Her next title will release on July 31 -- and I'm mentioning SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE well ahead of time, so you'll have a chance to preorder a first edition and also to choose an author event to attend. If you have any trauma memories from high school, and especially from any boarding situation (even the first year of college), this book will walk into your mind and take up permanent residence.
Dark, swiftly paced, and unflinching in its revelations, SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE begins with a crime and works back through a tangled and painful net of student friendships and malice. Start with a pair of sisters, forced into boarding school through the death of their parents and guardianship by a wealthy if distant relative. Now add cliques, hazing, sexual exploration, and an atmosphere of constant pressure to take the dare -- and you've got the atmosphere where Rose and Bel Enright step directly into danger and betrayal at their posh New England school.
Campbell's previous legal career and her own family move to New England deepen the context of the book. I wanted to step away from its vicious world of manipulation and seduction -- but it's a true page-turner, and I was hooked even as I dreaded each new revelation. (St. Martin's Press.)
PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.
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