Author: Michele Campbell
ISBN: 978-0-008-30184-2
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 19 November 2018
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Michele Campbell has quite an interesting background that ties in beautifully with the novels that she writes. It’s Always the Husband was her debut and a book we featured as a book club read in January 2018.
She Was The Quiet One is another intense suspense that flips from the past to present as we try to piece together the clues that will point us to the perpetrator of a shocking college murder.
Odell is a prestigious school that has housed many wealthy and successful students through it’s long history but the reputation of the school has become a little tarnished by the antics of one particular dorm.
Sarah and Heath have been employed to teach at Odell, as well as be co-dormheads and try to bring the behaviour of residents in that dorm back into line with the philosophy of the school. The wealthy often feel they are above the rules and can get away with things the less well off could not, if all else fails mummy and daddy will buy their way out of trouble.
Sarah and Heath are both graduates of Odell and Heath is honoured to return to his old school as a teacher and hopes to rise through the ranks into a prestigious position at the school.
Bel and Rose are twin sisters whose parents were once students of Odell. They are left orphans after their mother loses her battle with cancer and move in with the paternal grandmother they haven’t seen since the much earlier death of their father. The girls are affected very differently by their mother’s death and they both need different things through their grief.
Rose wanted nothing more than to attend the presitigious Odell Academy where their parents met, but Bel hated the place on site. She would have much preferred to stay with their grandmother and forge a close and supportive relationship. Academics aren’t really her forte but she promises Rose that she will give it her best shot.
Bel manages to get in with the trouble-making crowd from day one and it puts a strain on the relationship with her twin, who just wants to fit in and find somewhere she belongs. Rose has always been the quiet studious one who has tried to look out for the more rebellious Bel.
The sisters join the school when most of the students have cemented their friendships but instead of having them room together they are in separate rooms, on separate floors, of the same dorm. In what’s possibly a little predictable, the girls do not get along with their roommates; they probably should have been in opposite rooms because they got on better with each other’s roommate.
The twins don’t make it through their first year, a murder rips them apart and all the evidence points in one direction. But does mean that’s who did it?
Secrets, lies, betrayals and a mass of hidden agendas mean that there are dark twists throughout and you’re never quite sure who you can trust. This one had twists that just kept coming and I never quite managed to uncover what was really going on and that was something that added to my enjoyment.
She Was The Quiet One was more of a slow burn suspense that kept us guessing because it was all about who the characters were as much as what they got up to.
A gripping read that I quite enjoyed, some sinister character exploration that had me feeling for those who stood by blinkered when they really should have done something, but didn’t allow themselves to really see what was going on.
Michele Campbell is definitely on my must watch list for authors and I look forward to what she comes out with next.
Michele Campbell can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and the Michele Campbell website.
She Was the Quiet One is published by HQ Fiction and is available now from Angus & Robertson, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to HQ Fiction 15 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading She Was The Quiet One so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book. I originally read It’s Always the Husband in January 2018 and loved this book, so was glad that when I read this book that the story line captured my attention from the start. I actually read most of this book in one day I just could not put it down!
The story of two now orphaned twins living with their grandmother and attending the family boarding school Odell Academy has many twists and turns. The shift from the present day to the past is enough that the story in between outlines what happened and who was there and who did what to whom without giving it away who the murderer was.
Michele Campbell writes a compelling story with enough twists and turns to keep you interested without losing the reader. The way the story is written takes the reader on journey and steps them through the events and surroundings from when the twins arrive at the school … until the end….. The story is based on a very believable scenario of rich and pampered students, teachers and old boarding school rules and regulations and the temptations that lie everywhere in between.
I cannot recommend this book enough and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you again … it was a great read!
Thank you Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to review She was the Quiet One.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is a well written crime story which is easy to read and intriguing to the end.
I just couldn’t put it down as I was drawn into the story of the orphaned twins and their experiences at the exclusive boarding school.
She was the quiet One is the first book by Michele Campbell I have read and I look forward to reading more of her novels.
She was the Quiet One was a real page turner! Rose and Bel are orphaned twins sent to live with their grandmother and her lawyer boyfriend after the death of both parents. Rose is so happy when the grandmother sends both girls to boarding school, Odell. The school of only the best. Bel is not so happy as she feels outcast, set aside.
Bel falls in with the popular crowd, notably Darcy and Tessa’s crew, but she holds a secret crush on new teacher and advisor Mr Heath Donovan, whereas Rose sees Mrs Sarah Donovan (her adviser) as the mother she never had. Friendships and sisterships are strained when Bel has a secret relationship with her teacher.
Bel is found murdered but who is the murderer? That is the question. Could it be the crowd that gets expelled and holds grudge? The hook up that turns stalkerish? The teacher? Mrs Donovan? Or her sister, Rose?
Michele Campbell is a must read author or those whom enjoy an easy to read thriller!
She was the Quiet One by Michelle Campbell had me gripped. This is the second of Campbell’s novels telling a suspenseful tale of the Enright twins and their unfortunate, limited time at Odell Academy.
Throughout the novel, there were continual questions leaving the reader hooked and questioning how the story and characters would unravel. This was a relatively easy read though had plenty of substance to maintain interest.
Campbell’s next novel will surely be one to look out for.
I loved Michele Campbell’s first book It’s always the husband, so I was very keen to get into this one. I liked how the cover was very similar, it’s great to have a way to recognise further books by Michele just by their pictures as often I forget authors names.
This book was crafted so well and kept so much mystery running throughout. The blurb and introduction let us know that one of the twins was murdered and one was the main suspect, and you would think the title was a clue, but until about three quarters of the way through it could have gone either way as to who was who!
The book goes back to exploring the lives of the main characters in the lead up to the murder, and has snippets of police interviews interspersed to keep us guessing. I liked Rose and Sarah, and could connect to these characters, but I didn’t like Bel or Heath and many of their actions.
The ending of Michele’s first book is one that I really enjoyed as it was thought provoking, full of twists and ended in an interesting way so I was a little disappointed by this one. This ending is quite clear cut and predictable, with not much left the imagination which you may enjoy if you like to finish with all the answers. Overall I did really enjoy this book and will definitely read whatever Michele writes next!