Review: The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda
One genre that I don’t read nearly enough of is psychological thrillers. It’s not something I typically gravitate towards but once I pick one up, I cannot put it down! So, I was very excited to see Megan Miranda’s newest release land in my mail. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending over this ARC of The Girl from Widow Hills for review. This book solidified for me that I am definitely a fan of thrillers! I am definitely going to be checking out her other books after finishing this one; it was a wild ride!
Twenty years ago, Arden Maynor was swept up in a rainstorm while sleepwalking one night at only six years old. Everyone from the town of Widow Hills formed a search party and sought out to bring her home safely. She was later discovered hanging onto a storm drain, miraculously alive. The story of “the girl from Widow Hills” blew up as word spread. Arden’s mother wrote a book and the public attention poured in, as did letters and obsessive creeps who wanted to know more. And every year, on the anniversary, the interest and attention would spike again. Once Arden was old enough, she left town and changed her name, attempting to leave her past behind her. Now living as Olivia Meyer in another state, she has rebuilt her life with a great job, her own house, and her future before her. As the twentieth anniversary approaches, paranoia begins to set in as Olivia senses that someone is watching her. She has begun to sleepwalk again, and one night wakes up standing outside her home in front of a dead man, who looks strangely familiar. Can she ever really escape her past?
This book was such an intense ride. As I was reading, I really felt the main character’s sense of fear settle in. There were so many twists and turns to this story, that I really never had any idea what might happen next. I finally stopped making predictions, which is the sign of a great thriller for me. I love how realistic this novel felt, with Olivia going about her normal day to day life, and then just noticing how little things were just off. I also loved that it explored the aftermath of what these missing child cases turn into for the victims once they’ve grown up. As a society, we get fascinated by these stories and make movies and documentaries out of them and watch them for entertainment, but we don’t think about what life is like if you’ve survived a situation like that. The attention can be overwhelming and even dangerous, as demonstrated in this story.
If you’re a fan of thrillers you will love this one! And if you don’t typically read thrillers, this is a great one to start with! I for one will now be seeking out Megan Miranda’s other books after reading this one. I highly recommend it! Thank you again to my friends at Simon & Schuster for getting this one over to me for review!
