CANR
WORK TITLE: All the Missing Girls
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1981?
WEBSITE: http://www.meganmiranda.com/
CITY: Huntersville
STATE: NC
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: CANR 298
http://deepsouthmag.com/2016/07/18/writing-backwards-megan-miranda/ * http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/an-interview-with-megan-miranda
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1981; daughter of Jon and Jeanne Colpitts; married Luis Miranda; children: Alexa, Jake.
EDUCATION:Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Formerly a scientist and a high-school teacher.
AWARDS:RT Book Reviews Top Pick and Locus Recommended Reading list, both for Hysteria.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Megan Miranda grew up with the idea of becoming a writer but put the idea aside for a more conventional, secure career. She spent her childhood in New Jersey and earned a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She now lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. Even though she wrote as a hobby, she ended up working as a scientist in laboratories and as a high-school teacher until she quit her job to take care of her two children. In her spare time, she decided that she would begin writing in earnest again. The result is her first novel, Fracture. Since that debut, Miranda has gone on to write several more young-adult novels, including Hysteria, Vengeance, and Soulprint. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls. She also writes psychological suspense.
Miranda’s first novel. Fracture, focuses on seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell, who falls through the ice on a Maine lake but miraculously recovers after being under water without oxygen for more than ten minutes. Although Delaney is in a coma, she has no outward signs of injury and eventually regains consciousness. Nevertheless, something does not seem right.
“I’ve always been drawn to facts and concrete answers,” Miranda told Sarah Wethern in an interview for the Young Adult Library Services Association website, noting that her desire for facts is one of the reasons she first chose a career in science. Miranda went on to tell Wethern: “There is still so much unknown about how the brain works. Why people can have the same injury and have completely different recoveries.” Miranda also remarked that she believes people are more than just the brain’s wiring and commented: “Writing Fracture was kind of my outlet for all these questions that were churning away inside of me.”
Following her near-death experience, Delaney, who technically did die, has astounded doctors because her brain scans indicated that she should not be conscious or able to function. Nevertheless, Delaney seems her old witty and intelligent self. She returns to school to work on her goal of being her class valedictorian and reconnects with friends, who are concerned that Delaney will just one day collapse in front of them. Meanwhile, Delaney starts to notice that she may have supernatural powers, namely the ability to identify those who are on the brink of dying, and wonders if the accident has rewired her brain.
Delaney is frightened by her new powers and turns to the troublesome Troy Varga for comfort. Troy also had a near-death experience and appears to have developed psychic powers as well. Also on hand is Delaney’s long-time friend, Decker, who rescued Delaney from the water. Delaney’s nervousness increases when it begins to appear that someone may be out to kill the people that Delaney predicts are near death. This leads her to wonder whether she is predicting or causing their deaths.
The novel delves into the psyche of not only Delaney, who struggles with her feelings for both Decker and Troy, but also those of her two boyfriends. Even though he rescued Delaney, Decker feels guilty and is not sure about how his platonic relationship with Delaney is progressing into something more. In fact, both he and Delaney struggle with their burgeoning feelings for each other. Troy also has problems from his past that he must deal with and seems to have ideas about how to use his powers that are not completely moral. Meanwhile, Delaney alternately tries to get away from Troy and then finds herself in his arms. Delaney’s mom is also on hand as a control freak who becomes even more overbearing after Delaney’s near death and tries to control her daughter with drugs.
“Delaney is an engaging personality, and Miranda is able to sustain her protagonist’s sharp voice throughout,” wrote Lauri I. Vaughan in the Voice of Youth Advocates, adding: “Mom, Decker, Troy, and several minor characters are realistic, distinctive, and interesting.” Noting that Miranda’s novel strays back and forth toward science and the supernatural, School Library Journal contributor Jake Pettit remarked: “The love triangle, combined with the allure of danger, will carry readers through this story.”
Miranda provides more chills and teen danger in Hysteria. The protagonist here is Mallory, who killed her boyfriend, Brian. Though it is ruled self-defense, Mallory cannot recall any of the event, and she still feels the presence of Brian. Mallory’s parents see that she needs a new start and thus send her to Monroe, a prep school where no one knows about her past. Brian’s presence, however, continues to haunt her. When a fellow student at Monroe dies, Mallory must face her past and force herself to remember the events surrounding both deaths in order to prove that she is innocent.
A Publishers Weekly Online reviewer had praise for Hysteria, noting, “Miranda’s enveloping prose style and the story’s sinuous plot result in a thriller that questions the reliability of memory.” Booklist reviewer Krista Hutley similarly felt that “Mallory is convincing in her reactions” and that her “strong relationships with her best friend and her mother stand out.” A Kirkus Reviews critic noted: “The primary thriller plot and readers’ investment in Mallory will keep the pages turning,” and Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Matthew Weaver commented: “There is really nothing that has not been done in umpteen, empty, slasher/thrillers; yet here, it all feels fresh, addicting, and smart.” In a similar vein, School Library Journal contributor Miranda Doyle dubbed Hysteria a “suspenseful page turner.”
Miranda provides a sequel of sorts to her debut novel, Fracture, in her 2014 work, Vengeance. This novel is told from the point of view of Decker, the best friend of Fracture ‘s protagonist, Delaney. In that earlier work, Delaney survives a drowning incident in Falcon Lake, recovering from a coma to find she has the power to sense when people are sick or dying. Decker pulled Delaney out of the water and saved her; now, when Decker’s father dies unexpectedly, he blames Delaney, who surely knew his father was going to die but said nothing. Friends at the local high school are beginning to be spooked by all the strange events going on around them, with unexplained deaths, floods, and incidents of vandalism. Decker and others begin to suspect that Delaney is the cause of it all. Can the relationship between Decker and Delaney survive these strains, and is Falcon Lake somehow out to get them all?
Writing in Booklist, Frances Bradburn noted of Vengeance that the “reader will fly through the pages.” Voice of Youth Advocates contributor Weaver also had praise for this third novel, noting: “Miranda is a master at creating a sense of foreboding and a haunting narrative around engaging characters.” Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews critic observed: “The realistic mystery wrapped in an eerie supernatural atmosphere will appeal to fans of both genres.” And School Library Journal writer Jenny Begen called it a “satisfying follow-up, delving more deeply into the characters and the so-called ‘curse’ of Falcon Lake.”
Miranda presents a dystopic view of a different time in Soulprint. Alina Chase is seventeen and has spent her life incarcerated on an island for a crime perpetrated in a different lifetime. In an age when one’s soul is like a fingerprint, Alina is imprisoned for the crimes of June Calahan, former inhabitant of her soul. In this former incarnation, June broke into the soul registry and used information gained to blackmail those with criminal pasts. Now Alina is still paying for that crime. She is helped by three other teens to escape, but Alina soon learns that these youths have their own agendas and ulterior motives in aiding her. Then, as she begins to uncover clues about her past, Alina questions the role of fate in her life and in the lives of others.
A Kirkus Reviews critic found Soulprint a “perfectly competent thriller for those who can suspend disbelief.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer had a higher assessment of the novel, noting that it has a “heroine with a strong voice and a thirst for freedom, thrust among a vividly delineated supporting cast with competing agendas.” Higher praise came from School Library Journal contributor Leighanne Law, who termed it a “thought-provoking, action-packed novel,” and from Booklist writer Erin Downey Howerton, who called it a “surprising new sf thriller with just enough of a touch of romance.”
In 2016, Miranda published All the Missing Girls, a blend of The Girl on the Train and the Luckiest Girl Alive. Taking a turn from writing young adult fiction, this story for adults involves two disappearances ten years apart and told in reverse. Ten years ago, Corinne went missing in rural Cooley Ridge, North Carolina. Now, Nicolette Farrell returns to the town, the only one of four suspects who moved away when the disappearance happened. The other suspects are Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson, Nicolette’s boyfriend Tyler, and Nicolette’s brother Daniel. Now, another girl goes missing, Annaleise Carter, who was the four suspect’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Miranda tells the story on the day Annaleise disappears backward two weeks as Corinne uncovers truths and secrets about her friends.
Writing in Booklist, Christine Tran commented that telling the story backwards was a risk, but it works. Tran said the book is an “undroppable thriller, plenty of romantic suspense, and a fresh take on the decades-old teenage-murder theme.” On the other hand, according to a writer in Kirkus Reviews, “The chronology is frustrating, the characters are bland, and the plotting is sloppy. Feel free to give these missing girls a miss.” In Publishers Weekly, a writer said: “What really makes this roller-coaster so memorable is her inspired use of reverse chronology.”
Miranda next wrote The Perfect Stranger, in which Leah Stevens flees Boston under threat of a restraining order and joins her friend Emmy Grey in western Pennsylvania to start life anew. They rent a creepy house together, and Leah gets a teaching job. But when a woman who looks like Leah is killed and Emmy disappears, Leah is questioned as the major suspect. Trying to clear her name, Leah realizes that Emmy had no other friends or family nor even a social media trail, leaving Leah hard pressed to prove there even was an Emmy.
Calling the book an excellent second novel of psychological suspense, Jane Murphy in Booklist noted that The Perfect Stranger is for readers “who like their female characters clever and resourceful, even when their best friends become their worst nightmares.” A writer in Publishers Weekly noted: “The story moves at a feverish, unfaltering pace, keeping readers just as perplexed as the characters.” According to a Kirkus Reviews contributor: “Familiar elements shuffled around can make for an entertaining read, but in the end, the pieces will still be just that: familiar.”
Miranda’s 2017 thriller The Safest Lies follows Kelsey Thomas whose mother Amanda was kidnapped and raped seventeen years ago. Amanda has never left the house and has fortified it against any break-in. She has ordered Kelsey not to attract any attention and to keep a low profile. That changes when Kelsey is rescued from a serious car accident by fireman Ryan Baker who is Kelsey’s classmate. Her high profile rescue makes the evening news. When she returns home, her mother is missing. While investigating what happened, Kelsey eventually learns of her mother’s ordeal so many years ago. “Miranda expertly builds a sense of dread, leaving readers to uncover the truth right alongside Kelsey,” noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. Although auxiliary characters are not fully developed and lack credibility, in Voice of Youth Advocates, Morgan Brickey commented nevertheless: “Life-and-death situations, lies, family intrigue, and romance are all here, and Kelsey and her posse are up for the challenge.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 15, 2011, Frances Bradburn, review of Fracture, p. 53; January 17, 2013, Krista Hutley, review of Hysteria; December 1, 2013, Frances Bradburn, review of Vengeance, p. 64; January 12, 2015, Erin Downey Howerton, review of Soulprint; May 2016, Christine Tran, review of All the Missing Girls, p. 16; April 1, 2017, Jane Murphy, review of The Perfect Stranger, p. 25.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2011, review of Fracture; January 1, 2013, review of Hysteria; January 1, 2014, review of Vengeance; November 15, 2014, review of Soulprint; April 15, 2016, review of All the Missing Girls; March 15, 2017, review of The Perfect Stranger.
Publishers Weekly, October 24, 2011, review of Fracture, p. 54; November 24, 2014, review of Soulprint, p. 77; April 4, 2016, review of All the Missing Girls, p. 56; December 2, 2016, review of The Safest Lies, p. 117; March 2017, review of The Perfect Stranger, p. 66.
School Librarian, summer, 2014, Sue Polchow, review of Vengeance, p. 120.
School Library Journal, February, 2012, Jake Pettit, review of Fracture, p. 129; June, 2013, Miranda Doyle, review of Hysteria, p. 136; March, 2014, Jenny Berggren, review of Vengeance, p. 161; April, 2015, Leighanne Law, review of Soulprint, p. 156.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2011, Lauri I. Vaughan, review of Fracture, p. 497; December, 2012, Matthew Weaver, review of Hysteria, p. 471; December, 2013, Matthew Weaver, review of Vengeance, p. 63; June 2016, Morgan Brickey, review of The Safest Lies, p. 68.
ONLINE
Book Smugglers, http://thebooksmugglers.com/ (January 20, 2012), “Joint Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda.”
Boston Globe Online, http://articles.boston.com/ (January 22, 2012), Meredith Goldstein and Ugo Cirac, review of Fracture.
Daily Fig, http://dailyfig.figment.com/ (January 4, 2012), Megan Miranda, “Megan Miranda on Writing a Book.”
Dear Author, http://dearauthor.com/ (February 15, 2013), review of Hysteria.
Death, Books and Tea, http://deathbooksandtea.blogspot.com/ (April 9, 2012), “Megan Miranda Talks Fracture.”
Fangirl World, https://thebigfatfbooks.wordpress.com/ (January 24, 2015), review of Soulprint.
Girls in the Stacks, http://girlsinthestacks.com/ (September 7, 2012), review of Fracture.
Guardian Online, http://www.guardian.co.uk/ (July 27, 2012), Fatima Fefe, review of Fracture.
Jean BookNerd, http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/ (September 7, 2012), “Megan Miranda Author Interview.”
Megan Miranda Website, http://www.meganmiranda.com (June 29, 2015).
Not Yet Read, http://www.notyetread.com/ (February 16, 2015), review of Soulprint.
Publishers Weekly Online, http://www.publishersweekly.com/ (July 18, 2015), review of Hysteria.
Teenreads, http://www.teenreads.com/ (September 7, 2012), author profile.
Washington Post Online, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (January 3, 2012), Mary Quattlebaum, “Megan Miranda’s Fracture: Compelling Thriller and Romance Is Life-Affirming.”
Young Adult Library Services Association Website, http://www.ala.org/yalsa/ (October 14, 2011), Sarah Wethern, “31 Days of Authors: A Conversation with Megan Miranda.”*
Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls. She has also written several books for young adults, including Fracture, Hysteria, Vengeance, Soulprint, and The Safest Lies. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. The Perfect Stranger (4/11/17) is her second novel of psychological suspense.
Twitter / Facebook / Instagram
Megan is represented by Sarah Davies at The Greenhouse Literary Agency
FAQs:
Are you available for school/library visits?
Yes. Please send me an email: meganmirandabooks@gmail.com
How about Skype visits?
Yes, I offer free 20-minute Q&A Skype visits to book clubs or classes that have read any of my books.
What’s coming out next?
My next young adult book, Fragments of the Lost, will be published by Random House/Crown BFYR in November, 2017.
The Perfect Stranger
Jane Murphy
113.15 (Apr. 1, 2017): p25.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Perfect Stranger.
By Megan Miranda.
May 2017. 352p. Simon & Schuster, $25 (9781501107993); e-book, $12.99 (9781501108013).
An excellent second novel of psychological suspense (after All the Missing Girls, 2016) from best-selling teen author Miranda. So many young women, so many unfortunate choices. Two young women in particular, badly in need of a fresh start, leave the big city behind and relocate to western Pennsylvania. Their first misstep is renting a creepy house with sliding glass doors for a front entry, and hidden crawl spaces. One of the women goes missing, and the other finds herself hard-pressed to provide the police with any actual proof of her housemate's existence, particularly after a car is dredged out of the lake with her boyfriend's body in it, and the sudden realization that her name came from a vodka bottle. Good thing there is a handsome and understanding police officer assigned to the case, one who has made his own unfortunate choices. Highly recommended for fans of Alafair Burke, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Lutz, and for all readers who like their female characters clever and resourceful, even when their best friends become their worst nightmares.--Jane Murphy
Murphy, Jane
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Murphy, Jane. "The Perfect Stranger." Booklist, 1 Apr. 2017, p. 25. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA491487870&it=r&asid=13a431a6281f3ed971480025a310a20a. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491487870
The Perfect Stranger
264.13 (Mar. 27, 2017): p66.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Perfect Stranger
Megan Miranda. Simon & Schuster, $25
(352p) ISBN 978-1-5011-0799-3
Fans of Gillian Flynn, Chevy Stevens, and Jennifer McMahon will devour this relentlessly paced and deftly plotted thriller. A new beginning is exactly what Leah Stevens needs after a devastating incident shatters her journalism career in Boston. She is cajoled along by her former roommate, Emmy Grey, and both women find a second chance in a small Pennsylvania community. Things turn sour when a young woman with an unnerving resemblance to Leah is found, bludgeoned, near death, less than a mile from Leah's home, and Emmy has suddenly disappeared. Leah contacts the police, but the resulting search comes up fruitless; everything she thought she knew about Emmy comes into question. With steeled certainty that Emmy is indeed real, finding her becomes imperative to maintaining Leah's sanity, safety, and reputation. An irresistible and riveting page-turner, Miranda (All the Missing Girls) weaves several mysteries together, leading to the intricate climax. The story moves at a feverish, unfaltering pace, keeping readers just as perplexed as the characters. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Perfect Stranger." Publishers Weekly, 27 Mar. 2017, p. 66+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA487928070&it=r&asid=15ad1e99d41d2e40eefa8fc3611bd2cf. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487928070
Miranda, Megan: THE PERFECT STRANGER
(Mar. 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Miranda, Megan THE PERFECT STRANGER Simon & Schuster (Adult Fiction) $25.00 5, 16 ISBN: 978-1-5011-0799-3
After her journalism career goes up in flames, a young woman reconnects with an old friend in an attempt to start anew only to become embroiled in a series of increasingly violent crimes.Leah Stevens thought life as a reporter in Boston couldn't get better until a story on college suicides goes sideways in the worst way and she resigns before things get uglier. Floundering professionally and personally, Leah runs into her former roommate Emmy Grey, whom she hasn't seen in eight years, and after a vodka-fueled night more in line with a network television show than anything resembling real life, the pair decides to start over in western Pennsylvania. The nominally qualified Leah teaches school, and Emmy works sporadically in a fleabag motel. Soon a woman is found by the lake, beaten almost to death and bearing an unnerving resemblance to Leah. The obvious suspect is Davis Cobb, the school's basketball coach who's also fond of drunk-dialing Leah. Not wanting her past to come to light, Leah skirts the cops' questions but becomes increasingly worried when Emmy doesn't show up for days on end. Though her friend isn't always reliable, disappearing without a word is unusual, so Leah starts digging, becoming more unnerved the more she tries to piece together Emmy's life, and discovers it is built on lies. With the police skeptical of her story and Leah beginning to doubt her own sanity, Miranda (All the Missing Girls, 2016, etc.) doubles down on the tragic back story angle, to the overall detriment of an otherwise solid plot. Familiar elements shuffled around can make for an entertaining read, but in the end, the pieces will still be just that: familiar.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Miranda, Megan: THE PERFECT STRANGER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485105219&it=r&asid=1033d21d158130cafd159c947860f528. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485105219
The Safest Lies
263.49 (Dec. 2, 2016): p117.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Safest Lies
Megan Miranda. Crown, $17.99
ISBN 978-0-553-53751-2
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Miranda (Soulprint) explores the traumatic effects of fear conditioning while offering chills aplenty in this frightening thriller. Kelsey Thomas lives in a beautiful home with her mother, Amanda, who hasn't left for 17 years, since Kelsey was born. The house is a fortress meant to keep any threat at bay. When Kelsey is involved in a car accident and rescued by volunteer fireman and classmate Ryan Baker, it kicks off a series of events that bring to light the horror that her mother suffered all those years ago. Then Kelsey's mother disappears. Someone has Kelsey in his or her sights, and it's surely connected to her mother's past. Desperate to find her mother, Kelsey, with Ryan's help, begins sifting through clues about her mother's abduction and discovers that nothing is what it seems. Writing from Kelsey's first-person perspective, Miranda expertly builds a sense of dread, leaving readers to uncover the truth right alongside Kelsey. A touch of romance adds levity, and the breathless cat-and-mouse game between Kelsey and her shadowy pursuers makes this a fast-paced, suspenseful treat. Ages 14-up.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Safest Lies." Publishers Weekly, 2 Dec. 2016, p. 117. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475224758&it=r&asid=1f0e0c073656520e4028ef62c616cfe6. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A475224758
Miranda, Megan. The Safest Lies
Morgan Brickey
39.2 (June 2016): p68.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
3Q * 3P * S * R
Miranda, Megan. The Safest Lies. Crown/ Penguin Random House, 2016. 368p. $17.99. 978-0-553-53751-2.
Kelsey Thomas is very familiar with fear. Her mother, who never leaves the house, has always been preparing her for an unseen danger. Kelsey is not even sure what exactly she is afraid of, but the fortress her mother has constructed for them could withstand more than the average break-in. After Kelsey is rescued from a cliff-side car wreck by her cute fellow classmate, Ryan, her life takes a turn for the spotlight. This brings the last thing that her family needs--attention from the outside world. Soon dark forces are trying to get in, and Kelsey wonders if this is what her mother feared all along.
The topics of fear and unseen dangers are popular, and for good reason. Both are present and accounted for in this quick-moving and suspense-filled novel. Life-and-death situations, lies, family intrigue, and romance are all here, and Kelsey and her posse are up for the challenge. While the story is written well, there are a few flaws in the narrative. The ever-present suspense could have been dialed up a bit, especially near the end, which feels disjointed and rushed. Auxiliary characters are not fully developed, so their actions and motives lack credibility; however, reluctant and voracious readers alike will enjoy the twisty turns present in this mystery.--Morgan Brickey.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Brickey, Morgan. "Miranda, Megan. The Safest Lies." Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2016, p. 68. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA455183889&it=r&asid=9aa80353a29d4840194bfaf8a5b044bb. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A455183889
All the Missing Girls
Christine Tran
112.17 (May 1, 2016): p16.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
All the Missing Girls. By Megan Miranda. June 2016.384p. Simon & Schuster, $25 (9781501107962); e-book, $ 12.99 (9781501107986).
Miranda, known for her successful young-adult thrillers, has crafted a darkly nostalgic adult debut sure to draw new readers and please her YA base. Nicolette Farrell left Cooley Ridge, North Carolina, 10 years ago in the wake of her best friend Corinne's disappearance. Now a school counselor in Philadelphia and engaged to a successful attorney, Nic reluctantly returns to Cooley Ridge to handle her father's affairs after a stroke sends him to a nursing home. With Nic's arrival, the fallout surrounding Corinne's disappearance resurfaces as if no time has passed, confronting her with unresolved feelings about Corinne, a dangerous attraction to her first love, and a growing cloud of suspicion surrounding her family's role in Corinne's disappearance. Then Annaleise Carter, who provided the alibi for Nic and her friends the night Corinne disappeared, goes missing, and Nic scrambles to understand the clues she's unearthed implicating her loved ones. Miranda takes a risk by telling the story backward, but it pays off with an undroppable thriller, plenty of romantic suspense, and a fresh take on the decades-old teenage-murder theme.--Christine Tran
YA: Teen fans of Miranda's YA novels interested in her adult debut will likely find Nics recollections of her teenage years engrossing. SH.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Tran, Christine. "All the Missing Girls." Booklist, 1 May 2016, p. 16. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA453293576&it=r&asid=66b0d21fe19f868d52f293dc4e7c828e. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A453293576
Miranda, Megan: ALL THE MISSING GIRLS
(Apr. 15, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Miranda, Megan ALL THE MISSING GIRLS Simon & Schuster (Adult Fiction) $25.00 6, 28 ISBN: 978-1-5011-0796-2
Miranda's thriller, told backward over a two-week period, finds heroine Nicolette "Nic" Farrell back home in Cooley Ridge to solve the 10-year-old case of her missing best friend, Corrine, as well as the fresh disappearance of neighbor Annaleise Carter. With a slew of thrillers about disappearing women (inevitably called "girls" though they're adults) coming this spring and summer, Miranda (Soulprint, 2015, etc.) has a lot of competition. The gimmick of telling the story backward causes confusion more than it builds suspense, and the characters, including Nic; her rich, mostly offstage fiance, Everett; her ex-boyfriend Tyler, who happened to be dating Annaleise at the time of her disappearance--an icky twist--her brother, Daniel, and his pregnant wife, Laura, are all unmemorable figures with no real feelings or motivations. The one character who does elicit sympathy is Nic's father, forced to leave his home because of dementia. Yet it's because of his statements that he knows about a missing girl that the plot is set in motion--and how often does a small-town police force reopen a case because an old man mutters something, and no one can figure out if it's about his neighbor or his daughter's former best friend, now gone for 10 years? The chronology is frustrating, the characters are bland, and the plotting is sloppy. Feel free to give these missing girls a miss.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Miranda, Megan: ALL THE MISSING GIRLS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA449241002&it=r&asid=bfd8983cda7edf15e5627fd24711abcb. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A449241002
All the Missing Girls
263.14 (Apr. 4, 2016): p56.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* All the Missing Girls
Megan Miranda. Simon & Schuster, $25
(384p) ISBN 978-1-5011-0796-2
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
YA author Miranda (Soulprint) makes her adult debut with this fiendishly plotted thriller. Family business brings Philadelphia prep school counselor Nicolette "Nic" Farrell back to her hometown of Cooley Ridge, N.C., aplace still fraught with the unsolved disappearance of her best friend, Corinne Prescott, right after their high school graduation a decade earlier. Nic unexpectedly finds herself still attracted to high school sweetheart Tyler, whose current girlfriend, Annaleise Carter, disappears the day after Annaleise texted police with questions about Corinne's case. As Nic struggles to figure out what really happened to Corinne, who her demented father claims to have seen, she must also face some bitter truths--about her provocative BFF and herself. Miranda convincingly conjures a haunted setting that serves as a character in its own right, but what really makes this roller-coaster so memorable is her inspired use of reverse chronology, so that each chapter steps further back in time, dramatically shifting the reader's perspective. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"All the Missing Girls." Publishers Weekly, 4 Apr. 2016, p. 56. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA448902672&it=r&asid=df8aa854b71c269f6c3b0c1af6ed45ca. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A448902672
The Safest Lies
Stacey Comfort
112.15 (Apr. 1, 2016): p70.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Safest Lies. By Megan Miranda. May 2016. 368p. Crown, $17.99 (9780553537512); lib. ed., $20.99 (9780553537529). Gr. 9-12.
For Kelsey and her mother, life is a series of habits: letting the car idle, making sure their bags are nearby, and checking the backseat before getting in a car are all part of their everyday rituals. The actions stem from the fact that Kelsey's mother was kidnapped before Kelsey was born; she escaped while pregnant with Kelsey, but has been taken over by fear ever since. When Kelsey gets into an accident on the steep mountain roads near home, she has a run-in with volunteer firefighter Ryan and wonders if she is letting her mom's panic overtake her life. But then the unthinkable happens. Her mother is kidnapped again, and Kelsey has to do the hardest thing she can think of: trust Ryan. A scientific and psychological undercurrent runs through the narrative, questioning just how much we pick up through genetics, underscoring the two lead characters and their very different backgrounds. Recommended for any collection. --Stacey Comfort
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Comfort, Stacey. "The Safest Lies." Booklist, 1 Apr. 2016, p. 70+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA450036876&it=r&asid=2e23a1b9696ce8f4a244cb252ffd0d72. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A450036876
Miranda, Megan: THE SAFEST LIES
(Mar. 1, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Miranda, Megan THE SAFEST LIES Crown (Children's Fiction) $17.99 5, 24 ISBN: 978-0-553-53751-2
Kelsey has lived her entire 17 years with her mother in a house set up like a fortress. When her agoraphobic mom disappears, Kelsey finds herself in real danger. Kelsey's mother was a famous kidnapping victim, and Kelsey is the daughter of the kidnapper. Her mom has no memory of the year she spent confined in a dark basement, but when she escaped she bought an upscale secluded house and rigged it up with a sophisticated security system, complete with barred windows and a panic room. A traffic accident puts the white teen in contact with classmate Ryan, a volunteer firefighter (and also white) who rescues her. On returning home from a ceremony honoring him, Kelsey realizes not only that her mother is missing, but that someone is trying to get into the house, sending her and Ryan into the panic room. Once their ordeal ends, Kelsey's full of questions about her still-missing mother. All of Kelsey's life, her mom has taught her to lie. Can it be that her mom has lied to her? Miranda writes some marvelously suspenseful scenes and keeps the story's pace zooming along at a high clip during extensive action scenes. She keeps an underlying plotline of a romance with Ryan flowing along, and it provides nice relief from the suspense. If Ryan seems a bit too good to be true, fans won't mind. Positively movie-ready. (Thriller. 12-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Miranda, Megan: THE SAFEST LIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA444420705&it=r&asid=2bccf1a856915399603374d36f840913. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A444420705
The Safest Lies
263.6 (Feb. 8, 2016): p75.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Safest Lies
Megan Miranda. Crown, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-553-53751-2
Miranda (Soulprint) explores the traumatic effects of fear conditioning while offering chills aplenty in this frightening thriller. Kelsey Thomas lives in a beautiful home with her mother, Amanda, who hasn't left for 17 years, since Kelsey was born. The house is a fortress meant to keep any threat at bay. When Kelsey is involved in a car accident and rescued by volunteer fireman and classmate Ryan Baker, it kicks off a series of events that bring to light the horror that her mother suffered all those years ago. Then Kelsey's mother disappears. Someone has Kelsey in his or her sights, and it's surely connected to her mother's past. Desperate to find her mother, Kelsey, with Ryan's help, begins sifting through clues about her mother's abduction and discovers that nothing is what it seems. Writing from Kelsey's first-person perspective, Miranda expertly builds a sense of dread, leaving readers to uncover the truth right alongside Kelsey. A touch of romance adds levity, and the breathless cat-and-mouse game between Kelsey and her shadowy pursuers makes this a fast-paced, suspenseful treat. Ages 14-up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Safest Lies." Publishers Weekly, 8 Feb. 2016, p. 75. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA443654629&it=r&asid=9203de0204139f227b2208fa2fd044a1. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A443654629
Miranda, Megan. The Safest Lies
Leah Krippner
62.4 (Apr. 2016): p158.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
MIRANDA, Megan. The Safest Lies. 368p. ebook available. Crown. May 2016. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780553537512; lib. ed. $20.99. ISBN 9780553537529.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Gr 7-10--Kelsey awakens dangling upside down from her seat belt, her car having careened through the guard rail. She is pretty sure a car forced her off the road, but the police find no sign of another vehicle. Kelsey has good reason to be fearful. Her mother was abducted at age 17, held for over a year, and then escaped, pregnant. Kelsey's mother lives in constant fear of being pursued by her captors. Their house is a fortress, which she has never left, and Kelsey has been homeschooled until now. Only a visit from the state's child services department has forced her mother to allow the teen to have a minimal amount of freedom--she can attend the local high school. An insightful bit of research on mice epigenetics referenced by her mother's therapist reveals that a parent's fears can be passed to second-generation children through DNA, even though they have not experienced the same traumas. Is it actual danger that lurks around every corner, or is Kelsey just manifesting her mother's ingrained phobias? YA suspense at its very best: this psychological thriller will blow readers' minds. VERDICT A fantastic choice for reluctant readers, this page-turner will be a hit with fans of Eliot Schrefer's The Deadly Sister.--Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL
Krippner, Leah
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Krippner, Leah. "Miranda, Megan. The Safest Lies." School Library Journal, Apr. 2016, p. 158+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA448686346&it=r&asid=bfb8c541a4018e99e424e018e7a8dd52. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A448686346
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
by Elyse · May 17, 2017 at 3:00 am · View all 10 comments
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
The Perfect Stranger
by Megan Miranda
APRIL 11, 2017 · SIMON & SCHUSTER
Order →
VIEW SBTB MEDIA PAGE
B+
GENRE: Mystery/Thriller
One of my favorite books from last year was Megan Miranda’s psychological thriller All the Missing Girls, so I went into her follow-up book The Perfect Stranger with high expectations. I was not disappointed.
If you like books that screw with your mind and cause you to question everything, then this is the book for you. I always felt just off-balance while reading, never quite able to trust my footing. It was delicious.
Leah Stevens is starting her life over. She was a journalist in Boston, but one story derailed her career. She printed an insinuation that a college professor might have had something to do with a rash of student suicides without the proof to back it up–an insinuation that could get her sued for libel.
She’s fled to a small town where she’s teaching English and rents a house with a woman she briefly lived with in college. Her roommate, Emmy Grey, is a free-spirit, the type of person who throws a dart at a map to figure where she’s going next. Emmy works the night-shift at a hotel, the opposite schedule as Leah, so they often only see each other only in passing.
Then one day Emmy doesn’t come home. Leah gives her a few days, wondering if she’s with her boyfriend, but when the rent comes due (something Emmy wouldn’t miss), Leah contacts the police. She’s shocked to find out there’s no record of anyone named Emmy Grey ever existing. No one of a similar description worked at the hotel and no one can locate Emmy’s supposed boyfriend. There is no paper trail to follow; Emmy paid cash for everything. The police seem to think Leah may have made Emmy up.
Creepy right?
It gets creepier.
There’s really three intertwining stories happening in this book: there’s the story that got Leah fired about student suicides, there’s Emmy’s disappearance, and there’s an attack on a local woman who looks suspiciously like Leah that results in a fellow teacher being arrested.
(I bet Sarah just read this part in the editing process and messaged me, “Okay, what happened?”)
(Sarah: Yup. Can confirm.)
It’s a lot of plot to manage, but Miranda does it well. I wish I could go into more detail about how the three storylines work together, but it’s really important that details are revealed in a specific order in the book. Spilling them now would ruin the story.
The common theme is that the people around Leah aren’t trustworthy, and that she’s naturally a very suspicious person. This got her burned in the past (gaslighting anyone?) but true to awesome psychological thrillers about women, that suspicious nature that was criticized earlier may be the thing that saves her and leads her to the truth.
Miranda even makes the students in Leah’s high school English class a little creepy. Her students size her up–she’s a new, young teacher–and there’s a constant power struggle that’s quietly happening that adds to the tension.
Then there’s Emmy. Emmy is the friend who feels a little wild, a little too cool. Leah acknowledges that she frequently caught Emmy in small, inconsequential lies, almost a pathological behavior that she dismissed. Normally this cool-girl, untrustworthy character gets vilified and slut shamed and then played by Angelina Jolie on the big-screen, but The Perfect Stranger doesn’t go that route, a fact I really appreciated.
The only thing missing from this book is character growth for Leah. She starts and ends the book essentially the same person. Some of this is part of the genre — the vindication of the heroine who was right all along — but that doesn’t mean she has to be a completely static character.
If you want a book that will lead to Bad Decisions Book Club moments and keep you up all night with suspense and female-awesomeness, then The Perfect Stranger is the book for you.
May 5, 2017by Dorine Linnen
REVIEW: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
THE PERFECT STRANGER by Megan Miranda is the best suspenseful thriller I’ve read this year. I really liked the protagonist, even though I didn’t always trust her. That’s why this book is a favorite – it kept me doubtful and suspicious until the end. The author hit many of my preferences with the backwoods setting to the journalist turned high school teacher. Vivid imagery makes the setting come alive in sight, sound, and creepiness.
Leah Stevens messed up big time at her dream job as a journalist. She feels she did the right thing, but everyone else thinks she crossed the line. Now she’s stuck in the middle of nowhere teaching for a living, all because her former roommate, Emmy, had a hair-brained idea for them to pool their resources once again. Leah is now the city girl in the middle of the woods in a cabin with enough outside noises to keep her jumpy. She has a semi-tough way of maneuvering around a situation without being flawless that keeps the reader on their toes right along with her.
When Emmy goes missing, Leah must reach out to the police. She meets Kyle Donovan, who asks too many questions. Questions that Leah can’t, or won’t, answer to maintain her privacy. But she wants to find Emmy, so she’ll give a little to get something back. When another woman turns up dead, Leah’s urgency to find Emmy increases, and her willingness to cooperate with the police implicates more than she wishes.
Some of my favorite parts of this novel are Leah’s interactions with her high school students. They’re a curious lot and their BS meters are set on high alert when it comes to Ms. Stevens. But Leah also has a way of getting information that’s sneaky and ingenious. One thing Leah understands is people and what makes them tick. Her journalism background gives her the investigative edge she needs.
This is the type of book where you suspect everyone of lying or misrepresentation. Sometimes I reread sections just to be sure I didn’t miss anything. For a while, I suspected something about Leah that never panned out, but I was sure I was right, and the surprises were fun, even when I realized my guesses were wrong. Most of the time when I read a book like this I’m yelling at the main character for being so gullible. Or, I’m wondering how she could have missed that clue. Leah is special. I was with her every step of the way, getting surprised, nervous and scared right along with her.
THE PERFECT STRANGER is listed as a follow-up to ALL THE MISSING GIRLS. If there’s a connection, it was seamless to someone who hasn’t read that book. I think they meant it was the follow-up to her mega hit, rather than a tie between the books. For those who prefer books with romance, there is a romance within these pages. It’s not the focus, but it adds to the characterization.
I’m hooked on author Megan Miranda’s craftsmanship. I visualized everything that happened as if I was there, but I never felt overwhelmed or bored by lengthy descriptions. I literally thought about the plot constantly when I was away from it, and I was tempted to cancel everything to devour the book instead.
Is this novel perfect? No – I don’t think any novel can be perfect to every person’s predilections. There are a few lulls, or places where I got confused and had to reread. I would have liked more insight into Leah’s future. But, I think that’s a testament to this author’s talent, because I didn’t want the novel to end. Leah also didn’t always react exactly like I thought she would or should, but that kept me guessing. I believe this book is as perfect as one can be to match my reading preferences. I was captivated and will be reading everything Megan Miranda writes, including her young adult novels.
THE PERFECT STRANGER is a nail-biter with fascinating characterization. It’s the rare author that skillfully consumes my thoughts in-between reading. This is one of those books where you’re not sure you want to know what happens next, yet you can’t stop reading long enough to debate it. Author Megan Miranda has a gift that’s creatively articulated. I’ve already eagerly added ALL THE MISSING GIRLS to my print TBR pile.
Review by Dorine, courtesy of The Zest Quest. Digital advanced copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.