By: Megan Miranda
ISBN: 978-1982147310
Publisher: Scribner
Simon & Schuster
Narrator: Alex Allwine
Publication Date: 07/26/2022
Format: Other My Rating: 5 Stars
New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda returns with a gripping and propulsive thriller that opens with the disappearance of a journalist who is investigating a string of vanishings in the resort town of Cutter’s Pass—will its dark secrets finally be revealed?
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.
My Review
Set in the atmospheric North Carolina mountain town of Cutter's Pass, Megan Miranda's latest THE LAST TO VANISH is an immersive CHILLING suspense thriller with BIG secrets in a SMALL town.
This one will have you on the edge of your seat—DARK, TENSE, AND TERRIFYING.
Abigail (Abby) Lovett is the manager of the Passage Inn, an upscale resort at the foothills of the Appalachian Trail in Cutter's Pass with waterfalls, hiking, rafting, and everything you would want in outdoor sports and nature.
However, it has a haunted past.
Four camping buddies went missing together 25 years ago. 10 years ago, Alice Kelly disappeared, followed by Farrah Jordan 3 years ago and, the last to vanish—4 months ago, Landon West, a journalist investigating the previous disappearances.
His brother Trey has checked into the inn, the same cabin abandoned by his brother. His inquiry will start another investigation into the missing people.
Abby gets nervous and becomes embroiled even further in the investigation. While protecting the inn's reputation, she also wants to know what happened. Does Abigail really know the people in her tight-knit town, or is something more sinister?
THE LAST TO VANISH is a twisty, well-plotted mystery with a slow build that turns into a fast-paced, action-filled suspense adventure leading to a satisfying conclusion.
My favorite Megan Miranda book to date! A NC native, I love hiking in the NC & Georgia mountains and over the years stayed at many cabins, B&Bs, and a former inn manager and hotel consultant. I enjoy stories set in the mountains and the adventure- everything in the novel was very realistic as if you were on the trails.
Megan does a superior job with her evocative/vivid settings, intensity, fear, claustrophobia, and emotions of the residents, community, and guests. The characters come alive on the page!
Get this one on your TBR list! For fans of authors Lisa Gardner and Lisa Jewell.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 26, 2022
My Rating: 5 Stars
Praise
"Clever... Cutter's Pass is rife with secrets... all of which [Megan] Miranda brings skillfully to light. The Last to Vanish is a well-wrought example of how important timing can be for a thriller."
—The Washington Post
“And, oh boy, does [Megan] ever know how to write a twisty-turny ending (or two, or more).”
—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“[A] superb thriller…Evocative descriptions of such activities as hiking and rafting contain an underlying sense of dread, and realistic characters match the tight plotting. Miranda is writing at the top of her game.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In economical yet elegant descriptions, author Miranda repeatedly conjures up this untamed natural world even as she unspools a labyrinthine plot. The novel’s characters are deftly sketched and its suspense is nicely tightened . . . A richly atmospheric thriller with a plucky heroine.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Megan Miranda fans, the wait is over. The Queen is back with another twisty thriller.”
—Betches, The Betches Summer 2022 Reading List
“Megan Miranda returns with another thrilling page-turner about big secrets in a small town.”
—Book Riot, “Best Thrillers To Read in 2022”
“Suspenseful and shocking, The Last to Vanish is a thrilling tale sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats.”
—Deep South Magazine
“The twists and turns will make this tale one you won’t soon forget.”
—BookTrib
“To some, the small town of Cutter’s Pass, North Carolina, with its Appalachian vistas and cozy Passage Inn, is downright idyllic. To others, it’s deadly…. As Trey and Abby dig into the case, Abby realizes that the town is keeping secrets even from her.”
—Bustle, Best Book of July
"This eerie thriller, in which the setting itself may be actively malevolent, can stand next to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Stephen King’s The Shining ... Expect shivers and lots of them."
—Booklist (starred)
"Megan Miranda—who grew up in East Windsor and Manalapan—may live in North Carolina now, but the chills from her new novel can be felt all the way back in her native New Jersey."
—NJ Monthly
"A gripping story about the disappearance of a journalist."
—PopSugar
“Filled with unpredictable twists and ceaseless suspense.”
—SheReads, “Best Thrillers Coming in Summer 2022”
“Miranda is back this year with another smart, propulsive thriller... Miranda brings the slow-burn suspense and some observant character work to bear in this exemplary thriller.”
—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads (Most Anticipated Books of 2022: Summer Reading Edition)
“It's just not summer until we are laying on the beach, lost in the pages of one of Miranda's unputdownable thrillers. This time, she takes readers to a cozy inn in the remote resort town of Cutter's Pass, where a string of travelers have gone missing over the years. We will give you exactly one guess as to whether or not their decades-spanning disappearances are connected. But the way Miranda weaves together the story will take your breath away.”
—E! News: 14 Books to Read in July
"The Last To Vanish is Megan Miranda at her finest: an eerie edge-of-the-earth location, riveting characters, and thrills that just don't quit. Loved this novel."
—Laura Dave, New York Times Bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
About the Author
Photo Credit: Magen Marie Photography
Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls; The Perfect Stranger; The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick; The Girl from Widow Hills; and Such a Quiet Place. She has also written several books for young adults. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. Follow @MeganLMiranda on Instagram or visit MeganMiranda.com.
