***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE by Michele Campbell in exchange for my honest review.***

A perfect couple. At least to observers.
Orphaned twins.
A boarding school steeped in tradition.
And a murder.

Rose follows rules, gets good grades and judges Bel, her rebellious twin. On the first day of sophomore year senior troublemakers befriend Bel. The girls hold a contest to see which can sleep with Heath Donovan, their dorm parent. Rose finds a friend in Mrs Donovan, hoping the rumors aren’t true. When one twin is stabbed seventeen times, the other is a suspect, but many people had reason to want one twin or the other dead.

Give me a boarding school book and I’m almost guaranteed to like it. Add feuding twins and I’m hooked. Michele Campbell’s sophomore mystery/thriller had me choosing sides between the twins from page one. I knew which twin I wanted to survive and hoped she wasn’t guilty.

The Donovans were a hot mess. Creepy, manipulative Heath may not have been a murder suspect, but I found him guilty of being a terrible husband. Sarah Donovan was either naive or dumb, ignoring her instincts, believing Heath’s lies about Bel despite much evidence to the contrary. Such a helpful mentor to Rose, could she have snapped and murdered?

Other suspects included a boy who stalked one twin and with whom the other twin fell in love. The girls blamed both twins for their expulsion were on my list as was the boy who bullied Rose.

SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE started slowly, building in pace and intensity until my heart was pounding, unsure if the murderer would talk another victim. The epilogue left me breathless.

If you like mysteries, thrillers, women’s fiction, boarding school, twins or young adult, SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE is a must read.

I became a huge fan of Michele Campbell after "It's always the husband" so I was eager to read this follow up with this latest novel of her. And I am thrilled to say it did not disappoint! This was THE page-turner that kept me up at night as I was torn between needing to get to sleep but needing to know what on earth was going to happen. I am a fan of thrillers but do not enjoy horror so this was a perfect balance for me. I was pretty sure I knew where this story was going...and just when I thought the ending was wrapping up and I knew it all- BAM- the other shoe drops. Such a phenomenal read. Strong characters, tight writing, face-paced plot. This book has it all! I highly recommend this - the perfect summertime (and any time!) read. I see this one on the NY Times bestseller list for sure!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

It’s not very often that I meet a boarding school book that I don’t like. Unfortunately, this was one. At the outset, you know that one twin is accuser of killing the other and the first part of the book is a slow rewind to get to the beginning and learn which twin dies. The second part solves the mystery, which you can see coming a mile away. Too many tropes in this one for me.

As a psychological thriller the story was lukewarm at best, however as a character study on relationships and how well do we know those we are closest with, it was interesting.

Twin sisters who have lost their parents were sent away to a boarding school by their rich grandmother who did so presumably as a rite of family legacy. Once there they fall into completely different groups of friends and virtually become pitted against one another. In the end, one of them is dead and all concerned get to learn more about those they’ve loved and trusted.

This was an interesting commentary on how far we’ll go to get what we think we want and what we lose along the way.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance readers’ copy!

A nicely written book that begins to drag unexpectedly and I found tough to finish. Part of it was that I really couldn’t relate to many of the characters nor the environment at an elite boarding school. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the book except that it seemed too much like many other similar stories and I expected more. There were lots of twists and turns, many expected and some real surprises including the ending but I basically found many characters whiny and unsympathetic.

A very interesting idea was to not reveal which of the twin, main characters has been murdered as the story progresses. It is told with somewhat confusing time shifts from the twins past to the investigation itself. As each suspect or character is interviewed, time goes back and forth and is told from varying truths and realities. There was nothing wrong with this book except perhaps it’s basic setting at an elite New England boarding school for rich kids, some clearly emotionally troubled and packed off to a boarding school by wealthy parents for someone else to deal with but clearing lacking a moral compass among other things. Truth is not always as it is told nor as it always seems in this story. Interesting story but just not for me...

What a great read! Rose and Bel are orphans who are sent to live with their grandmother. Rather than deal with young teens, their grandmother decides to send them away to the exclusive and vey expensive Odell Academy. Rose was very quiet and shy while Bel made friends quickly, But the group Bel is hanging out with is the group that promises to bring trouble with it. Add to the mix a dean of their dorm who is power-hungry and attracted to the young girls who are his charges, and you have the setting for this powerfully entertaining novel. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is intricate and intriguing. The conclusion is one that is hinted at throughout the novel, but the reader has to pay close attention in order not to get a big surprise at the end.

I received a free e-copy of She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell from NetGalley for my honest review.

This book is about fraternal twin girls. Their father died when they were young and then their mother passed away when they were teenagers. They then went to their their paternal Grandmother's who lived in a big, beautiful home in Connecticut. The Grandmother, being very wealthy purchases all new clothing for the girls and then sends them to an exclusive boarding school that all of her family had attended for generations. Bel, immediately gets involved with some Senior girls who are know as trouble makers. Rose, the good girl, studied, made some good friends and stayed out of trouble. The girls fought a lot in their new school. Bel gets involved in a hazing incident of her sister Rose and Rose's room mate. Bel, also falls for a married man. Although the book had a lot going on including suspense, murder, family drama, a crazy love triangle it had a somewhat soap opera feel for it.

This book from the beginning was very gripping. I found it really easy to get into and I really didn't want to put down. Unfortunately I have a day job that requires me to go to it and a boyfriend that also requires attention. But I cannot wait to get further into this book. Honestly this book is one of the best books I have read so far this year. I absolutely couldn't put it down. The end was great. The killer was kind of easy for me to tell. But sometimes that is the easy part. There were bits where I didn't think the cops were going to do their job. I think one of my favorite parts is the fact that I got so into it at the end that I forgot about the anonymous emails. Then boom the very last thing that happens the best thing. You find out who sent it. It is absolutely beautiful. I was just left there like... I thought.. but... How... It was fantastic. I loved this book. The characters were great. I absolutely recommend reading this book.

I absolutely loved Michele Campbell's book "It's always the Husband" and have been looking forward to reading her new book "She was the Quiet one." The beginning of the book truly hooked me. However, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I expected more of a twist. Having said that, it was still a very well written book and worth the read.

Thank you NetGalley for this book.

My first Michele Campbell and I'm not disappointed. This story is fairly straight and you can see what is coming from miles away, but still an entertaining read. I liked the way the book started, a bit of a mystery, but the epilogue I could have done with0ut because for me, it was a bit too much.

3.5/5 I'd recommend this to someone who likes their YA with a side of mean girls. But for me though, there was too much reliance on stereotypes and clichés. You have the good twin and the bad twin, the good wife and the bad husband, mean girls, jock who wants to fight, moody teenage boy in love with the bad girl, and the list goes on. Overall, the story wasn't bad, but I could also see everything coming from a mile away. The reveal in the epilogue was a little unexpected, but it also didn't really add much to story.

She Was the Quiet One takes us into the lives of twins Rose and Belle, whose looks and temperaments could not have been more different. When their mother dies, they are sent tfrom CA to live with their grandmother in NE, who in turn sends them off to Odell, a rich kids' private school. Rose loves it, believing she can reinvent herself. Belle, however continues on the way she always has. Unfortunately, they grow further and further from each other, until one of them dies.

I was so drawn into this story that I read it in two sittings! Have you ever read a book full of so much drama that you're happy that your life is completely boring and the biggest enemy you have is the girl at Lowes who gives you dirty looks? That's how this book made me feel. But holy amazeballs, it makes for great entertainment.
She Was the Quiet one is centered around a tangled web of secrets and deceit between two recently orphaned teenage twins and a gaggle of students and faculty at their prestigious boarding school. Complete opposites in every sense, Bel and Rose arrive at their new school unaware of how much their world is about to change. Between navigating through the loss of their mother and finding their place in their new school, a rivalry arises that takes their situation from bad to worse and somehow ends in murder. But of who? And by whom?
This is far from your usual whodunnit mystery. For the majority of the novel the victim isn't revealed so you're left trying to answer not one, but two questions throughout it's entirety. Oh man is that fun! I went through dozens of different scenarios and possibilities before it became clear what had transpired.

I found this an enjoyable read. At times slow, rather predictable but still a book I found fun to read. I would recommend this book to others who like a good mystery.

She was the Quiet One is a well-crafted, suspenseful story with a wide diversity of well-drawn characters. The reader knows from the opening that twin sisters are involved, that they are at a boarding school, and that one of them is suspected of killing the other.

The story alternates between very credible transcripts ofpolice interviews and incidents from the point of view of each of a half dozen central characters. There is more than one mystery at play: Who murdered the twin? Which twin was murdered (readers don't learn this until the end)? Will the wrong person be prosecuted for the murder? And will more murders follow?

Several reviewers suggested this was a YA book. Hmmm. Campbell did indeed skillfully capture adolescent angst. But there were plenty of adult issues, including marital loyalty and willful denial. As for the epilogue (which other reviewers have questioned), my thought was "Ah So that's what happened to her!"

This was an advance reader's copy from NetGalley.

I just love Michele Campbell novels, I read this novel in one sitting. Thanks again NetGalley. I highly recommend this book.

With the death of their parents, twins Rose and Bel Enright are sent to live with their father's mother. Their Grandmother they barely know. The wealthy woman outfits them with the latest clothes and send them off to her old alma mater, The Odell School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire. 

At the school they are separated and put in different floors with new roommates. Rose is the smart one. Plain Jane and not at all popular she is just trying to fit in and get along. She loves the school and her advisor Sarah Donovan.

Bel, not know for hard work or studies falls in with an older, popular and vicious crowd. She even turns her anger to Rose. She hates school but loves her advisor, Heath Donovan. See where I'm going with this? The girls couldn't be more different.

Wanting so badly to be accepted, Bel does anything the older, wealthy and seemingly untouchable girls demand of her. And they are vicious. Even when it comes to her sister, Bel can't stop.

Mr. Donovan has a secret. He plagiarized a book and got caught. They are lucky to have found this teaching position and to have been named Dorm Heads. But Heath has loftier goals. He has his sights on the Headmaster's job. 

But he has a very dark side, which all of the girls will discover. When there is a murder on campus, questions begin and we see the ugly side of what money can do to a person. But who killed who and who was in on it? The answers will having you pulling your children out of boarding school and questioning a lot of things.

Well Done!

Netgalley/July 31st 2018 by St. Martin's Press

[This review will go live on my blog on July 23, 8 am ET.]

I love good twin/bad twin stories, and She Was the Quiet One was a boarding school drama filled with enough scandals and soapy fun to keep me reading into the night. When orphaned sixteen-year-old twins Rose and Bel Enright enrol in The Odell School, they almost immediately find themselves at odds with each other. Good twin Rose fits right into Odell's competitive academic climate, finding a group of friends among the straight-A, student council types. Bad twin Bel immediately falls in with the popular crowd, a group of mean girl bullies with a running dare to seduce their handsome English teacher Heath Donovan. Heath's mousy wife Sarah is the school's math teacher and Rose's adviser. 

From the beginning of the book, we know a murder has been committed. We don't know who the victim is or what the motive could have been, only that the police are investigating and it somehow involves the twins. Michele Campbell takes us from witness testimonies to flashbacks on the incidents that led up to the crime, and it's a pretty thrilling ride.

The drama kicks off when Bel and her friends commit a cruel act of bullying and online harassment on Rose's roommate, and Rose's testimony becomes central to the lawsuit the victim's family files against the school. Things escalate when Heath lets Bel off with a lighter punishment than her friends, and rumours begin to circulate that they're having an affair. 

I loved reading all the drama. Rose is way more uptight than Elizabeth Wakefield ever was, and Bel was much more screwed up than Jessica Wakefield ever allowed herself to be, so it was great to see them playing off each other. Unlike the Wakefield twins, there seems to be little love lost between the Enright twins, and only near the end do we realize that at least one of them actually did care for the other.

Sarah and Heath's story was equally compelling, especially in the beginning. Heath is such a charming character, and I like how Campbell slowly lets us in on his darker side, particularly based on an incident from his and Sarah's past. Sarah in turn is such a sympathetic figure, and while I often felt frustrated by her wilful blindness on certain topics, I can also see why she'd try so hard to hold on to her illusions.

The latter half felt dragged out though, and some of the characters keep making some really stupid decisions just for the sake of the plot. Like, if you have suspicions about someone, why would you go to where they are rather than go to the police? And if someone's telling you they were attacked and there's physical evidence, it seems honestly petty to immediately assume they're lying and staging the evidence, just because they're inconveniencing you in some way. All that kind of stuff kept the plot going and the tension increasing, but it got a bit eye-roll-y after a point.

Still, overall this is a fun read, and I enjoyed all the soapy drama.

+

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an advance reading copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Read Ms Campbell’s first Book and loved it. Same with this one. Will buy any book with her name on it!

'Neither Sarah nor Heath had a counseling background. They knew nothing about running a dorm, or providing guidance to messed-up girls. Sarah had spent her Odell years hiding from girls like that, and- to be honest- Heath had spent his time chasing them.'

Rose and Bel Enright’s mother has just succumbed to cancer, the dreamier of the twins (Bel) wants nothing to change more than what already has. The devastating loss has already altered their known world. Both girls know without a place to go, they will end up in Foster Care so it is Rose’s idea to contact their father’s wealthy mother and take her up on her offer to send them (as has been an Enright tradition for generations) to boarding school at the prestigious Odell Academy. Rose can’t wait, the New England school is like a dream come true. It offers an education that she would never have known otherwise. Bell can’t think of anything worse, surely their free-spirited mother would never have wanted this for her beloved, favorite girl. Soon enough, Rose and Bell are divided and Bell is in over her head, following an older, popular group of vicious, entitled girls.

The sister’s relationship veers into the point of no return when Bell takes part in hazing with Rose and her roommate as victims. Shockingly, her own grandmother can’t stand shame coming to the Enright name nor any smear upon Odell Academy. Worse, Bell seems to have their grandmother just as under her charm as their mother was. Sarah Donovan, the dorm mother, is there to support Rose when her own family turns against her. But Sarah has family issues of her own, in between juggling her young children and her husband’s ambition, there is some sort of stain they too are trying to erase, a problem the husband and wife are healing from. This was supposed to be a new start, but it seems their old school houses wealthy, dangerous girls as powerful, manipulative and intimidating as they were when Sarah and her husband were students themselves. Worse, there seems to be a scheme involving her guileless husband, a sort of dare amongst the senior girls, which soon enough Heath will laugh off as harmless. How is a woman with a body taken over by the birth of children to feel secure around such youthful beauty, girls whose looks and artful exposure of their flesh betray their age and lack of experience? Sarah may as well be the awkward, unpopular girl she was in school. Can she trust Heath not to succumb to any untoward behavior?

Despite finding herself in serious trouble, ashamed that she betrayed her own sister, Bell is more obsessed with Mr. Heath, swooning at his every word, inserting herself as much as she can in his life, hungry for his attention. She is playing a dangerous game of seduction for a young, inexperienced girl. Heath won’t let anything ruin his chance to prove himself as a husband, father and if everything goes according to plan, be appointed Headmaster of Odell Academy. There isn’t enough scheming young bored girls can do to undermine his authority, his chance to make things up to his beloved, loyal wife Sarah. His family’s very future depends on this one year, and it’s starting out with a scandal involving the new twins. It is a stroke of luck that Bell confides in him, is willing to be steered in the right direction. Has Heath overestimated his skill as a teacher?

The students aren’t the only ones hiding dark secrets, Rose and Bell’s grandmother is distant, cold and her lawyer seems to be plotting, particularly against Rose at every turn. There is something sinister about him, as if the girls presence are a threat to his bond with their grandmother or her money. If they won’t support her and what Bell has put her through, to hell with them. She has evidence, and damned if she won’t expose Bell for what she really is, or at the very least use it as a means to wake Bell up to what she is becoming. Every character is crossing some sort of line, and when Rose is caught with blood all over her hands everyone is wondering if she is capable of murder.

I was engaged through the entire novel, with its twists and turns. Though there were times I felt like it would do better with a younger audience, 18 and over (because of the sexual nature) as at my age I have less patience for entitled rich kids, and find myself exhausted by their antics more than terrified. Then again, I’ve never been a dorm mother! As a reader I just wanted to take poor Bell aside and say ‘oh honey, no…you are still grieving, you are so lost’. Then there is Rose, she just cannot seem to catch a break, and to think all she wanted was a good education, well she certainly got one, just not what she was hoping for. It all goes dark!

Publication Date: July 31, 2017

St. Martin’s Press