Winner winner! This is my favorite one of Megan Miranda's so far, and certainly the best thriller I've read this summer. I loved the atmosphere of the NC mountains. Perfect tension building, great pace, and it kept me on my toes the entire time.

I loved this book! It's a perfect thriller and kept me turning the pages until late into the night.

I have many of Megan Miranda's books on my bookshelf and was super excited to get approved to provide a review of this book before publication.

Synopsis: Abigail Lovett moved ten years ago to a small town, Cutter's Pass, to help run an inn. Cutter's pass is an outdoorsy dream with mountains, hiking trails, and rafting. In the past, there have been several disappearances in the town leading tourists to come searching for the missing. The latest missing is journalist, Landon West who was investigating those gone missing. Landon's brother, Trey, shows up in town looking for answers to his missing brother. Abigail, feeling like an outsider, starts hunting down answers.

Thoughts: I wanted to love this book, but it was SO slow. It took me a week to read the first 70% of the book. I was avoiding it by reading anything else. I enjoy Megan Miranda's attention to detail and trying to set the scene, but some of it was unnecessary. The main character, Abby, was annoying to me and a lot of the book was coincidental. The ending of the book did pick up a bit, but overall this book was not for me, however, I plan to try other books written by Megan Miranda.

Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like all of Megan Miranda's books, this had great characters, a fast pace, and enough twists to keep me guessing til the very end. This one grabbed me from the first chapter and I read it almost straight through. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a digital ARC.

DNF @ 50%. Unfortunately this one was just too slow of a burn for me. I did skim to the end and felt confident in my decision to DNF as it wouldn’t have improved the experience for me, but I’m hopeful that those who enjoy slow burn mysteries with claustrophobic atmospheres will take to this one more than I did.

A clever mystery. It kept me turning the pages. Some surprise twists. Some characters to like, some to mistrust, and others to wonder about. Nice location and small town vibes. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

How scary do you find the concept of going missing and no one noticing until it's too late?

This is what has essentially happened to seven visitors of the mountainesq town of Cutter's Path. There one minute and gone the next, these disappearances have tainted the town; and with no clues and little development in the cases, has also made it a bit notorious.

When the brother of one of the missing arrives at Cutter's Pass, it plunges our main character, Abby, into a search of her own, uncovering the mystery behind these vanishings. But at what cost, and when is it safer to let the gone stay gone?

I thought the investigation felt natural and that the clues didn't feel like they came out of no where. HOWEVER, a lot of things had to fall into place perfectly for this to happen, but it is a book and that's what happens. The uncertainty and doubt Abby began to experience as she unraveled the mystery did a great job of shining suspicion on everyone to the point that I stopped trying to figure out the whodunnit and what happened of it all.

Like previous Miranda books (and probably the thing that bothers me the most in mysteries), the ending did feel a bit rushed in its wrap-up. I also didn't love how it shifted my opinion of Abby a little bit, but after thinking about it I realized that her actions ultimately tied back to the original question, and what lengths someone would go to to create memories and leave a lasting enough impression that if they did vanish, they would be looked for.

This is a pretty quick read and moves along fairly well, despite a few lulls. It's more of a mystery than a thriller, but there are some moments of discomfort and tension that were well done.

The Last to Vanish follows Abby on her journey to uncover the mysteries surrounding several hikers who disappeared on Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina. Abby works at an inn at the end of the Pass and sees people as they leave for hikes in the area. A mysterious man arrives and everything Abby thought she knew about the Pass, the missing hikers, and her own past start to unravel. Each section of the book focuses on a missing person or group. The mysterious man is the brother of a missing hikers who started to uncover secrets and left several clues. As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that members of the small town know and have participated in way more than they let on. This book had several twists that I expect from Megan Miranda!

Another home run for Megan Miranda. I loved all the different backstories that were entwined like a black widow’s web. This was a fast paced book that kept me on the edge of my seat trying to untie the web.

This is a darkly atmospheric book that is driven by the secrets of the characters and the town of Cutter’s Pass. Abby works at the local lodge, a place for hikers to rest while they tour the trails all around the town. She has always felt like an outsider and thus feels kinship to Trey, the brother of missing Landon. In fact, there are a number of people who disappeared from Cutter’s Pass, hiking and then vanishing. Trey wants to find out the truth about his journalist brother’s disappearance but the town seems to close ranks around the events and he has difficulty investigating. He and Abby team up, both outsiders and both in a quest for the truth. The scenery described sets the entire tone for the book, with trails that go off into ravines and waterfalls with secrets, too. There are twists along the way and a lot of revelations that are made slowly and methodically. I enjoyed the author’s style of weaving a story around the setting and its effect on the characters, but I did think that at times the story seemed to plod along with added details that I did not see a reason for. There are a lot of characters, including townspeople and those staying at the lodge. The characters seemed realistic but were not very relatable to me, so I never got totally invested in their story or in the mystery of the disappearances being solved. I did enjoy getting to know Trey and Abby, the two main characters, but I could not relate to their hyper-focus on the mysterious disappearances. The title is a clue in itself, but I didn’t realize that until late in the plot. The plot was complex and very well woven together, just slow at times. Fans of mystery and suspense will enjoy this book as they hope to solve the case before the protagonists do.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Suspenseful, eerie, and full of twists.

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of ALL THE MISSING GIRLS, THE PERFECT STRANGER, and THE LAST HOUSE GUEST, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. She has also written several books for young adults, including COME FIND ME, FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST, and THE SAFEST LIES. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.

I loved the atmospheric setting in this novel. It was so isolated and creepy. But when coupled with the mysterious history—labeled by the national press as “the most dangerous town in North Carolina"—it definitely gave it a darker edge. The descriptions were rich throughout and I could clearly picture the Passage Inn and the mountains surrounding Cutter's Pass. The same detail applied to the cast of characters who were easy to read and tell apart. Although I enjoy a faster pace, given the amount of detail in this novel, it definitely needed time to build. The misdirection and plot twists were well executed, including the end reveal which I did not see coming.

This was the first Megan Miranda book I’ve read and I loved it! I’m always excited to discover new authors and in this case, I can't wait to read everything else she's published so far, including her YA novels. She’s definitely on my radar and I'm so excited to see what she publishes next!

4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I recommend to readers who enjoy a deeply atmospheric setting with a creepy history, twisty plots, and a fearless female protagonist.

I loved this and could not put it down! This mystery had me guessing until the very end. Compelling characters and story that spans 25 years. One of my favorites from this author

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abby works at the Passage Inn in Cutter's Pass- a town where several tourists have vanished on or by the hiking trails that lead to the Appalachian Trail., The "Fraternity Four" were the first to vanish 25 years ago. After that, two women went missing, the first 10 years ago, the second a few years ago. Then, a book writer looking into the disappearances disappeared - 4 months ago. The writer's brother, Trey West, shows up at the Inn looking into the disappearance, and Abby begins to realize that things in the town are not as they have always seemed.

A bit of a slow start to this one, but it picks up about halfway through. Not my favorite Miranda book, but definitely worth the read.

Cutter’s pass is a mountainous camping town where people keep mysteriously disappearing. Abby is an employee working with Celeste, the owner of The Passage Inn. Trey West comes to stay looking for what happened to his brother, Landon.

The story goes back to each of the disappearances starting with the Last to Vanish, a journalist Landon West that came to The Passage Inn to investigate the previous disappearances of Alice, Farrah and the fraternity four. Each story unveils different clues that will keep you wondering-How are these disappearances interconnected or are they connected at all?

I enjoyed this thriller. Miranda’s pacing on this was excellent and the characters well developed. I was transported to The Passage Inn and the mountains. She does an excellent job of making Cutter’s Pass real. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day. The ending and tying it all together got a little confusing at the end, but overall a great summer read.

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda is an atmospheric mystery that takes place in the mountain resort town of Cutter’s Pass. While I am not usually a fan of these types of books, Miranda did a really great job creating a dark and isolated small town setting, with residents who are leery of outsiders and may be hiding a few secrets of their own.

This book was a slow burn, but there were enough clues dropped throughout that kept me intrigued even though not a lot was happening. The action really picks up in the last quarter of the book, where three bombshells are dropped. The first two had me gasping in surprise and shock, but the last one didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t really sure I even cared and that had me a little disappointed with the conclusion of some parts of the mystery.

While this was my first book by the author, I am interested in exploring her backlist, especially All the Missing Girls and The Last Houseguest.

I am a huge Megan Miranda fan, and this novel did not disappoint! I was on the edge of my seat. This is Miranda's best work yet!

Everything about Cutter's Pass changes when Trey West arrives in town looking for his brother Landon, a journalist who is the latest in a string of hikers who have gone missing in the town. Abby,, who works as the manager of the Passage Inn, finds herself helping him, despite her better judgment, and they sort back through the work Landon had done. They work backwards-starting not with the most famous disappearance of four young men but with the most recent of a female hiker. The dynamics and personalities in a resort town will resonate with anyone who has worked in this sort of environment. No spoilers makes this difficult to review but know that Miranda does a good job with amping up the tension and dropping clues that, to be honest, don't help a lot with figuring it out! Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's a fast read her fans will appreciate.

As Megan Miranda's novels often do, this book is no different, leaving the reader turning pages, with the twists and turns. This novel is set in a North Carolina mountain resort. While the town has more to offer than their infamous reputation, guests are drawn due to others having disappeared over 25 years. As this mystery continues, all soon becomes evident, but it kept me guessing until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Whew it was slow going in the beginning. For the first half of the book, I had a difficult time sticking with it. It did pick up but I'm not sure everyone will make it through the beginning. I love all the suspects and not knowing "who dunnit". The small town environment also added to the mystery. I liked how it ended up being unique but it was also far-fetched at times.

I was a little disappointed by this book. I have read all MM books and loved each one. I felt like the mountain setting has been doing so much lately. It was predictable to have someone disappear into the mountains. I hope the next one will be better.