Not as it seems

Innocent-looking communities that turn out not to be so innocent after all can often be found in fiction. Consider Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives or "The Lottery," the classic Shirley Jackson story. Megan Miranda successfully revisits this idea in her 2021 novel Such a Quiet Place.

Hollow's Edge is a small neighborhood where residents tend to be relatively young, seemingly friendly and employed at a local college. Yet this quiet place hasn't been quite the same since two neighbors died of carbon monoxide poisoning and Ruby Fletcher was convicted of murdering them.

Now Ruby has been released from prison after the discovery of new evidence and without asking permission moves back into the home of Harper Nash, our narrator. Everyone else in Hollow's Edge still believes Ruby to be a murderer, and Harper, although she testified in Ruby's defense, isn't sure. Soon it becomes clear to her that Ruby, who acts so strangely and so mysteriously, has scores to settle.

Harper turns detective, attempting to discover what Ruby is up to and whether she is really a murderer. Then another mysterious death adds to the tension.

Everyone in Harper's Edge seems to have a secret to hide, and readers may find it difficult to juggle them all. At least I did. But confused or not, we must keep reading, and Miranda rewards us with an ending that proves both exciting and satisfying.