🏡🔦 The Last House Guest 🔦 🏡 (2019) - Book Review

["The Last House Guest" - Megan Miranda]

Megan Miranda’s “The Last House Guest” falls into the thriller/suspense category.

The writing in this book is short, sometimes “choppy”. There are times when the scene is only a paragraph long, other times it is an entire chapter long. As this is the only book of Miranda’s I have read – I can’t say whether this is a pattern or a “one-off” deal.

Some reviewers have complained that the past and present timelines was confusing. In defense of that – there was always a “divider” page before the chapter started that stated when/where the story was taking place:

** SUMMER 2017

** SUMMER 2018

I didn’t find it that confusing nor did it change how I perceived the book. The story, for me, was easy to follow.

“The Last House Guest” centers around “local” Avery Greer and her deceased friend “summer girl” Sadie Loman.

After Avery’s grandmother died, Grant Loman bought the woman’s house, but allows Avery to live there. In addition, Avery works for the Loman family managing their rental properties in coastal Maine.

In the Summer of 2017, Sadie mysteriously “died” with the police later deeming her death a “suicide”. But, there are those who had their suspicions. Avery is one of them.

In the Summer of 2018, weird things are happening with regards to break-ins which things are moved, but nothing is taken. Avery starts investigating her friend’s death as the date of the memorial ceremony for Sadie looms near. But, the closer Avery gets to finding the answers, the more she finds herself in danger.

The Lomans have a connection to Avery that extends far past a friendship. And, Avery learns how far people are willing to go to keep the truth buried – and who they don’t mind paying off or who gets hurt.

It wasn’t a thriller in the sense of “staying up all night”, “edge of the seat”, or “riveting read”. I did find it fascinating, interesting, engaging, and having a few surviving twists that some readers might see coming. I personally did not.

The title, to me, didn’t correlate with the story at all. I was wondering “who” the last house guest was or how the titled played into the plot.

This is what I’d refer to as a quick, weekend kind of suspense read. If you’re really on the fence with this – do what I did … borrow it from the library.

I rated it 3.5 stars of 5 as I liked it, but didn’t really love it. It was in the middle of the two. 

Release Date: June 18, 2019

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐ ✰/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐