One of my favorite book settings is small New England beach town (bonus points if it’s an island) brimming with secrets, class anxiety, community, and melancholic unease. Littleport, Massachusetts fits this to a tee. Littleport is a tourist town run by the hard-working residents but it’s the wealthy Lowman family–and their real estate empire–that truly runs things. When The Lowman’s daughter, Sadie, is found dead on the bluffs it’s up to her best friend Avery to unravel the Lowman family’s darkest secrets.
Through flashbacks, we learn how Avery, the former town screw-up, was pulled into the Lowman’s orbit. The way this book moved through time and played with class reminded me of one of my favorite procedural TV shows Cold Case–which handles the subject of class quite often. This book was filled with cliffhangers and thrilling moments but the mystery is rather predictable for avid mystery/thriller readers.
I feel like this book could easily be categorized as New Adult. The main characters are all under 25 and are just starting out in their careers while figuring out adulthood and relationships. I think Miranda nailed writing from this point-of-view.
I listened to a portion of this on audio and narrator Rebekkah Ross is a good fit for Avery and did a great job crafting voices for all the townsfolk.
The Last House Guest was my introduction to Megan Miranda and I can’t wait to check out more of her work.
Side Note
There is sort of an “I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE” moment when you realize why this book is called this. Very clever.
1/2 of the blogging duo at Books and Sensibility, I have been blogging about and reviewing books since 2011. I read any and every genre, here on the blog I mostly review Fantasy, Adult Fiction, and Young Adult with a focus on audiobooks.