Lacklustre psycho thriller - well disguised twists marred by an uninspired cast & continuity issues.
A solid, if unoriginal, premise underpins Megan Miranda’s third adult psychological thriller and in common with her previous two novels picks up on the theme of female friendship amidst a small-town setting. A year on from the death of Sadie Loman on the night of the Plus-One party intended to ring out of the summer season, best friend and permanent local resident, Avery Greer, still hasn’t accepted the official verdict of supposed suicide. Although still working for Sadie’s wealthy father, Grant, as the property manager of his extensive collection of summer houses in Littleport, Maine, first-person narrator Avery is unable to reconcile herself with the theory that Sadie, who had everything to live for, would have thrown herself off the cliffs.
The Loman family meanwhile have accepted the verdict, but the arrival of Sadie’s older brother, Parker, ahead of the towns memorial ceremony in Sadie’s honour brings the original investigating detective sniffing around for clues and if he seemed sceptical about Avery’s alibi then, a year on it is about to get far worse.. Suddenly Avery finds herself on a very short list of suspects in a possible murder inquiry and her chequered history as a troublesome local teen looks set to catch up with her. But for a twenty-something Avery, who has overcome a wretched past following the loss of both her parents in a car crash at the age of fourteen, the memorial is an opportunity to clear her name once and for all.
Best friends since the summer they met six years previously, Avery believed that she and Sadie shared everything and had bridged the uneasy divide between local residents and the opulent summer guests on whom the towns economy relies. But what exact function Avery performed in her capacity to the Loman family is open to much speculation with rumours rife as to how she inveigled herself into such a comfortable position within the Loman franchise. As the narrative swings back and forth between flashbacks to the night of Sadie’s death and the imminent memorial, it quickly becomes apparent that the relationship between the two girls was littered with complexities with many presuming Avery an obsessed hanger-on and rumours of a frostiness in the weeks prior to the party.
With a spate of break-ins at the rental properties, mysterious power cuts and the suspicion that someone is watching Avery’s every move, the story really should feel more creepy than it actually does perhaps largely because it feels such a half-hearted attempt to foster unease. Together with the reliance on flashbacks to the night of the Plus-One party in 2017, followed by Avery’s reanalysis of the events one year on, tension soon wanes as she conveniently uncovers new evidence, yet fails to exert any sustained momentum.
The main issue for me was the uninspired cast whom I failed to connect with or maintain interest in, largely because they had such little depth, making the whole story feel disappointingly superficial. The Lomans’ are the stereotypical, obscenely wealthy family who throw money at every problem and divide the town; deceased daughter, Sadie, the spoilt rich girl; son, Parker, the irresponsible playboy charmer destined to take the helm of the family business and the local detective looking to cast blame anywhere but at the door of the illustrious family who bankroll the local community. First-person narrator, Avery, should in theory be easy to vie for, however there is so little depth to her characterisation and her history with Sadie is glossed over, making her reliability as a narrator feel questionable in the first half.
The reliance on flashbacks, with the night of the party playing out as Avery had believed, and then the re-examination necessitates sizeable periods of repetition and sadly there isn’t enough action or activity worthy of such extensive analysis. Not only did the writing feel rather flat but the lengthy descriptions given over the idyllic Maine town of Littleport became rather dull and served to hamper the pace of the entire novel. Although The Last House Guest is a disappointment on delivering the reading thrills, the twists are well-disguised and the uneasy friction between natives and wealthy summer vacationers, all exacerbated by the untouchable Lomans’, does add intrigue. The denouement itself though is cleverly done and does contain a number of surprises and on the strength of the twists alone, The Last House Guest should undoubtedly have proved to be a superior novel than the one it actually is.
An uneven psychological thriller with a flabby plot line, a lot of dwell time and characters that are a struggle to care for. Readable but instantly forgettable.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
The Loman family meanwhile have accepted the verdict, but the arrival of Sadie’s older brother, Parker, ahead of the towns memorial ceremony in Sadie’s honour brings the original investigating detective sniffing around for clues and if he seemed sceptical about Avery’s alibi then, a year on it is about to get far worse.. Suddenly Avery finds herself on a very short list of suspects in a possible murder inquiry and her chequered history as a troublesome local teen looks set to catch up with her. But for a twenty-something Avery, who has overcome a wretched past following the loss of both her parents in a car crash at the age of fourteen, the memorial is an opportunity to clear her name once and for all.
Best friends since the summer they met six years previously, Avery believed that she and Sadie shared everything and had bridged the uneasy divide between local residents and the opulent summer guests on whom the towns economy relies. But what exact function Avery performed in her capacity to the Loman family is open to much speculation with rumours rife as to how she inveigled herself into such a comfortable position within the Loman franchise. As the narrative swings back and forth between flashbacks to the night of Sadie’s death and the imminent memorial, it quickly becomes apparent that the relationship between the two girls was littered with complexities with many presuming Avery an obsessed hanger-on and rumours of a frostiness in the weeks prior to the party.
With a spate of break-ins at the rental properties, mysterious power cuts and the suspicion that someone is watching Avery’s every move, the story really should feel more creepy than it actually does perhaps largely because it feels such a half-hearted attempt to foster unease. Together with the reliance on flashbacks to the night of the Plus-One party in 2017, followed by Avery’s reanalysis of the events one year on, tension soon wanes as she conveniently uncovers new evidence, yet fails to exert any sustained momentum.
The main issue for me was the uninspired cast whom I failed to connect with or maintain interest in, largely because they had such little depth, making the whole story feel disappointingly superficial. The Lomans’ are the stereotypical, obscenely wealthy family who throw money at every problem and divide the town; deceased daughter, Sadie, the spoilt rich girl; son, Parker, the irresponsible playboy charmer destined to take the helm of the family business and the local detective looking to cast blame anywhere but at the door of the illustrious family who bankroll the local community. First-person narrator, Avery, should in theory be easy to vie for, however there is so little depth to her characterisation and her history with Sadie is glossed over, making her reliability as a narrator feel questionable in the first half.
The reliance on flashbacks, with the night of the party playing out as Avery had believed, and then the re-examination necessitates sizeable periods of repetition and sadly there isn’t enough action or activity worthy of such extensive analysis. Not only did the writing feel rather flat but the lengthy descriptions given over the idyllic Maine town of Littleport became rather dull and served to hamper the pace of the entire novel. Although The Last House Guest is a disappointment on delivering the reading thrills, the twists are well-disguised and the uneasy friction between natives and wealthy summer vacationers, all exacerbated by the untouchable Lomans’, does add intrigue. The denouement itself though is cleverly done and does contain a number of surprises and on the strength of the twists alone, The Last House Guest should undoubtedly have proved to be a superior novel than the one it actually is.
An uneven psychological thriller with a flabby plot line, a lot of dwell time and characters that are a struggle to care for. Readable but instantly forgettable.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.