Title: She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
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.
Review:
Set in an exclusive boarding school, She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell is an intriguing murder mystery.
Fifteen year old Bel and Rose Enright are fraternal twins who go to live with their wealthy Grandmother after their mother passes away. Grandma decides to keep with family tradition and she ships the girls off to the Odell School. Free-spirited, fun-loving Bel is delighted to be selected to join a group of senior girls whose leader Darcy Madden and her sidekick Tessa Romano are the epitome of mean girls. On the other hand, studious and quiet Rose struggles to find her place since Bel humiliated her in front of the other students the first day of school. The girls find themselves of opposite sides of a cruel prank and their relationship further deteriorates until one of them is brutally murdered. Everyone at the school is quick to blame the other twin for killing her sister, but local Detective Melissa Howard diligently works the case alongside state police Lieutenant Robert Kriscunas.
The Odell School is a savior for newly hired Sarah Donovan and her husband Heath. They are teachers at the school but they are also the co-heads of a dorm that has a terrible reputation for being out of control. Sarah is Rose’s adviser and the pair immediately hit it off. Heath is Bel’s adviser and he is crucial in helping her when she goes before the disciplinary board for her role in the prank that divides the sisters. Sarah is growing increasingly troubled by rumors and a feeling that something is not quite right with her husband. Heath has his sights set on climbing the academic rung and he is steadily working toward fulfilling his ambitions.
Despite the interesting premise, She Was the Quiet One is a slow-moving mystery that is somewhat predictable. The characters are rather one-dimensional and the plot is ridden with angst. Rose is the most likable character and it is easy to feel sympathy for her as she always plays second fiddle to Bel. As for Bel, she makes one bad decision after another and by the time she is ready to ask for help, she has completely alienated Rose. Sarah is willfully blind to what is going on around her and she plays the hapless wife all too easily as she ignores what is glaringly obvious. Heath is well-liked by the students but he exercises shockingly poor judgment. Readers will most likely see through the red herrings and accurately guess the killer’s identity and motive for the murder fairly easily. The mystery is solved rather quickly and Michele Campbell completely wraps up all of the loose ends.
