Summer 2017, Littleport, Maine: On the night of the last party of the season before rich vacationers leave the seaside town, Sadie Loman's body is found on a beach at the bottom of a cliff. Sadie's parents own most of the vacation rentals, which are managed by Avery Greer, self-professed best friend of the deceased. The police conclude Sadie committed suicide, but Avery's not buying it.
Summer 2018: The one-year anniversary of Sadie's death is approaching and a memorial is planned to take place on the beach where she died. With the renewed interest in the tragedy, Avery is more convinced than ever Sadie didn't kill herself and sets out to prove it. Possible suspects have returned for the ceremony, or are locals who never left. Digging into the past is dangerous, however, and before the summer is over, Littleport might see another death on its shores.
Told in timelines alternating between the summers of both years, Megan Miranda's The Last House Guest uses mystery as a device to explore female friendships, as well as the emotional layers in relationships between the haves and have-nots. Avery lives rent-free in a guesthouse on the Lomans' property and pals around with Sadie, but is well aware she's not in the same class--she literally wears Sadie's castoffs. That doesn't stop her local friends living in less lofty digs from resenting her. The revelations about Sadie's death are compelling, but perhaps more so is Avery's journey from being someone perceived as less-than to a woman who chooses her own station in life. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd