself. The story starts with Landon's brother Trey coming to town. Abby wants to help him but at the same time doesn't want get involved in whatever he is searching for. Abby slowly starts to obsess over the cases as she gets more answers, and is hurt when the towns people clam up and make her feel like she is an outsider. Little does Abby know that these cases are more personal to her then she ever imagained. I was this close to dfning this book, this is my first time reading Megan Miranda. Lets just say her writing style takes some getting use to. This book is definitley a slow burn, but I think that sticking with it, your defintley getting a pay off in the end. I ended up really enjoying this book. The other thing I liked the small town vibe to this. How everyone knows everyone, and the town keeps its secrets close, especially from outsiders. Abby has been living in Cutter's Pass for 10 years, but as she searches for answers, she always thought she was apart of this community, but she starts to doubt this when people start to treat her as an outsider. Abby finds herself having to chose and this ultimately affects the outcome of the story. Some of the criticism I have for this story, as I stated earlier in this review, I ulitmately got a pay off at the end. But I do think this book was super slow starting off, at times it felt like it was dragging. I think that there should have some pick me up alot earlier instead having to wait and read through half of the book to get that. Plus it was doubly hard given MM writing style. Another issue I had was with some of the characters. There was alot of characters, the ones that were most intricate to the plot I felt was being neglected towards the end. The character of Georgia for example, I thought that MM had a good build for the character but she seemed to let it go. Georgia leaving town all the sudden didn't make one bit of sense to me? Plus, I don't feel that nothing was ever resolved with her? she did come back for a brief minute. Then there was Trey, I thought that he would have more involvment in the investigation then he did. After all it was brother who vanished, but it seemed like Abby was the one was taking looking for clues and questioning people. He did come back towards the end to help "fight" the bad guy so to speak. I think that I was disapointed in his charactet then Georgia. That's why I rated this book 4 stars. Despite these criticism I still think that people should still read this.

My thanks to NetGalley & Scribner / Marysue Rucci Books for giving a free digital copy of this book in turn for an honest review.

This was one of those novels that took a while to get through, but not because it was bad. I wanted to know what was coming next, yet I didn't so I had to take a lot of breaks. A mountain inn has many disappearances in the past 25 years. Are they all tied together? How could they be? There's only a few people who have been around for them all. Everyone wants to know what really happened but nobody wants to share the truth, if they know it. #NetGalley #TheLastToVanish #MeganMiranda

This is a slow moving mystery about all the disappearances in the town of Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina over the last twenty years. Our protagonist, Abigail, works at a popular inn near the Appalachian where she is forced to once again examine the disappearances when the brother of the most recent missing person comes to investigate. Following the breadcrumbs that are slowly revealed leaves Abigail questioning everything and everyone she thought she knew.

Miranda writes some of the best atmospheric mysteries. I instantly felt transported to Cutter’s Pass and The Passage Inn. I also really enjoyed (for the first three quarters) the slow unraveling of the mystery. Miranda brilliantly formatted this book into different sections that helped steer the direction of the story. Also for how intriguing the mystery was, this is also a story about Abigail and how she fits into the close knit community of Cutter’s Pass. Which was a plus for me since I enjoyed Abigail and watching her trying to fit the pieces she was uncovering together.

Like I mentioned above, I really enjoyed the majority of this mystery. And while I think the resolution of the mystery makes sense I also wanted there to be more. I have no issues with the pacing of this story because I was so immersed in this world that Miranda created. However, everything seems to come together at the same time and doesn’t quite have the payoff I was hoping for. I’m such a lover of mysteries that I rarely feel let down by one since my favorite part is seeing how everything comes together. And this one had too many leftover strings of plot for me to feel fully satisfied.

This leisurely paced mystery won’t be for everyone. But if you are looking for something that will transport you to a beautiful setting with an engaging story than this might be one you want to pick up.

I'm a big fan of Megan Miranda's books and her style of writing, but this one didn't quite do it for me. Centered around the small mountain town of Cutter's Pass and the people who inhabit it, there have been several mysterious disappearances in the past few decades, all having to do with one particular hiking trail. A new person comes to town determined to solve the mystery, and all the secrets the people of Cutter's Pass have struggled to keep under wraps are suddenly at risk of being exposed.

I felt this was a bit more predictable than most of her other books. There were a few surprises, but the major mystery I had figured out from the third chapter. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't quite satisfy me.

First line: He arrived at night, in the middle of a downpour, the type of conditions more suitable for a disappearance.

Summary: The town of Cutter’s Pass has a dark history. Over the last several decades several people have gone missing. They were last seen leaving this tiny town in North Carolina. The latest disappearance was reporter, Landon West. He was visiting town hoping to shine some light on the mysterious disappearances and maybe find some answers.

Abigail Lovett has spent the last ten years working as the manager of The Passage Inn in Cutter’s Pass. And then Landon West’s brother arrives at the inn asking questions. Abby was here when he disappeared but has few answers to his questions. As she gets more involved in the hunt for answers she starts to learn that digging for answers could be more dangerous than the dark woods where so many have disappeared.

My Thoughts: Megan Miranda always writes a solid thriller. I have fun reading it and it is a quick read. I think my favorite part of this story was the atmosphere. The tiny town with lots of local businesses, dark history and hiking trails to a beautiful waterfall. It sounds like the perfect little vacation spot especially during the hot Kansas days.

And also I loved the idea of the picture of the Fraternity Four. The first to go missing in Cutter’s Pass took a photo just before leaving town. They were walking down the street with no idea what lay ahead for them. I’m not sure why but this made me think of the Dyatlov Pass incident in Russia. If you don’t know the story I recommend watching the Expedition Unknown episodes where they look at the location and evidence surrounding its mystery. Even though it is not connected it reminded me of it and gave me chills as I connected the two stories.

FYI: Death and disappearances.

The Last to Vanish is a slow burn thriller set in a small town in North Carolina near the Appalachian Trail. Over the last 25 years, there have been a number of people who have gone missing from Cutler's Pass without a trace. Most recently, a journalist vanished while investigating the series of disappearances. The journalist's brother then comes to town and starts an investigation of his own. This is a slow burn story that I recommend to all thriller fans.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy read even with the different stories being interwoven throughout the book. I was invested in Abby and was surprised by the outcome. Great read!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as Miranda's previous works. It was hard to get into and I didn't connect with the characters. I really struggled to finish and in the end it was just eh.

This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

I can't tell if it's from lack of sleep, but I could not put it down. I tried. Like I put it away and tried to sleep but 30 minutes later I was up reading it again. Read it in one sitting, if you can. It was twist after twist after twist and I gotta say I didn't guess all of them! That never happens for me. I was so into it, definitely a Megan Miranda fan now for sure!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.
This title is available now! 🖤 go read it!

Who doesn't love a book about a small town in the mountains of North Carolina, a cozy inn, and drama galore until there's a murder of course.

Abby Lovett loves her job. She is the manager of The Passage Inn. The only fly in the ointment is the fact that one of her guests has disappeared. She's convinced that it is connected to several disappearances' that happened years ago. Abby fights for information and the more she finds out the more she realizes that she is in the middle of all of it.

This book started off a bit slow for me and it took me awhile to get into the thick of it. I feel like the connections to Abby could have been a bit stronger. Still I loved the writing and the setting of a small inn. Megan Miranda continues to put out a great story and I will continue to read whatever she writes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scriber Books for the opportunity to read this book.

This small town holds a lot of mysteries. Everyone knows everyone and has secrets to keep. I love how the story unfolds with each missing person being it's own section. You follow an outsider who took up residence in this town as she tries to figure out what is happening to all the people who went missing in the woods surrounding Cutter's Pass. The author keeps you engaged and guessing.

The premise of this book had me hooked. A beautiful town in the Appalachians that should be known for its idyllic setting but is better known for the disappearances of visitors. The main character, Abby, runs an inn for the many people who still dare to visit. She loves her job but when one of her guests who was investigating goes missing and his brother comes looking for answers, Abby can’t help but start asking questions. This is the first book by this author, I’ve had the privilege to read. I really enjoyed the mystery and the fairly fast pace of questions and answers. The characters seemed to be anyone you would encounter in a small town. I enjoyed this book and it has made the author a must read for me! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.