When Arden Maynor was 6 years old, she was swept away in a terrifying storm while sleepwalking and went missing for 3 days. Against all odds, she was found alive clinging onto a storm drain, and what followed was fame of the worst kind as her friends turned on her, and fans, bullies and stalkers began to appear. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and left Widow Hills for good.
It has been 20 years now, and Olivia had almost forgotten what it was like to be Arden. That is, until she starts sleepwalking again. If Olivia can't trust herself, can she trust anyone?
I have been excited to read The Girl From Widow Hills since I first read the description some months ago. The setup of a sleepwalker in a rural town who may have killed someone without knowing it – that is pure thriller gold. The possibilities of where such a story could go are endless and creepy, and I could not wait to get my hands on it.
Megan Miranda did not disappoint. Her characters are shady and wonderfully inscrutable, her setting is perfectly homey with a touch of cabin-in-the-woods and her plot is as tight as a spiderweb. This is a book that you need to read with your eyes open (I mean figuratively. I do generally read with my eyes open). The details are such that you never quite know what is going to be important until it comes up again, and you have to flip back 50 pages and go “Ooh”.
It is a mark of a good thriller that each odd detail is not actually important, yet some are. The trail the reader follows is not straight or direct; there are times you must give up all your theories and start over.
Olivia Meyer. Hospital administrator, town newbie, loner, sleepwalker, liar. The unreliable narrator. I am a big fan of the way that we are automatically on the side of the main character, only to realise after some time that she may not be the hero of this story. Being forced to question the motives of characters you love can bring a book to life in ways that a straight up “good vs. bad” story never manages.
Absolutely anyone could have been the villain of this piece until the puzzle pieces start to slide together. I found myself toying with the possibility of almost literally each character being the killer at some point during this book. That has a touch of Agatha Christie’s writing, really.
I have to say that I was delighted to love this book, as I was a touch disappointed with the end of Miranda’s last book, The Last House Guest. I loved the characters, the setting and the plot, but the last few chapters let it down. The Girl From Widow Hills, however, kept its flow and manoeuvred it’s way to a graceful and surprising finale. Highly recommended.
It has been 20 years now, and Olivia had almost forgotten what it was like to be Arden. That is, until she starts sleepwalking again. If Olivia can't trust herself, can she trust anyone?
I have been excited to read The Girl From Widow Hills since I first read the description some months ago. The setup of a sleepwalker in a rural town who may have killed someone without knowing it – that is pure thriller gold. The possibilities of where such a story could go are endless and creepy, and I could not wait to get my hands on it.
Megan Miranda did not disappoint. Her characters are shady and wonderfully inscrutable, her setting is perfectly homey with a touch of cabin-in-the-woods and her plot is as tight as a spiderweb. This is a book that you need to read with your eyes open (I mean figuratively. I do generally read with my eyes open). The details are such that you never quite know what is going to be important until it comes up again, and you have to flip back 50 pages and go “Ooh”.
It is a mark of a good thriller that each odd detail is not actually important, yet some are. The trail the reader follows is not straight or direct; there are times you must give up all your theories and start over.
Olivia Meyer. Hospital administrator, town newbie, loner, sleepwalker, liar. The unreliable narrator. I am a big fan of the way that we are automatically on the side of the main character, only to realise after some time that she may not be the hero of this story. Being forced to question the motives of characters you love can bring a book to life in ways that a straight up “good vs. bad” story never manages.
Absolutely anyone could have been the villain of this piece until the puzzle pieces start to slide together. I found myself toying with the possibility of almost literally each character being the killer at some point during this book. That has a touch of Agatha Christie’s writing, really.
I have to say that I was delighted to love this book, as I was a touch disappointed with the end of Miranda’s last book, The Last House Guest. I loved the characters, the setting and the plot, but the last few chapters let it down. The Girl From Widow Hills, however, kept its flow and manoeuvred it’s way to a graceful and surprising finale. Highly recommended.