Rumor is so easy to start by some innocent comment or accusation and then it is very hard to stop it to spread out like a landslide. Joanna didn’t even suspect what could happen by just saying out loud her thoughts. I really enjoyed this psychological thriller about rumor and its consequences. I couldn’t put the book down until I figured out who is the killer. Good writing and great developed characters.


Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am fairly certain we are all guilty of helping to spread a rumor at some point in our lives. Whether we are just making conversation with a casual acquaintance, or helping to spread gossip like wildfire with our closest friends, it seems an inescapable part of our society. Unfortunately, those rumors (true or not) often besmirch their subject and depending on the severity, can have serious consequences. In The Rumor by Lesley Kara this is exactly the case. Joanna, desperate to make conversation with other mom's, remarks on the most interesting thing she's heard in awhile: an infamous child killer is living in the small town of Flinstead. The rumor quickly spreads, as it usually does in small towns. Vigilantes come out of the wood works, vandalizing a local business of the woman they suspect to be Sally McGowan. Joanna finds herself in the middle of the witch hunt, suspecting everyone around her of being Sally and wondering if Sally wants revenge on her for outing her, spreading the rumor about her residing in Flinstead....

There were definitely slow moments in the story, points that became monotonous and we really did not need to hear again...and again. All in all though, I really did enjoy this book. I found myself empathizing with Sally before I even knew her identity. The mystery itself wasn't hard to unravel, though there were some surprises. Overall, a good read and an unexpected ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lesley Kara and Random House for this ARC.

What a great debut novel, full of suspense and drama. I definitely did not see that ending coming, and that made the book all the more interesting. Jo's character was a bit annoying, but I still liked how her story played out.

I look forward to reading more by Lesley Kara.

We all know how rumors can spread like wildfire. So when Joanna overhears a rumor at school one morning about a woman who killed a child when she herself was just a child, she feels apprehensive as this woman may be living in their small town. Anxious to protect her young son, Joanna will do anything to find out while at the same time doesn't want someone who is innocent to suffer from idle gossip. When her son's father, a journalist, decides to look into the case, Joanna is torn about what may come from this investigation even as she is receiving some veiled threats via Twitter. What is revealed is shocking and unexpected as the web of lies is finally unraveled and truths threaten to undermine what were once stable relationships. It's a compelling read and will keep you guessing until the end!

This is a book for moderns. It’s not for those of us who ascribe to a traditional way of life and family. I did not finish it. I’m sure it will delight young people.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

We've all been there. Unwittingly passing on information that may or may not be true. Joanna has moved back to her hometown to be close to her mom while she raises her son. Her mom convinces her to join a book club to make new friends, where she accidentally passes on a tidbit she overheard at her son's school. All because she was trying to diffuse an awkward turn in the conversation. But as the rumor gains momentum, Joanna starts to wonder: who can she trust? When her son's dad comes to live with her, are his motives pure, or as an investigative journalist is he just interested in the story? There were so many suspects I had whiplash! And enjoyed every minute of it.

Oh, this one was SO good!! Hard to believe it is Ms. Kara's first novel. I did figure out part of the twist in the beginning, but the author did such a fantastic job of leading me to several other possibilities that I abandoned my original theory so it still came as a surprise. I loved the premise. Jo wants her son to fit in, therefore she needs to fit in with the other Moms at his school. She knows it's wrong, but she helps spread a rumor about child-killer Sally McGowan living in their midst. Most of the book is trying to figure out who she could be or if she is even living there at all. I liked the characters of Jo and her boyfriend Michael. They are an imperfect, modern day type couple. The ending was very neatly tied up. Or was it?
I look forward to more from Lesley Kara!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lesley Kara and Random House-Ballantine for the ARC!

I will post to Amazon, LinkedIn, Barnes and Noble and Facebook on June 18th.

The Rumor byLesley Kara is a compelling thriller that evokes personal reflection. Have you ever shared something you heard to deflect attention from yourself? The well-developed characters in this fast paced thriller are compelling and drive the story. Many red herrings and the twist left me breathless! An engaging read!

This book was such a treat. I love books about moms and trying to get into the popular clique. Loved that this book brought that along with a bit fo true crime. This was so good.

I will feature this book in my Summer Reading Guide.

This was a very quick read and I liked the author's voice. However, it was very clear that this story was originally set in England (at one point a child says a housekeeper "tidies our toys") and then moved to an American setting for whatever reason. No points deducted, just felt unnecessary.

The ending was expected, but I did think that it was different from other novels in this genre as there was more nuance in the events leading up to it. The main character felt purposely obtuse at a few points, but that's to be expected for the plot. Her focus on Michael's appearance however, felt very gratuitous and unnecessary.

This was a strong story with an interesting premise and a decent mystery with some solid red herrings. Unfortunately though, the success of the book ultimately rests on a twist that I fundamentally didn't buy.

I was also a bit distracted by something odd when reading this book (and it appears after scanning the message board that I'm not alone in my experience.) While the version of the book I read is ostensibly set in the U.S., the tone of the book is clearly NOT. The disconnect is jarring.

After reading the first handful of chapters I assumed from the style the book was written in, the language used, and the manner in which the characters behaved, that the book was set in the U.K. From what I'm reading online, the UK was indeed the original setting for the story, however a choice was made to change the setting to the US for the edition that I read.

I have to say that this was an unsuccessful choice that continually took me out of the moment when I was reading. (For example, NO ONE in the US invites a person in for tea. Believe me, I'm a US-based tea drinker and people always act like I'm an absolute weirdo when I tell them I don't want coffee.) The change of setting made the whole book read oddly to me, which is silly because I would have been quite happy if things were left as they originally were.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would definitely place The Rumor in the category of domestic thriller, not to be confused with a more suspenseful or horror type thriller. Nothing happens that is totally incredible or supernatural. It’s a situation that it’s quite possible you could see in your community, although that would actually be far more terrifying than reading it on paper.
In the book, Joanna is a single mom who has a special relationship with her six-year-old son Alphie’s father, but lives alone with her son just around the corner from her mom. She doesn’t quite fit into the small town, PTA dominated landscape as a single, working mother.
So when she hears a rumor, about a murdered lurking in their small-town midst, she uses it as an ice-breaker to give her something to talk about with the other mom’s who she wants to impress so that her son fits in. That was her first mistake. Joanna begins receiving threats and she has no idea who she can trust. And you better believe she regrets opening her big mouth.
It’s a classic who-dunnit with a huge cast of characters. Huge to the point where I had some trouble keeping track of who is who. The author does a good job leading the reader down multiple scenarios before the book comes to a surprising, twisty end.
I like this one, but I didn’t love it. Still, it got some great reviews from readers and worth checking out if you are a fan of domestic thrillers. I think for me, the PTA moms were just too annoying and their pettiness struck too close to home. I wanted to be like, Joanna, you be you girl!
Special thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one releases June 18.

I loved this thriller. It was anything from predictable, it kept me guessing until the very end! So many twists that I did not see coming, which was so exciting! I felt like I was experiencing a lot of the same emotions as the story characters, thats how great the writing was. I would definitely recommend!

Oh, wow! I just finished reading and I'm still processing The Rumor. This is a very engaging and twisty story! Once the rumor starts, it appears to take on a life of its own. Joanna has no idea, when she innocently passes along the story, that it will spread so far or have such an impact on her town. The underlying message is similar to that in Rachel Caine's Stillhouse Lake series. Once people latch into a story, the the truth becomes secondary to the mob mentality. Especially when the internet gets involved. And stopping it is like trying to put a genie back in a bottle. But the main story is more personal. When the rumor starts to directly affect Joanna and her family, she faces the consequences of her casual participation in the gossip.

This one is full of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. The way a rumor rocks a small town and affects lives is accurately described in this nail biter. The characters are complex. The actions are intriguing. There is a lot to like about this suspenseful story. Twists that are perfectly timed keep the reader flipping pages to the shocking end. This is my first book by the author and it won't be my last.

The Rumor is a very entertaining read. At first, I was expecting women's fiction. However, this is really more of a domestic suspense book. I sympathized with the main character, Joanna, who is a single mother, and enjoyed reading about her relationship with her son, Alfie. The investigative journalism/crime aspects of the novel were a bit graphic, but definitely added some authenticity to the story. Despite being a short read, the pace is somewhat leisurely. The small town setting lends itself well to the storyline.

This is a story about what happens when a rumor spreads that is not true. Rumors can destroy lives. This book was pretty good, but didn't blow me away.

Joanna and her son Alfie are new to a small town and are having a bit of trouble fitting in. Alfie was hounded at a past school, possibly for being biracial, so the move was to change the surroundings and find him a place where he could be accepted. When it didn't happen, Joanna's mother suggested she try to fit in with the other moms and have the kids play together.

Joanna's only "in" topic of conversation with these other moms was relaying the rumor that a former child killer was possibly living in this little seaside town. That rumor got her accepted to the crowd, but Joanna has misgivings when a local resident is targeted as the possibly murderer. Her efforts to undo the rumor only seem to make it worse. Is the murderer someone known to them? Why is Joanna getting threatening tweets?

Good story, probably a high 3 stars is what I'd give it. One pet peeve of mine is that in the US, we use terms of me and I, her and she for example, a bit differently than those across the pond. It is jarring to me to see these terms used "incorrectly" and it throws me off the story temporarily. Of course the author used the terms correctly based on where she lives, but none the less, it bothers me, the child of an English teacher.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not gonna lie, it took a while for me to get through this, to the point where I just had to power through the rest of it. Maybe it's just me but I didn't find it to be much of a thriller/mystery because I found it kind of predictable. I didn't figure out the plot twists immediately, but I predicted them to the point where I was unfazed by the revelations.

Overall, the premise of the story was interesting, but the execution and the characters, especially Joanna, to be a miss. The way Joanna approached the whole rumor situation got on my nerves because you know and she knows that she should just keep her mouth shut, but she doesn't. Also the character development was weak because I didn't find myself siding with any character or caring for any of them. I can see the potential, but it just felt too lacking in the plot execution and character development that this just didn't hit the mark for me.

I must echo the sentiment of other reviewers and say that I found myself skimming paragraphs at a time, which is disappointing for such a short book. The premise intrigued me, and I admit that I did not see the twist coming. I also finished the book quickly, so take that how you will. I wish the characters had been more fully developed, as I found it somewhat hard to keep track of who was who, or care what happened to any of them.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.