The Quiet Room by Terry Miles is a very highly recommended mystery following players in a secret world-wide alternate reality game. This is the second novel set in the world of the Rabbits podcast. The underground alternate game called Rabbits crosses inter-dimensional streams in the multiverse.

Why would the mysterious Rabbit Police be questioning Emily Connors when she appears to be trapped in a dimensional stream where the game Rabbits does not exist. Whether it is the universe she is in or the game itself, something feels off. Or is there some underlying conspiracy underway? If the game is still on, this would be the twelfth iteration. Emily came close to winning the eleventh, but has the next game started in her current dimensional stream?

Rowan Chess, a theme park designer, has never felt like he was in the right place, or totally part of the reality he lives in. This feeling continues when he begins to have some incredibly odd experiences. He has a blind date that is going very well when his date goes to the bathroom and disappears. This marks the start of Rowan being forced into a game he knows nothing about. And Emily was "coincidentally" there to witness Rowan's date disappear, but there is no happenstance in Rabbits. What will happen when Rowan meets Emily and other Rabbits players?

The writing is excellent. There are many of the same elements that I loved from the first novel. We have puzzles and clues, mysterious Rabbit Police, theories, enigmas, patterns, and oddities. There are also a plethora of references to all manner of literature, movies, music, pop culture, and gaming. Following clues and noticing any deviations is vital to the game and the novel.

Rabbits is a great sci-fi mystery series that will have readers questioning every little coincident, anomaly, and oddity in their lives while wondering if they are obscure clues they need to uncover something else. The Quiet Room could be read as a stand alone, but then you would want to go back and read Rabbits anyway, so I'd suggest starting with Rabbits and then jump into The Quiet Room. I'm all in for any and all future novels in this incredible series!

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Del Rey via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/09/the-quiet-room.html ( )

I received a review copy of this through NetGalley and had to go back and reread the first Rabbits because enough time had passed that I'd forgotten some details. It helped, a little, but the frame reestablishing only went so far. I've not listened to the podcast and admit that I still have some wonders about Rabbits.

This read like a middle book of a trilogy (and the cliffhanger tells us there will be another - sign me up!) Pace was slower, the twists fewer, the trickling of information just enough to further the story and lead speculation as to what's coming. Still, nicely done.

“They’re getting bolder,” Scarpio said, as he reached down into the fridge and pulled out a Corona. He twisted off the cap and handed the bottle to Emily, along with a pre-cut slice of lime from a bowl in the crisper. Then he took the Heineken from her other hand and opened it with a fizzy click.
{Rich guy drinks beer with a twist of cap. And from the bottle. Sigh.}

“There’s coffee. I made pour over, like an asshole. You want one?”
{So… crap beer, but good coffee.}

“You know I don’t need this shit,” Scarpio said, semiserious. “I could be in the South of France right now drinking four-thousand-dollar bottles of burgundy.”
{Um…}

And for the publisher/editor:
Page 49ish of my ecopy
“Sometimes it’s important to remember that both coincidence and confirmation bias do actually exist,” she added.
{Confirmation bias here should probably be availability heuristic.}

Page 236ish
"Looks like a company that makes car axels?"
Typo. Should be axles ( )