You Belong Here by Megan Miranda~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Beckett Bowery never thought she’d return to Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia mountains steeped in tradition. Her roots there were Beckett’s parents taught at the college, and she never even imagined studying anywhere else—until a tragedy her senior year ended with two local men dead, and her roommate on the run, never to be seen again…

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

3 Crime Fiction Books You Won't Want to Put Down

by Donna Huber

I enjoy reading crime fiction. I debated discussing crime fiction for the letter C during the A to Z Challenge, but since I was discussing a few of the subgenres I decided to do something else for C. A couple of years ago, I joined a mystery book club where we sampled a variety of the subgenres. My favorite crime fiction has always been spy thrillers and domestic thrillers but I've come to appreciate mysteries too. Today, I have some great recommendations in all three of these subgenres.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

3 Summer Books and a Yummy Summer Dessert

by Donna Huber

July has been filled with a lot of great books and after a slow start, I've been blowing through my books the last week or so. I didn't want to wait to tell you about them so below are my reviews of the last of my July books. I also made a delicious dessert while I was reading these books so I shared the recipe.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

The box sat at the foot of the porch steps, in a small clearing of direct where grass still refused to grow. Cardboard sides left exposed to the elements, my full name written in black marker, the edge of my address just starting to bleed. It fit on my hip, like a child. (p. 3)

Review: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

by Donna Huber

Megan Miranda is a new to me author. She has written a few young adult novels, but All the Missing Girls is her first book written for adults. I was drawn to this title as it reminded me of Chevy Stevens.

All the Missing Girls was as thrilling and consuming as any Stevens' novel, but Miranda has her own unique writing style. I didn't think it was as dark as some of Stevens' books, but it is no less engaging.

Actually, the storytelling style of All the Missing Girls was a unique one for me. We are all probably familar with the technique of presenting the "current" situation and then going back to the beginning, you know something like "3 days before". I'm an NCIS fan and that show often uses this technique. However. Miranda turns this technique around and actually tells the whole story backwards.

We have the main character Nicolette driving to North Carolina to help put her father's house on the market, but then we are transported two weeks to "Day 15". One the day Nicolette arrives in town a girl goes missing. Ten years before, one of Nicolette's best friends disappeared. The mystery of both disappearances is unraveled step by step as we move one day closer to "Day 1" with each chapter.

It took a bit of getting used to this storytelling technique. I had to keep reminding myself why people were introducing themselves for the first time when there was interaction with them in the chapter before. It really didn't suit my random few minutes reading here and there type of schedule. It was much better when I could read large chunks of it at a time.

If you like to try to solve the mystery before the story is over, I think the reverse storytelling will keep you a bit off kilter. It was difficult to put all the pieces together while keeping the time line straight. I knew Nicolette knew more about Corrine's disappearance from 10 years ago, but there were so many secrets that it made the web of deceit tough to fully decipher what happened until it was revealed in the end.

The ending left me uneasy. I'm not sure how I thought it would end, or even how I wanted it to end. After the truth was revealed to the us readers, I wondered if the truth would fully be discovered by the characters. In the end, I had a knot in my stomach, which I wonder if that wasn't Miranda's goal.

Listen to an excerpt from the audio book:


All the Missing Girls is a book that takes focus, and it will be one you won't want to put down. I read it as part of my 'sleep & read' staycation and it made a great read.

Buy All the Missing Girls at Amazon

Donna Huber, founder & publisher. Donna is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour. She reads most genres, but her favorite books are psychological thrillers and stories that highlight the survival of the human spirit against unbelievable circumstances.

Book info:
available formats: ebook and print (384 pages)
published: June 2016 by Simon & Schuster
ISBN13: 9781501107962
genres: thriller, mystery
source: Netgalley




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