The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

I am delighted to be today's stop on the Blog Tour for The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. The Perfect Stranger was published by Corvus on 1st February 2018.

The Perfect Stranger
By Megan Miranda
Published by Corvus (1 February 2018)
I received an Advancer Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Publisher's description

What happens when your best friend becomes your worst nightmare...

Having reached a dead end in Boston, failed journalist Leah Stevens needs a change. When she runs into an old friend, Emmy Grey, who is moving to rural Pennsylvania, Leah decides to join her. But their fresh start is quickly threatened when a woman with an eerie resemblance to Leah is assaulted by the lake, and Emmy disappears days later.

Determined to find Emmy, Leah helps Detective Kyle Donovan to investigate her friend's life for clues. But with no friends, family or digital footprint, the police begin to suspect that there is no Emmy Grey. Forced to question her version of reality and to save herself, Leah must uncover the truth - no matter how dark or terrible it may be...

My verdict

The Perfect Stranger is an unsettling multi-layered mystery.

It took me on a journey alongside its protagonist Leah, who realises she knows very little about her housemate and friend Emmy who has disappeared. The local police aren't convinced that Emmy actually existed and even Leah begins to question her own sanity. Leah gradually reveals information about her own past as she sets out to discover more about her friend.

The book is set in rural Pennsylvania, in a house backing onto dark woods, near a small town. Megan Miranda is a great writer, and her vivid descriptions certainly created a dark, haunting and claustrophobic atmosphere. The two main characters - Leah and Emmy - both have intriguing pasts (Emmy in particular has spun a web of lies) though neither was particularly likeable.

I found The Perfect Stranger to be a quick read that kept me engaged from beginning to end. I did guess a few of the 'twists and turns' but certainly not all of them so there were still plenty of surprises. The book raised many questions about how well we know our friends, particularly those we see only every-so-often or keep in touch with via social media. It also shows how easy it can be to create a new identity when those around you don't know you at all.

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All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda - Blog Tour

I am delighted to host today's stop (Day 8) on the Blog Tour for All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. All the Missing Girls was published by Atlantic Books (Corvus) on 2 February 2017. Read on for my review...

All the Missing Girls
By Megan Miranda
Published by Atlantic Books (2 February 2017)
ISBN: 978-1786490810

Publisher's description
It's been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared without trace. Then a letter from her father arrives - 'I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl.' Has her father's dementia worsened, or has he really seen Corinne? Returning home, Nicolette must finally face what happened on that terrible night all those years ago. Then, another young woman goes missing, almost to the day of the anniversary of when Corinne vanished. And like ten years ago, the whole town is a suspect. Told backwards - Day 15 to Day 1 - Nicolette works to unravel the truth, revealing shocking secrets about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne.

My verdict
All the Missing Girls features two mysteries (10 years apart), both involving the disappearance of two girls in a small rural town in the USA. Although the book opens and closes in the present day, the main part of the story is told backwards, from Day 15 to Day 1. The ending of the book is really the beginning of the story.

I found myself immersed in the narrative from early on. The setting is highly atmospheric, and there were plenty of believable characters, although I can't say I liked any of them. This is a great study of small town America, in a town filled with secrets and lies.

Each chapter/day reveals more facts about the disappearance of Nicolette's friend Corinne 10 years earlier and gets closer to the truth. The author cleverly dripfeeds the clues, with a slow reveal of Nicolette's haunting memories of that time. I gave up trying to figuring everything out, not only because of the twists and turns, but also because the format of the book made it more difficult to guess. This made the ending, with the truth finally revealed, very unexpected.

All the Missing Girls was an enjoyable and gripping read, with some fast-paced moments and plenty of tension.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

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