Megan Miranda, the bestselling author of THE LAST HOUSE GUEST and other acclaimed thrillers, brings the chills right to her readers’ backyards with SUCH A QUIET PLACE, a story of murder and betrayal in a not-so-quiet neighborhood.

For the residents of Hollow’s Edge, life is pretty predictable. Situated in a college town with a lake and pool, it is the kind of place where neighbors drop in on one another, share house keys, and celebrate birthdays, new babies and children’s graduations. But that all changed 14 months ago when Brandon and Fiona Truett were murdered in their home while their neighbors slept peacefully. Though carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame, their deaths were suspicious: Fiona’s car was left running in their closed garage with the access door open to let the poison seep slowly into their home. True, Brandon and Fiona were not the most liked residents of Hollow’s Edge, but death softened the harsh opinions of their neighbors and led not only to a fair amount of grief but also to a shocking police investigation.

In the end, Harper Nash’s roommate, Ruby Fletcher, was found guilty and expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison following a trial where nearly every resident testified against their former neighbor. But when we visit Hollow’s Edge at the start of SUCH A QUIET PLACE, the quiet, peaceful ’burb is in for a shock: Ruby is back...and she knows why she was really sent to prison.

"Another classic Megan Miranda hit, SUCH A QUIET PLACE will have you thinking twice before you share a key with your neighbor. But even better, it will make you second-guess any judgments you have about them, too."

When Harper and Ruby met, each was at a crossroads: Harper had been unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé, and Ruby, who had been living with her father in Hollow’s Edge, had just lost her home when he decided to move. Sensing a void in Harper’s life, Ruby asked if she needed a roommate, and the rest was history. Although she was five years younger than Harper, Ruby helped her through her breakup like none of her former friends and neighbors could. Sure, there were rumors that Ruby was a bit of a wild child, between the parties with her college friends, impromptu bikini-clad car washes, and a bit of missing cash here and there. But no one, least of all Harper, ever suspected Ruby of murder. Until they did.

With Ruby back, tensions in Hollow’s Edge are at an all-time high, and suspicions are flowing rapidly. It isn’t hard to conclude that not everyone was telling the truth at Ruby’s trial, but even worse, new secrets and alliances have formed in the time since Ruby was hauled away. Harper has begun sleeping with Ruby’s ex, Mac; Margo and Paul have welcomed a new baby amid rising friction; Tate and Javier, the suburb’s “perfect couple,” are having screaming matches outside; and Chase, Hollow's Edge’s very own policeman, has been suspended from his department pending an internal investigation.

Through it all, Harper has managed to stay somewhat neutral, but with a potential murderer living in her home and the neighbors watching --- and commenting, patrolling and gossiping --- at all times, even she has noticed a cooling in their friendliness. All of it starts to make her wonder what really happened that night. If they are all so convinced that Ruby did it, then why are they are so eager to make sure that their stories match and they’re all on the same side? Fueling her curiosity is Ruby’s claim that she and her lawyer have new evidence that not only clears her name, but could lead to identifying the real murderer. And then the notes hinting at the true killer start to arrive.

Combining social media posts, date and time stamps, a map and a killer premise, Megan Miranda chronicles Harper’s investigation into two tragic deaths and the rumors, suspicions and outright lies swirling around her. She is expertly skilled at writing an immersive setting: her use of the “locked-room” trope in Hollow’s Edge adds a certain chill factor to the plot, but on top of that, her technique of breaking the chapters into days turns her readers into armchair detectives, following along day by day just as Harper does. Much like Sarah Langan’s GOOD NEIGHBORS, SUCH A QUIET PLACE plays heavily on the idea of a tight-knit neighborhood and the toxicity that can breed there. On the one hand, it is terrific to live in a community where everyone knows everyone; on the other, it often can mean being seen at your worst moments and judged by even the slightest misconception or miscommunication.

Miscommunication plays a huge role in the plot, and while I usually love this device, I felt that it was a bit overused here. It is easy as a reader to say that so many issues could have been resolved if only the characters talked to one another. But in this case, I felt that there were extraneous plotlines where the levels of secrecy came off as forced. When it comes to red herrings and misdirection, however, Miranda excels. Each resident is hiding something, including Harper, and it was not until the final reveal that I had any clue what might have happened the night of the murders. Miranda plays with two horrifying angles here: first, that Hollow’s Edge convicted the wrong person; and second, that the real perpetrator is still walking among them.

The idea of a thriller taking place long after the initial crime has occurred was immediately intriguing to me when I learned that Miranda had written a new book. With the original case being “solved,” it took on more of a slowburn pace at first, with Miranda introducing each character, laying bare their descriptions of the night of the murders and then completely turning the whole case around. The first half felt a bit slow at times as a result, but when she started poking holes in the case against Ruby, I could not put the book down. Though there were no jump scares or epic scenes of violence and gore, I was absolutely riveted, chills and all.

Another classic Megan Miranda hit, SUCH A QUIET PLACE will have you thinking twice before you share a key with your neighbor. But even better, it will make you second-guess any judgments you have about them, too.