Daisy and Simon’s marriage is great, isn’t it? After years together, the arrival of longed-for daughter Millie sealed everything in place. A happy little family of three. And so what if Simon drinks a bit too much sometimes – Daisy’s used to it, she knows he’s letting off steam. Until one night at a party things spiral horribly out of control. And that happy little family of three will never be the same again.
ForLizzie Riley, switching her six-year-old sonTomto the local academy school marks a fresh start, post-divorce. With its excellent reputation, Lizzie knows it’ll be a safe space away from home.
A tragic accident – or a ruthless killer? When a flash mob on Brick Lane is interrupted by a sudden explosion, DI Maya Rahman dashes to the scene. A fire is raging through one of the city’s most infamous streets, the sight of Maya’s childhood home. And the discovery of two charred bodies in the burnt-out building transforms an arson attack into a murder case.
Someone is trying to destroy the evidence of history’s greatest crimes. Academics and Holocaust survivors dead in mysterious circumstances. Museums and libraries burning. Digital records and irreplaceable proofs, lost for ever. Former White House operative Maggie Costello has sworn off politics. But when the Governor of Virginia seeks her help to stop the lethal spiral of killings, she knows that this is bigger than any political game.
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.
She Was The Quiet One is a compelling psychological thriller and turned out to be different from what I expected it to be. I expected the drama to mainly revolve around Sarah and Heath’s relationship while Bel and Rose being a part of it. But what I got was a teen hostel drama with mean girls and their far fetched bullying.😅
It begins with Bel and Rose’s mother passing away and their Grandmother taking up their guardianship and eventually enrolling them at a posh and prestigious boarding school Odell. Once there, Rose gets Sarah as her mentor and Bel gets Heath. And the drama starts to unfold….
It’s not that twisty but the thrill is there. You know one of the sister died but you don’t know which one and it was a great element of the storytelling.
The writing is effortless and weaves together a simple plot with complicated emotions. The combination is captivating.
The characters… umm.. well I found Heath and Sarah’s quite intriguing while that of Bel’s somewhat annoying.
The relationships and the turns they took were definitely real in all their forms. Their fears, selfishness and care. I think that is what stood out the most to me.
There was a part where Bel finally realises that what she felt about Heath was a strong admiration and not romantic love. At an young age it can hard to confront and look through these feelings. I know because I myself have had such feelings for a boy I admired. And had a tough time differentiating and validating my specific feeling of such strong admiration. Which can very easily be confused with love. But even if it gets requited it can’t fulfil your desire because you never wanted that from them in first place. You wanted the attention and the validation from them.
I have a contradicting feeling the about the climax. It felt bit stretched but there also was quite an adrenaline rush!🤷♀️
My Rating: 3.75/5
‘She Was The Quiet One’ is available as Paperback, Hardcover, E-book and Audio book.
In the midst of one of the worst winters Chicago has seen in years, the body of missing teenager Ella Reynolds is discovered under the surface of a frozen lake. She’s been missing for three weeks…the lake froze over three months ago.
hjbookblog.wordpress.com 