About the Author:

Betsy Freeman Reavley is also the author of Beneath the Watery Moon, A Worm in the Bottle and Carrion.

She was born in Hammersmith, London and currently lives in North London, with her husband 2 children, dog, cat and chickens.

As a child she moved around frequently with her family, spending time in London, Provence, Tuscany, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire.

She showed a flair for literature and writing from a young age and had a particular interest in poetry, of which she was a prolific consumer and producer.

In her early twenties she moved to Oxford, where she would eventually meet her husband. During her time in Oxford her interests turned from poetry to novels and she began to develop her own unique style of psychological thriller.

Review:

*4-4.5 stars*

The Quiet Ones was actually quite a good read but I only realised that after I finished it. While I was reading the story, I was not overly impressed, it seemed a little slow to start and while there were a few things happening the biggest chunk of the novel showed the day-to-day life of Josie, summing up innocuous moments of her days which don’t consist of much else than drink too much and smoke.

She can cook but she’s not a good housewife really. Still, her partner Charlie, who’s a lot older than she is, still loves her unconditionally. He proposed when they were together for 6 months and now, a full 3 years later, their love still remains standing, although she doesn’t really know what he sees in her or why he still loves her with all of her emotional baggage.

He goes out to a job he doesn’t like every day so that she can stay home and make a career as a writer. Another thing that doesn’t really come to fruition as it should. When she hears the news that her adoptive parents have passed away at the same time as her biological mother surfaces, her whole life comes tumbling down and she doesn’t handle it all too well.

It’s only in the last 40 pages that we are suddenly attacked with more than one twist. The first twist, launched in an unexpected moment, was magnificent and did none other than suckerpunch me. It took me a few seconds to really comprehend what was going on and when I started to realise the full implications I was dumbstruck for a moment there and it left me reeling.

I really quite felt for Josie for the first time. As many times as she was atrocious and self-centered, she did not deserve this. I did anticipate another twist of the plotline though, one which I thought was obvious to me although the author made a big effort to be as inconspicuous as possible.

But you don’t fool me. It’s only at the end that you understand why the story was built the way it was, why the focus was put on some events and Jo’s character was formed the way it was. I love a good surprise in a book and this one certainly delivered that, I consider this a good read.

*I received a free copy of this book from GenuineJenn in exchange for my honest opinion*

This guest review was contributed by Genuine Jenn. This blog features books for all ages, fiction and non-fiction.