3.75 stars

Despite being on my to-read list for <i>years</i>, I'd never read any Megan Miranda before, but oh boy did I enjoy this one.

The Plot:
When Olivia Meyer was six years old she was swept away by a torrential storm while sleepwalking. Her eventual rescue after three days was branded a miracle, but the subsequent media circus and public attention led to Olivia changing her name and moving away. Twenty years later, she begins sleepwalking again and one day, wakes up to find herself next to a dead body, her hands covered in blood.

The Good:

∙ Red herrings galore! Plot twists I did NOT see coming!
∙ Interesting, complex characters.
∙ THAT ENDING. I thought I had the killer solved but Megan Miranda fully shocked me with that twist.

The Bad:

∙ A little too slow-paced at first, but it picks up in the second half.
∙ I wish we'd had more insight into Olivia's relationship with her mother.

The Ugly:

∙ Nothing! I loved this book and will be reading more of Megan Miranda in future.

I loved this – such a fascinating, unique plot with an ending I could never have guessed. A real page-turner.

Narrated by Olivia in the present, transcripts, newspaper reports and book excerpts help us piece together a fragmented version of the past. It was one of those stories where anyone could’ve been the murder and I truly suspected pretty much everyone at one point or another. Some characters I liked and some I didn’t so there were lots points when I was like ‘oh no please don’t let it have been them’ – you just never knew from one minute to the next. For example, main character Liv didn’t seem the type but as she said herself: “Not unless I felt trapped, cornered. Then, subconsciously and truthfully, I couldn’t say for sure what type of person I’d become.”

And, this book tested that premise over and over again, how we never truly know how we’d react in an extreme situation until we tested. Ordinary people in extraordinary situations and the lengths they’d go to protect themselves and/or those they love. And, not only ourselves but do we ever really know anyone or just the person people want us to see. 

I became totally invested in Liv. Her mum (or mom in this case) calls her a “survivor” and that’s what she is – smart, tough, brave, resilient, and intuitive. I enjoyed the constant sense of unease and worry as Olivia attempts to unravel her past and questions her own innocence. I also really liked her stoic, loyal, sensible neighbour Rick and was glad his story wasn’t what seemed.

My only negative was that I really wanted an epilogue – I would’ve liked to know how things turned out for Liv and Rick, and most importantly whether Liv and Bennett got together (I hope so).

20 years ago a young girl from Widow Hills escaped her house whilst sleepwalking and went missing for days. She was gripping a drain cover, holding on for her life. Olivia has left Widow Hills changed her name and moved on with her life, hoping to leave the horrors of her past behind her. However, as the anniversary of the event looms, strange events start to take place. It turns out her rescue all those years ago might not be the miracle that it seemed and now someone is out for revenge..

I really enjoyed the suspense building throughout this and liked how at the end of each chapter we flash back to the old missing case with interviews, reports and recordings. There was quite a lot of plot in this so you definitely had to be focused to try and piece all the information together.

The first plot twist I really enjoyed as conspiracy theories often push people to extremes when proving them right or wrong. However, the final plot twist just felt too convenient for me and the last twenty pages were a bit rushed.

Overall, a good thrilling read and I would like to read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for providing me a copy to read.

Wow! I had no idea that this book would grip me like it has! I have completely devoured this book in just one sitting.
I found this book hooked me from the very first page. I love the author's writing style because it's so easy to immerse yourself into the pages and feel as though you are there.
I really like the main character in this one, I have enjoyed her story, both past and present. I really like that the author has made her seem realistic and likeable to the reader.
The plot of this book is completely different to anything I've read previously. I have been kept guessing and I love a book that I can't predict.
Although this is my first read by this author, it definitely won't be the last. I love a book which grips my attention. This is most definitely a five star book for me. I absolutely recommend this one.

The Girl from Widow Hills had all the things I often appreciate in a novel - a dark atmosphere, a woman in possible danger, a mystery to solve and a great sense of unease. This is a good novel that kept my interest but there was something, just out of my grasp, that kept me from rating it higher.

It felt as if the red herrings were distributed widely and liberally. Every character in the book became a suspect at one point or another. If I was Olivia/Arden I would get a less shifty group of friends as the ones she has at the mo don't come across very trustworthy. I'm not sure Olivia is all to likeable, if I honest. She is ok but not a character you care about over much. This book had a great edgy quality that held tension strongly throughout but came across almost one dimensional. As shallow as a puddle, nearly, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you are diving in and out during a beach holiday. But, being in lockdown limbo where time has little meaning I guess I want more to sink my teeth into.

Please don't get me wrong. I did enjoy my time with The Girl from Widow Hills. I was keen to see how it would resolve, and the twist was worth the wait, but I want that bit more than this particular novel delivered.

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview of this book. If you are looking for an exciting gripping and twisty read then look no further! It can be a small bit tough to get into bit once you do you will be fascinated by Olivia's story. It is a great book with a surprising ending.

I really enjoyed this book, and flew through the chapters to find out what would happen. It certainly leaves you guessing and I did not know how the story would develop. I liked the main character, I thought she was well written and believable. I definitely recommend this book and will be looking out for more from this author.

A brilliant dark and creepy thriller. I highly recommend this really original thriller. Loved the past and present interwoven together. Brilliant x

A good story with a twisty narrative. It is well-written, and the characters are believable. The tension is kept up all the way to the end, and I think this would make a very good holiday book.

This was a great page turner thriller that will hook you from the start.

Definitely recommended.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

At first I struggled to get into The Girl from Widow Hills, the story piqued my interest but the pace is a little slow at first. But then I realised that this was intentional and actually quite clever. There is a lot of history to soak up that will become much more important later. By that point the pace has built up from a trickle to a torrent and the revelations come thick and fast.

This novel is well written, genuinely tense and rewarding once it hooks you in. The main characters’ backstory is very thought-provoking and heart-rending.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Now if you are the sort of reader who loves a murder mystery story without detailed descriptions of death or psychotic murderer actions then whatever you do - don't miss this book.
I loved every minute of it - it never dipped - never went into pages of over detailed text that adds not a lot to the story and it actually has a very good ending.
As with most murder mystery books the reader is presented with about half a dozen candidates and I have to admit I only worked it out a few pages the murderer is revealed. (This was from a clue in the story and not my investigative skills!)
You can never tell from Olivia's work colleagues, ex boyfriend(s) and neighbours who is telling the truth and who is hiding a history that goes back 20 years.
Not to be missed

This book drew me in from the start and kept me hooked till the end. A great thriller. The writing was well done.

I downloaded this book because I am a huge fan of Megan Miranda's twisty thrillers.

As a six-year-old, Arden was washed down a storm drain after sleepwalking out of her house. There was a massive search, involving the entire town and the nation's press, before she was found safe and well. As she grew older and unable to cope with her notoriety, Arden changed her name to Olivia and moved away. Twenty years later, Olivia is sleepwalking again and wakes to find the corpse of a man at her feet...

The Girl from Widow Hills is one of those books where you think you've worked out the end from the start but the author delights in proving you wrong! It starts out as a slow burn before picking up speed and racing towards a clever, nail-biting finish. The events from twenty years ago were included within the story in the form of old interviews and it was fun to see where the two timelines began to contradict each other. I particularly loved the character of Olivia, who is prickly and mistrustful even to those who want to help. And that the one person she does trust is the one person everyone else is telling her to be wary of!

The Girl from Widow Hills is a psychological suspense that will tie you up in knots trying to work out the answer. Would appeal to fans of authors such as Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell. This is one of my favourite reads of this year. I couldn't put it down!


Thank you to Megan Miranda and Corvus (Atlantic Books) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'The Girl from Widow Hills' is thoughtful and compelling read for Megan Miranda. Admittedly, it takes a few chapters to get into the book, but once I was 'bedded in', so to speak, I was thoroughly absorbed in this twisty tale. The anchor of the plot is how the past informs our present, and sometimes collides to devastating effect. This is certainly the case for Arden, or Liv, as she is now known, and it is twenty years later... Twenty years after Liv was swept away by a storm, yet defying all odds she somehow managed to survive. But things, dark things, are happening in the present, including the murder of Liv's rescuer, Sean Coleman. For some reason, the events of twenty years ago continue to haunt the present day like a ghostly spectre. But why? Well, to say more would be to spoil a cracking story. An engrossing tale with colourful, eclectic characters, meticulously plotted and with enough twists and turns to make your head spin. Then there is the denouement... One word: wow! I loved ever page of this atmospheric, spellbinding thriller. Simply sublime.

Very exciting book to read. It was a great plot and I enjoyed how it played out. It was very well written and flowed well. Great interesting read

I initially struggled to get into this book, finding it a little slow but was definintely worth sticking with, a slow burner that kept me guessing until the end. I really enjoyed it by the time I'd finished it, well crafted and built up to a shocking ending that I didn't see coming. I liked Olivia as a protagonist and enjoyed the gradual building of her as a character. The only thing I wasn't keen on was the flah backs to statements, I found them a little repetitive and for the most part didn't feel that they added much to the story. 

This is a difficult genre to stand out in and the first book that I've read by Megan Miranda but I enjoyed it and am now iplanning to read The Perfect Stranger. 
I will definitely be recommending this book.

This had an underwhelming start. Not bad enough to make it a struggle to read, but in a way that I didn’t care what was going on. I hoped it would improve.

By the half way point it did pick up a little. The pacing was great. I was flying through this. Even if I wasn’t doing much for me.

I felt the story was diluted. It could have been much darker. Which I think I would have preferred. Especially with Olivia waking up next to a dead body. I expected some dark twisted stuff.

The articles and transcripts between chapters felt repetitive at times and I don’t think they really added much to the story. Sure a few would have worked but not as often as they appeared.

The story itself sadly never really got me. Sure it picked up a little at one point but it didn’t last long. I can’t really say the twists were amazing because I never really cared enough.

The ending did nothing for me. I’m glad everything was wrapped up but that’s about it.

Twenty years ago a little girl Arden Maynor goes missing during the night. Storms have created high waters and it is believed she has been washed into the storm drains. Three days later she is found, alive. The media reported on it nationally and all across the country people prayed for her safe return and gave money to help in her recovery. Ardens mother was interviewed and was on tv everywhere. The story popped up every anniversary and Arden and her mother moved constantly to avoid it.
Now Arden, who has changed her name to Olivia, is living a quiet life in a small town in a private house. When she was smaller she used to sleepwalk, that is believed to be the reason she disappeared, and has suddenly begun again. One night she wakes in her garden with a man dead at her feet. Who is he? What happened? Has it something to do with her past history?
I really enjoyed this book. Arden is a complex, if somewhat niave, person. Her past history looms over her, even if she cannot remember it. Over the course of the book, many of the blanks are filled in and answers found but it puts her in danger so tension hangs in the air.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

The main character,now known as Olivia,is a severely disturbed woman hiding from her past. Supposedly swept away by a storm when she was six years old,perhaps while sleep walking,her rescue became an iconic news item. Her mother wrote a book and made money out of her daughter's trauma. The publicity was also damaging and the mother and daughter walked away from it and in due course went their separate ways. Now,Olivia has a house,a job,sort of a life and,she hopes,anonymity. Then the past returns in the form of a murdered body in her backyard. Did she have a part in this? Sleepwalking again maybe? That is when the story gets going after a slow start. Olivia's psychological issues permeate the story. They are well handled. There seem to be many damaged around in her work circle as well as those energing unexpectedly from her past. There are twists and turns in the story as it moves to an unexpected ending. It is a good read.