Meghan Miranda has been one of my favorite authors for a while now but I've been behind on reading her latest releases. I was able to read the newly released, Such a Quiet Place early, thanks to NetGalley but truthfully, it was a dud for me. I was going to review it but didn't feel like spending time on a negative review and I'll include it in a roundup later this month.
That being said, after I read "Such a Quiet Place" I wanted to read a good Miranda book and bought "The Girl From Widow Hills" on my Nook. I devoured it within a few days and really enjoyed it! It was a wild ride and just such a capataviting novel.
Publisher's Summary
Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”
Arden Maynor was just a child when she has swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors, and rescue workers set up search parties and help vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found, alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps, and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye.Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Soon Olivia feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking up outside her home. Until late one night, she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet is the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life, as Arden Maynor.
My Thoughts
This was a fantastic book on so many levels. It was very much a mystery with a touch of thriller... the idea that you followed the story of a missing girl as an adult was really interesting. I loved the psychology behind that, what it did to Arden and how it shaped her life and everything she did. It was so interesting to read of how a 'famous rescue' came back to haunt the victim and loved the hidden identity, it added something more to the story.
I loved all the layered plot points, there was so much going on and so much to dissect, it kept you on your toes. One of the things about this book that I loved most was that I couldn't figure out what was really going on. It took you in a few different directions and there was no clear way to know who was behind everything.
The sleepwalking, the feeling of being watched, the hidden identity, the ending.. it was all so intense and added so much depth to the book. I have to say that I was super surprised by the ending -- it definitely caught me off guard but in the end, made a lot of sense. It was so interesting and I can't express my love of this story enough!
I pretty much loved everything about this book, aside from the fact that everyone in the book felt like Olivia/Arden owed them something because of how she was rescued, and how they held out hope that she would be found. That felt unrealistic because I don't think anyone would ever think like that about a real life rescue.
The book was incredibly well written and I think this was my favorite Miranda novel I've ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone, even if they didn't like mysteries because it wasn't too gory or disturbing.
This is definitely a top five favorite book of the year so far!
Have you read "The Girl From Widow Hills"?
xoxo
B
Add your comment