BOOK REVIEW: The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda #thelasthouseguest #bookreview

I am really excited to finally read my first Megan Miranda book. If you spend much time on Goodreads or other book platforms, Megan Miranda is a favorite author of book lovers who writes some incredible books! I found The Last House Guest to be a suspenseful, gripping character study about a woman who is coping with the death of a close friend who she realizes she may not have known everything about.

Littleport, Maine is like two towns in one: the vacation town populated between Memorial Day and Labor Day by the elite who are able to afford a summer home there, and the local town populated year round by a smaller group of townies who outlast the wealthy vacationers and keep the town afloat during the off-season.

Avery Greer grew up as a townie in Littleport. After the tragic death of her parents, Avery was adrift until the town golden girl Sadie Loman plucked her from the sea of townies and made her someone relevant. Over time, Sadie became more than Avery’s best friend, she became her counterpart.

The Lomans are royalty in Littleport, owning most of the properties and rentals. After the death of her grandmother, the Lomans hire Avery to manage their rental properties and live in their guesthouse. Everything is going well until the night of the Plus-One party when Sadie commits suicide.

Now, nearly a year after the supposed suicide of her friend Sadie Loman, Avery Greer finds herself revisiting the event as new evidence comes to light that suggests Sadie’s death may not have been by her own hand. Avery’s life fell apart after Sadie died, and now she’s a bit adrift.

When Sadie’s phone is discovered in the rental cottage that hosted the infamous Plus-One party the night Sadie died, Avery immediately turns it over to the police. But now that very phone may throw everything into question. And Avery finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

This is one of the books that is tough to place in a genre. It definitely is full of suspense and intrigue, and it has a few thriller-like moments (for instance, the break-ins at the cottage throughout the book spooked me a few times), but since the bulk of the night in question happens in the past and the story revolves around the complicated dynamics within the Loman family and around Avery, it almost feels like a suspenseful drama.

I definitely enjoyed all of the complicated family and relationship dynamics in the novel. There are a lot of secrets buried all over the place in this town run by the Lomans, and a lot to be revealed! I found the book compelling, and I thought it got more gripping in the second half as we started to get some answers.

A great vacation read and a satisfying suspense novel with complex characters that will definitely carry you away to Littleport!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my copy. Opinions are my own.