Rumor has it that a notorious killer, who committed a brutal crime as a child, has been living a new life under an assumed identity in Joanna’s seaside town. So who is the criminal hidden in their midst? Suspicion falls on everyone.

As Joanna becomes obsessed with the case, her curiosity will expose her son and his father to the supposedly reformed murderer—who may be ready to kill again. She will learn how dangerous one rumor can become . . . and just how far she must go to protect those she loves. She is going to regret the day she ever said a word.

This book was a straight thrill ride. The up and downs twist and turns just make you disappear into the pages.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy!

Did not finish - I could not connect with the plot or writing so I decided to put it down.

Wonderful mystery/ drama, really well written and grabbed my interest from the very beginning, all the way to the surprising end. Shows no matter how innocent you mean a comment to be, it can blow up in your face! I loved the great mysterious characters! I have been so lucky lately with the unique plots in the storylines i have been reading! 4 stars!

Thank you Netgalley the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this story. All opinions are my own.

The Rumor is the first book I've read by this author and I loved it! Many years ago a young girl killed a little boy by stabbing him. Now the word is that she, who is now an older lady, was released from prison and is living in the small town of Flinstead. As the rumor spreads, as rumors do, everyone is wondering who she is, is the rumor true, are they in danger? People have their suspicions. This book is full of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end. I didn't want to put it down! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

This book shows what happens when people gossip and starts rumors. The moral of this is if you didn't see it with your own eyes hear it with your ears,don't spread it with your mouth.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I try to write my review soon after reading each book. Because it took so long for me to finish reading The Rumor by Lesley Kara, I needed time to process my thoughts before writing this review.

In The Rumor, a mom hears a rumor outside her son's school. Her casual comment repeating the rumor was not intended to be a big deal. However, once something is said, it is impossible to take it back. Words run faster than people ever could. Words travel faster than the speed of light.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book but reached a point where I kept having to put it down. I do not know why because I liked the writing style and the story. I think it might be because I felt the middle was too long.

I am glad I finished it because I did enjoy the last few chapters. Many reviews thoroughly liked the novel and I did not have to invoke the "50-page rule" so it is worth reading.

This was Lesley Kara's debut novel. Her next one, Who Did You Tell, is due out in 2020 and I have added it to my "want to read" list.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 2/21/20.

I'm reading two nonfiction books now- Say Nothing- The True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe and Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. Say Nothing tells the story of a widowed mother of ten children who is taken away from her home in Belfast by masked men and never seen again. Through her story, we find out about "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland, as the I.R.A., a militia of mostly Catholic men and women, battle the British soldiers who are there to maintain the status quo for the ruling Protestant minority by any means possible, including brutal violence against the citizens of Northern Ireland. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about that time in recent history.

This was ok but slightly dragged in the middle. Decent twist at the very end. I wasn't a huge fan of Jo and I think that is what brought the book down for me. I wanted a bit more. It just felt like it took forever to read this one and it is less than 300 pages. Total 3 star read for me.

I teach middle school, so I know all about the "rumor mill" and what a rumor can do when it takes on a life of its own. Rarely do rumors help anyone in life. Author, Lesley Kara, captures how a rumor can hurt a person's life in her book THE RUMOR.

In a sleepy seaside town, a rumor is being passed that a renowned child killer is now living in their town. Who is that killer? If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars. At times, I couldn't put it down. It held my interest. At other times, especially at the very end, I felt like everything was explained TOO much. I don't usually feel this way, but I found myself skipping through the last part of the book because it explained things that were already implied.

I would read another book by Kara because I think she has potential and this is her first novel. This book was given to me for my honest review.

This book effectively shows how spreading rumors can lead you down roads you might not want to go down. One little rumor spirals out of control until the end. I really enjoyed reading this book, mostly because it seemed so believable. It so easily could be something that really happened - a rumor is overheard and spread and suddenly everything is out of control. I definitely loved this book.

This book was really well done, grabbed my interest from the very beginning and had me hooked until the surprising end. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this interesting story.

five out of five stars for The Rumor by Lesley Kara! I loved this book - such a great page turner. with the holidays coming up, this in the perfect read to get a break from reality. thank you to net galley and the publisher, who provide this e copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

I found The Rumor by Lesley Kara to be quite entertaining. I think this book accomplished what it set out to do as a suspense novel.

Joanna returns to the small beach town where she was raised in with her son Alfie. It seems she is having a hard time fitting in.
In an attempt to fit in with the other mothers, Joanna repeats a rumor
that a child killer was in the witness protection program, after her release she was sent to their town.
Obviously the rumor spreads, as rumors do, everyone is suspicious and pointing fingers and wondering who she is. Are their children safe?Are they in danger?
There are enough characters to keep you guessing and all or most of these characters have a secret of their own they try desperately to protect.
The plot thickens before the “big reveal”, then there’s that ending I did not see coming.
If you’re in the mood for a quick, light entertaining mystery/whodunnit, this is the book to read.

Single mom Joanna wants to fit in badly with the "in crowd" of moms at her son's new school. She shares a rumor that she overhears in hopes she will become more popular with them - it takes a turn for the worst when it ends up hurting more than helping.
I found the book to be a bit cumbersome - too many characters, too many misleading turns (I get author's want to create red herrings but too many ends up being hard to keep up with) and a pretty predictable ending. The title grabbed my attention and I had high hopes but unfortunately it wasn't a book for me.
Thanks to Lesley Kara, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Great idea, flawed execution. I was so looking forward to reading this but unfortunately it never came together for me. The plot and the writing never gel the way they need to in order to make The Rumour work. Still, I would read more from Ms Kara.

A rumor can be a dangerous thing, often taking on a life of its own, and causing widespread emotional and psychological destruction in its path. For Joanna Critchley, a somewhat single mom who just moved back to the very small, quaint hometown of her youth, rumors can be deadly. When Joanna hears a rumor that notorious child killer Sally McGowan May be living in her small town under an assumed identity, Joanna finds herself in the center of perpetuating the rumor in exchange for some small favors from the other mom’s at her son’s school. Initially, she only hopes to help her son Alfie. In the small town atmosphere, the rumor spreads like wildfire, and for Joanna it soon becomes all encompassing. Just as Joanna starts to wish she had never heard the rumor, it takes a turn for the dangerous.

As a suspense novel, this story does its job. It kept me engaged and entertained. It did have some twisty plot points that I didn’t see coming, but in a genre saturated with quality suspense novels, this story won’t jump to the front of the pack as a leader. It is a competent novel, and it will entertain you. While it may not shock you, it is sufficiently surprising to keep you interested in the characters.

I thought this book was okay. I was very confused by the relationships between the people and felt like the characters could have used more description. For example, I had no idea how old anyone was. So that made it hard to "figure out" how the people ended up relating to the central mystery. Overall it was an enjoyable book, but I would have liked it more if I had had more information.

3.5 stars for this very readable story that draws you in to the mystery and makes you need to know what truly happened. There were many red herrings, and you kind of suspect everyone, which is the mark of a good whodunnit. I didn't necessarily like how the twist played out and had myself a bit of an eyeroll. However, the very very end - the last sentence - packed a bit of a punch. Moral of the story on this one is be very careful of idle gossip. You never know who is listening and what might happen if your rumor turns out to hit a nerve of truth.