National Umbrella Day

Tags

Gene Kelly, National Umbrella Day, Singin in the Rain

Happy National Umbrella Day everyone! And who better to help celebrate this auspicious holiday, than Gene Kelly!

 

 

 

The Girl From Widow Hills, by Megan Miranda ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Sleepwalking, Substance Abuse

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 23rd, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest—a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick—comes a riveting new novel of psychological suspense about a young woman plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet.

Everyone knows the story of “the girl from Widow Hills.”

Arden Maynor was just a child when she was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm and went missing for days. Strangers and friends, neighbors and rescuers, set up search parties and held vigils, praying for her safe return. Against all odds, she was found alive, clinging to a storm drain. The girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden’s mother wrote a book. Fame followed. Fans and fan letters, creeps and stalkers. And every year, the anniversary. It all became too much. As soon as she was old enough, Arden changed her name and disappeared from the public eye.

Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. She’s managed to stay off the radar for the last few years. But with the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Where is she now? Olivia soon feels like she’s being watched and begins sleepwalking again, like she did long ago, even waking outside her home. Until late one night, she jolts awake in her yard. At her feet lies the corpse of a man she knows—from her previous life as Arden Maynor.

And now, the girl from Widow Hills is about to become the center of the story, once again, in this propulsive page-turner from suspense master Megan Miranda.

I’ve enjoyed Megan Miranda’s previous books, so I’ve been excited about The Girl From Widow Hills, since I first heard about it last year. After reading it in one sitting yesterday, I can honestly say that I believe this may be Miranda’s best work yet!

I loved the complexity of the characters because it adds to the pervasive air of untrustworthiness. No one is above suspicion here, not even Olivia/Arden. There are two mysteries: who murdered the man in her yard, and what really happened to her twenty years ago? I’m not sharing any spoilers, but let me just say that nothing and no one is what they seem, and both mysteries are very much connected. Arrogant me thought I had everything all figured out by the halfway point. Well, was I completely off base! At the end of the book there’s one of the most surprising plot twists I’ve come across, and it knocked me off my feet! The only reason why I’m not giving this 5 stars is because I wish Olivia’s relationship with her mother was a little more detailed. There are some questions I still have regarding it, even at the end.

I predict that The Girl From Widow Hills is going to be one of this year’s biggest summer blockbusters, so mark your calendars. Just don’t start this close to bedtime because otherwise you’ll be up very late reading this unputdownable thriller!