Such A Quiet Place

How well do we know our neighbors? This is the question posed in Megan Miranda’s new mystery, Such a Quiet Place. The title refers to the neighborhood of Hollow’s Edge, which used to be quiet, before the double murder of the Truetts—Harper Nash’s next-door neighbors.

The novel begins when Ruby Fletcher returns to the neighborhood after her conviction for double murder is overturned because of false evidence. Unexpectedly, she moves in with Harper, the narrator. Despite Harper’s anxiety about Ruby moving in, she has always believed her friend is innocent. However, their strange relationship is fraught with lies and deception, despite their former closeness.

There are so many wonderful characters in this book: Harper, with her go-with-the-flow vibe, avoiding confrontation whenever she can. And Ruby, who has so many secrets, and is out to get revenge right from the beginning. Javier and Tate live next door and are harboring their own secrets. Tate once a close friend of Harper but no more. Chase, the cop who falsified evidence to convict Ruby, and is now under investigation. And who can forget Mac, Ruby’s former boyfriend, and Harper’s current boyfriend? But that’s not all. There’s the nervous new mother and the young woman taking care of her elderly parents. All of them believe Ruby murdered the Truetts. But did she? And if not, who among them did? Or maybe it was none of them?

In the middle of this  mystery, everything turns on its head with a shocking twist. From there, it moves so fast the reader struggles to keep up until the twisted conclusion. Readers are definitely kept on their toes.

Such a Quiet Place is an amazing book that will make you analyze all your relationships, especially those in your neighborhood. It’s also a mystery with no logical conclusion. Finally, it’s an essay on mob mentality and what happens when evidence is falsified. Similar to the game of Telephone, where in the end, no one knows what the first clue was. There is unrest throughout the book, and the reader is just waiting for the last explosion. This is an amazing novel by Megan Miranda, and could ring true anywhere in any neighborhood.