She Was the Quiet One

by Michele Campbell

"From the author of It's Always the Husband comes a riveting new suspense novel about privilege, power, and what happens when we let ambition take control. When twin sisters Rose and Bel Enright enroll in The Odell School, a prestigious New Hampshire boarding school, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. But the sisters could not be more different. The school brings out a rivalry between them that few ever knew existed. And the school itself has a dark underbelly: of privileged kids running unchecked and uninhibited; of rituals and traditions that are more sinister than they seem; of wealth and entitlement that can only lead to disaster. For Sarah Donovan, wife of an ambitious teacher who is determined to rise through the ranks, Odell also seems like the best thing that could happen to their small family. But how well does she really know her husband? What lengths will he go to to achieve his goals? And when one dark night ends in murder, who is guilty, who knows the truth, and who has been in on it all along? She Was the Quiet One. Because murderers are almost never who you expect. In a novel full of twists, turns, and dark secrets, Michele Campbell once again proves her skill at crafting intricately spun and completely compelling plots"--

• ISBN10: 125008184X
• ISBN13: 9781250081841
• Publish Date: 11 June 2019 (first published 11 June 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

Just woah there! What a book! I was addicted to this book, and if it was not for Christmas I would have finished this book a lot quicker otherwise. A story revolving around a boarding school in America hell yeah I am there.

All you know when you enter this book is someone has been murdered, someone has been locked in the infirmary, who and why and what the hell happened and why do the Enright twins hate each other?!?! So many questions.

Halfway through the book, I suspected who the murderer would be, and my guess was right but what I did not guess was the fall out to come. It all happened so quickly and it was just shocking! Then came that final chapter, which on one hand tied everything up nicely but left me screaming for more!


Rose and Bel are twins but not of the identical kind. I wanted to smack their heads together and after their mother died and they lived with their Grandma their relationship began to deteriorate and then boarding school, the Odell Academy broke them. Secrets, fights, betrayal, hazing, bullying and lies all are evident here and the struggles of leaving everything you know and love, plus throw in a murder to boot.

However, the focus is not just on Rose and Bel, but Sarah and Heath Donovan the dorm father and mother of Moreland Hall, the dorm for Rose and Bel. Sarah and Heath both attended Odell, fell in love and have been together ever since. However, a scandal rocked their marriage, could Odell be the place to save them or destroy everything they hold dear.

You really do not know people and what goes on behind closed doors as this book really shows you.

If this was a tv show this is the sort of thing I would watch whilst relaxing one evening, a bit of teen angst, a bit of murder and drama thrown in. The book was flitting between the past and present. The present being the interviews with the police, everyone hiding something until we get to the climax of the story. Reminded me of How to get away with murder (I love that show!)

The story itself is quite a sad and heartbreaking one when you reflect back, but to say any more would ruin it for you. It may seem a crazy thing to say especially I found hardly any of the characters likeable and the one I did well they tried to justify everything away instead of looking at the truth…until it was too late!

I loved Ms Campbells’ writing style, she had piqued my interest and kept it going throughout the book. I was in the zone, living the life with the Enright girls, living the fear and the crazy life that entailed. I did not want to put this down. I was compelled to finish the book to solve the murder and put the tortured soul to rest. If I had not already done my Top books for the year this would have had a feature in there! I now need to read Ms Campbells’ debut novel It’s Always the husband and get myself ready for her new book A Stranger on the Beach.

[elysium]

When their mother dies, twins Rose and Bel move in with their grandmother who they barely know. They are sent to The Odell Academy, a boarding school for the rich kids, where the academic Rose fits right in, but the wilder Bel becomes friends with the popular kids, but the friendship comes with a price. Bel has a crush on Heath Donovan, an ambitious teacher, which sets her against the older popular kids.

The book has some Gossip Girl vibes and I have to say that I hated all the characters. I wanted to know what happens but didn’t feel much sympathy for any of the people.

The book starts with a murder, but we don’t know who died or who did it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to guess who it was, but it takes the cops waay to much time to get it or understand at all what goes on in the school. So much eye-rolling here…

It was a solid read, but I had higher hopes for this one.