Review: The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda (audio)

Title: The Last Guest House

Author: Megan Miranda

Narrator: Rebekkah Ross

Published: June 2019, Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: 10 hours 2 minutes

Source: Publisher

Summary:

Littleport, Maine is
like two separate towns: a vacation paradise for wealthy holidaymakers
and a simple harbour community for the residents who serve them.
Friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of – but that’s just
what happened with Avery Greer and Sadie Loman.

Each summer for a
decade the girls are inseparable – until Sadie is found dead. When 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.

My thoughts: I finally read Megan Miranda’s debut adult novel, All the Missing Girls last year and knew she was going to be an author I would continue to read. I absolutely loved that book – the shear brilliance and craft she brought to that book was just amazing and so I jumped at the opportunity to read/listen to her latest one and I definitely was not disappointed.

This latest book, The Last Guest House, is another book that kept me totally engaged from start to finish. I loved that it was told from just one point of view, that of Avery. It’s the use of the dual timeline, moving from the summer of 2017 to the summer of 2018 that really helps to build the suspense. We still get to know all the players involved, but it’s from Avery’s perspective. Avery doesn’t believe that Sadie committed suicide and as the one year anniversary approaches, she’s even more convinced, but as new evidence comes to light, it puts her at the top of the suspect list.

I loved that this book slowly builds the tension and suspense as we learn what really happened that fateful right, right alongside Avery. It seems the deeper Avery digs into Sadie’s death, the more questions she unearths. That can’t be a good thing, right? 

This book is filled with secrets and lies, family drama and manipulation. It’s atmospheric and completely addicting once you start reading it, and with a final twist I did not see coming, I definitely recommend adding this thriller to your summer reading list!

Audio thoughts: I listened to this book and thought Rebekkah Ross did a great job with the narration. Rebekkah did a great job with all the voices and I thought she really was able to get inside Avery’s head and personify her character. Her pacing and intonation was spot on, and she was able to add just the right amount of tension to her voice as needed.