The Book:
The Last To Vanish by Megan Miranda
Published July 26, 2022 by Scribner
Date read: July 3, 2022
The Characters:
Amalie
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings—rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself.
Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she’s come to view Cutter’s Pass as her home. When Landon’s brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can’t help but feel the town closing ranks. And she’s still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her.
Megan Miranda brings her best writing to The Last to Vanish, a riveting thriller filled with taut suspense and shocking twists that will keep you guessing until the very end.
The Twist:
Celeste, the owner of the inn, had been there when the Fraternity Four disappeared. She offered to guide them to the AT through Cutter’s Pass. She realized they were staging an intervention for one of their friends. When things went south, a gun was drawn and Brian killed all his friends. One of whom was Abby’s father. Celeste managed to get the gun and shoot Brian. Her husband and the sheriff helped her hide the bodies and get rid of the evidence.
Abby knew her father was part of the Fraternity Four. She wasn’t really Vincent’s niece, but Celeste recognized her name when she arrived in town and gave her that cover story.
Harris had killed the others. He was dating Alice and they had argued and she died. Abby found out because Alice’s sister sent her a picture of Alice and Harris and some other friends. When Farrah and then Landon came around asking questions, he killed them too. Trey showed up and helped Abby take down Harris, and then the cops showed up. Harris was arrested, but Celeste’s secret didn’t get out.
Georgia was fine, she had just left town.
The Review:
Thank you to Scribner for this free book and to Simon Audio for the ALC!
Why is it always the hardest to review the books I enjoyed the most?
The description of THE LAST TO VANISH had me absolutely hooked. A book about through-hikers on the AT disappearing, written by one of my favorite thriller authors? Absolutely sold.
And this one did not disappoint. I loved the setting of a cozy hiking town along the Appalachian Trail, and had a few towns I’ve visited in mind as I read about Cutter’s Pass.
I loved that each of the five parts of this book focused on a different disappearance. The first half is a bit of a slow burn as we learn about the town and the disappearances, but it certainly picked up in the second half. I liked how the book ended, although I did have some unanswered questions about someone’s motivations.
If you’re a Megan Miranda fan, you should definitely add The Last To Vanish to your TBR. If not, give her a try for an awesome backlist of well-written thrillers!
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