Review: The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

I've always enjoyed reading Megan Miranda's mystery novels. She is one of those authors who is consistently good, and The Last to Vanish is no exception.

The resort town of Cutter's Pass, just off the Appalachian Trail, has become notorious for a string of unsolved disappearances. Abigail works at the Passage Inn, where some of the missing people were last seen. It's a job she loves but she still doesn't feel fully accepted by the locals. When Trey West turns up to investigate his brother's disappearance, Abigail can sense the town closing ranks. Perhaps if she helps him, he'll leave and everything will return to normal? Maybe, maybe not - but is she prepared for what she is about to discover?

The Last to Vanish is a slow burn murder mystery. I loved the descriptions of the area and how Abigail feels like an outsider. Bit by bit we learn more about the people who disappeared, and their reasons for visiting Cutter's Pass, and more about the townsfolk and why they are so close-knit. There are some jaw-dropping twists, although one of these, towards the end, was in the form of undisclosed information, which I always feel is a bit of a cheat!

An enjoyable read, which should appeal to authors such as Julia Heaberlin, Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.

Thank you to Megan Miranda and Corvus for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily. 

Related Posts:

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda 

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

Review: This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede

At the beginning of time, the goddess Dea created mankind but Crollo insisted humans were too flawed to survive. So the two of them made a wager. Crollo could send his demons to kill the humans but Dea would would bless the humans with gifts: 'Fontes', who are born with magic to defeat the demons, and one 'Finestra' to enhance that magic when the time came to do battle.

Three years ago Alessa was chosen to be her island's Finestra but so far she has accidentally killed each of the three Fontes she chose to be her partner. Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find another partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island's only hope, even her own soldiers are tempted to assassinate her!

I love reading YA fantasy and the idea of an Italian-inspired story with demons and gods and magic intrigued me! The story reminded me a little of both The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with teenagers forming themselves into an army and training to become killers. When Alessa was first chosen to be a Finestra, she was treated like a god herself. Now everyone is beginning to think they'd be better off without her. Enter Dante, who bears the mark (tattoo) of a killer, but is he all that he seems? It wasn't too hard to guess Dante's secret, as it was heavily sign-posted. Alessa hires him in desperation but he proves to be surprisingly effective at both guarding her and teaching her to be a more effective leader, explaining that there's more than one way to be 'the chosen one' and that maybe she should start living by her own rules, seeing as the ones she's currently following don't seem to be working!

Alessa and Dante are fabulous characters and I loved the way their relationship developed - This Vicious Grace does lean more towards YA romance than YA fantasy. The world-building is excellent - the Italian-inspired setting was refreshing, and I can't wait until the next one in the series! One of my favourite reads this year!

Thank you to Emily Thiede and Hodder & Stoughton for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.