Thrillers & Suspense
![Megan Miranda - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B005NE2K7E.jpg)
Such a Quiet Place: A Novel
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest-a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection-comes a riveting, "suspenseful" (BookPage, starred review) novel about a mysterious murder in an idyllic and close-knit neighborhood.
Welcome to Hollow's Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer-all on one street.
Hollow's Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow's Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby's back.
With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow's Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she's terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?
Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow's Edge. It's increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts' murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer's next victim.
Pulsating with suspense and with Megan Miranda's trademark shocking twists, Such a Quiet Place is Megan Miranda's best novel yet-a "powerful, paranoid thriller" (Booklist, starred review) that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Welcome to Hollow's Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer-all on one street.
Hollow's Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow's Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby's back.
With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow's Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she's terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?
Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow's Edge. It's increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts' murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer's next victim.
Pulsating with suspense and with Megan Miranda's trademark shocking twists, Such a Quiet Place is Megan Miranda's best novel yet-a "powerful, paranoid thriller" (Booklist, starred review) that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Editorial Reviews
"Miranda, who makes the setting, where everyone knows one another and ends up fearing one another, all the more chilling for its seeming normality, is a master of misdirection and sudden plot twists, leading up to a wallop of an ending. A powerful, paranoid thriller." – Booklist (Starred Review)
"A claustrophobic and suspenseful whodunit…that ponders the eternal question of how well we really know those closest to us." – BookPage (Starred Review)
"At the start of this disquieting suspense novel from bestseller Miranda (The Girl from Widow Hills), longtime Hollow's Edge resident Ruby Fletcher, who was convicted of the double murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett a year and a half earlier, returns after her conviction is overturned to the tight-knit lakeside community… If Ruby isn't guilty, who is? What other secrets are the residents of Hollow's Edge hiding-and would they go so far as murder to protect them? The twists keep coming until the very last page. Agatha Christie fans will welcome this 21st-century update on the classic golden age village mystery." – Publishers Weekly
"The perfect suburban setting; the secretive, quirky neighbors; three unsolved murders; and an Agatha Christie vibe make this whodunit an excellent beach read." – Library Journal
PRAISE FOR THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS
"Sleepwalking is creepy. You're asleep, but you're walking through the night-like the living dead. I knew when I started The Girl from Widow Hills I was in for some shivers. But I had no idea the terrors that were in store."-R. L. STINE, bestselling author of Goosebumps and Fear Street
"A hauntingly atmospheric and gorgeously written page-turner, The Girl from Widow Hills is a deeply thought-provoking, riveting mystery about the complex weight of history and the dangerous power of the lies we tell ourselves."-KIMBERLY McCREIGHT, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and A Good Marriage
PRAISE FOR THE LAST HOUSE GUEST
"The perfect summer thriller . . . with a pace that made my heart race." -Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Time I Lied
"Oh boy, does she ever know how to write a twisty-turny ending (or two, or more)." -Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"This searing small-town thriller from bestseller Miranda explores the complexities of female friendship and the picturesque fictions that money can buy. . . . Sharply drawn characters both ground and elevate the bombshell-laden plo...
"A claustrophobic and suspenseful whodunit…that ponders the eternal question of how well we really know those closest to us." – BookPage (Starred Review)
"At the start of this disquieting suspense novel from bestseller Miranda (The Girl from Widow Hills), longtime Hollow's Edge resident Ruby Fletcher, who was convicted of the double murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett a year and a half earlier, returns after her conviction is overturned to the tight-knit lakeside community… If Ruby isn't guilty, who is? What other secrets are the residents of Hollow's Edge hiding-and would they go so far as murder to protect them? The twists keep coming until the very last page. Agatha Christie fans will welcome this 21st-century update on the classic golden age village mystery." – Publishers Weekly
"The perfect suburban setting; the secretive, quirky neighbors; three unsolved murders; and an Agatha Christie vibe make this whodunit an excellent beach read." – Library Journal
PRAISE FOR THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS
"Sleepwalking is creepy. You're asleep, but you're walking through the night-like the living dead. I knew when I started The Girl from Widow Hills I was in for some shivers. But I had no idea the terrors that were in store."-R. L. STINE, bestselling author of Goosebumps and Fear Street
"A hauntingly atmospheric and gorgeously written page-turner, The Girl from Widow Hills is a deeply thought-provoking, riveting mystery about the complex weight of history and the dangerous power of the lies we tell ourselves."-KIMBERLY McCREIGHT, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia and A Good Marriage
PRAISE FOR THE LAST HOUSE GUEST
"The perfect summer thriller . . . with a pace that made my heart race." -Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Time I Lied
"Oh boy, does she ever know how to write a twisty-turny ending (or two, or more)." -Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"This searing small-town thriller from bestseller Miranda explores the complexities of female friendship and the picturesque fictions that money can buy. . . . Sharply drawn characters both ground and elevate the bombshell-laden plo...
Readers Top Reviews
ChromaticAmberL
Finding a book I cannot put down until the very end is extremely rare for me. This book was riveting & I highly recommend reading it for yourself.
S.Simpson
This book had me wanting to keep turning the pages. Mystery and intrigue abound but most of all it opened the door to the side of us all that we'd like to forget exists in modern times.
Read and ReviewedInt
Having read the majority of Megan Miranda’s adult novels I know that pace isn’t her strong suit and Such a Quiet Place is a slow burn stand-alone mystery set amongst the community of Hollow’s Edge, Virginia. Considered a quiet and friendly neighbourhood, Hollow’s Edge is the perfect lakeside setting with the residents having access to the water and woods and the residents primarily being employed by the local college and public education system. Fourteen months ago the double murder of Fiona and Brandon Truett as they slept in their beds, and the subsequent conviction of their neighbour, Ruby Fletcher, sent shockwaves through the small community and beyond. At the time Ruby was renting a room in the house of Harper Nash but when the residents hear the news that Ruby’s twenty year conviction has been overturned and an internal investigation into her arrest is underway, the last thing they expect her to do is to return to the scene of the crime. But surprise, surprise, that is just what she does with the twenty-five-year-old clearly back to settle scores and ruffle a few feathers, warning Harper that “someone’s going to pay.” The entire novel is narrated from the perspective of thirty-year-old Harper who at the start of the book is an easily swayed pushover, particularly when Ruby waltzes straight back into her home and immediately puts Harper at odds with the rest of the community. Whilst Harper knows she can’t trust Ruby and spends her days unsuccessfully trying to keep track of her movements, she is just as unsettled by the reactions of the residents to Ruby’s arrival. Throughout the novel Harper does grow in stature, coming to understand how dangerous the pack mentality of a small community can be, even when well-intentioned. Given that Harper always understood that Ruby had no greater motive than the rest of the community where the Truett’s were universally disliked she knows that she is back to either dispose of evidence or find the proof that identifies the real guilty party. Realising how hastily the heavily surveilled neighbourhood were to turn on brash Ruby and close ranks against someone never quite seen as good enough to be one of them, all while conveniently covering their own little secrets, leads Harper to revisit the original investigation. Tracing it back to the original post on the Hollow’s Edge Community bulletin board that set the police on Ruby’s trail, Harper finds herself reassessing her neighbours and their actions. Having previously been unimpressed by Miranda’s adult novels I was disappointed not to get on a little better with this novel because technically it is well done. For me the novel didn’t really pick up and completely hold my interest until the final third when what is a very well constructed denouement starts to unfolds and tension mounts. Whilst the unravelling of the plot is very good I...
Laurel-Rain Snow
Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street. Hollow’s Edge used to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back. With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she once shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go? Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow’s Edge. It’s increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts’ murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim. My Thoughts: When Ruby comes back to Hollow’s Edge after she is released, her conviction overturned, she blithely moves back into the house with Harper. Suddenly Harper is afraid and uncertain, wondering what Ruby plans to do. Soon strange events are happening, as neighbors try to cover their own involvement in her conviction, keeping their eyes on Ruby and what she might do next. A community board that spotlights the thoughts of the neighbors keeps them all focused on covering up secrets while sharing ideas that only heighten their paranoia about Ruby who might be uncovering what they all might have done to put her behind bars in the first place. When another death occurs, Harper pushes hard to uncover the truth, and the neighbors all become their own worst enemies. Such a Quiet Place is a book that kept me turning pages and earned 4.5 stars
Pwmmystery loverPear
I was anticipating this book forever and have to say, it was pretty disappointing. What I love about this author is there is always a romantic undercurrent between her characters. You root for them, you like them. Unfortunately, the characters in this novel do not conjure those feelings at all. Beyond the lack of any romantic element, development is thin, the ending is unsatisfying and forgettable. Not her best effort, but one can’t hit the mark every time.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1
THERE WAS NO PARTY the day Ruby Fletcher came home.
We had no warning, no time to prepare ourselves.
I didn't hear the slam of the car door, or the key in the lock, or the front door swinging open. It was the footsteps-the familiar pop of the floorboard just outside the kitchen-that registered first. That made me pause at the counter, tighten my grip on the knife.
Thinking: Not the cat.
I held my breath, held myself very still, listening closer. A shuffling in the hallway, like something was sliding along the wall. I spun from the kitchen counter, knife still in my hand, blade haphazardly pointed outward-
And there she was, in the entrance of my kitchen: Ruby Fletcher.
She was the one who said, "Surprise!" Who laughed as the knife fell from my grip, a glinting thing between us on the tiled floor, who delighted at my stunned expression. As if we didn't all have cause to be on edge. As if we didn't each fear someone sneaking into our home.
As if she didn't know better.
It took three seconds for me to find the appropriate expression. My hand shaking as I brought it to my chest. "Oh my God," I said, which bought me some time. Then I bent to pick up the knife, which bought me some more. "Ruby," I said as I stood.
Her smile stretched wider. "Harper," she answered, all drawn out. The first thing I noticed were the low-heeled shoes dangling from her hand, like she really had been trying to sneak up on me.
The second thing I noticed was that she seemed to be wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday during the news conference-black pants and white sleeveless blouse, without a jacket now, and with the top button undone. Her dark blond hair was styled as it had been on TV but appeared flatter today. And it was shorter since I'd last seen her in person-just to her shoulders. Makeup smudges under her eyes, a glow to her cheeks, ears slightly pink from the heat.
It occurred to me she'd been out for twenty-four hours and hadn't yet changed clothes.
There was luggage behind her in the hall-what I must've heard scraping against the beige walls-a brown leather duffel and a messenger-style briefcase that matched. With the suit, it was easy to imagine she was on her way to work.
"Where've you been?" I asked as she set her shoes down. Of all the things I could've said. But trying to account for Ruby's time line was deeply ingrained, a habit that I'd found difficult to break.
She tipped her head back and laughed. "I missed you, too, Harper." Deflecting, as always. It was almost noon, and she looked like she hadn't gone to sleep yet. Maybe she'd been with the lawyer. Maybe she'd gone to see her dad. Maybe she'd tried somewhere else-anywhere else-before coming here. Maybe she'd wrung these last twenty-four hours of freedom for all they were worth.
Then she was crossing the room, coming in for a hug, inescapable. Everything happened on a brief delay, as if choreographed. Her walk had changed, her steps quiet, more deliberate. Her expression, too-careful, guarded. Something new she'd learned or practiced.
She seemed, suddenly, unlike the Ruby I knew, each proportion just slightly off: thinner, more streamlined; her blue eyes larger and clearer than I recalled; she seemed taller than the last time we were in a room together. Or maybe it was just my memory that had shifted, softening her edges, molding her into something smaller, frailer, incapable of the accusations levied against her.
Maybe it was a trick of the television screen or the pictures in the paper, flattening her into two dimensions, making me forget the true Ruby Fletcher.
Her arms wrapped around me, and all at once, she felt like her again.
She tucked her pointy chin into the space between my neck and shoulder. "I didn't scare you, did I?"
I felt her breath on my neck, the goose bumps rising. I started laughing as I pulled away-a fit of delirium, high and tight, something between elation and fear. Ruby Fletcher. Here. As if nothing had changed. As if no time had passed.
She cocked her head to the side as I wiped the tears from under my eyes. "Ruby, if you had called, I would've…"
What? Planned a lunch? Gotten her room ready? Told her not to come?
"Next time," she said, grinning. "But that-" She gestured to my face. "That was worth it."
Like this was a game, part of her plan, and my reaction would tell her all she needed to know.
She sat at the ki...
THERE WAS NO PARTY the day Ruby Fletcher came home.
We had no warning, no time to prepare ourselves.
I didn't hear the slam of the car door, or the key in the lock, or the front door swinging open. It was the footsteps-the familiar pop of the floorboard just outside the kitchen-that registered first. That made me pause at the counter, tighten my grip on the knife.
Thinking: Not the cat.
I held my breath, held myself very still, listening closer. A shuffling in the hallway, like something was sliding along the wall. I spun from the kitchen counter, knife still in my hand, blade haphazardly pointed outward-
And there she was, in the entrance of my kitchen: Ruby Fletcher.
She was the one who said, "Surprise!" Who laughed as the knife fell from my grip, a glinting thing between us on the tiled floor, who delighted at my stunned expression. As if we didn't all have cause to be on edge. As if we didn't each fear someone sneaking into our home.
As if she didn't know better.
It took three seconds for me to find the appropriate expression. My hand shaking as I brought it to my chest. "Oh my God," I said, which bought me some time. Then I bent to pick up the knife, which bought me some more. "Ruby," I said as I stood.
Her smile stretched wider. "Harper," she answered, all drawn out. The first thing I noticed were the low-heeled shoes dangling from her hand, like she really had been trying to sneak up on me.
The second thing I noticed was that she seemed to be wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday during the news conference-black pants and white sleeveless blouse, without a jacket now, and with the top button undone. Her dark blond hair was styled as it had been on TV but appeared flatter today. And it was shorter since I'd last seen her in person-just to her shoulders. Makeup smudges under her eyes, a glow to her cheeks, ears slightly pink from the heat.
It occurred to me she'd been out for twenty-four hours and hadn't yet changed clothes.
There was luggage behind her in the hall-what I must've heard scraping against the beige walls-a brown leather duffel and a messenger-style briefcase that matched. With the suit, it was easy to imagine she was on her way to work.
"Where've you been?" I asked as she set her shoes down. Of all the things I could've said. But trying to account for Ruby's time line was deeply ingrained, a habit that I'd found difficult to break.
She tipped her head back and laughed. "I missed you, too, Harper." Deflecting, as always. It was almost noon, and she looked like she hadn't gone to sleep yet. Maybe she'd been with the lawyer. Maybe she'd gone to see her dad. Maybe she'd tried somewhere else-anywhere else-before coming here. Maybe she'd wrung these last twenty-four hours of freedom for all they were worth.
Then she was crossing the room, coming in for a hug, inescapable. Everything happened on a brief delay, as if choreographed. Her walk had changed, her steps quiet, more deliberate. Her expression, too-careful, guarded. Something new she'd learned or practiced.
She seemed, suddenly, unlike the Ruby I knew, each proportion just slightly off: thinner, more streamlined; her blue eyes larger and clearer than I recalled; she seemed taller than the last time we were in a room together. Or maybe it was just my memory that had shifted, softening her edges, molding her into something smaller, frailer, incapable of the accusations levied against her.
Maybe it was a trick of the television screen or the pictures in the paper, flattening her into two dimensions, making me forget the true Ruby Fletcher.
Her arms wrapped around me, and all at once, she felt like her again.
She tucked her pointy chin into the space between my neck and shoulder. "I didn't scare you, did I?"
I felt her breath on my neck, the goose bumps rising. I started laughing as I pulled away-a fit of delirium, high and tight, something between elation and fear. Ruby Fletcher. Here. As if nothing had changed. As if no time had passed.
She cocked her head to the side as I wiped the tears from under my eyes. "Ruby, if you had called, I would've…"
What? Planned a lunch? Gotten her room ready? Told her not to come?
"Next time," she said, grinning. "But that-" She gestured to my face. "That was worth it."
Like this was a game, part of her plan, and my reaction would tell her all she needed to know.
She sat at the ki...
