THE LAST TO VANISH......TRAILS AND TRIBULATIONS IN APPALACHIA.......

 The Last To Vanish by Megan Miranda (2022)    

               I wish I liked this more because the set-up for it promises a creepy good time. 

              Off we go to the Passage Inn in the woods and mountains of North Carolina. The guests can shop and dine at Cutter's Pass, the cozy little town just down the road. Then they can strap on their backpacks and go hiking up the Appalachian Trail....or less challenging but equally scenic spots surrounding the inn.

              Except that every so often, they disappear forever with no trace. Sometimes in whole bunches. Sometimes one at a time. With no bodies ever recovered, no wonder the place gets dubbed the most dangerous place to vacation.

               These ominous mysteries hovering over the Inn don't sit well with its young manager Abigail Lovett nor the guy who just checked in, the brother of a journalist who was the last to disappear. And the journalist, wouldn't you know it, was there investigating all the previous missing victims. 

                 Yes, an intriguing premise.......and host of potential suspects who populate the town. 

                  And then the book commits what I consider one of the most heinous, debilitating mistakes that any author of thrillers can make. It plunges head first into the quicksand of the lead character's internal thoughts, fears, suspicions, and assorted musings.

                 You know what that means........pages and pages of uninteresting prose as Abigail blah-blah-blahs to herself while struggling, ever so slowly, to pry loose all the secrets out of Cutter's Pass.

                 Thrillers that fall down this overwriting rabbit hole seem to dare me not finish them......though in the interests of this blog and you, dear visitors, I pressed on.

                  When the big reveals and twists finally arrive in the final pages, I can only say they vary in credulity.......and you may or may not swallow some of them. 

                  If you're a fan of Megan Miranda's previous books, you'll want to check this one out. Because I've enjoyed some of her other books, I didn't want to pass this one up .but I don't think it'll  stand among her best.  A few scary, atmospheric moments scattered about, but overall a mediocre effort. 2 stars (**).