The lengths that people will go to fit in and get ahead. This book is Mean Girls and Pretty Little Liars combined. My only question was how naive can you make some characters be. I really enjoyed this book, but at the same time I'm thinking is some of this really plausible. Man, that student nurse was a bitch and the family lawyer a complete gold digger for an older man. The ending was a little too dramatic and quick.
I know I'm a little delayed in finishing my review. I want to say thank you @stmartinspress for the opportunity to review this book. It was a very good novel I just feel the ending was too dramatic and abrupt.

I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley. This book had me from the very beginning. I love that it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to my fellow readers. Thank you for the chance to review this book!!!!

This is a tale of two twin sisters that are as different as can be. Rose is the good one, the one who puts her image and studies above everything. Then there is Bel, the rebellious one who is spunky and doesn’t really care what people think of her.
Also in this twisted tale are the dorm heads, Heath Donovan and his wife Sarah Donovan. Heath is Bel’s advisor and Sarah is Rose’s.
*SPOILERS*
The twins mother passes away and the only one to take them in is their rich grandmother that they don’t know. She sends them to Odell Academy, an expensive boarding school that is a family tradition. I think it’s to get rid of the girls since they don’t really know each other.
School starts out alright for the girls and they quickly fall into their niches. Bel falls in with the senior crowd. There is a hazing incident that quickly goes south ending up with her two friends being suspended and Bel not in trouble. That creates an issue all of its own. Bel seems to be favored due to Heath being her advisor but that’s not the case. The two are actually involved in an illicit affair.
There are some more twists with Sarah, the wife and someone anonymously sending emails with Bel and Heath. Also with Rose and some side characters that lead to Bel being in the woods and ending up murdered. I did wonder if it was going to be Zach, a side character who was kind of obsessed with Bel or even Rose. I did figure out it was Heath that killed her to keep her quiet so that it didn’t ruin his ascend to headmaster.
The story wrapped up nicely and overall it was a dark and twisty tale of two sisters and the aftermath of events. The epilogue was okay and I think it did add a little to the story.

I received this title as an ARC from netgalley and all opinions are my own.

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#FirstLine ~ They locked her in the infirmary and took away her phone and anything she might use to harm herself- or someone else.

She Was the Quiet One was quite the read. It had twists and turns and other elements that caused it to be a hard-to-put-down read. I found it to be paced well. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. I loved that it was a well constructed and complex story that was quite suspenseful. I really enjoyed it and was very satisfied with the ending.

Rose and Bel Enright are twin sisters. After their mother dies, their grandmother becomes their guardian, and enrolls them in a prestigious boarding school. Rose is excited about the opportunity, but Bel is not looking forward to the new changes. Heath and Sarah Donovan are teachers at the school, and they have recently been promoted to a position over one of the dorms. The dorm where Rose and Bel reside. Once at the school, the sisters drift apart, and as they grow further apart, each turns to the Donovans. Rose seeks advice from Sarah. Bel looks to Heath. As things escalate between the sisters, rumors fly, and only one of them lives to tell the truth.

In the first pages of the book, we learn one of the sisters is murdered. The story then rewinds to the beginning of the school year. As the school year progresses, we discover how they adjust to their new environment, and what leads to the death of one sister. The boarding school atmosphere presents both sides of the student body, the academic-focused students and the wilder partying students. The sisters are on opposite sides.

The story is told with flashbacks and from the multiple viewpoints of Rose, Bel, and Sarah. Rose is focused and goal oriented. Bel is a rebel and a dreamer. Sarah is reserved and trying to be supportive of her ambitious husband. With two teenagers and one adult voice, this reads as a young adult novel.

Secrets and gossip fuel this dark and twisty tale. Family drama, scandal, and suspense.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley for my copy! I loved this dark and twisted boarding school sisterhood book. I feel in love with the characters and would love to meet Rise for coffee.

I reviewed Michele Campbell's It's Always the Husband back in March and said that it is a top-notch mystery. In fact, it has quickly become one of my favorites to recommend as it definitely keeps you guessing throughout. I was excited to pick up Campbell's latest, She Was the Quiet One, and while I like her previous book slightly better, it is still a worthy read.

Twin sisters Rose and Bel Enright are as different as can be. Rose is studious and quiet, while Bel is much more extroverted. When they are sent by their grandmother to Odell, a prestigious boarding school, Rose takes to it immediately. Bel, on the other hand, gets in with the wrong crowd, and finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations. As we understand from the beginning, one of those situations is murder, but which side is Bel exactly on?

Campbell writes a pulse-pounding thriller here, and she kept me up long past my bedtime turning the pages. The ending was predictable and flat for me, but the ride was certainly a fun one to get to that point.

MY RATING - 3

Edge of your seat page turner, destined to be a best seller. This was one of those, “One more chapter” books that turns into a full night reading binge. The style is spectacular, alternating perspectives and including police interviews that really drew me in, wanting to find answers. Campbell includes a perfect mix of suspence, intrigue, drama and betrayal. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for my gifted finished copy of this Mystery/Thriller/Women’s Fiction in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this one and once I got started, I couldn’t put it down!

Fraternal twins, Rose and Isabel (Bel) Enright have lost their mother and are sent to live with their estranged (and extremely wealthy) grandmother in New Hampshire. Once under her care, the Enright sisters are forced to attend the prestigious Odell boarding school, where their mother attended when she was younger. The relocation has exaggerated the distance that already exists between the two distinct personalities. Their enrollment at Odell only exacerbates their rivalry as they each ally with students on very different ends of the social spectrum pitting them against each other – Rose with the quiet and studious end, and Bel, with the self-entitled and troublesome end.

Odell is filled with privileged self-entitled students who continue to carry on with traditions of hazing and initiation and all things cliché at a privileged boarding school. You have your group of mean girls, your jocks, your studious; each trying to fit in somewhere within the social hierarchy.

Sarah and Heath Donovan, teachers and former students of Odell, have become dorm heads of the all-girls dormitory, Moreland Hall and have moved in with their two young children. Heath is determined to rise quickly through the ranks and do more than teach. He is good looking and charming – and is willing to do anything to expedite his career goals, even if it means compromising his marriage when he crosses the ethical line of teacher-student boundary.

Trouble quickly strikes when a group of seniors adopt newly enrolled Bel into their wings and let her in on a bet they all have running to win the physical affection of Heath Donovan, which can only end in disaster.

Filled with high school drama, secrets and lies this scandalous tale of betrayal ends in the murder of one of the Enright sisters, with a few likely suspects. The girls have both harbored secrets and have created threats to students and faculty alike, but who has the most to lose if one of them speaks up??

This book kept me engaged cover to cover. The direction of the story line was a bit predictable but I still wanted to continue reading to find out how it all would come full circle.

I would probably qualify this one more as a YA suspense thriller, due to the subject content focusing on high school students and related teenage issues. It was a quick read (especially with the short chapters – my favorite!).

Michele Campbell’s writing style was easy flowing and engaging. I have her first book; It’s Always the Husband, on my TBR shelf and definitely looking forward to reading it now that I have finished this one.

I recommend this one to suspense thriller fiction fans who are looking for a quick and engaging read.

My Rating: 4/5

A book full of twist and turns, this title had me at the edge of my seat reading and turning pages as quickly as humanly possible to see what would happen next!
An incredibly crafted story and a real cliff hanger of a final twist---I just loved it!
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read this title prior to publication.

She Was the Quiet One was a very inticing read! It kept my interest and I could not read fast enough to find out what happened! I loved the choice of characters. Rose and Belle were fraternal twins but nothing alike! The setting starts with the sisters living with their mother until she died at a young age. At that point they went to live with their paternal grandmother since their father had died when they were young as well. Their grandmother sent them to an exclusive boarding school where things were different and their lives were full of events-mostly bad! Then, there is a murder. Who did it? Who was murdered? Why? Where is the murder weapon? You must read this book! I admit- it was not what I thought in the end!

Michelle Campbell has done it again! I didn't think that she could get better after her novel, "It's Always the Husband". I was wrong'.

Rose and Bel Enright are fraternal twins. They are enrolled in the prestigious Odwell boarding school by their grandmother after their parents die.. Bel is know for her beauty, Rose, for her intelligence. One twin ends up dead, the other accused of her murder."Mean Girls" meet "Prep".Twin drama and boarding school.. Who is the quiet one?

Hard to put down,. edgy, suspenseful thriller. Read it! you won't be sorry!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book in return for my honest review.

You will spend part of this book wondering which "she" is referred to in the title. You will spend another part of this book wondering why some people are being interviewed by the police and why they say what they do. And you will spend another part wondering whose side you're on.

Michele Campbell spins a web of deceit, deception, and denial at an exclusive New Hampshire boarding school. She uses three narrators: twin sisters Rose and Bel, and Sarah Donovan, a teacher and dorm head at the school, who also happens to be married to another teacher and dorm head. Each is isolated in her own way. Rose and Bel are orphans, and whereas Bel is immediately accepted by the girls' grandmother and a popular bunch of seniors, Rose struggles to fit in. What she doesn't understand, though, is that Bel knows she cannot be herself with her new "friends." She understands how tenuous her relationships are, while Rose's alliances are more authentic. Then there is Sarah, a shy woman from a wealthy family who becomes involved with the charismatic, gorgeous Heath, and she believes herself so lucky and fortunate that he chose her. She, too, is isolated because she pours all of her hopes and dreams into him and not herself.

I enjoyed how Michele Campbell kept me on my toes with this book. She made me find various characters at fault for various things, and she made me wonder who was manipulating whom. For all of their differences, Rose, Bel, and Sarah have quite a bit in common. Each is quiet in her own way, and each makes you wonder just what she is capable of. The surrounding characters are not as nuanced, particularly Heath. He comes off a little too predictable, which is unfortunate considering how unpredictable the three women are.

Even so, this makes for an interesting, entertaining book. I loved the setting, which is a character in itself. Just as Bel, Sarah, and Rose are isolated, so is Odell Academy. Its inhabitants are in their own world there, subjected to its ways and means. It, too, is quiet ... until the "was" part of the title kicks in.

This was my first Michele Campbell book but now I will read her first one as I was very impressed with this novel! When twin sisters, Bel and Rose are shipped off to boarding school after their parents' deaths, Rose--the good student--begins to excel and Bel--the wild child--falls in with The Mean Girls who are all about pranks and getting away with whatever they can. Enter charming English teacher, Heath and his wife who epitomize The Perfect Family and you know something will go awry! And of course it does. The senior girls have a contest to see who can seduce Heath, but Bel truly believes it is love and fate that have thrown them together as he is her advisor. The novel addresses so many themes: wealth and status, betrayal and loss, marital secrets and infidelity, teenage angst and bullying. Told from alternating viewpoints, the book manages to capture so many issues with poignancy and depth. Plus, I'm a sucker for a book in a school setting! Highly recommend this one!

She Was the Quiet One as a thrilling read that constantly left me wanting more! I quickly found myself attached to all of the characters, even if they weren't super relatable to me. While I had guessed who the killer was fairly early on, the ending still left me surprised with additional details I never saw coming. I can't wait to check out more titles from this author!

We all know the saying: you always have to watch out for the quiet ones. Twins Bel and Rose lost their dad when they were very young and their mom recently their freshman year of high school. Rose is the quiet, studious twin who follows all rules and Bel is the wild and adventurous one who thinks rules are meant to be broken. With no one left to take them in, the move to New Hampshire to live with their father's mother, their grandmother. Their grandmother enrolls them in Odell, a boarding school all Enrights' have attended for generations. On the outside, the school looks like a dream come true for anyone but on the inside bullying, sexual escapades and drugs run rampant. Bel and Rose find themselves fighting constantly and not talking to one another.

Rose and Heath are teachers at Odell who were once students themselves. They have recently been promoted to house monitors of the Enright twins dorm. Rose is uncomfortable with this new position but will support her husband in his dream to rise to the top. Weird things start occurring that Rose cannot account for and make her question how well does she know her husband and does she truly mean the vows of sticking with your husband through good time and bad.

She Was the Quiet One was a thriller that made me want to keep turning the pages even though I pinned the killer very early on. There were a few times the red herrings made me rethink my decision on who the killer was but I was not deterred. I found myself shaking my head in despair at how blind people with authority can be to what truly is happening. Thank goodness for one female cop who went with her instincts.

Rose was my least favorite main character of the book. She seemed very weak and dependent on her husband, Heath. I felt she truly believed she could not survive without him. I am not a fan of weak female characters.

The novel while predictable does make you think how sad it is what people will do to find satisfaction and be at the top of their profession. Those people do not care who they hurt in the process and see themselves above the rules, laws and morals.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

What. A. Tour. De. Force! A really good psychological thriller requires tension, a tight plot, and multiple perspectives to layer the story in such a way that the true villain is never quite revealed. As a bonus, the story should keep the reader off balance and questioning everything. Michele Campbell has all of these bases covered and then some. She perfectly captures the voices of angst-y teenagers as well as ambitious adults without resorting to stereotypes. Each of her characters has his or her own arc within the story, and nobody is superfluous. Just when I thought I had something figured out, she switched directions, but it never felt contrived or manipulative. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this book. An excellent entry in the genre. Can’t wait to read more from Ms. Campbell! Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very much enjoyed She was the Quiet One. A thrilling, engaging read that grasps you from the beginning with a hold that does not cease.
I read this murder/mystery set in a boarding school voraciously. The mystery is not a matter of who did it but who was the victim and the details leading to the reveal. It was such an engaging read that when I did sleep I would find myself waking with teeth clenched thinking of scenarios of where the storyline may lead.

SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE BY MICHELE CAMPBELL BOOK REVIEW
Cruel Intentions with a Gossip Girl Twist – THAT is this book.

WHERE IS CHUCK BASS?
First, let me just say these kids are awful. They lie, cheat, play terrible pranks on each other & I didn’t like a single one of them. Did that stop me from enjoying She Was The Quiet One? Absolutely not.

I usually need to have a character to root for or at least someone to root against. You know what I’m talking about, right? I don’t need to love everyone, but I need to feel something for at least one of the main characters. That’s what keeps my interest in the story. I need a Chuck Bass. A character so despicable, yet lovable you can’t help but root for them. While I didn’t find a Chuck Bass type at The Odell School, I did enjoy this book.

TEENAGE MURDER MYSTERY AT A BOARDING SCHOOL
Okay, twin sisters roll into this prestigious school & boom – there’s trouble. Quickly, they turn against each other. Then there are the teachers, equally awful human beings. This teacher, Heath, is a hot mess & I can only feel for his wife Sarah who is stuck with his sorry ass.

Someone is murdered & all hell breaks loose. Secrets & lies are exposed, lawyers & lawsuits are involved & someone has to pay for this murder.

THE VERDICT
I am Into This book. It’s a quick read & great for the beach. Last year I read Michele’s debut novel, It’s Always The Husband & I will say I like She Was The Quiet One a bit more. It’s wild, scandalous & satisfying.

Thank you, Michele Campbell, St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ACR book.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. It had a bit of it all. Sisters who are at odds with each other, students who are sneaky and up to no good in my opinion and the teacher who uses the young girls.

A must read. I loved it.