A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller “Once again, Megan Miranda has crafted the perfect summer thriller.” –Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Time I Lied The summer after a wealthy young summer guest dies under suspicious circumstances, her best friend lives under a cloud of grief and suspicion in this “clever, stylish … friend lives under a cloud of grief and suspicion in this “clever, stylish mystery that will seize readers like a riptide” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) featuring “dizzying plot twists and multiple surprise endings” (The New York Times Book Review).
Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors.
Typically, fierce friendships never develop between a local and a summer girl–but that’s just what happens with visitor Sadie Loman and Littleport resident Avery Greer. Each summer for almost a decade, the girls are inseparable–until Sadie is found dead. While the police rule the death a suicide, Avery can’t help but feel there are those in the community, including a local detective and Sadie’s brother, Parker, who blame her. Someone knows more than they’re saying, and Avery is intent on clearing her name, before the facts get twisted against her.
Another thrilling novel from the bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read with a strong female protagonist determined to make her own way in the world.
“A riveting read…from master of suspense, Megan Miranda,” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl) The Last House Guest is a smart, twisty read that brilliantly explores the elusive nature of memory and the complexities of female friendships.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Although I had my suspicions, it kept me guessing the whole time. A couple loose ends and one plot twist that really could’ve used literally any set up are the only reasons it doesn’t get 5 stars.
Fun beach read
The story had many twists; some predictable, some not!! It was a great read, flawed characters and all!!
Didn’t care too much for this book, but maybe it would work as a young adult thriller? I just didn’t care about the main character, nor did I really care about solving the “mystery”. It just didn’t matter.
Very slow moving.
I loved this book just as much as advertised! Twisted, sneaky and tricky. This book you can’t stop reading. There is no good place to stop. I always figure the plot out. Well, not this time. I just wallowed in the juiciness of this book !
Read sample but GOOGLE couldn’t display rest of book. 1st time that ever happened, couldn’t get GOOGLE to help me out.
I HAD TO BUY BOOK FROM AMAZON BEC I REALLY WANT TO FINISH IT!!
I enjoyed the premise and how the story played out. There were plenty of suspects to consider and a good amount of mystery and secrets. It was well-written, but there were moments here or there, when I had to reread a part to make sure I knew to whom or what the narrator (written in first-person) was referring or even to when they were referring. A reader should not have to stop and ‘think’ about what the narrator is saying. It should be clear and precise. Mysteries and secrets are one thing—and they are good things—but, confusion is something else. All in all, I think it’s a worthwhile read. However, as we know, it’s all subjective. Personally, I liked it.
This was a creepy read about murder and greed! I truly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more from this author!
Meh.
I could not engage with this book. The premise of The Last House Guest was good, and it started out okay, but the farther in I got, the less I cared about what was happening. Then my mind started to wander, and little things started to grate on my nerves.
When you can’t get into a book, simple distractions are easy to latch onto. It didn’t take long for that mosquito in the room to find me here.
I guess I should mention I was listening to the audiobook, borrowed from my library. It was narrated by Rebekkah Ross, whose pronunciations started to drive me insane. Ross pronounces every single word ending in “-ing” as if it were “-een”. Folloween, holdeen, waiteen. You probably don’t think about it, but practically every sentence in your average novel contains a word ending in “-ing”.
When you are cringe-een wait-een for the next time your narrator is go-een to speak a word end-een in “-ing”? ANNOYEEN.
I don’t know which region of the US pronounces “calling” in a way that it’s indistinguishable from Colleen, and I don’t want to. It’s too soon, you know? I need some time.
Just when I thought I knew where this was going and who did what, the author surprised me. I will say the protagonist did do a few of what I call dumb dumb moves but overall it was an entertaining read.
This was more of a story with a mystery. For a suspense, it needed more punch. I really loved the setting and enjoyed the unfolding of the plot closer to the finish.
Now this book was filled with suspense and it kept me turning the page! Great ending to the book, I enjoyed the mystery in this book.
I love Megan Miranda’s books – I tear through them! Great characters and relationships and the settings are haunting.
Megan Miranda’s “The Last House Guest” falls into the thriller/suspense category.
The writing in this book is short, sometimes “choppy”. There are times when the scene is only a paragraph long, other times it is an entire chapter long. As this is the only book of Miranda’s I have read – I can’t say whether this is a pattern or a “one-off” deal.
Some reviewers have complained that the past and present timelines was confusing. In defense of that – there was always a “divider” page before the chapter started that stated when/where the story was taking place:
** SUMMER 2017
** SUMMER 2018
I didn’t find it that confusing nor did it change how I perceived the book. The story, for me, was easy to follow.
“The Last House Guest” centers around “local” Avery Greer and her deceased friend “summer girl” Sadie Loman.
After Avery’s grandmother died, Grant Loman bought the woman’s house, but allows Avery to live there. In addition, Avery works for the Loman family managing their rental properties in coastal Maine.
In the Summer of 2017, Sadie mysteriously “died” with the police later deeming her death a “suicide”. But, there are those who had their suspicions. Avery is one of them.
In the Summer of 2018, weird things are happening with regards to break-ins which things are moved, but nothing is taken. Avery starts investigating her friend’s death as the date of the memorial ceremony for Sadie looms near. But, the closer Avery gets to finding the answers, the more she finds herself in danger.
The Lomans have a connection to Avery that extends far past a friendship. And, Avery learns how far people are willing to go to keep the truth buried – and who they don’t mind paying off or who gets hurt.
It wasn’t a thriller in the sense of “staying up all night”, “edge of the seat”, or “riveting read”. I did find it fascinating, interesting, engaging, and having a few surviving twists that some readers might see coming. I personally did not.
The title, to me, didn’t correlate with the story at all. I was wondering “who” the last house guest was or how the titled played into the plot.
This is what I’d refer to as a quick, weekend kind of suspense read. If you’re really on the fence with this – do what I did … borrow it from the library.
I rated it 3.5 stars of 5 as it was better than okay, but didn’t really find it THAT good. It was in the middle of the two.
Megan Miranda does it again. A fast-paced thriller that will keep you guessing till the end.
Excellent read with a twisted ending !!!! Loved every page
I really enjoyed this book and would have given 5 stars except that I feel like the ending was a little too quick. I was left with a lot of questions that could have been answered with an epilogue.
From the cover to the last page I loved this book.
My head is spinning from the twists and turns, couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
Set in a summer town where there are those that count and those that don’t. Avery works for those that do and she is trying to solve who killed her best friend or did she really jump to her death seven years ago.
Like the other Megan Miranda books , there is a twist I did not see coming.
I will be thinking about The Last House Guest for days to come.
This book was very entertaining. I wasn’t sure where it was going. It kept me guessing until the end. Great characters that you really felt for and got to understand.