The Book:
Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda
July 13th, 2021 by Simon & Schuster
Date read: June 19, 2021
The Characters:
Harper
Her former roommate Ruby
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
Hollow’s Edge used to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back.
With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she once shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?
Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow’s Edge. It’s increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truett’s murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim.
The Twist:
Ruby dies too, so we know she’s not the culprit.She was poisoned with antifreeze at the community pool.
Harper determines that it was just an accident that killed the Truetts–in the middle of a fight they left the car running and the garage door open, and succumbed to the effects of the carbon monoxide. It was unclear to me whether this was proven, or whether they just didn’t suspect Ruby anymore.
Molly (Charlotte’s daughter) was the one sending the notes.Whitney was the one sneaking around the neighborhood, and Molly was trying to protect her. Charlotte killed Ruby to protect her daughters, but this was based on assumptions she had made and didn’t really make a lot of sense.
Margo’s secret was that she had left her baby in the car alone. Preston was dating a student and just a skeevy guy, but unrelated to Ruby’s death.
The Ending:
Harper had sent the screenshot of the message that overturned Ruby’s conviction.
The Review:
I’m a huge Megan Miranda fan. I always enjoy her books, and Such a Quiet Place was no exception. I flew through it in a single lazy Saturday, and couldn’t put it down! The pace was perfect, the characters were interesting, and the mystery drew me in right away.
I’ve read a few books lately that, similar to this one, take place in these small close-knit neighborhoods where everyone knows everything about each other. This setting works really well for me. It’s semi-closed door, so you know the culprit is someone in the neighborhood, but with so many secrets you can’t tell who is hiding something related to the storyline.
Ruby’s character was especially interesting to me. Why would she act so strangely if she had nothing to hide? Poor Harper was such a pushover, letting Ruby traipse back in and steamroll her life and then taking the blame for it with the neighbors. I really wanted her to stand up for herself with Ruby!
I will say that some suspension of belief is required to fully enjoy the ending. The extent of certain miscommunications is a little unbelievable–although some people just really love a scapegoat! There were some plot holes that made it hard for me to accept the ending, although it’s possible these will be resolved before the finished copy is published.
I love neighborhood drama between frenemies and I love thrillers, so Such A Quiet Place was the perfect combination of the two.
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