Book Review: The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

Book: 102/150

Rating: 2/5

Summary: 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.

Thoughts: I started this book back in May, paused about 25% of the way through, and then finally picked it up again to finish it. I went back and forth between print and audio (if it wasn't for the audio I don't think I would have finished it). This one wasn't the book for me. I couldn't get invested in the story and couldn't connect with any of the characters. The reveal at the end was a good shock but didn't change my opinion on the book overall. I did like the use of multi-media between chapters (letters, interviews, media reports, etc.) to give more insight as to how prominent Olivia's disappearance was when she was a kid. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.