I love how atmospheric and engrossing Megan Miranda's books are, and thankfully, The Last to Vanish was no exception. I actually ended up starting it twice, because the first time I wasn't paying close enough attention and I didn't want to miss anything. The second time was the charm though, and it had my full attention as well as my interest. It was the perfect fall read, and I loved the descriptions of the North Carolina mountains as well as the inn itself. I bought the Target copy because I wanted a physical book, and I loved the bonus chapter at the end of it. It built on the story just a bit more, and it was a nice addition (although you aren't really missing anything if you don't get this edition). I really had no idea what was going to happen, and the twists managed to surprise me quite a bit.

Besides needing to make sure you pay attention; the audiobook is a great way to go, and I was really happy that Alex Allwine was the narrator. She was spot on as our MC Abigail, and I thought she did an excellent job of heightening the emotion and action that takes place. The Last to Vanish is a bit of a slower burn and I thought that made it even better for audio with the help of our talented narrator. There was a wonderful eeriness to the story as well, and quite a bit going on as Abby works with Trey to not only figure out what happened to his brother but the women that went missing as well. I was so drawn into what was going on by Miranda's clean and stylistic writing, and I loved her execution of this intriguing premise.

Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Megan Miranda is one of my go to authors for thrillers. She has the perfect amount of dark and twisty without keeping me awake at night. Lol

I'm a tad confused with my feelings for The Last to Vanish. There are certain points that are extremely predictable, yet, there are also points that leave you questioning the characters' behavior. It also took a long time for the author to get to the suspenseful parts of the book, and I wasn't a fan of most of the characters.

I do plan to read Miranda's other books, and actually have a few of them sitting on my physical tbr shelf.

Thank you to Netgalley & publishers for allowing me an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Last to Vanish is a solid suspense novel. Megan Miranda excels at creating settings that are in effect characters in the novel. There was plenty of spooky factor with the isolation present on the trail, the remote location of the inn, and the very insular quality of the community. In typical MM fashion, the reader is never sure whom exactly can be trusted, which is both a positive and a negative. It certainly does create suspense, but it also can create a lack of empathy from the reader for any of the characters. On the whole, this will be well-received by Megan Miranda fans and readers of suspense.

Abby Lovett loves her job working at the inn in Cutter's Pass-a place where in the Appalachians where people come to commune with nature. The area has gained notoriety for another reason though-a string of unsolved disappearances. First there was the Fraternity Four who went walking the trails and disappeared. Then years later a female hiker goes missing, then another. Journalist Landon West decides to investigate these mysterious disappearances and goes missing as well. When his brother Trey shows up to find out what happened to Landon, Abby gets pulled into a hunt for the truth that will uncover secrets that her adopted town would much rather remain hidden. This is my second Megan Miranda read and I very much enjoyed this. Very suspenseful and I always admire authors who are skilled enough to infuse a novel with just enough slight of hand and misdirection to keep me engaged and guessing the whole time. Definitely a good choice for thriller fans.

Megan Miranda is a go-to author for me, so I was excited to receive The Last to Vanish as an ARC. One thing I really liked about this book was the setting. The atmosphere was thoroughly discussed and made me able to picture what was going on. The beginning really sets up this atmosphere; lays out some of the history of the vanished visitors, introduces us to the characters, and sets up the mysteries. The mysteries and overall story are a slow burn. I love twists at the end, but I didn't like who ended up being the *baddie*. (SPOILER) His character was one who I liked because he related to the main character in feeling like an outsider. He was likable and helpful, and seemed like an overall good person. Making him be the baddie in the end made me sad.

Compulsive read - Megan Miranda has become a must-read author that I can recommend to many types of readers. I enjoyed this one immensely.

Abby Lovett has lived and worked in the outdoor paradise of a resort town, Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina, for 10 years, and in that time she’s been through two high profile disappearances with the townspeople. In fact, the town is known for its strange disappearances, which go back to the “Fraternity Four” 25 years ago. All of the people seem to have vanished into thin air, never to be see again. But when the brother of the journalist who went missing four months prior shows up at the inn Abby manages, she can’t help but be drawn into his investigation into the disappearances and re-question everything she thinks she knows about her neighbors.

Megan Miranda knows how to write great thrillers, filled with plenty of plot to keep you interested and engaged as you desperately search for answers. I was hooked as the story went more and more into details of each of the stories of the missing hikers. I just NEEDED to know what happened to them and who could possibly be responsible for everything, if everything could even be connected. It really was a great mystery.

And the ending is really fitting. As with the other Miranda books I’ve read, nothing is straightforward and you are kept on your toes the entire time. There are plenty of twists and I was super drawn in and couldn’t put the book down until I the end by the time I reached about the 70 percent mark.

The atmosphere was also great - a small town, nestled in the mountains, near the Appalachian trail, with a tight-knit community, leaving you not sure who to trust since everyone could be covering for someone else. The few outsiders we’re introduced to are automatically labeled as suspicious which ups the tension and just creates a great list of suspects to work with. We don’t get too good a look at anyone, which allows us to suspect everyone.

Overall, this book is another winner from Megan Miranda, with a tightly woven plot and a great mystery at its core. A must-read!

I’ve received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This books was a little slower than I would have liked. I also had it mostly figured out by the time it got to the end. The plot line was interesting and the characters were good, but I expected more. A quick read.

The Last to Vanish was a moody and dark mystery of a town and the secrets that the people keep. This was my first Megan Miranda book but it will not be my last!

The story follows Abigail and he life in Cutters Pass - How the town has been shaped by the tall tales that have spread due to some disappearances in the mountains there. We follow Abby as she try’s to become one of the towns selected few insiders but also how she feels tied to those looking for answers of why the town is cursed with these disappearances. She meets Trey as he searches for the answers to his brother’s disappearance and it sets off a series of events for Abby in uncovering the secrets of the town she’s come to call home.

Loved the atmosphere and the slow unveiling of the secrets! Perfectly moody for the spooky fall season!

If there was a thriller hall of fame, Megan Miranda would have her own wing. When I read last year's "Such a Quiet Place," I thought she had reached the apex of her writing career and would be unable to top that masterpiece. She proved me wrong with "The Last to Vanish." This book is the star in Miranda's crown, a truly wonderful novel that will keep the reader hooked from the first page. Not only does she capture the spirit of distrust that can pervade a small town, making even transplants of over a decade still feel like outsiders, but she also builds a tremendous mystery around a set of disappearances spanning over twenty-five years.

Although she's been living in Cutter's Pass and helping to run the Passage Inn for almost a decade, Abby Lovett feels she can't quite shake the "outsider" label that follows her through town like a rain cloud. Through the polite smiles, the cursory greetings, and the reluctantly offered invitations, she can't help but notice the conversations that are cut off as she approaches, the events that she doesn't make the cut for, and the friendships she struggles to make. The vanguards of town aren't quite ready to invite her into the circle of trust, and she can't help but chafe at the rejection as the town endures another round of speculation and questions after the disappearance of journalist Landon West. Landon is the third to disappear down the trail to Vanishing Falls and never return in Abby's ten-year sojourn. Alice Kelly, Farrah Jordan, The Fraternity Four. Names as familiar to Abby as her own. Disappearances that have become larger than life, deaths Landon West was determined to solve.

When Landon's brother Trey arrives in town determined to find answers about his brother's death, Abby can't help but feel the town is doing everything they can to divert attention from the case and politely but firmly shut down Trey's inquiry. As Abby takes an interest in Trey and is drawn to helping him in his quest for knowledge, she can't help but feel she's drawing the line between town outsiders and insiders ever deeper. When she finds incriminating evidence, however, she knows she is too close to the truth to back down to the peer pressure being exerted by her acquaintances, peers, and family. As Abby discovers just how little she knows about the people she's spent the past decade trying to win over, the question becomes, can she find a killer before she becomes the next one to disappear?

From the remote setting of small town Cutter's Pass to the lonely atmosphere of the mountain trails responsible for the disappearances of seven people, Miranda transports the reader to the heart of her mystery and begs the question, how far is too far to go to keep secrets for the people you love most?

Special thanks to NetGalley and to Scribner/Marysue Rucci books for providing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

About the book:
"Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings—rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself.

Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she’s come to view Cutter’s Pass as her home. When Landon’s brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can’t help but feel the town closing ranks. And she’s still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her.

Megan Miranda brings her best writing to The Last to Vanish, a riveting thriller filled with taut suspense and shocking twists that will keep you guessing until the very end."

I'm a huge fan of Megan Miranda, although I must say that this particular book didn't pull me in front from the top as much as her others have. In fact, I found much of the first part of the book to be rather slow; I found it to be light on character development and heavy on descriptions of Cutter's Pass. For some reason, that just didn't pull me in. I ended up putting the book down when I was close to the halfway point. I may go back and read the rest at a later date, and update this review, but for now, I've decided to move onto a book that I'm able to connect more with.

Unfortunately, this just did not catch my attention at all and the characters werejust really predictable and just meh. Maybe it also reminds me too much of any number of other books in the genre and doesn't feel original in that sense.

Love a good missing person story. Megan Miranda had fun with the structure of this one. I loved how the book was sectioned off to have each part be focused on a different missing person.

Thanks to Netgalley, Scribner publishing and Megan Miranda for this ARC. I have been a fan of this author for quite some time, so to have received this ARC was a very pleasant surprise. I have done 5 star reviews for all her books I read, for a book store and recommend her works. (My favorite book is still All the Missing Girls, because it ran backwards ! How did she even do that !? I always wondered if I read the last chapter first, and kept doing that would it be as great a read . Most likely, yes. )
Anyway, I loved that there were 3 different mysteries to solve, so I thought. Seems there were more intertwined, and as always, I love Megan Miranda’s evolving of her story lines. I was definitely surprised by the end of this book…but it all came together nicely.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda.
The Last to Vanish is a mystery based on the disappearance of hikers at Cutter's Pass in North Carolina. Abby Lovett works at the inn where those that disappeared left from. When Trey, the brother of the most recent lost hiker, checks in, Abby begins to question the town and people she has lived with for ten years. The book was fast-paced and kept me turning pages. Miranda created enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep me engaged in the story.

Book Title: The Last to Vanish
Author: Megan Miranda
Pub Date: July 26th - OUT NOW!

Would you be willing to visit a town where multiple have gone missing? Abby works in Cutter's Pass, located on the Appalachian Trail, at a local inn. This town is known for people disappearing after they stop in. One night, a man comes in that Abby feels as if she knows. It turns out to be the brother of one of the missing people. Abby starts to dig into the mystery of these people disappearing. Soon it starts to get a little interesting when she starts to find connections. She will be completely surprised when she figures out who played a part in the disappearances.

What I liked:
* The mystery in the book captivated me throughout the story.
* The setting of this story was very descriptive. Megan Miranda does a wonderful job describing the atmosphere in the story.
* The twist at the end.... I didn't imagine that.

I wish...
There were just some lose ends that I feel like I would have liked tied up. I might need a sequel just to figure it all out.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was drawn to this book after loving Megan Miranda’s “Such a quiet place.” Unfortunately, “The Last To Vanish” didn’t grab me as much.
Abby is the manager of a family owned hotel in the North Carolina foothills of the Appalachians where, over the years, several people have disappeared. Now the brother of the last to vanish comes seeking answers - but the town isn’t giving them up. Part “who done it,” part Southern Gothic, the story meanders until the last couple of chapters when everything is tied up.
This novel passed the time, but it’s not Miranda’s best work. Three stars.

The small North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass is the setting for this Megan Miranda thriller. The tight knit community easily welcomes tourists on their way to hike the Appalachian Trail, but is decidedly less open to permanent transplants. Abby, the manager of The Passage Inn, is one such interloper and while she has called Cutter’s Pass home for over three years, she is still treated as an outsider. When a journalist goes missing, and Abby begins to question the town’s history of disappearances, the true locals close rank excluding her from the truth.

Review published on Goodreads, 25 June 2022:

If Megan Miranda writes it, I'm going to read it. That's just a given. I love her thrillers! Her newest, THE LAST TO VANISH, isn't my favorite of Miranda's books, but it still kept me buzzing through the pages. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting especially, since it is so perfect for this kind of read. Neither Abby nor her fellow cast members are super original or memorable. In fact, Abby's fairly dull as far as leading ladies go. She's likable, just not that exciting. The same could be said for the first 2/3 or so of this book. It's quite slow, without any edge-of-your-seat action. Once it amps up, it moves along at a fair pace. I didn't ever want to put the book down, but I did want more tension and conflict to keep the story interesting. Miranda did surprise me with the killer's identity, which is always nice. All in all, then, I liked this book but didn't love it. If I could, I would give it 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I'm rounding up.