The Girl From Widow Hills is a unnearving psychological thriller split between two time lines. Arden Meyer was washed away in a storm aged six after sleepwalking outside her house. Missing for three days, the story made the national news, and her rescue was seen as a miracle, putting her and her mother centre of attention. Twenty years later, still trying to escape the limelight, and lead a normal life, Arden has changed her name to Olivia Meyer and moved to the small town of Central Valley pretty much in the middle of nowhere where no one knows who she really is. But can you really out run your past, and as the twentieth anniversary of her dissapearace looms, she finds someone from her past has come looking for her. When she begins sleepwalking again she finds herself standing over the body of a man, putting her anonymity in danger, and she is left wandering if she is capable of murder.

The main part of the book is narrated by Olivia, but there are also chapters of interviews, broadcasts and 911 calls from 2000 when Olivia, then Arden went missing. This inclusion brought to the fore just how many resources nation wide were brought in to help find Arden, and how people became invested in her story. In the present, Olivia has spent the last ten years running from that fame. She and her mother had to move from Widow Hills to escape the attention and the nasty and threatening letters that also came with the fame; people wanting to know what happened to the money they were sent and that her mother was paid for her book, the disbelief in her story and her lack of memory. Olivia has spent her life running, looking over her shoulder to see if a reporter was following her and always frightened people might find out who she really is. It is no surprise that at twenty six she has a very small circle of friends; Rick, her neighbour who keeps an eye out for her, and Elyse and Bennett at her work at the local hospital. She has been estranged from her mother for quite a while when she is told she has died, and Olivia receives a box of a few of her mother’s things. This is the catalyst for her sleepwalking beginning again, and finding herself standing over the body of a man from her past with no recollection of how she got there.

Olivia’s first person narrative makes this a more personable book to read. As the book progresses I could feel her tension rise, the fear that she may have killed the man, and the paranoia that she was being watched. After her friend goes missing as well, unnerving her even more, Olivia doesn’t know who to trust, maybe not even herself, or her past. I hadn’t really thought about the dark side of fame before, especially unsolicited fame. The accusations levelled at them were horrible, people seemed to think they owned a part of them and as such Olivia and her mother were accountable to them, its not suprising Olivia suffered from PTSD and wanted to be anonymous.

Megan Miranda covers some very dark issues in this book including murder, suicide, stalking, drug addiction and manipulation which when uncovered seems to add more questions than answers to Olivia’s story. The plot races along, with red herrings, and so many twists and turns it left me reeling and unable to put the book down; this was anooher book I just read in a day. The writing grabs from the first paragraph, because lets be honest, the story of a child going missing and then being found after hope was running out fascinates us all. It is intersting that Olivia’s story has always drawn the public’s attention, and it is also this backstory that drew me to her as a reader, I wanted a happy outcome for her after all she had been through. The sleepwalking idea adds to the tension and uncertainity in this book, Olivia has no recollection of how she came to be outside or what she has done, and has to ask herself could she be the murderer. Memory, or lack of it play a big part in Olivia’s story in both past and present.

The Girl From Widow Hills is a haunting and atmospheric psychological thriller. Megan Miranda takes a unique look at the missing child scenario, the darker side of being thrown into the public eye and it’s effects on those who were caught up in it. The paranoia, lack of memory and sleepwalking give a disturbing and chilling feel to this well plotted and intelligent thriller that has a touch of Hitchcock about it (it would make a brilliant film). Another brilliant thriller to add to your bookshelves.

The idea for the story is a good one, it was just getting it down on paper that let it down! I felt for Arden/Olivier but couldn’t quite believe in her. With the constant interruptions of the past and the various transcripts the story became too busy and the flow was lost. Unfortunately this often left me feeling frustrated and often a little confused.

Olivia is living and working miles away from her hometown of Widow Hills when she receives word that her mother has died. She starts having episodes of sleepwalking, something that happened as a child - in fact, she went missing as a child for several days before being found in a storm drain. After the fallout from the search and subsequent case brought stalkers and nasty letters, Olivia decided to go by her middle name and rebuild her life in obscurity, but one night when she awakens from sleepwalking, she is standing over a dead body.

This is an excellent thriller with an interesting plot and a sympathetic main character. I really enjoyed reading it. There were plenty of twists and turns, some red herrings, and a slowing building sense of unease as to what was happened both in the present and what had happened in the past. Is Olivia guilty of murder? What really happened when she was a child? I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers with an untrustworthy narrator.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Atlantic Books/Corvus, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Meet Olivia. In her twenties, she is an hospital administrator in North Carolina. She lives in a semi-isolated house outside of town, next to a neighbour who constantly checks on her and keeps a shotgun ready to scare away intruders. She has a few friends who she keeps at a distance and don’t know anything about her past and she is estranged from her mother who exploited on a childhood trauma to earn money. Who is really Olivia? Her real name is Arden Maynor and she is remembered as the six-year-old child who went missing for three days and miraculously was found alive. She changed her name to keep away journalists, stalkers, fans, and her mother, but it seems that her past is catching up with her…

An unreliable and paranoiac protagonist who suffers from memory loss is my favourite kind of character when it comes to psychological thriller and Megan Miranda did an amazing job in creating the character of Arden/Olivia. Her childhood trauma, sleepwalking, her complicated relationship with her mother, the fear to be recognized… who wouldn’t be paranoiac? She may have committed a crime, but she has no recollection of the time. Since she doubts herself and she can’t trust herself, I didn’t trust her either and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time as Olivia tries to figure out what happened.

The isolated house miles away from population gave the story a claustrophobic atmosphere that at times gave me goosebumps (and made me check the locks twice at night before going to bed). The ending was AMAZING! I really didn’t see it coming and made me gasp in surprise.

Megan Miranda is definitely on my list of favourite authors and I always look forward to reading her latest novel. Do not miss this twisty and chilling read!

The sleepwalking sensation.

Arden Maynor was the little girl who grew up in Widow Hills and became a sensation all because she had survived a dreadful accident due to sleepwalking. Arden's mother bathed in her daughter's fame, even though Arden didn't enjoy the attention.

By the time that Arden had grown up, she worked in a hospital and changed her name to Olivia, (sometimes known as Liv). Unfortunately Olivia's problem with sleepwalking reared its ugly head again and the weird circumstances of a dead body ... too close for comfort meant that Arden's life started to spiral out of control again.

Even though there are a few psychological thrills and twists to whet the appetite, I found that the plot dragged particularly from the outset. It took ages to get going, and I almost wanted to give up, as, like most dedicated readers, I like to feel immersed in the plot immediately.

I can see that Megan Miranda is getting quite mixed reviews. From my perspective, I feel that three stars are more than fair for 'The Girl From Widow Hills' so each individual will have to make up their own mind.

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Arden Maynor was a little girl of six years old when she was reported missing after a terrifying downpour. She was missing for three days. There was a massive search and she was found by Sean Coleman, down a storm drain. Alive. The news was all over the papers and TV, her mother wrote a book. The lost girl from Widow Hills was famous. Fans followed, along with creeps and stalkers. Every year the anniversary became harder to handle. For the tenth year, a reporter wanted to do a television show but Arden refused. As soon as she could, Arden changed her name to Olivia Meyer and moved away.

Olivia got herself a job in hospital administration and a house just out of town. She has a neighbour, Rick, who she knows she can go to if she needs help and she keeps an eye on him. Also, she has a couple of friends at the hospital. She has managed to keep her secret for a few years now but the twentieth anniversary is coming up when she receives a box containing some items that were her mum’s. She then starts sleepwalking again and finds herself outside in the yard, yelling ‘Get away from me’. Rick hears her and comes to investigate. The second night, she jolts awake by the ringing of a phone, then trips over a body laying at her feet. She runs to Rick’s and when she gets inside, her hands are covered in blood. Rick tells her to wash her hands while he takes a look before calling the police.

When the police arrive, Rick just introduces her as Nina so Olivia isn’t quite sure who she is. She tries to cover herself and Rick, Nina checks over her place but Olivia can’t remember anything, it’s like a blank. As she tripped and cut her knee, Nina takes her to the hospital to get it checked and a doctor she knows stitches it. Also, she gives her tablets for the pain and to sleep, which she does. Nina returns, they have identified the body. It’s Sean Coleman. The guy who saved her almost twenty years ago! What could he want now?

This was an intriguing read, flicking back and forth between past and present, with Olivia being implicated for things she had not done, it had you gripped because you wanted to know what happened. I liked it.

Let me introduce you to Olivia Meyer,a hospitable administrator in Central Valley North Carolina keen to live a simple but lonely life, maintain her privacy and keep everyone at arms length. This is one woman whose main aim in life is self preservation, adamant she can hide from the past and her true identity. For Olivia is really Arden, a name infamous in the small town of Widow Hills, Kentucky for an incident that happened when she was six years old. Arden was swept away in the storm drain system during a sleep walking episode, only to be discovered three days later and thankfully rescued by a passerby who spotted her hand in a grate. Quite a story and one that spread far and wide capturing the attention of a nation praying for her survival and celebrating her rescue. Arden’s mother Laurel appeared to welcome all this intrusion into their lives until some of it turned creepy and threatening, forcing them to move away and ultimately lead Arden into beginning a new life as Olivia.
It took me a few pages to get into this thriller but once I did I was swept along with the creepy storyline, a bit like poor little Arden being swept away in the flash floods. Although I was unsure where it was taking me I just had to go with the flow and soak up all the relevant information, trying to decide whether I could trust Olivia’s version of events or whether she was a gifted liar. Because her recollections of the incident are so vague and reliant on other people’s memories, I found it incredulous that this could even occur and something felt very off about the whole episode.
The trouble is, escaping from such an infamous past isn’t straightforward so when Olivia stumbles across a dead body on her property during one of her nighttime wanderings it would seem that the time has finally arrived for Olivia to stop running and admit to who she really is. With blood on her hands, what exactly is this woman capable of? Is there a connection between her and the dead person and if so why were they there? So many questions were running through my mind knowing something very sinister was afoot yet feeling I was being played with more to this story than met the eye.
Olivia’s confusion and unreliable memories over her sleepwalking episodes added to the fear l felt for her. I could at once sense her desire to know the truth yet her fear at what she may uncover was palpable. Whilst the whole tone of this novel is unnerving I found Olivia’s sleepwalking episodes particularly chilling. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not know what you are capable of doing whilst being in such a state and in made me wary and suspicious of Olivia full stop. My gut instinct was not to trust this woman although bizarrely I did feel sympathy for her. Clearly being the centre of so much unwanted attention from the media and public must be invasive and intolerable. I could totally understand her why she didn’t want her life to be defined as that girl from widow hills.
I loved how everyone in this drama was cast in a suspicious light especially Olivia herself so that you don’t know who to trust. Even her small circle of acquaintances, Bennett and Elyse and elderly neighbour Rick came under my scrutiny. The way her past is recounted via transcripts from the media, emergency calls and interviews kept the narrative flowing as well as keeping me engaged. Despite my initial concerns over whether I would get to grips with the storyline I actually found it highly addictive and enjoyable. There was enough doubt cast in my mind regarding other characters that I couldn’t foresee which direction events would take so for me the denouement was unexpected but in keeping with the menacing flavour of the storyline.
There is an elusive something that prevents me from reviewing this title as a 5 star read but nonetheless recommend it as a worthwhile read.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC.

I’d never heard of the author before but there’s been a lot of buzz about this book so I was looking forward to taking part in the tour. The buzz is spot on. This is a terrific read; a thriller packed with twists, turns and misdirection and to an extent use an unreliable narrator. Olivia/Arlen has made a new life for herself built on lies and secrets and she sleepwalks and because of these things her version of events can’t be completely trusted. I loved the way each chapter ends with a flashback to the days Arlen was missing as a child including the search for her and what happens when she’s found and saved. This gradually paints a picture of Olivia/Arlen’s past. Olivia/Arlen is the last person who’d want to stumble across a dead body in the middle of the night and bring media attention to herself just as the 20th anniversary of her childhood ordeal looms. I was gripped from the start of this book and it held my attention until the final page. I had no idea who the killer was or what really happened when Olivia/Arlen went missing.

A really good read. A little predictable in places but overall a good plot with great characters. This is a compelling read which I read in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Olivia is trying to live a new life. She is no longer the girl from Widow Hills. No longer the girl who went missing. It had taken her a long time to move on from that time but she has. Only it now looks like the past is back when a dead body turns up at the back of her house.

Well what a read this was. It's a story with a good twist though I must admit I did predict quite a chunk of it. The story is well written and builds steadily to a dramatic climax. The ending was really good and finished the story well. Interspersed amongst the chapters are little bits about the initial case like interviews, reports etc which just added to the story and built up the picture more. Olivia is an interesting lead as you're never quite sure what she may know but I really liked her and the detective too. Often they're not likeable in stories like this. A really good thriller.

A thriller that actually gets better as it progresses, with a finale that leaves us in no doubt more than one person knows the truth of events but that - sometimes - not being completely honest can be the better option.
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Megan Miranda before now, and the way this is described really hooks the reader.
When we first meet Olivia Maynor she is working in a local hospital, and we know that she has changed her name after press interest in the events that took place when she was a child. Everyone has heard of little Arden, the six year old from Widow Hills who was missing for three days after sleepwalking and being washed away by rising storm water. When she was eventually found her rescue was praised, and people were invested in her story.
Over time Arden had to face some criticism, and not everyone believed her account. For this reason she changed her name and tried to bury her mother’s requests for press interviews.
Catching up with Olivia we learn more of her past as she comes to fear for her present. Her neighbour, Rick, is keeping his own secrets but when Olivia discovers a dead body outside her property she wonders whether her past is catching up with her.
The events taking place in the present have a very close link to the past. As we start to unpick these links I was quite certain I’d established what was happening. Throughout, at the back of my mind, there was a niggling unease that something was missing. There are clues that things aren’t quite as straightforward as we believe, and the revelations when they come thick and fast do take us somewhat by surprise.
Much as I enjoyed the story, the ending left me with so many questions. I can’t wait to see what is made of this once it’s released, but I’m hugely grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

Thank you to NetGalley UK and Corvus (Atlantic Books) for a free galley of The Girl from Widow Hills in exchange for my honest review. This is the third book I've read by Megan Miranda and it is by far my favorite! I love that the author writes a vulnerable yet strong and determined female lead instead of an unreliable narrator. Arden Maynor became a national sensation as a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking in the streets and found days later clinging to a drainage grate. Unsolicited fame continued to follow Arden throughout her childhood, so as soon as she was old enough, she changed her name, relocated, and disappeared from public view. However, the story doesn't end here. As the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaches, the media's interest is renewed and her sleepwalking returns. One night, she wakes outside to find a corpse at her feet and the private life she has worked so hard to secure is suddenly threatened. A slow-burn suspense with a female lead who you're sure to root for and an out of this world twist that you won't see coming, The Girl from Widow Hills is the perfect page-turner to keep you up way past your bedtime this summer!

This is definitely more of a slow burn mystery/thriller but it's worth sticking it out because the plot reveals and twists were incredibly well done!
The story has a very sinister feel to it which adds to the reading experience and makes for a thriller you just can't put down.
I enjoyed this and would recommend!

I am a big fan of Megan Miranda's books, so was really looking forward to reading The Girl From Widow Hills - and dear readers, I was not disappointed!

This time, our tale centres on Arden Maynor, the girl who miraculously survived three days in the drainage system under the small town of Widow Hills. The girl who was only found after an extensive search that involved the emergency services and American citizens from near and far, after an impassioned plea from Arden's mother for help to find her missing child. The girl who became a celebrity and brought her the kind of fame that made her public property in the eyes of many.

The story picks up from the time nearing the twentieth anniversary of the finding of the girl from Widow Hills, where we find Arden now living as Olivia Meyer, a young woman content with her life in Central Valley, where she has been living quietly for a couple of years. working as an administrator in a local hospital. Olivia's past experiences have made her wary of confiding in others, but she has tentatively made a few friends and sees herself making this small town her home. Until events take a turn that Olivia was not expecting; events that shatter her new found peace and bring the past back into sharp focus... but no spoilers from me!

I really enjoyed how the action is broken up by delicious snippets from the past in the form of witness interviews, news reports and emergency call transcripts that allow the reader to piece together what happened not only twenty years ago, but also on other significant anniversaries of the event. So, as the story races along, and the tension increases, you get to learn more about Olivia's background, the events that have formed her into the person she has become, and how she finds herself mixed up in the difficult situation that now presents itself - and why she reacts likes she does.

The pacing is nigh on perfect, and I found myself so caught up in this story that I raced greedily through the pages, desperate to reach the conclusion - which, by the way, was fabulously twisty and shocking. I think this may even be Megan Miranda's best thriller yet, and that is saying something!

Although this story is fictional, it asks some interesting questions about the fallout from the media furore, and resulting public attention, that traumatic events like this can foster, particularly where missing children are involved. It's all too easy for individual's to become famous in these circumstances and for them to be seen as public property for the rest of their lives - especially when the public feel that have invested time and energy in the victim's survival (even if this is only watching the situation play out in the media). Very thought provoking indeed, even if there are no easy answers!

I can't really say much more about The Girl From Widow Hills without giving something away too much of the gripping story, so I will leave it here by telling you that this is an excellent, creepy thriller that will keep you awake at night - both turning the pages and listening carefully to every little sound in the darkness.

NB: Review being published on-line as part of the blog tour on 06/07/2020

This book was a bit of a slow starter but I am glad I stuck with it. Once the story picked up I could not put this book down, which is at least one positive of lockdown. Absolutely would recommend this book

This is the first Megan Miranda book that I have read and it most definitely won't be the last (I have already downloaded The Last House Guest to get stuck into!). The Girl from Widow Hills is a really engrossing read and I found the pages just kept turning as it was so difficult to put down. I thought it was a very interesting idea for a book - so many children unfortunately become household names for a variety of unfortunate and tragic reasons but I had never really thought about what happens to them as they get older and how you can never really escape media interest, even as you enter adulthood. I liked the style of writing particularly with the extracts from newspapers etc from the time of the storm in between each chapter. There's a fair build up of tension and suspense which keeps the storyline moving.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Twenty years ago six year old Arden managed to escape from her home whilst sleepwalking. She was missing for three days. The small town, Widow Hills instantly became a sensation following Arden's traumatic disappearance. Needing a fresh start, Arden changed her name when she was just eighteen to Olivia. She now lives in North Carolina an works in hospital administration. But Olivia's sleepwalking has returned. She hasn't done it for twenty years. One night she awakes outside her home, standing over a dead body. Is this a random event or is her past catching up with her?

There's several subplots in this slow burning book that leads us to a great ending. Thenstory is told from Olivia's perspective. There are parts that are unbelievable. There were other parts that were predictable. I liked the authors writing style nd how she entwined interviews and broadcasts from the time of the flood. I didn't see the end coming.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Atalntic Books and the author Megan Miranda for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Girl from Widow Hills” is Megan Miranda’s latest novel and is a slow burn mystery thriller.
Having read this author’s previous books “The Last House Guest” and “The Perfect Stranger” and only just enjoying them, I was bit dubious about reading this her latest book.
It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good. A very simple and quite predictable storyline that was particularly slow and had (for me) a silly denouement.
The main protagonist Olivia is very dull and all the cast were sadly uninteresting and lacked character. I also felt there was some unanswered matters or unfinished business with a few people too.
The writing was professional though and flowed easily and I totally loved the way transcripts and journalists reports were interspersed between the chapters, giving you a ‘real-time’ feel of when Arden went missing twenty years ago and this kept me going through the story.
Overall a ‘meh’ book but that is just my opinion, I’m sure “The Girl from Widow Hills” will be enjoyed by many a reader and I will read more by this author again.

3 stars

When she was six years old, Arden Maynor went missing after going sleepwalking in the middle of the night. Three days later she was found clinging onto a storm drain in a sewer and the story attracted a huge amount of media attention. Years later, with the media still constantly pursuing her, Arden moves to a new town and changes her name to Olivia Meyer, hoping to escape her past.

Olivia is content with her new life until one night she stumbles across the dead body of a man on her property and it is discovered that the body was that of the man who found her alive twenty years ago.

The Girl From Widow Hills was a slow burner for me, but as I read more and more, I found myself hooked and really invested in the story. It had all of the elements I love in a good thriller, and I enjoyed the fact that I got to play detective as there were lots of characters involved, and it wasn't clear who was telling the truth, who you could trust or whether some of the things happening to Olivia were real or in her head.

The tension built up nicely throughout the story, so if you are unsure at the start, it is definitely worth sticking with it. An interesting idea and an ending that I didn't see coming.

The Girl From Widow Hills was absolutely fantastic, I honestly could not put it down. The setting was perfect, and the characters so believable - I did not know who I could trust, it was just so well done.

Eerie, clever and gripping, the unravelling of the story of Arden who was 6 when she went missing after sleepwalking from her home and ended up being rescued 3 days later from a storm drain; and how she has lived her life since, shedding her name and her familial ties and not letting anyone get too close to finding out who she was. Just a fantastic read.