Such A Quiet Place | By Megan Miranda
Book Review | Mystery Thriller
Synopsis :
Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street.
Hollow’s Edge use 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 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 Truetts’ 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.
My thoughts
Narrative and Plot
I picked this book based on the cover and it delivered on that front. It was a thriller happening in a quiet neighborhood around a lake. The theme and the premise were quite atmospheric. The story is told from the perspective of the suspect’s housemate. That itself was a unique approach but had its flaws.
The plot was simple and the ending was fine. There weren’t many shocking twists at the end. The first half of the book just felt slow. It was more of a character thing rather than the pacing itself. It picks up in the second half. However, the ending wasn’t explosive enough to overshadow the slow beginning.
Characters and Conflicts
Harper is the main protagonist of the story. It could have been much more interesting if we could also see Ruby’s perspective. There wasn’t much going on for Harper except for the fact that she was Ruby’s housemate. She is quite a passive character. It affected the whole narrative. Even if a lot of things were happening around, it was all in the background because Harper isn’t actively a part of the events until much later.
The neighborhood had a few distinct characters but there wasn’t enough about anyone specific so that we cared for them or see where they came from. The little backstory that we got about Harper didn’t make her a well-rounded character. She just narrowly missed the mark of becoming a two-dimensional character.
However, the conflict was the strong point of the book. It is one of those communities where everything is well and good on the surface but everyone is carrying secrets of their own. Innocent in itself but collectively they are dangerous. There is this unsettling feeling of a person who is around just to disrupt everyone’s life. Like a stone in a bee hive. Ruby does that part brilliantly and in doing so overshadows the main character, Harper.
Conclusion
I enjoyed reading the book. The style, the themes discussed, and the central conflict had my interest. However, neither the plot nor the characters stood out for me. Such a Quiet Place is a one-time read for me.
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[…] don’t know what it is about Megan Miranda. The only book I previously read was Such a Quiet Place. I had fun reading the book but wasn’t a great fan. Yet, I am eager to read The Only […]