Will the daughter pay for her mother's sins? What really happened to Adalyn all those years ago? Can the past really stay in the past? Megan Miranda writes a great thriller, so I was already excited for this. I really enjoyed this one and how all the pieces came together. Twists and Turns kept coming until the end.

Happy Pub Day!

Thank you NetGalley, Megan Miranda and S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for the Advance Readers Copy of this book and the opportunity to share my thoughts on this newest novel.

I literally could not put this one down. I was on the edge of my seat, chapter after chapter after chapter. As each scene unfolded and each minute clue revealed and still I hadn't figured it all out until the end when it was finally spelled out for me. A decades old crime and fears comes to the surface when Beckett's daughter decides to go to college in her home town. An old college tradition brings tragedy both then and now. I found myself with heart racing as Beckett raced to solve the mystery of her daughter's disappearance and her own pain at all the losses she must now confront.

I am a huge Megan Miranda fan. I was thrilled to be selected for this ARC. That being said, I had a hard time getting into this one. It was worth fighting through, but the beginning was tough.

Beckett Bowery returns to her hometown of Wyatt Valley after years of avoiding it due to a tragic event from her past, which involved the deaths of two local men and her missing roommate. Now, her daughter, Delilah, has been accepted to Wyatt College on a full scholarship, reigniting Beckett's fears about the town's dark history and its potential impact on her daughter. As old secrets resurface, Beckett must confront the dangers that have lingered in Wyatt Valley for two decades.

This book was a slow burn for me, filled with plenty of twists and turns—one of those stories where the past comes back to haunt you in the most unexpected ways. We primarily follow Beckett in the present, but the narrative cleverly jumps between timelines, revealing the backstory piece by piece. Some sections may feel lengthy, but trust me, they’re essential for piecing together this intricate puzzle.

Beckett is introduced gradually, which keeps the suspense simmering and compels you to keep turning the pages. It’s fascinating how this book reminded me of several others I’ve read this year. You know that feeling when something sounds familiar, yet it’s a completely different story? It must be a real challenge for authors to create something unique without inadvertently treading on someone else’s creative toes.

If you’re a fan of suspenseful mysteries that keep you guessing and piecing together clues, then this is the book for you! Just be sure to pay attention, as everything starts to unravel—though not completely—until you reach the final pages. The ending is particularly satisfying, leaving you with the hope that people will ultimately face the consequences of their poor decisions, no matter how long ago they were made. So, grab your magnifying glass and get ready for a thrilling ride!

Thank you, Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Megan Miranda is back with a slow thrill that drops us into dark academia. We follow Beckett as we learn about her past and her present. Her daughter, Delilah, is going to her old college in a town Beckett left and never wanted to return to.

I feel like Megan Miranda has a way with suspense. I kept wanting to know more, and the college atmosphere pulled me in. I had so many guesses.

I feel like Beckett could have solved all of this decades ago if she’d just asked her parents questions and was honest with her family. She spent her whole life running from truth and then was surprised that her daughter was so similar at times.

I enjoyed the book, but at times it was too slow. Some of the details were so repetitive, and I couldn’t back the main character all of the time. The book was good, but it could have been better. If I could give it 3.5 stars, I would.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Dual timeline small Virginia college town with some odd rites of welcome, with secrets from the past that impact a mother-daughter relationship. Great early fall thriller with an mysterious academic setting. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy for a honest review.

This is my second book by Megan Miranda and it didn’t disappoint. If you’re looking for a book that you can binge in one setting this is the book for you. It’s mixture of missing child, whodunit, past present storylines. A mother trying to escape her past and keep it hidden from her daughter. But did she do a good job or did she fail at trying to protect her daughter? I guess you’ll have to read to find out. I ate this book up. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in a couple hours. That twist at the end was wild, all that time. People looking at you sus, and then you find out the truth!!! Woooweee.

Megan Miranda is the queen of the slow burn thriller. Not so much thrilling as it is jussssssst creepy enough to keep you fully unsettled at all times.

the visuals of running through the dark woods literally made my spine tingle!

A solid 4⭐️ suspense mystery!
I love the North Carolina setting. The campus up in the mountains. I’ve been there, I can picture it so vividly in my mind. The author does such a great job at making me feel right there.
I thought I had it all figured out-at least part of it-only to be way off.
I liked it-a great mystery that after I got about 50% in to it-I couldn’t put down!

Is the past ever really behind us—or just waiting underground?

If you’re a longtime fan of Megan Miranda or just looking for a moody, campus-set mystery to get lost in, her latest delivers.

Thank you to Mary Sue Ricci, Simon Element and Simon Audio for ARC and ALC copies of You Belong Here!
Cassandra Campbell’s narration deepens the sense of dread and discovery in this dual timeline mystery, where a mother and daughter’s stories at the same elite college start to eerily intertwine.

The plot slowly unfolds into a tightly woven puzzle of secret tunnels, hazing rituals, and academic rivalries.

Miranda’s signature tone—atmospheric, layered, and unsettling—shines, with a setting that is the story as much as the characters.

If you want a quick grabs you fast mystery for your end of summer pool time, or a perfect book for that plane ride/layover/canceled flight agony... this is a perfect choice!

Intriguing mystery, kept my interest throughout. I'm a huge Megan Miranda fan even though sometimes her books are misses. This one fortunately was a hit.

Beckett Bowery has never wanted to return to her hometown or Wyatt College after something happened her senior year. Her parents still live there near the college where they both used to be professors before retirement. But Beckett's daughter Delilah applied to and was accepted at Wyatt, and Beckett has to face the town once again. As it turns out, memories in town are short and there is still a lot of suspicion about Beckett's past. After a few weeks at school, Beckett receives a phone call from Delilah which drops and then Beckett can't get hold of Delilah. When she frantically returns to town, no one has seen or heard from Delilah and the police launch an investigation into her whereabouts.

I was captivated from the beginning, and I was anxiously turning pages to find out what happened to Beckett when she was in college and what happened to Delilah today. This is dark, atmospheric academia, and everyone has secrets they are hiding. I also really liked the relationship between Beckett and Delilah's father.

Besides being an engrossing mystery, I liked the mother-daughter dynamic portrayed here. I could identify both with Delilah being the new college student trying to establish her own identity, her own sense of self apart from her mother, but also with Beckett, learning when she needs to back off and when she needs to intervene. It's a delicate balance and the author portrays it really well.

If you're looking for a creepy academic centered suspense book, this is a fantastic choice.

This was the second book I’ve read by Megan Miranda, and boy, it didn’t disappoint! I was able to immerse into Beckett’s life and understand her choices, emotions, and reactions, even when I didn’t always agree with them.

I really enjoyed reading this and by about 50% in I never wanted to put it down.

It’s the perfect book if you enjoy thrillers that feel like everything happening could potentially happen in real life. I love that Miranda’s stories aren’t so far fetched like some thrillers where you have to look past all the holes while on the ride. It is a great read to get you out of any slump!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books for providing me with an ARC.

Read this if: you like suspense and extremely slow burn mysteries.

Skip this if: you prefer a faster-paced mystery with more character development.

When Beckett was a senior at Wyatt College, her best friend was suspected of murdering two townspeople. While Beckett wasn’t involved, a cloud of suspicion has always hung over her head. When her daughter, Delia, decides to attend Wyatt College Beckett is displeased but hopes that she will have a different experience. But when Delia calls her mother in the dead of night and then turns her phone off, Becket returns to Wyatt Valley where the mysteries of the present and past seem to be converging.

I read some early reviews that called this an incredibly slow burn, and that is definitely the case. Miranda is great at creating suspense, and as the early chapters closed I felt both pleasantly uneasy and excited to find out more. But then there just kept not being any more to find out. I was left waiting for twists that were so slow to come that it was hard to stay motivated to keep picking the book up. And while I understand that Beckett was hesitant to trust law enforcement due to her history, it was harder to grasp why she also kept so many things from her daughter. There just wasn’t enough character development to understand why anyone was doing what they were doing, and since there wasn’t much plot either I am not sure why the book was as long as it was. I do love campus novels though, and Miranda is great at writing suspense, so while I didn’t love this I found it readable enough to keep going.

Megan Miranda has quickly become one of my favorite thriller authors. She writes wonderful characters and the plot draws you in immediately. She also paces her novels in such a delicate way that you don't want to put the book down, but it doesn't feel like you are rushing just to get to the end.

I think a lot of people can relate to Beckett who has a past that she wants to keep in the past. However, when her daughter decides to go to the college in Beckett's hometown, that past can no longer remain in the past.

The story is told from Beckett point of view of there are flashback chapters to her own years at Wyatt College. We know the big picture of what forced Beckett to leave Wyatt Valley during her senior year, but the flashbacks fill in some of the missing pieces of what happened. But it isn't until the present day do all the secrets get revealed. And there are definitely a few I didn't see coming.

If you are looking for a great thriller to pass the dog days of summer, then get this book now.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday -https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/07/you-belong-here-by-megan-miranda-review.html

Megan Miranda proves once again why she's a master of psychological suspense with this gripping tale that expertly weaves past trauma with present-day terror. The premise is chillingly relatable: what happens when your child unknowingly walks into the very place you've spent decades trying to escape?
Beckett Bowery's reluctant return to Wyatt Valley after twenty years creates immediate tension. Miranda skillfully establishes the suffocating atmosphere of a small college town where secrets fester and memories run deep. The backstory—a tragedy involving two deaths and a missing roommate—provides the perfect foundation for mounting dread as Beckett watches her daughter Delilah naively embrace the same place that nearly destroyed her mother.
What sets this apart from typical "woman with a dark past" thrillers is Miranda's nuanced character development. Beckett isn't just running from guilt or shame—she's genuinely protecting herself and her daughter from something sinister that still lurks in Wyatt Valley. The college town setting feels authentic and claustrophobic, with its mix of academic pretension and small-town gossip creating the perfect breeding ground for danger.
Miranda's pacing is impeccable, slowly revealing details about the past tragedy while building contemporary threats. The mother-daughter dynamic adds emotional depth beyond the suspense, exploring how trauma shapes parenting and the lengths we go to protect our children from our own mistakes.
The twists feel earned rather than manipulative, and the resolution satisfyingly ties together past and present threats. This is Miranda at her finest—a perfectly crafted thriller that combines psychological depth with genuine scares.

You Belong Here focuses on Beckett Bowery as she takes her daughter Delilah to her alma mater for her freshman year of college. While college life in the small, mountain town sounds idyllic, returning to her hometown forces Beckett to remember darker events from her own past. When Delilah goes missing soon after the semester begins, Beckett must once again return to the small town and confront things that she hoped were in the past.

This was my first Megan Miranda novel and it will definitely not be my last. Her ability to create a dark and spooky mood immediately pulled me into the story. I was invested in the mystery and, while some twists were identifiable, others surprised me and kept me guessing until the end. I love a book that creates and maintains a suspenseful mood and this book definitely delivered on that account.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for an advanced digital copy of this novel.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

📖📖📖📖

Thank you to @netgalley and @_simonelement for this ARC, releasing TODAY!

Megan Miranda does it again. A story told between the past and present that takes us to a windy college town. Beckett Bowery’s daughter decides to attend the same college she went to, where twenty years earlier, tragedy struck. Does Beckett know more about what happened all those years ago than she’s willing to admit?

The game they once played deep in the woods was a little tricky to follow, but I got the gist of it. Twenty years after Beckett listened for the howling, her daughter, Delilah, gets swept up in it.

I loved the story line between Trevor and Beckett, and wished that had been developed a little more. There are some twists and turns and you’ll want to keep reading!

For sure, grab this one!

#howling

This is a generational mystery with missing persons, a lot of suspense and plenty of twists. I liked the setting of the college which added to the mysterious atmosphere as well as the protective nature of the mom who just wanted her daughter to be happy and safe. Beckett escaped from this same college after being suspected of setting a fire that took two lives. Rather than stay and fight the accusations, she flees and hides. Now she is forced to confront the past and dig out the secrets in order to save Delilah and herself. This is a fast-paced mystery with intense suspense and plenty of action. I was invested in the story from the beginning because the characters were so relatable and the story was completely engrossing. This book was hard to put down as I looked for clues to what had actually happened to Beckett’s friend, who really set the fire and what happened to Delilah. Megan Miranda has once again written a book that pulled me in and would not let go. Even at the end, I was still pondering the mystery that was Beckett’s entire life. Thought-provoking mystery with a lot of heart and depth!
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Beckett Bowery is trying to run from her past in this new Megan Miranda thriller. Beckett never thought she'd return to her college Wyatt Valley. She never imagined studying anywhere else until tragedy struck her senior year where two men ended up dead, and her roommate disappearing. Now, her daughter Delilah attends the school and starts keeping secrets of her own.
Miranda knows how to write a top-notch thriller like nobody's business. I was drawn in almost immediately. You Belong Here really starts off strong and leaves you with that eerie feeling all throughout until that explosive ending! There are so many twists and turns throughout. The characters were written well and played their parts and really made the story so much better.
I did think the ending was rushed a bit, but it didn't leave you with any lasting questions.
I think anyone who is a big fan of the thriller genre or Megan Miranda fan will enjoy this book.

This story follows Beckett and her daughter Delilah as Delilah heads off to college for the first time choosing, the same college and town where her mother once lived. What she doesn't realize is that Beckett left behind a trail of dark secrets, and as the story unfolds, those secrets slowly come to light.
I really enjoyed the constant sense of discovery throughout the book. The pace picks up quickly once Delilah arrives on campus, and from that point on, the story moves fast and kept me fully engaged. Megan Miranda does a great job weaving together past and present, creating a layered mystery that kept me guessing. There were plenty of twists I didn't see coming, and while I did anticipate the major reveal near the end, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. Overall, this was a solid, suspenseful thriller that I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.