Review: The Girl from Widow Hills

The Girl from Widow Hills, published on June 23, is only the second novel I've read from Megan Miranda. The other was The Perfect Stranger and I really enjoyed it (review here). After reading two of her novels I'm even more inclined to check out her backlist because knows how to tell a good and twisted story.

Here's the synopsis:

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 rescue workers, 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? Soon Olivia 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 is 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.

At first I was kind of annoyed at the use of "girl" in the title because I'm kind of over that trend of women-centred thrillers that Gone Girl spawned (even though many, many of them have been very good). I felt better, then, when I realized that the story was about a literal girl. Or at least, Adren was a girl when she was thrust into the spotlight with her sleepwalking adventure. She's an adult now, going by Olivia, trying to keep her head down and forget her past. Surprise. It's not going to work.

Often I find I can piece together some of the threads to have an idea of how a thriller or mystery might end up. With Miranda's latest? I had absolutely no idea how the story would end up. And just when I thought it was wrapping up, another surprise or five showed up to throw me off the trail again. I really, really liked being totally shocked at the end

I also really wasn't sure what to think of Olivia. I can't say I blame her for living her life the way she was. It can't have been easy being in the spotlight for such a harrowing experience that she couldn't even remember. I'd probably hide away too and be worried about my mental state when strange things started happening again. At first I wasn't sure if Miranda was leaning hard into the unreliable narrator trope but eventually I decided not to worry about it and just let the story sweep me away. And it did.

I liked that the story featured newspaper articles, transcripts, and the like to help the reader try to piece together what on earth happened to Arden. Because you realize pretty early on that something just doesn't add up. Miranda gives the reader information bit by bit and you think it's starting to help shape a picture of what happened but there are a lot more holes in the story than you'd expect. So you keep turning the pages, waiting to see how it all ties together.

The Girl from Widow Hills was a mystery that kept me guessing until almost the very final page and I think those looking for a suspenseful read should pick up Megan Miranda's latest book. I'd love to know if you were as surprised as I was by the ending!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*