I’ve enjoyed many of Megan Miranda’s books. What did I think of this book of a small mountain town with a long history of disappearing people? Check out my review of The Last to Vanish!
The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
To be published on July 26, 2022 by Scribner.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
Synopsis: Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job at 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 like access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall, but also its mysterious history.
A 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 sometimes feels 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.
What else has Megan Miranda written?
I was a fan of Megan Miranda from back in her YA writing days. Her YA thrillers were the Fracture series (2012-2014) Hysteria (2013), The Safest Lies (2016) Fragments of the Lost (2017), and Come Find Me (2019). Since I feel that YA murder mysteries can be a tricky subgenre, I was thrilled when Miranda moved into writing adult mysteries to great success.
Her first adult thriller was All the Missing Girls (2016). I think this might be my favorite of her books; it’s told in reverse. She published The Perfect Stranger in 2017, The Last Houseguest (2019), The Girl From Widow Hills (2020), and Such a Quiet Place (2021).
Review of The Last to Vanish
I loved the setting in Last to Vanish.
The Last to Vanish takes place at The Passage Inn, a small unassuming hotel in a small North Carolina mountain town. Visitors come there to enjoy the outdoors and explore the Appalachian Trail.
But, since the 1990s, the town of Cutter’s Pass is notorious as a place where people vanish without a trace. First, a group of guys the media calls the Fraternity Four went hiking and never came back. Then, two women. And finally, a reporter named Landon West, who seemed to be investigating all this weirdness.
When Landon’s brother Trey shows up at the inn, grieving and angry, Abby is sympathetic but wary. After all, these disappearances that span twenty years surely mean that someone in Cutter’s Pass, someone Abby has known for years is either responsible or knows what happened.
For me, the best part of the book was really feeling that I was there in Cutter’s Pass.
Megan Miranda describes both the town and the hotel in detail, making the reader feel that we are there. As Abby gets more an more uneasy about the things that she and Trey are discovering, I felt more and more anxious.
The tricky thing that The Last to Vanish has to pull off is explaining how seven people vanished over twenty years without a trace.
A serial killer? A bear? A sinkhole? Something paranormal, Lost style?
Is the Last to Vanish a paranormal?
If you don’t like books that suddenly turn paranormal (same!) I am here to assure you that does not happen in The Last to Vanish.
But at the same time, I wasn’t entirely happy with the resolution here.
Yes, everything got tied up without any loose ends. But I wasn’t really buying it all 100% either. If you have read the book and want to discuss, come over to my Spoiler Discussion for The Last To Vanish.
What are other books like Last to Vanish?
There are a lot of thrillers with a small town setting and a past/present format. Books like All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers or The Survivors by Jane Harper.
If you loved the rugged, outdoorsy setting, try Breathless by Amy McCulloch.
If you have thoughts on this book, opinions on the best Megan Miranda book, or ideas for readalikes, talk to me in the comments!