The Quiet Girls is a tightly plotted British mystery that balances a genuinely unsettling central premise with a cast of complex characters and secondary storylines that add momentum rather than distraction. From the moment MJ Hudson appears at Dr Kez Lanyon’s door in the middle of the night, the novel establishes a sense of urgency that never fully lets up, even as the story widens to take in the history and culture of an elite boarding school that has been hiding its secrets for far too long.

Kez is a strong and believable lead, drawn not as a flawless investigator but as a Black woman navigating competing responsibilities to her family, her profession, and her own moral limits. Her decision to go undercover as the school therapist places her in a fragile position.

What makes the novel especially effective is how much is happening beneath the surface at any given moment, as the disappearance of a pupil and the murder of a teacher are gradually revealed to be part of a larger pattern rather than isolated tragedies. The group of girls at the center of the mystery is written with nuance, via flashbacks, and each character reacts differently in the situations Koomson creates.
The investigation moves forward steadily, with each discovery raising the stakes not just professionally for Kez but personally, as it becomes increasingly clear that powerful people are invested in keeping the truth contained.

The Quiet Girls is a gripping read that combines atmosphere, character, and sustained tension in a way that will appeal strongly to readers who enjoy British mysteries with an American pace. Highly Recommended!

#TheQuietGirls #DorothyKoomson #HeadlineReview #HachetteBookGroup

The Quiet Girls by Dorothy Koomson is a good thriller that weaves in tension and intrigue. Dr. Kez Lanyon is drawn into the dark world of a prestigious boarding school, and her sudden involvement as the new school therapist sets the stage for the secrets that lie beneath the surface of seemingly quiet lives. The author creates a sense of foreboding, making me aware that every corner may harbor a hidden truth. The narrative is filled with unexpected twists, and just when I thought I had it figured out, the plot takes another sharp turn.

There are definitely darker undercurrents of privilege and power at play within the school. The atmosphere of fear and secrecy is palpable. The writing is sharp, making each scene vivid. The Quiet Girls is a good read for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted mystery with emotional depth. I would recommend this book.

#TheQuietGirls #NetGalley

I love a book filled with secrets and The Quiet Girls delivered! You follow Kez, who is undercover at a boarding school to try to help solve a murder/disappearance. It quickly becomes dangerous. This thriller kept me wanting more and the pages kept turning. I really enjoyed the plot and characters. I would definitely recommend this book to others and plan on checking out more from this author. Thank you, Dorothy Koomson and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

At a prestigious boarding school, one girl goes missing, and a teacher is dead. Why does no one in power seem to be worried? M.J’s daughter decides to go to school there and the same thing seems to happen every few years. To make matters worse, M.J’s daughter and her friends seem to be at the heart of the scandal. When therapist and friend Kez Lanyon shows up on her doorstep with similar concerns, M.J knows she needs to step in to help. Going undercover to uncover the truth, Kez starts asking questions. She quickly realizes that powerful, well-connected forces are determined to keep what’s happened a secret. By continuing to investigate, she puts her own family and M.J.’s family in danger. Will she uncover the truth before it’s too late? Why do people want it to stay buried?

The plot is engaging, well written, and full of twists and turns. The characters are well developed, intriguing, and draws the reader into the novel. Readers who like mystery, boarding school fiction, and secrets will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. 5 stars, ADULT

From the opening pages, The Quiet Girls feels off in the most unsettling way. A teenage girl goes missing from a prestigious school, a teacher is found dead, and yet there is a disturbing lack of urgency from those in power. The absence of official investigation becomes one of the book’s earliest sources of tension, immediately signaling that this story will not follow a typical crime-fiction path.

The narrative unfolds through two interwoven threads: Dr. Kez Lanyon’s present-day perspective as she begins asking quiet but dangerous questions, and the voice notes of Fredi, the missing girl, which gradually reveal her experiences leading up to her disappearance. Between these two timelines, the story develops not through procedural investigation but through relationships, power dynamics, and what people choose not to say.

As Kez untangles the web surrounding the school it becomes increasingly clear that silence is not accidental. The story starts as a slow burn while the characters and dynamics are established, but that pacing works in its favor. About 100 pages in, I found myself tracking relationships, sensing early on that nothing here would be straightforward. Once the momentum builds, the book becomes a relentless psychological thriller. I put it down once to sleep and picked it up first thing the next morning, unable to stop until the final page.

Kez Lanyon was a standout character for me. I admired her courage, her persistence, and her refusal to back down when something felt deeply wrong. What frustrated me, clearly by design, was the number of adults who either suspected the truth or chose not to act. This is a school, and as a teacher, I found the collective silence surrounding the girls was infuriating.

The psychological tension is highly effective, creating the feeling of watching a slow-motion train wreck. You don’t want to see what’s coming, but you can’t look away. Themes of wealth, class privilege, and silence are woven seamlessly into the story, highlighting how power protects itself. I did not see the villain coming, and the reveal genuinely shocked and appalled me in the best possible way.

Content warnings include sexual assault, pedophilia, and animal cruelty. Despite some deceptively simple language early on, this is not a young adult novel. Readers who enjoy dark psychological thrillers, particularly fans of Freida McFadden, will likely find this one gripping and unsettling.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed reading this book and when I got a quarter of the way in, I binged the rest of the book in one sitting. The beginning was a little slow for me so when I reached a certain point and it finally picked up, I could not put it down for hours so I just binged more than half the book in one sitting. I had a lot of fun reading as I never knew what was coming next.

Overall, I really liked this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

SOOOO GOOOD!!!! Thank you Net Galley and Dorothy Koomson for the opportunity to read and review The Quiet Girls. There is so much to unpack in this story but also do not want to give away any spoilers. It's also want to mention before we get into the meat of it, the writing style kept me truly engaged and eager to get back to it as soon as possible.

What I appreciated about the writing is the message given to readers about how society sadly operates and in our current climate, certain leaders are operating in such a way that they think they better than everyone else. That message is the overall lesson we are hearing in The Quiet Girls. Axton Manor is a boarding school for the elitist of elite girls, Think daughters of world leaders, Multi-billionaire CEO's, etc. The school has been in existence since the 1800's where girls would learn how to conduct themselves socially so they can marry well pretty much.

Dr. Kez Lanyon, goes undercover as a school therapist, after a professor is found dead and a student goes missing. She quickly learns that there is much more to uncover as she begins to meet with both students and staff. This is not the first student that has gone missing. Who is behind this? What is being covered up? What will it take to find them and is it too late?! Kez risks her own life and puts her family in danger in hopes that justice prevails.

This is a thoughtful, compelling read that will resonate with fans of psychological and literary suspense. It’s a novel that prioritizes emotional truth as much as plot, resulting in a story that feels both gripping and meaningful.