Member Reviews
When Janey’s husband gets a new job they move to a new upmarket area.
At first Janey and her eight year old son find it hard to settle down and make friends and the fact that her husband is at work all the time doesn’t help.
Janey is delighted when her son finds a new friend at school and she befriends some other mothers at the school gate but something isn’t right and Janey can’t settle until she finds out what it is.
A good thriller they kept me engaged throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book starts off with questions right away. What the secret that hangs over the family? What does her husband seem to be hiding? What are these flashbacks and who is Susan? Why are there mysterious cars driving around this opulent neighborhood? Lord, why is her next door neighbor so angry? Why am 60% of the way through this book and still have not reached the part that the synopsis said would happen?!
Honestly, the synopsis works against this book because it sets up expectations that happen in the second half of this thriller. It can make for a frustrating read as you keep waiting for it to happen. The book's naive protagonist also contributed to this being a frustrating read for me. I had an internal dialogue that consisted of that meme with the guy saying, "NO! No, baby! WHAT is you DOING?"
But as far as mystery goes, this is a good one. There were twists I did not fully expect and it kept me guessing. I ignored household duties in favor sitting down with this book to find out what happens - dishes sat in the sink and laundry piled up. And honestly, isn't that the point of a thriller? So in that sense this novel was a success.
Nothing I say or write will do this book enough justice. It draws the reader in slowly, painting a picture of married couple, moving up in life with their son, moving to a new neighborhood, a new house and all the complications that go with it. Janey makes new friends, her son soon makes friends and adapts to his new school, and her husband is happy, but exhausted in his new job. Soon things start happening however that makes Janey wonder if the move was a good idea.
Just as soon as the reader thinks the plot is figured out, whoops, comes a plot twist or a new revelation from behind the door.
This was really a very good read, and I can't wait to get my hands on some more by this really talented author!
Highly recommended.
3-4 stars
Janey’s mother keeps a terrible secret until she’s on her death bed, now she carries a diabolical burden. To make a fresh start Janey, her husband Isaac and young son Rowan move from Mansfield to affluent West Bridgford, Nottingham when Isaac gets a dream job with a good salary. They move into a nice house although it’s considerably smaller than some of the ‘footballers wives’ gated mansions on Buckingham Crescent . There she meets some designer mums who vary in the warmth of their judgemental welcome. Eventually, she becomes friendly with Edie and Tanya who spend their husbands earnings lavishly . One booze fuelled afternoon Janey makes a mistake along the lines of ‘You can trust me ... I won’t breathe a word ....your secrets safe with me’ and so she offloads her burden and immediately regrets it. Little did she know just how serious an error of judgement this would prove to be as her world unravels and her secret is used against her and Isaac. . Janey narrates her story.
This is an entertaining, easy read which perfectly suits the mindset of right now. I always like reading K L Slater partly because I was born in West Bridgford so I take especially pleasure in strolling down Central Avenue with Janey! Janey’s optimism at the start of the move is well captured and I can picture the eying up and down on the first day of school for Rowan from the designer mums! The clique of Tanya is easy to imagine too and it’s easy to see why Janey gets sucked in especially when you want a fresh start. You realise fairly quickly that Isaac’s job is not what it seems and I like the intrigue of that. The story has a number of twists and revelations and I did not see those coming!
There are a number of morals to the tale - beware of false friends, all that glitters is most definitely not always gold and the most important one, understanding and accepting the past and not making yourself a victim of it. Recommended for fans of K L Slater and this genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.
Being a fan of K.L Slater I was excited for this new release, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed! This domestic thriller is a slow burner, which I thoroughly enjoyed as the author does a fantastic job in building suspense and tension. I also thought the characters were richly developed and found myself particularly drawn to Janey!
Fantastically written and full of twists and turns, I highly recommend this book!
My quarantine TBR list has been quite impressive as of late, and I was thrilled to receive an eARC of Little Whispers. The cover could very well be from a current hit on HBO or Hulu, and I love a good suburban mom clique thriller.
When Janey's husband receives a job offer, she thinks the move is too good to be true. With double the salary, an uber-chic neighborhood, and a bevy of mothers dressed to the nines in designer fare, she feels out of place and self-conscious--until the proverbial queen bee takes her under her wing, showing her the ropes, ingratiating her into the inner circles, and making her believe that she can have anything she wants. However, this upgrade comes with whispers and secrets, and Janey doesn't know who she can trust. Suspecting there's more at play than her husband is telling her, she begins digging through their shiny new life and learns the truth is far more complicated than the meticulous threads of luxury.
What struck me immediately was the dichotomy of Janey's identity. She has a secret of her own, a rotting, shameful mass that she tucks away while she deals with the grief of losing her mother, but she's also not accustomed to the wealthy lifestyle she's supposed to embrace. From the designer clothes to the pick-up etiquette, I found her struggles to deal with who she saw herself as and who she was supposed to be incredibly relatable. You feel for her trying to navigate the mom cliques and neighborhood politics. Years ago, I would've scoffed at these stereotypes, but I've lived them, experienced them myself. It is surprisingly difficult to make mom friends, especially when geography and school district lines come into play. While her circumstances might've been slightly exaggerated to emphasize the differences, Janey's insecurities ultimately lead her down the path of blind trust and heightened suspicions over aesthetics.
In terms of structure, the italicized captive chapters were intriguing and horrifying, while the Janey chapters formed an interesting juxtaposition. Slater's writing introduced layers of doubt and early connections that proved to be red herrings or false leads, and I appreciated her navigation of this thriller trope. And while the conclusion felt a bit rushed and melodramatic, I didn't dislike it.
For fans of Big Little Lies or Desperate Housewives, Little Whispers is the domestic suspense you've been waiting for. Wysteria Lane's got nothing on these Buckingham wives.
Janey, husband Isaac and son Rowan are moving up in the world - when Isaac lands a well-paid new job, they’re able to buy a new house in a much more affluent neighbourhood. Not all the fancy local mums are welcoming, though - at least, not to begin with. Isaac’s job is keeping him out till all hours, and Janey is struggling with a shocking secret from her past, revealed by her mother on her deathbed, which she really, really doesn’t want made public.
Safe to say that Janey’s move up in the world isn’t quite working out as she’d hoped. Meanwhile, interspersed with her narrative is rather harrowing, though thankfully brief, testimony from a kidnapped teenage girl.
The prolific K.L. Slater can always be relied upon for an escapist, entertaining read, and Little Whispers is no exception. It’s well plotted and although I could see I was being misdirected at times, I didn’t figure out what was really going on until it was revealed, despite having strong inklings that certain characters weren’t what they appeared. (They never are, of course.)
Annoyingly, though, there’s a major discrepancy in Janey’s backstory regarding the age of one character - this really needs ironed out, as it makes no sense and is simply impossible as it stands. The dates at the end don’t add up, either. Another (admittedly very minor) character’s first name changes over the course of the book. Hopefully, these issues will be resolved before publication.
An entertaining if not earth-shattering read.
This book was phenomenal!! Honestly as soon as I read the description I knew it was going to be a page turner. You’ll love the ending!
I really enjoyed reading this there was much more going on than I expected from the description,and it was really intriguing.The characters were well written and the plot for me anyway was really surprising .It was a real page turner and kept my interest all the way through.Good book.
A good story and well flushed out characters, but my feelings are much the same as the previous K L Slater book I read recently, and that's it took waaaayyyy to long to get to where it was going. Nothing really happens until 70% in, and I did find myself skimming to get to the point, there is an awful lot of waffling on. Saying that I did enjoy reading it and the ending. Thanks netgalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest review
I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I really enjoyed this book until the last third of it and it just fell flat. I felt like this was what we were waiting to find out? Janet and her husband Isaac move into an upper class neighborhood with their son Rowan when Isaac gets a job that is just too good to be true. Janey becomes friends with all the people in the neighbourhood click and while drunk tells her horrible secret from her past to her friend Tanya who later uses it against her.
My third time reading one of KL Slater's books and such a great read filled with twists and hints bringing the reader to several different before an unexpected conclusion. I have several more books to read by this author and am so looking forward to reading them. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased
Whilst I have always enjoyed KL Slater's previous novels that I have read, and to some extent I did enjoy this I just did not feel it was her strongest and found the ending a bit 'clunky' and a bit unrealistic. I am all for artistic licence but for me it just didn't work. However, I still look forward to reading her next one!
I have read all of K L Slater’s previous novels and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Her ability to tell a chilling tale is exceptional and ‘Little Whispers is no different.
The story is told mainly from Janey’s viewpoint as her husband gets a new, better paid job, they move house to somewhere lovely and Janey wants to be accepted by those who live in the same prestigious street. There is an underlying problem in that Janey remembers her mother always saying not to trust people and, from the beginning of the novel, we learn that her mother told Janey something awful before she died.
Her life seems to be changing and as she becomes close to the women from Buckingham Crescent, she lets her guard down and tells her deep secrets to one of the new friends.
The plot twists and turns throughout and there are times when I wondered what was coming next.
A brilliant read and highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and KL Slater for the ARC in return for my honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
I absolutely love all of KL Slater's books. But I'm afraid this one was just a little too slow for me! I felt it didn't really take off untill three quarters through.
I really enjoyed it when it did get going though.
I absolutely loved this book. There were so many twists and turns and I really didn't know where it was all going to end up. I don't think the book description does it justice as there was so much more to the story than that.
*Spoilers to follow*
The reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because there is quite a big plot hole, but I'm not sure if this is just because this is an advance copy and the mistakes will be ironed out before publication. The newspaper article at the end said that Aunt Pat was 20 when she died, but earlier in the book there are interactions between Pat and 14 year old Janey, so unless Pat gave birth aged six, there is no way she could be Janey's biological mother.
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of Little Whispers!
Let me start off this review by saying I love KL Slater and this is like the 5th or 6th book of hers that I’ve read. However, this one was not my favorite. Janey and her husband Isaac move to a new house in a posh, richy part of town. She meets Edie, Tanya and Ky and becomes a part of their clique. Janey starts to notice changes in her husband’s demeanor, acting rude to people, working more hours than before. Janey also has a big secret that she discloses to Tanya one drunken afternoon that is soon used against her. For me this book just took a little too long to really become interesting. I also think the description of the book is a little deceiving as the events described don’t even happen until about 60% in. I thought the reveal of Janey’s secret would be much more significant but it was told as if it was as ordinary as taking a shower. This just wasn’t one of my favorites!
I have to admit I haven't read many of K.L.Slaters books so wasn't really sure what to expect. Its a domestic thriller with a great storyline that keeps the reader engaged the whole way through. It just goes to show you can never really know or trust a person 100% even if they are your best friend. A great read and will definitely look to read more by this author.
This was a really great read , after not enjoying KL Slaters previous book I’m pleased to say that this is the KL Slater I know and love . Janey relocates with her husband Isaac and her son Rowan after Isaac gets a new job , after struggling financially for the last few years Janey feels their life is only going to get better with a lovely new house and school . She meets the other mothers in the close and makes some really good friends , something she hasn’t really done in the past .Of course if something’s or somebody seems too good to be true there is often a reason . With Isaac working increasingly long hours and becoming more and more distant , Janey starts to rely more and more on her new friends with unforeseen circumstances .
A brilliant , twisty read 5 stars
This was a phenomenal domestic thriller that kept me literally entranced. The character depiction was on point and the story was fascinating and well developed.