From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest–a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick–comes a “hauntingly atmospheric and gorgeously written page-turner” (Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Marriage) about a young woman plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet. Everyone knows the story of … feet.
Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”
Arden Maynor was just a child when she was 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.
The girl from Widow Hills is once again at the center of this story in this “compulsive page-turner” (Booklist).
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Sleep-walking is creepy. You’re asleep, but you’re walking through the night — like the living dead. I knew when I started The Girl from Widow Hills I was in for some shivers. But I had no idea the terrors that were in store.
A dark, hypnotic tale about the danger of becoming the stories you tell, The Girl From Widow Hills is beautiful and sinister, with a haunting, atmospheric heart.
Megan Miranda is such a star. This book is suspenseful and original and unique–captivating, as her books always are. And twisty and surprising. But Megan Miranda has a way for making her books so much bigger–delving into an important and timely topic, and deep psychological motivation. SO atmospheric and toughing! Highly recommended.
Loved it!
This story was a quick paced psychological thriller with a couple of twists throughout the story. A very enjoyable read!
Olivia (Liv) Meyer is a hospital administrator working in Central Valley, North Carolina, living a quiet and peaceful life. However, she’d once been Arden Olivia Maynor, famous for being the girl from Widow Hills who for three days was lost in drainage system after a storm when she was six-years old. She’d changed her name following the ten-year anniversary of the event because of the resurrected notoriety. Now as the twentieth year milestone approaches, things are starting to happen that threaten to expose her true identity and destroy the peaceful existence she’s managed to find.
I highly recommend you hang in there with this story. The beginning didn’t immediately grab me and there were times I questioned what the point of it all was and where it was going. But then everything shifted. Something happened that thrust Liv’s past into the present and I realized that all that came earlier had subtly laid a pretty firm foundation for what was coming next. Arden’s story was slowly revealed through news transcripts, which had me reshaping what I believed to be the facts of that terrible event. The people in Liv’s life, past and present, became potential suspects in something I also felt hard to define.
I opted for the audio version and the narrator effectively portrayed Liv’s insecurity and sense of unease throughout the story. Even though there were other important characters, the primary distinction was Liv Meyer and she did a great job of capturing her essence.
This was a creepy story, partly because I wasn’t always sure of Liv being a reliable narrator. The setting also adds to that unease as she lives on a property that’s in a remote part of the town. I thought I knew who the true suspect was but the story took a fantastic turn I never ever imagined. This ended up being a compelling story that also shed insight into the uglier side of fame for victims who survive traumatic events and become the nationwide focus of a town’s rescue. We walk away thinking life going forward has to be precious for that survivor but I’d never thought of the downside. The author provided a perspective I found enlightening and informative while giving us a great mystery with a ton of red herrings.
(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)
It’s twenty years since Arden was rescued as a six-year-old from a storm drain. The rescue captivated the world’s press whose interest kept up long after Arden was safely home again. Her mother appeared on chat shows and wrote a bestselling book. The royalties paid for Arden’s college fees and there was just enough left over to pay for Arden’s current house.
But the astounding rescue tale did not have a happy ending. The media were never far away and reignited the story every anniversary, prompting dozens of well-meaning and not so well-meaning members of the public to write Arden letters and troll her online. Her mother descended into various addictions, including an unrelenting need for fame. Arden changed her name to Olivia, left home and started a new life as a hospital manager.
When Olivia sleepwalks into her garden and wakes up to find herself standing over a murdered man, she knows she’s in big trouble.
This was a different take on the psychological thriller with an unusual plot.
Couldn’t put it down!
Another fantastic thriller from Megan Miranda!
The Girl From Widow Hills
By Megan Miranda
I really enjoyed this book and found that I could not figure for the life of me on the ‘whodunnit’. As many seasoned thriller and mystery readers, we can kinda tell right in the middle where the story will be going but not this one, and for that brava Megan Miranda. This was awesome. Arden Maynor a six year old sleepwalks and disappears in the night, and found a few days later in a storm drain alive. This caused quite a stir and gave her infamy, that she had to change her identity (Olivia) to live a life and move forward from that horrible past. Move on to twenty years later and another sleepwalking event cause her to stumble into a dead body known to her from her past.
If you like a twisty tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then this book is for you.
I really enjoyed this one.
Megan Miranda has written a story here that will leave you breathless. It grabs you and just doesn’t let up until the very ending. Surprises at every turn.
I was the GIRL WHO survived.
A child, Arden, endured the worse thing any child should have to. She went missing one night and was not found for three days. What she went through was simply horrific.
Olivia, now a grown woman of 26, use to be the child of 6 Arden. So much publicity about what happened to her forced her to move away and change her name. All she wants is a peaceful quite life. To live and be happy. She works hard and has a few friends that she trusts. The problem Olivia has is always needing an escape route. No matter where she is she needs to know she can get out if she needs too. She’s started sleepwalking again, something she hasn’t done since she was a child. One horrific night she wakes up outside and there’s a dead body next to her. That is the start of the end for Olivia. She has to figure out who was murder and why. Who committed this murder and why. Was it her or someone from her past.
This book is so full of ups and downs that you will not want to put it down. It has twists and turns and many surprises to keep your interest. It’s well written and makes you feel like you are there with Olivia. From inside her house to running through the woods. From her job to going back to face her past. The characters in this book are so well liked and so richly developed. Olivia has some very good friends who look out for her and are there for her no matter what. Though they don’t know about her past or who she really is they will do almost anything for her. When the past is exposed they don’t desert her either. That is true friendship.
One horrific night starts a chain reaction that gets worse before it attempts to get better. Things from Olivia’s past start to come to light. People from her past appear. Some you may not expect to hear from and certainly won’t expect what they do. Olivia is a survivor for sure. She fights to get her life back. She finds out what really happened. All the memories that she lost. She wants to be free from her past.
This is one of the best books by this author. One you don’t want to miss. A real thriller with many levels. Told from the past and the present it is truly one you will love.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #MeganMiranda, #Simon&Schuster for this ARC. I was in no way compensated for this review. This is my own thoughts and feelings.
5/5 stars and a high recommendation. A must read.
Do you ever read a book and have two completely different thoughts on that book at once? That’s where I’m at with this. For most of this book, I was all like, I LOVE THIS BOOK. But then there were a small handful parts of this book where I was like, WTF seriously? COME ON! Well, that is me. Overall, I loved this book. However, there were a few parts that were so UUGGHHH, that I was rolling my eyes.
I’m not going to give you a book report like most of the early “reviews” have done. I’m going to give you a quick rundown of what I liked and didn’t like about the book/characters. So here I go…
This, like the authors previous books, is a pretty unique take on reinventing oneself and hiding from one’s past. The concept itself isn’t new, but the story truly stands on its own as unique.
The characters in this one worked well for me. Some irked me, but they were supposed to, so I can’t be mad about that. The interactions were believable and mostly realistic. I knew who most of the good and bad guys were. Mostly. This is a thriller and mystery. So obviously not everything is as it seems. I was in no way disappointed on the character front.
The flow of the book mostly breezes at a good pace. There are a few lulls that I could have done without. They were filler and completely unnecessary. Some were even eye roll worthy.
The twists and turns were mostly aha-moments. There were a few that were from left field, that left me shaking my head, but not deal breakers. For the most part, the twists in this story hit at just the right time and had me wanting to get to the end even more.
I think I had an inkling on some of the things that happened at the end, early on. However, I dismissed them. Early on, I glossed over them. I think that was the point though. So when isht got real, I had to shake my head at myself for overlooking some things I thought were insignificant.
There was one loose end that was never really tied up in the book. Many might not even notice it. Maybe we’re supposed to assume that it was A or B (so to speak), but it’s not explicitly covered in the book. It’s been bothering me since it happened. I wanted to know. But now I don’t know for sure.
Overall, this book is GOOD. If you’re a fan of this author, you will certainly enjoy this one. If you haven’t read this author, it will be a good introduction to her work.
Book Review: The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda (Psychological Thriller) (2020) 3 Stars ***
Six-year-old sleepwalker Arden Maynard is thankfully rescued from an underground storm drain three days after being swept away during a violent rain storm. Well, anyway, that’s how the story goes. Arden becomes the unrelenting focus of national attention leading to a name change and a move to a new town for the now adult girl from Widow Hills. At twenty-six-years old, Arden is now known as Olivia and goes to great lengths to hide her celebrity. Unfortunately for Olivia, a media circus ensues at the twentieth anniversary of Olivia’s ordeal and rescue. Her cover is blown. Strange things happen: People from the past appear and disappear, bodies are discovered. Who is responsible? Could it be the nightmare-plagued Olivia herself?
Olivia is not a reliable narrator. Incomplete memories and facts often conflict. Her troubled sleep and paranoia suggests psychological stresses not associated with the experience. Lacking deep familial and social relationships, Olivia does not know whom to trust. A newly found box of memorabilia from Olivia’s mother triggers a chain of events, flashbacks, and possible clues. Someone in Olivia’s inner circle is a predator.
Olivia is screwed up. Her memories are disjointed. She can’t distinguish reality from her night terrors. Her time frame is off. Olivia cannot remember much of what was told to her to be the truth of her experience. Why can’t she fill in the blanks?
The author does not give enough clues to support the ending. Specific important events and people are presented in the same tone of voice as a weather report. This story needs more suspense, more excitement. The premise is more exciting than the execution. Instead of being sympathetic to Olivia during her travails, I found myself losing patience. Maybe this is the result of poor editing, rather than poor writing?
The first third of the book was s-l-o-w and rambling. It got better, but that’s not saying much. I kept reading because I wanted to know the big secret of the story so I decided not to skip to the last three chapters as I usually do when I’m bored and can’t wait to get to the end.
But, still, it’s a popular book. Who knows? You might like it, especially if you like being inside a confused person’s head.
This was a rather slow moving book. It was difficult for me to get invested in the story even with twists and turns. But those just didn’t provide any excitement to me. Perhaps because of the thrillers I’ve read in the past, I have a higher standard in my expectations. I hope others will enjoy the book more than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I enjoyed this riveting, mystery, thriller of a book. I thought I had it figured out but then it took a different turn.
Page turner..great read
Stayed up way too late just to finish this book. I thought I had it figured out at least 3 times, but no where near the truth. A quick read, lots of twists and turns. Perfect for beach (unless you’re watching the kids)…or a quiet weekend at home (order take-out and silence the phone). Once I committed to the book, I flew thru it. This was a new author for me and I enjoyed the writing, characters and the dual timeline, ever so slight with just enough to keep you thinking. I look forward to reading more of this author’s works.
Thanks to Ms. Miranda, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
Fantastic psychological thriller! Olivia has a new life, far removed from her life as Arden…the 6 yo who was rescued after 3 days of being washed away in a flood. Someone from her past is here and she must now face her past. Fantastic ending that you never see coming!
The Girl from Widow Hills: a review
We meet Arden Maynor who is sent the belongings of her late mother after she was found deceased from an overdose after missing for seven months.
Megan Miranda has done it once again. This book was so twisty and intense. It had me guessing right up until the end. I was shocked and flabbergasted at the ending. This is definitely why Ms. Miranda is one of my favorite authors
I finally read a Megan Miranda book!! And it’s about time considering I own a few of her books and have met her at an author event – don’t hold it against me! I really enjoyed The Girl from Widow Hills and I thought it was a slower burn, but it had a nice steady pace and an ending that definitely took me by surprise.
This probably won’t shock anyone, but since I didn’t have a copy of this book I decided to do the audio and it did not disappoint. Rebekkah Ross narrates and I thought she did a fine job, frankly better than fine, and I would recommend the audiobook to all the audio fans out there. Even though it didn’t have a super-fast pace, I thought The Girl from Widow Hills had plenty of suspense which helped keep me engaged. The story is also punctuated with different media types and flashbacks which helped break things up and build the suspense even more.
The Girl from Widow Hills is a fun thriller that also had me a bit freaked out as well. I think the plot is both believable and a little not, so you might have to suspend some belief for this one. I LOVED Miranda’s writing style and it was just so easy and fluid that I could not stop listening. I listened to the entirety of the book in just one day because I was so into it and had to know what was going to happen. Even if you’ve never read a book by this author before, I think The Girl from Widow Hills will be very enjoyable for a lot of people and I can’t wait to read more of Miranda’s books now!