The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

Hey book lovers! I’m here with a review for The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda. I’ve read a couple of Miranda’s books before, gave Such a Quiet Place and Fragments of the Lost 4 stars, so I was excited to request her newest novel on Netgalley. Did this book stay in the four-star zone? Let’s find out.

About The Book 📚

Title: The Last to Vanish

Author: Megan Miranda

Publication Date: July 26, 2022

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Scribner

Suggested Reader Age: Adult

Genre: Mystery

About The Author

“Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of Such a Quiet Place, All the Missing Girls, The Perfect Stranger, The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, and The Girl from Widow Hills. She has also written several books for young adults, including Come Find Me, Fragments of the Lost, and The Safest Lies. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.”

https://meganmiranda.com/about/

My Review

› The Last to Vanish takes place at The Passage Inn, a cozy resort at the base of a mountain ridge near an access point for the Appalachian Trail in a small North Carolina town called Cutter’s Pass. This is kind of what I pictured in my mind:

› Cutter’s Pass is known for unsolved disappearances, starting with The Fraternity Four (Neil, Jerome, Toby, and Brian) who went missing on June 6, 1997. Fifteen years later, Alice Kelly disappeared. Then Farrah Jordan seven years after Alice. Landon West was the last to vanish. He was a journalist staying at the inn to investigate the disappearances. It’s been four months since he was last seen and now his brother Trey just checked into the inn, determined the find out what happened to Landon.

› The main character is Abby. Her mother became particularly interested in Cutter’s Pass after Alice Kelly went missing. Abby was only 18 when her mother died from cancer. Feeling lost and lonely, Abby decided to visit Cutter’s Pass after her uncle died. Her uncle was married to, Celeste, the owner of The Passage Inn. Abby went to visit and ended up staying, now she’s twenty-eight years old and the manager of the inn.

› There are a lot of characters and I suspected almost every one of them at some point in the story. Celeste is generous, protective, and loves the forest more than anything. Georgia also works at the inn. She has a lot of anxiety and has been acting nervous lately. Cory leads tours for the inn and works at The Last Stop, a tavern owned by his parents Marina and Ray. Harris deals with the inn’s maintenance issues. Sheriff Stamer grew up in Cutter’s Pass and is good friends with Celeste. The Sheriff and his assistant, Rochelle, are suspicious because they are the two people who know the most about the disappearances, but they don’t want to talk about it. Jack worked at the Outward Bound youth programs and the local outfitting store.

› The Last to Vanish is the kind of mystery where an observant reader could possibly figure out what happened. I’m the person who can usually figure out the plot of a movie or story quickly, but I have to say the twists in this book blew me away.

› Characters: 7
› Atmosphere: 7
› Writing Style: 7
› Plot: 7
› Intrigue: 9
› Logic: 8
› Enjoyment: 9

Average 7.7

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• Another four-star read from Miranda for me. I will definitely keep reading her work. The Last to Vanish was a fun read that Mystery fans will enjoy. I think I’ll check out her most popular book on Goodreads, All the Missing Girls, or maybe her highest-rated book The Safest Lies. What do you think?