Megan Miranda is such a hit or miss author for me. The synopsis sounded so promising and I was so excited to read this one. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. I wasn't as hooked as I wanted to be and I found myself rushing to get to through it. Not my favorite but, not horrible.

Thoughts: This wasn't my favorite book by Megan Miranda. Yes, it has her hallmark twists around a mysterious death with lots of layers for readers and the main character to unpack, but most of the red herrings planted throughout are discounted pretty quickly. There isn't much for the reader to guess about considering as soon as Avery comes across another possible killer and motive, it ends up in the trash pile. And Miranda spends a lot of time describing the town and what it's like to live there, which I know is relatively important to the plot but anyone who has gone to a coastal town for vacation or watched any type of movie/show centered around one can get it without so much exposition. Instead, I would've liked more time spent on how shady the Loman's are. The story is short on actual suspense and moves slowly, but does eventually pick up towards the end as Avery starts putting everything together. However, she does make a lot of leaps with very little evidence. I liked the plot twists that pulled together Sadie's death and Avery's prominence in the Loman family together, but I thought the "epilogue" was rushed and felt unsatisfying. Megan Miranda's work will still be an auto-buy/read for me, but this one fell short of her other titles.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

Overall this was another solid Megan Miranda mystery with some well done twists to keep you guessing. The best part about her books, in my opinion, is how real they feel, as if this could be a real story you see talked about on the news- no far fetched plot or giant conspiracy, just real humans and bad judgements and cover ups. This is the perfect rainy day mystery to get lost in and enjoy, no need for a sequel or left over questions, everything is resolved and I feel good moving on to the next book on my list. I recommend this book for anyone who likes a more subtle mystery and Megan Miranda fans in general.

This was a classic tale of a young woman, Avery, who gets caught up in a wealthy lifestyle when she becomes best friends with the daughter of well-to-do family. When this woman dies under mysterious circumstances, Avery tries to solve the mystery of what happened to her friend.

I'm kind of over the poor, wrong-side-of-the-tracks person getting swept up in a secret-filled wealthy family - it feels really over done to me and there isn't a lot of nuance in most of the characters because of this tired trope. This book had so many loose strings and side characters that I felt like I was dragging myself to get through it - I couldn't bring myself to care about how it would all come together. The back and forth timeline wasn't used very effectively either.

The high point was the ending because I didn't guess the twist ahead of time. However, this whole book just felt so familiar and played out. I probably won't check out other books from this writer unless someone raves about a new book to me.

I love this new genre of thriller. It feels kind of like a pop culture, fluffy sort of thriller that is completely binge worthy. The Last House Guest made me want to be invited to the plus one party, well, I would want to go as long as the dead body doesn't happen!

This story was very well written and I had no idea what to expect. It was a surprise to the very end. It was very intricate with character development im a huge fan of her books

Thank yo9u Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda.
Megan Miranda writes books that put you right there - you feel like you are in the footsteps of the main character. With a vivid writing style and emotional grasp, this book is not disappointing.
It takes place in a small beachtown in Maine - rich vs. poor and with many characters that are interesting.
The mystery at times was predictable, but most are when you think about it.
It's a good book and Miranda is a very good writer.
3.5 stars.

I just realized that I never reviewd this book. Not sure how that happened since I did record it in Goodreads.

I read this book in 2 days over my Birthday weekend. Amazing read. Twisty plot that kept me hooked am the way through. Loved it!

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I have liked other books by this author in the past and while there were parts of this one that I did like, overall it wasn't my favorite of hers. It was pretty slow and I had trouble staying interested in the story. The ending was definitely the best part of the book - I didn't see it coming who the killer ended up being, and usually I'm pretty good at predicting it. So the surprise killers are always really exciting for me. But the rest of the book wasn't especially exciting for me. I am not sure if it was just timing on a personal level - since I have been very busy with work so this spread out over almost a month - but it just wasn't my favorite. I think it's still worth a read, especially if you're looking for an out of the blue killer.

I was intrigued with The Last House Guest, by Megan Miranda from the first chapter. She has a way of pulling you into the small town setting and quickly introduces you to many town folk , most of whom have lots of secrets and seemingly shifting alliances. I also found Miranda's use of going back and forth between the present and past to tell the story quite successful.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a thriller set in a beach town and written to be an easy summer read, with lots of character.

Megan Miranda never disappoints! I love stories set in coastal towns as it’s so different from where I live. This story is centered around the friendship of two young women and those around them. A supposed suicide sets off a series of events that you won’t see coming until the end.

This book was ok. The ending surprised me but the beginning and middle just dragged on. Miranda’s prior books were much better.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It took me a minute to get into the rhythm of the time jump of past to present.
Lots of twists and turns throughout the story with suspenseful moments to keep you engaged.
A intriguing summer mystery that will keep you engaged.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give my honest review about this book.

A summer thriller - I love thrillers. There so so many turns in this one -- a few times I had to stop and say .. wait.. what just happened? The characters were well developed and I liked the plot. I would recommend this one to a friend.

Avery Greer has been best friends with the darling of Littleport, Maine for years. Sadie Loman's wealthy family owns pretty much the whole town, but that doesn't stop Avery and Sadie from becoming the best of friends. Until the year that Sadie is found dead. The police rule it a suicide, but as the anniversary of Sadie's death grows near, Avery is convinced that somebody killed Sadie. Avery starts stirring up Littleport with her questions and it backfires on her in epic fashion. Will she be able to figure out who killed her friend before it is too late?

The Last House Guest was another fabulous thriller. Avery is a sympathetic character who has had a lot of loss in her life. First her parents, then her grandmother, and now her best friend. I wasn't sure if her belief that Sadie was murdered was because she couldn't deal with one more loss. The Loman family was your stereotypical rich family in a resort town. They thought that they were above the law. And they weren't wrong. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS The book is told in alternating timelines, which sometimes made it confusing if I stop reading in the middle of the chapter. There were a few surprises that popped up at the end of the book, but in the end, it was really good.

Bottom Line - The Last Guest House turned out to be the perfect summer thriller. I just waited until February to read it.

Details:
The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda
On Instagram
Pages: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 6.18.19
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

Great read. I liked this one even more than the author’s previous books. Very twisty! Good friends, a death, the boy in between & it’s all further complicated by the protagonist’s employment by the family. Great backstory, never mind the mystery of how the friend died. Solid four stars!!

I loved this book! Being stuck at home these past few weeks as we self-quarantine, I'm able to catch up on all of these great books with this being no exception!. I liked how the characters were defined and how detailed the relationship between Sadie and Avery. There were twists and turns and it was the perfect thriller/mystery novel to take my mind off of Covid 19. Thanks!

The premise for The Last House Guest is as old as the hills in the mystery/thriller genre—townies vs. tourists in a small coastal town—but Miranda weaves a fresh, complex, and propulsive tale surrounding the murder of Sadie, a young “have,” and her “have-not” best friend Avery, who is desperate to discover what really happened to her friend, and perhaps a suspect herself.

Miranda does pacing well in all of her novels, be they adult or young adult, but this book was notably complex and compelling, and boasts a heroine you can get behind, something that was sorely missing from The Perfect Stranger. The book is dual timeline, so less complex than the reverse-chronology gem All The Missing Girls, but which worked well for the story here.

The solve is largely satisfying, and Miranda gets there by taking what could have been a contrived series of plot points and weaving them into something that slides perfectly into place in the end.