I’m low-key obsessed with the concept for Megan Miranda’s new thriller, Such A Quiet Place. A woman convicted of a double murder gets out of jail on a technicality and returns to the neighborhood where it happens. Ruby doesn’t give warning; she just shows up in her old roommate’s home unannounced and scares the crap out of Harper.
The story is told through Harper’s perspective. She doesn’t trust Ruby, like pretty much anyone in that situation, and doesn’t know why Ruby is back. Harper does a fair amount of sneaking around and snooping on Ruby, finding some suspicious things along the way. (I’d love to find a roll of cash in my bathroom vent, but without the murder convict in my house… just saying.)
The neighborhood makes no effort to hide that they don’t want Ruby there. It’s awkward at the pool and she knows she’s being watched by everyone. I mean, they literally re-start their neighborhood watch shortly after her arrival and try to keep her away from a 4th of July party. It’s homeowners association crap like that which makes me never want to buy a house around people. Too much drama!
Since I do try to avoid spoilers, all I will say is that a VERY BIG THING happens about halfway through the book and sets Harper off on an amplified mission to find out what really happened to the murdered neighbors the year before. It’s twisty and delightful. I could not put it down at all during the second half because I was that meme of “I don’t need sleep, I need answers” come to life. Who needs food or rest when you’ve got a mystery to solve.
I’m generally pretty good at figuring thrillers out before it is revealed, but this one tricked me. I feel like that’s an obligatory five star rating just for outsmarting me. But Such A Quiet Place earned those stars with the eyebrow-raise worthy twists along the way.
But because I’m curious, what would you do if your roommate was convicted of murder and showed up in your home after 14 months, ready to live with you again like nothing happened? I really have no idea what I’d do, and I’ve been thinking about it for days.
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