A review by ajlawford
The Last House Guest, by Megan Miranda
4.0
This is the first book by Megan Miranda I’ve read and I quite like her writing style. It’s easy enough to get into, and I read most of this this in a single day.
It’s set in a coastal tourist town nestled in the mountains and centers around the summers there. So I suppose it would make a good Summer read, although right now, where I live it is the middle of winter and I still enjoyed it.
The main character, Avery, is a strong independent woman in the face of adversity. My favorite type of protagonist. The other characters did their part but mostly were shallow. I didn’t mind that, but as with most thrillers, this isn’t a character study, it’s all about the plot and unraveling the mystery.
The setting is almost a character in itself. There were many long passages with repetitive comparisons and analogies to the ocean and mountains. At first they helped set the tone. But after a while it grew tedious.
The writing was also sometimes overly vague. Key plot points were sometimes confusing and as Avery discovered things, I wasn’t really clear on what she was discovering.
The reveal and ending was a surprise to me. I didn’t pick it and though it was a satisfying ending, it didn’t have that jaw dropping WTF moment some plot twists can do.
Overall a solid thriller and would recommend to thriller fans. Though there are much better examples out there I’d recommend to people getting into the genre.
It’s set in a coastal tourist town nestled in the mountains and centers around the summers there. So I suppose it would make a good Summer read, although right now, where I live it is the middle of winter and I still enjoyed it.
The main character, Avery, is a strong independent woman in the face of adversity. My favorite type of protagonist. The other characters did their part but mostly were shallow. I didn’t mind that, but as with most thrillers, this isn’t a character study, it’s all about the plot and unraveling the mystery.
The setting is almost a character in itself. There were many long passages with repetitive comparisons and analogies to the ocean and mountains. At first they helped set the tone. But after a while it grew tedious.
The writing was also sometimes overly vague. Key plot points were sometimes confusing and as Avery discovered things, I wasn’t really clear on what she was discovering.
The reveal and ending was a surprise to me. I didn’t pick it and though it was a satisfying ending, it didn’t have that jaw dropping WTF moment some plot twists can do.
Overall a solid thriller and would recommend to thriller fans. Though there are much better examples out there I’d recommend to people getting into the genre.