The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio, #partner for the ALC of The Only Survivors in exchange for my honest review. 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Published: April 11, 2023

 

Summary:

A mystery about a group of former classmates who reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident—only to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy.

Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save?

A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravine—a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.

To keep one another safe.
To hold one another accountable.
Or both.

Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy, and from the other survivors. She’s changed her mobile number. She’s blocked the others’ email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven—and Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with grief—and suspicion.

Almost immediately, something feels off this year. Cassidy is the first to notice when Amaya, annual organizer, slips away, overwhelmed. This wouldn’t raise alarm except for the impending storm. Suddenly, they’re facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters…again. Then Amaya stops responding to her phone. After all they’ve been through, she wouldn’t willfully make them worry. Would she?

And—as they promised long ago—each survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Won’t they?

 

My thoughts:

I’ve really come to enjoy Megan Miranda’s books, especially as I find they translate really well onto audio. And this latest one is no exception – which was great as I ended up listening to it in one go on a long drive on my trip last week.

This is a slow-burn mystery that really captivated me from the get-go. I loved how it switched timelines, moving from the present to the past, which allowed us to really get a feel for all that the characters had gone through back then and were still dealing with now. There was such a sense of unease and dread as the story progressed and that built as more and more secrets came to light.

I have to say the twists and turns this story takes really kept me on edge and I was completely caught off guard as to where things ended up. And even reading this one straight through in one shot, I still felt like I was so caught up in all the character development and what was going on with them that I fell prey to the misdirection – which is fine…I like being surprised. I also loved how the author worked in how the effects of trauma can really affect a person long after the event. She shows that depression, anger, anxiety, PTSD may take a while to show up and won’t necessarily go away after a certain time.

This book was so atmospheric and completely binge-worthy! It was definitely the perfect choice for my ride home, as it kept my attention focused on the story while I drove. I love Megan Miranda’s writing – she does slow-burn so well, so if that’s your type of read, I highly recommend picking this one up!

 

Audio thoughts:

As I mentioned, I listened to this one and the audio was fantastic! It was narrated by a full-cast, which is always my favorite and this cast did such a great job. The narrators, Alex Allwine, Erin Moon, Andre Bellido, Ines del Castillo, Michael Crouch, Priya Ayyar and Greg Chun, were all new-to-me but I would definitely love to listen to them again…they really did a great job bringing this story to life, even with it being a slow-burn mystery. I was captivated from the start and never felt my mind wavering at all. Their voices were easy to listen to and I thought their pacing was spot on.