She Was the Quiet One: A Novel

Michele Campbell

Jul 2018 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

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.

For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime. But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister Bel, Odell Academy is a place of temptation and danger. When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered. Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan, for advice. But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher. Is Heath trying to help Bel or take advantage of her? In a world of privilege, seduction, and manipulation, only one sister will live to tell the truth.

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.

Praise for She Was the Quiet One:

"Campbell’s skillful characterization and her shocking final twist make this follow-up to It’s Always the Husband well worthwhile. Readers who enjoyed Simone St. James’ boarding-school mystery, The Broken Girls, should give this a try." —Booklist

Praise for It's Always the Husband:

“Twists, turns, and a puzzling mix of suspects . . . will keep readers turning the pages.” —Booklist

“An intriguing whodunit that examines the explosive potential of secrets to destroy friendships, marriages, and lives . . . a page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

Ratings and reviews

The twins have lost both parents and have gone to live with their grandmother who quickly ships them off to boarding school. That is where all of the good stuff starts. As students pick out the twins they are separated by the friends they choose and the actions they take. That's where it begins, hazing and ridiculing, targeting and more. There is plenty of intrigue and the author chooses to go back and forth from the past to the present during the police investigation. I loved the premise of this book and it really is well written and a great read but I got tired of the back and forth and it felt drawn out out at one point. I am not a person who enjoys all of the teen angst and it probably would have been better received by a younger audience. I really wanted to love it but I found myself looking to see how much was left. While it was a bit much for me this is perfect for YA's. I just happen to be of an age that it's just over the top. There were plenty of twist and turns and plenty of deception. As the truth comes out there are surprises. I haven't read this author before but this wont stop me. I do like her style and the intrigue I just think this one missed the mark for me and 3.5 stars is all I can do.

The blurb for this one promises twists, turns, and dark secrets. It is an interesting story, and there are plenty of dark secrets, but I didn't find much in the way of twists and turns. Instead, most of it was rather predictable, especially the killer's identity in spite of a few decent red herrings. A few things were a stretch on the believability scale, but a lot were necessary for flow and plot so could be easily overlooked. The exception to that came toward the end - first, with the twins' grandmother and her change in personality. I just didn't buy it. The other was the epilogue, and while I can understand wanting to wrap everything up with a neat little bow, it was just over the top. Sadly, it was also the only real twist in the book. As the setting for the story is a boarding school, quite a bit of it revolves around teenage angst, primarily that of Rose and Bel, but that was expected given the storyline. At the end of the day, it did hold my interest, but I was disappointed in the complete predictability of it all.

About the author

A graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School, MICHELE CAMPBELL worked at a prestigious Manhattan law firm before spending eight years fighting crime as a federal prosecutor in New York City.
Michele is the author of She Was the Quiet One and It's Always the Husband.