Book Review: Keep Her Quiet by Emma Curtis

Keep Her Quiet by Emma Curtis

Published by Black Swan

Release date: 17th September 2020

ISBN: 978-1784165253

* Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Jenny has just given birth to the baby she's always wanted. She's never been this happy.
Her husband Leo, knows the baby can't be his. He's never felt so betrayed.
The same night, a vulnerable young woman, Hannah, wakes to find her newborn lifeless beside her. She's crazed with guilt.

When chance throws Hannah into Leo's path, they make a plan that will have shattering consequences for all of them.

Years later, a sixteen year old girl reads an article in a newspaper, and embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about herself. But what she learns will put everything she has ever known - and her own life - in grave danger. Because some people will go to desperate lengths to protect the secret their lives are built on...



Reading is such a solitary thing and that's why I love it so much. It's a time to have some space, relax and become totally engulfed in the book, ignoring the world as it moves on around you. But 'Keep Her Quiet' is one of those books where I found myself actually  making dramatic exclamations out loud and shouting at the characters as if I was right there with them amongst all the drama!
My absolute immersion and interaction with this book is enough to award it the full five stars by itself.

Onto the plot...

Writer Leo Creasey doesn’t want children and moreover a vasectomy before his marriage to Jenny means he can’t give his wife a child.

So when Jenny is pregnant, Leo is hurt and betrayed but decides to keep quiet as Jenny’s money gives him the luxury of being a writer. 

But when the baby is born, Leo is conflicted. He’s not sure if he can accept the baby after all. 

A tragic encounter in a storm with 17 year old Hannah gives both him and Hannah, the only answer that makes sense to them both during a moment of madness.

So the three protagonists have all made some pretty horrendous decisions that are set to rule their lives.

This type of book has been described as ‘Grip-lit’ which sums it up perfectly!

There’s no subtle build-up here - just ‘Bam’ and a direct hit straight into the drama.

I was all “Whaaat?” “No!” “Really?!” when I first read about the outrageous plan that seemed far too quickly cooked up between Leo and Hannah and I did feel it was incredibly far-fetched. But, you know what? I didn’t care how far-fetched it seemed - I was completely hooked.

Part two of the book and sixteen years have passed.

And this is where I don’t want to give away any spoilers.

Needless to say, the baby swap plan has back-fired dramatically and what follows next is a series of further disastrous choices and treacherous deceit as the characters try to keep the whole bonkers situation from becoming public knowledge.
As a villainous character, Leo ranks pretty highly in his attempts to keep life smooth for himself.
The shock ending only serves to amplify his horrendous self-interest - this character is absolutely rotten to the core!

Fast-paced and with never a dull moment, Keep Her Quiet is such a stonkingly good read that I’m more than happy to overlook the couple of far-fetched plot devices because I enjoyed it so much.