This mystery/suspense story follows Harper and the neighborhood of Hollow's Edge. Hollow's Edge was a private and idyllic neighborhood until the murders of Brandon and Fiona Truett and the resulting arrest and trial of Harper's roommate Ruby. Everyone said it would be a pretty clear cut case but when Ruby's conviction is overturned due to mishandling of the investigation, Ruby shows up in Harper's kitchen. Immediately, rumors and suspicions are flying around the neighborhood and Ruby's welcome back is the exact opposite of warm. Why would Ruby return to the place where just about everyone testified against her at the trial? What sort of mishandling caused the conviction overturn? And, when threatening notes start appearing at Harper's door, maybe the truth isn't as clear cut as it seemed.
So Megan Miranda is one of those authors who I keep hearing about but it seems like a lot of her books are sort of hit or miss for people. Domestic mystery/thrillers aren't what I reach for unless they come highly recommended. This is the first book by Miranda that I've heard some really strong praise for across the board and where the domestic aspect was a little broader than just a husband/wife dynamic. I really enjoyed this read and I think I'll pick up more from her in the future if they are similar-ish to this one.
As I mentioned briefly above, domestic thrillers aren't my usual go-to reads. However, the dynamic in this one is fantastic. Nosy neighbors who are also pretty wealthy and snobby and there's an HOA element that plays into the plot as well. This really scratched the same itch as reading those lists of horrible HOA rules/situations on reddit or other websites. I really loved the way Miranda takes what, ideally, is a good thing - tight knit neighborhood and surveillance cameras - and twists it to show the darker side. So much of the mystery/suspense exists solely because of the characters trying to save face or protect their own secrets so everyone is gossiping about everyone else but no one is volunteering information that may make them look bad in order to show what is true or not about that gossip. I was a little overwhelmed by the number of characters at the beginning, but we get enough one on one conversations between Harper and the rest of the neighbors that I was able to keep everyone straight. Plus, there's a map at the beginning of the book so that also helped me keep everyone straight. Another interesting domestic mystery element that I liked was the fact that Ruby was once an 'insider' in this neighborhood but then, once she was accused and convicted, she's now an 'outsider' and it was interesting to see how she would remind people every once and a while that she was part of the inner circle at one point.
The characters were really interesting because when they're first introduced they seem very similar. Many of them work at the local college together, many are married with kids, everyone seems to have very similar personalities and come from similar backgrounds. It feels like your stereotypical suburban neighborhood which can be a little blah to read about. However, as we get into the story we start seeing the little cracks in the facades that everyone is putting up and those cracks only deepen as the tension rises throughout the story. I really enjoy this sort of looking behind the curtain aspect of domestic thrillers and I think Miranda does this very well. It reminded me a lot of the show Desperate Housewives where everything looks nice on the surface but there's a lot bubbling just under the surface. Everyone is making little comments and watching everyone else which really put a lot of tension in the characters and their relationships. There were so many times when Harper would want to go talk to a certain character but had to wait for a certain time so that she wouldn't be seen by someone else. Also, keeping up appearances was so important to so many characters so that also was an added layer to certain relationships. I just really liked the idea of all these people moving into the same neighborhood because they all wanted a similar type of living style but really they're no different or more special than anyone else.
I do think the mystery element could have been introduced way earlier in the book. The first half was basically seeing how all these different people reacted to Ruby's return but I didn't feel like the plot had any real direction propelling it forward. It felt very much like a general fiction drama book with how all the neighbors were whispering and excluding Ruby but there was a sinister undertone because while Ruby's conviction might have been overturned she was convicted so many people think that a murderer just came back to their neighborhood. This was an interesting way to jump into the story and I liked that it was an easy way for us to see the dynamic of the different neighbors but it just dragged on too long for my liking. I think if the investigation/mystery element was brought in earlier then it would have been a more interesting read. I also would have really liked the suspense to be way more heightened. Yes, Ruby is Harper's friend but she's also a convicted murderer and Ruby just appears on Harper's doorstep one day. That premise, by itself, could have been enough for a whole domestic suspense book. Miranda does give us points where Harper is wary of Ruby but I was expecting Harper to be much more suspicious and afraid of Ruby considering the information that Harper (and the reader) have. I did like the mystery/investigation elements once we got to them but I was just disappointed it took until the 50% mark for that to happen.
The actual ending reveal and twists were a little anti-climactic for me. I really liked the mid-point reveal and how that instantly cranked up the tension in the story. The investigation quickly picked up the pace and we were getting secret after secret revealed. I was really liking where the book was headed and was expecting the ending to be a sort of explosion of all these undercurrents of tension that we'd been seeing throughout the book. That being said, I felt that the actual reveal at the end was a bit of a let down. I'll admit that, on paper, it looks like a good twist - a sharp left away from what we were expecting to be revealed. However, the actual reveal was less interesting and impactful than the path I thought the ending would take. So instead of me being really excited and shocked by the ending, it was like the wind was taken out of my sails a bit. Thinking back over the ending, it did everything it should have done - there was a twist, it wrapped up all the plot lines, there was a good amount of aftermath so we had a proper come-down from the ending high. So this might just be a personal preference but I want my endings of all my mystery/suspense/thrillers to be shocking and explosive and in some way surprising. I really think if Miranda flip-flopped the twist reveal this would have really worked for me.
Overall, I think this was just a little quieter of a read than I was expecting. I wanted to get into the meat of the investigation and mystery sooner and I wanted the ending to be explosive. I really liked the setting and the interpersonal conflicts but they took a bit too long to get anywhere and didn't ramp up the tension as quickly as I was expecting. Domestic suspense is not my go-to subgenre but I still had a really fun time reading this and if some of the elements were just tweaked a bit this could have been a 5-star read easy.
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