*Such a Quiet Place* by Megan Miranda had all the ingredients for a compelling thriller—an eerie neighborhood, secrets lurking behind every door, and a murder mystery. However, the execution felt flat. The plot was predictable, and the twists lacked the suspense and shock I was hoping for. The story moved at a slow pace, and it struggled to hold my attention. I found myself waiting for a twist that never quite delivered.

While I’ve enjoyed Miranda’s previous works, this one felt underwhelming. I might have outgrown her style, as the narrative didn't bring anything fresh to the table. Not a bad read, just not as gripping as I had hoped.

Such a Quiet Place begins a little too slowly for my liking, developing our understanding of events before picking up the pace and finally forcing our narrator to play their hand.
When Ruby returns to the quiet neighbourhood of Hollow’s Edge people are surprised. People suspect her motives. People wonder what she has to gain. This is because Ruby has just been released from prison after being wrongfully charged with the murder of two of her neighbours. She turns up at her old house, where her roommate Harper wonders just what she is going to do next.
From the opening we get a sense of Hollow’s Edge as the kind of community where, superficially, things are perfect but it only takes a little digging to realise that’s not the case at all.
A substantial part of the book establishes some of the key events of the past but also sets up our cast. When Ruby is found dead after a pool party, it doesn’t take long for the police to label it a homicide. So then we watch as characters’ behaviour changes. Who has most to lose? Who’s hiding what?
The truth is not quite the dramatic reveal that was implied. However, we see that people can do anything when they feel it will serve them well. I was rather surprised by Harper’s role in the key events, and did wonder why such a large cast had been brought in and not all developed fully.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

This is the second Megan Miranda novel I've read and I didn't enjoy this one at all. One thing she has been consistent at though, she makes all of her characters obnoxious. Is this on purpose?
Not very much happens in the novel and any breakthroughs or twists were either non existent or weren't a surprise. I really wanted to be blown away after my first experience was not amazing either, but at least The Last House Guest had some amazing twists.

2.5 stars
I thought that this would be a quick suspenseful read, but it was actually rather boring. The small-town gossip was great, and I loved how the author incorporated social media posts between chapters. However, I felt the story lacked suspense which dragged the pacing down. I should've been gripped more as it would've made me care more about how the story unfolded, but it happened far too late in the story.
Whilst this may have not been for me, it may appeal to those who prefer slow-burn mysteries.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.

Megan Miranda's pacing is often slow, but I feel that suits this book so well. The pacing really allowed the author to set the scene of this idyllic neighbourhood where everyone knows everything.

The pace definitely picked up in the second half & while I was interested before, for the last section I was so invested.

This read was very atmospheric, giving off Desperate Houswives vibes with the massive crime that rocks a small town. I just love that small town setting, it makes everything feel a little more claustrophobic in the best way.

I've read one other Megan Miranda before & was happy to give this a go but having read this, I'll definitely be picking up future releases.

I gave this 4 stars ⭐

Thank you to Atlantic Books, Megan Miranda & NetGalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book.
A good psychological thriller with a slow pace but a good ending. It kept me turning the pages from start to finish.
A great read.

I found this quite slow to begin with but then I got into it more and I enjoyed the story.
A domestic suspense thriller set in a neighbourhood in a small community called Hollow’s Edge where everyone knows each other… Or so they think.
This had a claustrophobic feel to it with characters that are full of jealousy, secrets, suspicion and lies. You have no idea who’s lying and who’s telling the truth.
A slow burn with a good ending.

I love Megan Miranda's small-town mysteries. They are slower than normal thrillers but very immersive and entertaining. This was no different. I really enjoyed it.

Ruby Fletcher was convicted of a double murder and is released on a technicality. She returns to her local community but is unwelcome by the neighbours who testified against her. Can she prove her innocence and is there a killer still on the loose...?
Such A Quiet Place is a mix of domestic and crime suspense thriller. The police play a marginal role whilst the community adjusts to the damage in its midst as Ruby returns from her overturned conviction. They need to assess the murders as well as their own situation, revealing secrets and lies that have been haunting them.
The whole book is written from Harper's first person perspective. This allows us to chart her own actions as well as explore her anxiety over Ruby's return and the distrust amongst the neighbours. She is targeted by an anonymous person threatening to reveal her secret which is an intriguing twist.
Ruby is a complex character. We only see her through Harper's viewpoint. Is she guilty or innocent? Is she rightfully aggrieved or vindictively targeting her former friends? There were plenty of twists and turns as events in the present day unfold and the past becomes clearer.
There is a darkness to the book as danger looms and secrets are revealed. It is difficut to like many of the characters as they have a sinister edge. I liked the way the strands come together to explain both the past and present.
Such A Quiet Place is an enjoyable thriller that kept me entertained.

This was a good book with a good few twists and turns to keep the reader gripped, set in a quiet little community the story follows a group of neighbors that are rocked after the murder of two of their own, the young girl that was accused of their murder,Ruby, is now out of prison and is back to set the record straight on what really happened on that fateful night. Trust nobody was the theme running through this book.

No one in Hollow's Edge wants their former neighbour who was convicted of murder to return to the street. But was she guilty? Was something else at play.

This book has the lovely claustrophic feel that all small town books has and a stonking mystery too.

We had no warning that she would come back...

Hollow's Edge is a picture-perfect neighbourhood, the sort of place you can leave the door unlocked and everyone has each other's backs. It used to be this way, until the night Brandon and Fiona Truett were found dead...

Two years ago, branded a grifter, thief and sociopath by her friends and neighbours, Ruby Fletcher was convicted of murdering the Truetts. After a mistrial is declared, Ruby has returned to Hollow's Edge. But why would she come back? No one wants her there.

Ruby's return sends shockwaves through the community, terrified residents turn on each other, and it soon becomes clear that not everyone was honest about the night the Truetts died. When Ruby’s old roommate Harper begins to receive threatening, anonymous notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else gets hurt...

Harper Is our narrator and somewhat reluctant friend to Ruby. At first she comes across as easily swayed by her friend, especially as she expects Harper’s help. This immediately puts Harper in a difficult position with the rest of the community. Harper doesn’t trust Ruby at all and tries to keep tabs on what she’s up to. However she’s also worried about the townspeople’s intentions towards Ruby, leaving her very uncomfortably in the middle, trusting no one. Individuals aren’t a concern, but mob mentality is a different prospect altogether, Despite seeming to be a pushover, Harper knows exactly what Ruby’s up to. She is either guilty and looking to destroy any evidence of that guilt, or she is innocent and determined to work out the real culprit. There are a few people in town who had just as much of a motive to kill the Truetts as Ruby did.

So, Harper turns detective too. She senses bias towards her friend - some members of the community thought she wasn’t good enough anyway, so we’re quick to make judgements when she was arrested. Having lived in villages for most of my life I can imagine what their online community notice board was like. I’ve seen some real arguments break out on ours! Really, up until the 4th July party, this novel is fairly quiet. With the chance to have all the protagonists in one place the pace does quicken. Then I was committed to the end. There were a few twists, but I think this is more of a mystery than an outright thriller. Overall, I didn’t become involved with the characters in the way I like to, so I wasn’t invested in a particular outcome. This was a small town mystery, where you’re never really sure who to trust, even the narrator.

This thriller has plenty of twists and turns
Will have you hooked from the first page
A great follow up to the first two books in this series
Thanks NetGalley

The plot of this book is so understated, but so well executed. As a reader you have this nervous energy as you are reading. The nature of Ruby’s return keeps you on edge even without lots of dramatic, overtly suspenseful things happening because she is so unpredictable and the author does such a good job of building a sense of dread throughout.

This story is such a good example of how secrets can spiral out of control, how situations can get twisted when everyone is so concerned with looking out for themselves. It could easily have been frustrating as so much could have been cleared up if people just spoke to each other, but the way the community is described makes their secretive actions perfectly believable. There is a good level of distrust generated for most of the characters, even Harper as the narrator, because she was so close to events it was possible her narrative could be unreliable. This helps add to the anticipation as you’re waiting for Ruby to get her revenge, and for the truth to be revealed.

I couldn’t put this book down and was so excited as the story kept twisting and turning. I didn’t like or trust any of the characters but was still desperate to find out the truth of what happened the night that the Truetts died. And, crucially, I was not disappointed.

Such a Quiet Place is an atmospheric domestic suspense tale about a neighbourhood where friendships sour and intense suspicion soars within a close-knit community, creating havoc.

Twenty-five-year-old Ruby Fletcher lived in Hollow's Edge before she was convicted of the double murder of her neighbours Brandon and Fiona Truett fourteen months ago. Sentenced to 20 years, her conviction is overturned on a technicality so she returns to her tight-knit lakeside town believing her friend and housemate Harper Nash will welcome her back. But if Ruby didn't kill the Truett’s who suffocated due to carbon monoxide poisoning, then who did? Ruby tells Harper that someone’s going to pay for what happened to her and proclaims her innocence.

Set in a small community of houses, everyone knows everyone else and the façade of friendship masks dark and murky secrets. Each of the characters has hidden depths revealed slowly over the story's duration. The mystery element of Such a Quiet Place is delightfully unpredictable; the plot is great, and trying to unravel all the knots was addictive and absorbing. Perfectly paced, it was highly compulsive, possessing a fantastic setting of dense woodland and a lakeside locale too. A classic, disquieting, sinister psychological thriller, full of paranoia that had me riveted until the final pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my own request from Atlantic Books/ Corvus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I'm a huge fan of Megan Miranda's twisty mysteries and was thrilled to receive an early copy of her latest, Such a Quiet Place, about the small tight-knit community of Hollow's Edge. The kind of place that when something bad happens, it's easier for the residents to believe a newcomer is guilty rather than suspect one of their own.

Two years ago, Ruby Fletcher was convicted of the murders of Brandon and Fiona Truett on the testimonies of her friends and neighbours. Freed by a mistrial, Ruby is back and expecting to slot right back into her old life - much to the horror of her old 'friends', including housemate Harper. Why on earth has Ruby come back? Is she out for revenge? Or is it possible that she was innocent all along?

I enjoyed this slow-burn, claustrophobic murder mystery where the tension tightened as each clever twist was revealed. It perfectly captured the spirit of a small community working together to create a safe and pleasant neighbourhood for everyone. There's a Neighbourhood Watch, an online community board, and parties where everyone brings something for the BBQ. Hollow's Edge is a terrific place to live. Except everyone has security lights and cameras, and they obsess about each other's movements and actions. They think they know each other. They think they know each other's secrets...

This is one of those stories where everyone is a potential suspect so no one can be particularly likeable. Even Harper donates Ruby's belongings to a charity shop the moment she is convicted! I didn't guess the final twist, but I did miss the dash of romance I'd come to expect from Megan Miranda's previous novels. Such a Quiet Place should appeal to fans of domestic suspense and small town mysteries, and authors such as Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.


Thank you to Megan Miranda and Corvus (Atlantic Books) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Having watched and enjoyed eight seasons of Desperate Housewives, I always enjoy a good thriller set in a close community where, on the outside, everyone is nice and friendly, while, on the inside, there are secrets, jealousies, and resentment and that’s what happens in Hollow’s Edge. Almost two years ago, one of the couples leaving there was murdered and their killer was sent to prison, but now she is out and back and looking for revenge. Slow-burning and with a lot of suspense and a continuous sense of dread, it is an enjoyable thriller, but I felt a few things seemed a bit far-fetched, while a couple of things were left unanswered. I loved Megan Miranda’s previous novels and I read Such A Quiet Place in one day, but I can’t say that it is my favourite of her novels.

I found myself going back and forth on this one as to what I thought was going on and if I actually liked any of the characters. In the end though there was a nice twist that I didn’t see coming.

I liked that the mystery ran throughout the story and enjoyed Ruby being so bold and in-your-face. There were quite a few twists and turns, including some red herrings, which kept it entertaining to read. I definitely enjoyed how things unravelled and became clearer as more evidence was gathered.

I didn’t really like any of the characters, but I think that was kind of the point. Do we really know our neighbours and should we be more open with them?

Overall, I thought it had good pace and kept me interested throughout. I will be reading more from Megan.