Lesley Kara’s The Rumor is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the dangerous power of gossip and how a single whisper can unravel lives. The story is set in a quiet seaside town where Joanna hears a rumor at the school gates: a notorious child killer is living under a new identity in their community. To fit in with the other parents, she repeats the rumor—a decision that spirals into a chilling tale of secrets, suspicion, and danger.

Kara masterfully builds tension as the rumor spreads, turning the idyllic town into a web of paranoia and fear. The narrative is fast-paced, and the twists keep coming, leaving you questioning every character's motives. While the central mystery of the child killer’s identity is compelling, the book also dives into themes of motherhood, guilt, and the consequences of snap judgments.

The final reveal is shocking and cleverly executed, making The Rumor a satisfying read for fans of domestic thrillers. If you enjoy stories that blend small-town drama with dark secrets, this one will keep you hooked until the last page.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Gossip and rumors are so harmful. As a mom, this was a little triggering for me when the main character’s son became a target. Not in a graphic depiction way just in an anxious-mom wise. This was a fast read that kept me on my toes in trying to solve the whodunnit.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Review coming soon. Fell behind due to illness, amd working on all of the old ones now.

This one will not be forgotten. This was my first book by Lesley Kara, and she was a genius at making me so confused, which is awesome in books like this. I plan to be back with a better review.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.


Pub Date was June 18th, 2019
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Joanna Critchley has recently moved to Flinstead, a cute seaside town. Joanna's mother lives here and Joanna gets a job as an estate agent. In trying to break into the tight knit mom group and community, she starts gossiping and wow, do things escalate after that. Be prepared for twists and turns and unexpected surprises. This was another quick read because I couldn't put it down!

I liked the idea behind this suspense novel: rumors and gossip and the damage they can inflict. The suspense was good and I appreciated the twist in the last 1/4. Pacing was ok with a slow start but picks up as things escalate. Ending was good and wrapped up everything nicely. 3.5 stars

I thought the book was good. Not great, not amazing... just good. I felt little emotional connection to any of the characters other than the main character. It got a little confusing at times with all the names & characters. Even the relationship between Michael & Johanna did little for me. However, the twist was amazing and what ended up making the book decent. I will definitely look for more books by this author!

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

Wow, The Rumor is even better than I imagined.

A winner novel that has enough twists and turns to captivate you. Hang on for a thriller ride. Great storyline and very well-crafted characters.

Excellent!

The title is what drew me to this title. I work with an all female staff and there are plenty of rumors going around. I enjoyed reading about how a rumor shook up a small town.

What a wild, twisted ride! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and had me suspecting someone different every few pages- but I NEVER suspected the one person it actually turned out to be! Great, entertaining thriller full of tricks, twists, and turns, even up to the last page- loved it!

Loved this thriller! It is a fast paced story with short chapters, there are plenty of twists, turns, and high levels of suspense and tension throughout. I found it very interesting reading, dark, somewhat evocative, with Kara skill capturing life to its fullest and how the rumor mill runs rampant in a small town. Lots of intrigue while also touching on a number of important issues including crime, punishment and what really constitutes justice. Shows how the rumor mill is not harmless as it seems! Twisty psychological thriller, quick and exciting read!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Rumor has it there is a child killer in the neighborhood.

In The Rumor by Lesley Kara, Joanna has moved back to her hometown with her young son and is having a difficult time connecting with the other mothers at the school. When she hears a juicy piece of gossip, she passes it along, hoping it will somehow grant her access to the inner circle. Much to her eventual regret, it does and Joanna begins to feel responsible for all the speculation surrounding who the possible killer could be.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. At times, the "mystery" felt forced and any twists presented weren't quite believable. The author made an effort to include a large number of people who could have been the killer, but it fell flat because none were developed enough to be interesting.

There were a couple of times that I was downright annoyed with the main character. At one point she describes meeting the father of her son: it was in college and she was very drunk and "he didn't even try anything". For goodness sakes, give the man a medal for not trying anything with an intoxicated young woman! Cue the eye rolls. Then there were a few times when Joanna describes herself as being completely inept when it comes to regular household or motherly chores: I can't even sew on a button properly. It was irritating. I don't mind a character that can't do everything and I assume the author was attempting to show that her character was flawed, and that's all well and good, but she shouldn't have so many flaws as to be unlikable.

I didn't care for this book, but it did lead to some interesting book club conversation, so I will give it that.

This book follows the little rumor that spread into something that consumed a small beach town. One of the town people heard that a notorious child killer was living in their midst. It could have stopped there, but instead it grew and grew.

While there are parts of this book that aren’t SUPER realistic, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was very entertaining, and I would definitely suggest it to my friends!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This was a pretty decent psychological thriller. I liked that the author threw enough red herrings into the story that I found myself second-guessing what I thought I knew. I did find parts to be a little implausible (beyond the usual suspension of disbelief), and it seemed to wrap up too neatly (although the jolt at the end was a great touch!) I also am getting tired of authors feeling like they need to throw insulting political references in when they have absolutely no bearing on the plot. If it fits a character politically, it makes sense. But having two or three references for no reason seems like pandering, and it takes me out of the book – always has, always will. Thank you to Ballentine Books/Random House (via NetGalley) for a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of this book.

The Rumor by Lesley Kara is a good thriller. A woman hears a rumor and can’t let it go. But in doing so, she’s put herself in danger or worse. This is an interesting book and concept. I enjoyed parts of it a lot. I think it was hard to keep reading at times: I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I had a hard time getting through this one hence the very late review. Just could not get into it for some reason. I also was able to figure it out, but I do read a lot of thrillers and often have that problem unfortunately.

Fantastic! This book was so freaken good! Great characters, great writing and such a fun story full of twists and turns! Can't wait to read more:D

I find it hard to read books when the character is so unlikeable. I found this to be disturbing. I was giving a copy of this book for my unbiased review.