This third offering by Glass shows me that she is just getting better and better. Her plots and characters are unique and compelling, and she has a way with incorporating humor that makes a book all the more readable. If you haven’t yet read a book by this author, check out Such a Good Wife and Someone’s Listening . They are all standalone domestic suspense mysteries.
On a Quiet Street is a May 2022 release from Graydon House Publishers
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. See disclosures for more detail.
About the Book:
A simple arrangement. A web of deceit with shocking consequences.
Welcome to Brighton Hills: an exclusive, gated community set against the stunning backdrop of the Oregon coast. Home to doctors, lawyers, judges–all the most upstanding members of society. Nothing ever goes wrong here. Right?
Cora’s husband, Finn, is a cheater. She knows it; she just needs to prove it. She’s tired of being the nagging, suspicious wife who analyzes her husband’s every move. She needs to catch him in the act. And what better way to do that than to set him up for a fall?
Paige has nothing to lose. After she lost her only child in a hit-and-run last year, her life fell apart: her marriage has imploded, she finds herself screaming at baristas and mail carriers, and she’s so convinced Caleb’s death wasn’t an accident that she’s secretly spying on all everyone in Brighton Hills so she can find the murderer. So it’s easy for her to entrap Finn and prove what kind of man he really is.
But Paige and Cora are about to discover far more than a cheating husband. What starts as a little agreement between friends sets into motion a series of events neither of them could have ever predicted, and that exposes the deep fault lines in Brighton Hills. Especially concerning their mysterious new neighbor, Georgia, a beautiful recluse who has deep, dark secrets of her own…
My Thoughts:
I gave this book 4 stars
This is the third domestic suspense novel I’ve read by Glass and I continue to be impressed by her ability to craft a magnificent, twisty story.
It’s a quiet street in an Oregon coastal neighborhood. Except for the fact that a year ago, Paige lost her son in a hit and run accident on their street and she is still mired deep in grief, so much so that her husband has moved out, even though he continues to come over and help around the house. Another neighbor, Cora, suspects that her husband is cheating, but she can’t seem to catch him doing so. Georgia is the mother of a young baby, a transplant from England and married to a judge. The other women find her to be stand-offish, and they have heard that she has issues that make it difficult for her to leave the house.
What transpires between these women is surprising and twists abound as their stories come to light. We hear the perspectives of all three women, and this helps the reader to know some of the things they are holding private until they feel safe enough to reveal them to the others. I really appreciated getting some insider knowledge because it makes the story move quickly rather than getting stuck in secret-keeping mode.
There is some gaslighting (a lot of it actually), but for this story it does work because it just solidifies the horrible behavior of many of the characters. It’s pretty straightforward (at least to the reader) what is happening, and the women don’t stand for it any longer than they have to.
Another thing that surprised me about this book was the humor that was laced throughout. The women come up with schemes to catch those doing awful things and although at times I was rolling my eyes at their bumbling detective work, it served to balance out the other more serious moments.
This book has solidified Glass in my mind as an auto-buy author for twisty domestic suspense.
About the Author:
Seraphina Nova Glass is a professor and playwright-in-residence at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches film studies and playwriting. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Smith College, and she’s also a screenwriter and award-winning playwright. Seraphina has traveled the world using theatre and film as a teaching tool, living in South Africa, Guam and Kenya as a volunteer teacher, AIDS relief worker, and documentary filmmaker.
Social Links:
Twitter: @SeraphinaNova
Facebook: Seraphina Nova Glass: Author
