The Last to Vanish: Megan Miranda

Product Information

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Scribner/Marysue Rucci Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for now making hiking a scary endeavor (in a good way! The overall premise is totally my catnip story: The small mountain town of Cutter's Pass, gateway for hikers to the Appalachian Trail, has seen more than its share of disappearances. The pacing is slow, and the plot focuses as much on Abby’s character as it does on the vanished tourists.

The Last to Vanish — Megan Miranda

For those desiring a high octane, adrenaline producing story, this may not suit because of the slower pace. MY THOUGHTS: I would recommend this novel to those who don’t mind a bit of a slower start and enjoy a great mystery.How do her interactions with other characters embody one of the novel’s central concerns: that is, the inability to truly “know” another person? There was a Stephen King-like tension throughout, with a few hair raising scares thrown in for good measure. There’s a red herring or two, some tantalising cliffhangers and unexpected twists which are a jolt to the system which are delivered in a low-key way which I strangely like! Told solely from Abby’s perspective and focusing on themes of truth, myth, reality, and the surprising convergence of all three, The Last to Vanish brilliantly explores the lengths people will go to to hide their secrets—and not just from each other, either.

THE LAST TO VANISH | Kirkus Reviews THE LAST TO VANISH | Kirkus Reviews

The last person to vanish was an investigative journalist looking into these numerous disappearances over the last twenty-odd years. Abby has a connection to the hotel and the missing hikers, but the reader doesn’t know why for most of the novel. Harris: who says Alice’s death was an accident but then killed Farrah and Landon to cover up Alice’s death. Abby Lovett, the manager, reluctantly checks him into Cabin 4-knowing that just as the whispers had died down-his questions would bring focus back to the town.With the brother lumping her in with the Cutter Pass old timers, Abby almost feels like she is one of them. But I enjoyed the time the story took and the threat of something bad lurking, of something going to happen, the pressure of things left unsaid.