The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

This year for one of my book clubs, the books were all selected from a famous book club, and they are randomly chosen from there. So for March/April, our random selection was The Last House Guest from Reese Witherspoon's book club, Hello Sunshine. While I do have all of the books from that club saved as a TBR, I do not know if this would have been one of my first picks, but it was better than I thought.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Avery Greer grew up in the small harbor town of Littleport, Maine, first with her parents, and then her grandmother and her parents passed away in a single car accident. So other locals were taken aback when she formed a friendship with Sadie Loman, the daughter of one of the wealthy seasonal guests, as friendships between locals and visitors are unheard of. However, the whole town is rocked when Sadie is found dead from an apparent suicide. But even a year later, Avery still has a hard time believing her best friend would have committed suicide. When Avery finds Sadie's phone, she knows she has found something important, but all clues keep pointing at Avery. Avery knows she has to figure out what happened to her best friend before others begin to think she had something to do with it.

So the book is far from horrible. It is a good, solid book with intriguing characters, and swiftly moving plot, and it isn't horribly long. However, it did not feel special in any way either. It hasn't been that long since I finished the book, but I am already struggling to remember names, places, and plot points. Or, really more, it is just blending with other psychological thrillers. And while the majority of people's reviews I have read love the book, there are a few who feel similarly as I do.

All that said, it is a good book. While I do like Avery as a character, I never formed an attachment to Sadie. It is probably because she dies right away, but she is never really perceived in the best light. Avery frequently makes comments that Sadie would never apologize when in the wrong, she would just move past it; and she is very clearly entitled (she throws away a sweater when it gets a little blood on it). I don't like these qualities in real people, and I don't appreciate them in a character either. I understand that her and Avery were very close, but I feel like if it had been me, I wouldn't have gone looking for answers and would have just accepted that she committed suicide. That might sound harsh, but I didn't find her likable. But I also didn't like any of the Loman's for similar reasons.

(Source: Giphy)

The plot took a little bit to get started, as in terms of why Avery starts to really question Sadie's suicide, but tension is built early on. It really creates an uneasy atmosphere that surrounds you throughout the book. However, once you reach the climax, the ending comes really quick and I feel like I was left with questions about the Loman's. You get the blanket answer of "they're rich so they are able to hide the truth" and "everything is just rumors," but I feel like that was kind of weak, and maybe Miranda just didn't want to write a satisfactory ending. What I will say about the ending: I did not see the bad guy coming until the very end. Miranda does a really good job of burying intentions and making the reader pay attention to all the red herrings.

I would definitely read other books by Megan Miranda though. I have heard amazing things about her book All the Missing Girls (I might own it and I just don't remember). A couple other reviewers that I have read that feel similarly as I do agree that that book is brilliant. I would say that The Last House Guest would be perfect for a summer beach read though; it's a quick read with a satisfactory closing.

Rating: 6/10
Author: Megan Miranda
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Dates Read: March 5-6, 2020