Cover Image: The Last to Vanish

The Last to Vanish

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Thanks to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for this preview copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Miranda has done it again! I swear, every one of her books surpasses the last for me. She writes utterly readable thrillers that keep you guessing until the final pages, and The Last to Vanish is no exception.

What I loved most about this book was the setting: a small-town, mountain community in the shadow of the Appalachian Trail. The town, steeped in the mystery surrounding a series of disappearances over the last 25 years, is full of secrets and sketchy characters.

As a person who loves hiking and the mountains, the woods and trails came alive as a character all of their own.

The mystery builds slowly, but once it hits its stride, it takes on the pacing of a great thriller. I was racing to flip the (proverbial) pages on my Kindle to see where the trail led.

This was a fantastic read, cover-to-cover, and one you need to preorder for its arrival in July!

Was this review helpful?

In THE LAST TO VANISHN Megan Miranda once again delivers a thriller with her signature gifts of whiplash pacing, stunning surprises, and an increasingly claustrophobic sense of pace. Intense and never predictable, this book is a gift to thriller readers.

Many thanks to Scribners and to Netgalley for an early look.

Was this review helpful?

The latest thriller from Megan Miranda - Abby works at a resort in Cutter’s Pass in the North Carolina mountains. However, this town is known for its series of disappearances spanning decades. After a journalist goes missing, his brother comes to investigate. Abby decides to investigate as well unearthing secrets that perhaps better left buried.

This one kept me reading and not wanting to put it down! The twists weren’t the most shocking or crazy, but I still really enjoyed this one.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Abby Lovett has worked at the Passage Inn at Cutter's Pass for 10 years. As the niece of the owner, she has been given most of the responsibility of running the inn. Lingering in Cutter's Pass history are the disappearances of hikers at Shallow Falls. Most recent disappearance four months ago is Landon West. More questions arise, when Landon's brother checks into the inn asking questions and conducting his own investigation. Buried secrets are brought out as Abby realizes the disappearances may have more to do with the inn than she'd like to know.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the suspense of not knowing who to trust in a tight-nit community that will do anything for each other, including lying about murder.

Was this review helpful?

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Scribner and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I look forward to reading a thriller keeping me engaged, The Last to a vanish did.

What a wild ride it was. The story was a slow burn, rather than rushed. I prefer that over shoving details in for details sake.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoy Megan Miranda’s books although sometimes think of them as sort of fluff reads- a good story if you don’t look too hard at them. Nothing that is award worthy but nonetheless a good quick read. Recently I realized that I LOVE books that take place in a wilderness setting especially the Appalachian Trail and unfortunately there aren’t a ton of good fictional thrillers out there that take place there so when I read the description of this book I was excited especially because I do already read all of Megan Miranda’s books.

This is her best book to date. I’ll be honest, while I was reading it, while I was fully immersed and had a hard time putting the book down, I kept waiting for some substance to the book but it seemed to consist of character profiles and backstory on the town and while that is important, I started getting antsy. I had already started to formulate my review which included words like predictable and lackluster but I was so wrong. I thought I had the book figured out but I was so far off base, so far off. The end of the story is where all those weird nuances in the book that seem out of place or details not fully fleshed out come together with a one, two punch to the gut and all start to make sense with sudden clarity.

There is nothing I love more than a book that is unique and doesn’t have a plot that has been rehashed a million different times but when you get one that also has a twist that you couldn’t see coming a mile away, it’s a sure fire winner for me. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Don’t sleep on this one! It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Was this review helpful?

Megan Miranda does again! This is a terrific mystery filled with unique characters. Some have lived in Cutter’s Pass their entire lives, some are still consider outsiders after ten years. But they are all bound by a string of disappearances that tourist are obsessed with. I really enjoyed this story!

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book I've read by Megan Miranda. Abby, who has been working at a rustic inn abutting trails going into the Appalachians, has been in the area for 10 years and is intrigued by the disappearance of various visitors starting 25 years ago. Abby determines to try to ferret out the reasons for these disappearances, and the ending is totally unexpected and unpredictable. The setting of the book is deftly handled and its dark and gloomy atmosphere highlights Abby's search for the visitors to the town who have disappeared. The plot twists and the exposure of characters who have seemed friendly and helpful is shocking.

Was this review helpful?

Miranda came through with another suspenseful and reflective mystery here and ai loved it! Can’t wait to recommend it for patrons.

Was this review helpful?

A Megan Miranda book promises a suspenseful and well-plotted mystery and this is the best of all of her titles I've read. Clues that all is not as it seems in the secluded resort town of Cutter's Pass are sprinkled throughout the book, building a sense of unease as you read your way to a surprising and satisfying conclusion. I loved the main character Abby, who despite living in town for decades is still considered something of an outsider, the resort-town setting, both eerie and glamourous, and the solid cast of supporting characters who were intriguing each in their own way.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed The Last To Vanish. It was a definite slow burn for almost 60% of the book, but the ending was unexpected and surprising. The story focuses on the disappearances of random people from the town of Cutter’s Pass with Abby, a manager of the local inn, as the narrator. It explores the history of the town, the characters and all their different motives, and Abby’s determination and rising suspicion to discover what happened to these disappearing hikers especially when the last person to vanish — his brother, Trey, comes to town demanding answers. This was a well written slow burn suspense novel, but I’ve read a few books by Megan Miranda before and I enjoyed this one the most out of them all. I would definitely recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors, so naturally, I was thrilled to start The Last to Vanish. The story is centered around disappearances in Cutter's Pass, NC, and the book main's character, Abby. It's a true "whodunit" thriller with an ending that I did not see coming.

If I based the book on the last 25%, it would be a five-star review without a doubt. However, the first 75% of the book was disappointingly slow. If it wasn't a Megan Miranda book, I would have quit and marked this as a DNF. However, I'm glad I stuck it out, as I thought the ending was great and wrapped up everything nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

A huge thank you to Net Galley and Scribner / Marysue Rucci Books for the advanced copy of this juicy thrill.

The Passage Inn has mystique in many forms: it’s beautiful design, handcrafted by the owners; it’s prime location, leading into trails that wind to the Appalachian; and more grimly, its series of connections to several missing people over the last few decades. Abby has worked there for ten years and knows the community like the back of her hand: the residents, the history, the stories. But after the most recent disappearance, she’s begun to view her home differently: what is really happening in Cutter’s Pass and who is involved?

Ooooh, I love me a Megan Miranda thrill. She has this way of writing so you have a pit in your stomach, grasping every word, wanting to read just one more page. This one felt a little overly elaborate at times, as there is intense detailing to ensure the reader knows the setting and the characters well. However wordy it was at times, I loved the story.

Was this review helpful?

Cutter's Pass in the North Caroline mountains where people keep vanishing. Abby thinks it's just a coincidence but when the brother of the last person to disappear appears at the Inn were she has been working for the last 10 years, she starts wondering if maybe there's more to it. A good page-turner with slightly creepy vibes.

Was this review helpful?

The last to vanish by Megan Miranda will be released in July 2022. This is a great story of disappearance in the mountains. Is the small town covering up anything. Can five disappearances I ten year be explained as conquenced. I recommend this book. A great beach this summer

Was this review helpful?

Another top shelf offering from Megan Miranda. The Last to Vanish paints a setting so vivid and real that you will be swept away instantly. What will first make you feel warm and cozy amongst the quaint town and its inhabitants will soon make you feel trapped and claustrophobic. So many secrets are buried and the locals are closing ranks to protect those secrets at all cost. Will Abby, the front desk clerk at the inn be able to uncover the truth before it’s too late? After all, she may have been in Cutter’s Pass for a decade, but is she really one of the insiders?

Was this review helpful?

This book wastes no time to get you interested in what happened in Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s pass is a small town in North Carolina, that attracts vacationers, hikers, and tourists of all sorts. Including the tourists that are intregued in the history of people that went missing.

Seven people missing, beginning twenty- five years before the present date, with the Fraternity Four, then there was Alice Kelly , Farrah Jordan , Landon West…

Cutter’s Pass, the small town, with one tavern, one inn, one sheriff. Everyone knows everyone but no one knows what happened to missing people that were passing through, or do they?!

This book will have you stumped, trying to connect the dots as to what happened to these vanishing visitors!

Was this review helpful?

The Last to Vanish was a slow build but full of suspense and a few twists. We follow Abby who works at an inn in Cutter's Pass, North Carolina. This small town has been at the center of multiple disappearances over several years. The most recent missing person's brother shows up to try and piece together what happened to him. This sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the reason for the disappearances (not to give away any spoilers). It is easy to suspect many of the town's residents. The author does a great job of keeping us guessing and painting the moody and dark atmosphere of the novel. I really enjoyed this latest by Megan Miranda and enjoyed it as much as her other books! Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner/Marysue Riccii Books for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

"The Last to Vanish" was definitely better than her last one. Megan Miranda is a go-to with domestic suspense.

Was this review helpful?