Sarah and Steve are co-parenting their preschool son Ollie. They are divorced but both have new partners. Sarah’s fledgling romance is with Joe who is a policeman and Ollie has taken a shine to him. Steve and his girlfriend Laura have moved in together and are keen to have Ollie stay with them overnight, as is Steve’s right. Sarah has never met Laura and knows nothing about her, so she is a bit apprehensive about the new arrangements. She arranges to meet up with Laura face to face, just the two of them, to vet her and put her mind at rest. Although she is not entirely sure about Laura having met her, the first meeting does go ahead.
Laura is a Palliative Care nurse, which helps to seal the deal. Ollie gets on really well with Laura who has previously worked as a teaching assistant and loves children. But when Ollie comes back home after his first weekend away, his mother feels miffed for lots of reasons. Ollie tells his mother that he has a secret with Laura that she has told him he must not tell anyone else about. Sarah is appalled and really worried. At bedtime she sees that he has come home with a new ‘Teddy’. His own stuffed toy, which Ollie has never been without in his four year life, has been left behind on purpose. Sarah’s heart snags because it was the first toy she had given Ollie when he was a new-born. She asks him about it and Ollie whispers to her ‘Laura told me a big secret and she said I can never tell you.’ This she feels, and rightly so, is beyond belief. No potential step-mother should tell a small child to keep secrets from their mother. Sarah is on the warpath.
Sarah speaks to both Joe and Steve. She even asks Laura about it. She feels it is sinister behaviour and plucks up the courage to challenge Laura about it. Laura offers a reasonable explanations but still Sarah believes there is something odd about Laura. She seems vulnerable and lost. She is very intense. She also believes that both Joe and Steve think that she is overreacting and may even be causing a fuss because she is jealous. So the visits go on with Ollie asking to go to his Dad’s place more and more often. Still Sarah feels uneasy and when Ollie disappears from his back garden, she feels her wariness is justified. She is distraught because she knew in her heart and soul that it would be Laura who has taken Ollie and that she had been wrong to ignore her strong mother’s instinct. But was she? This is the story of a set of merged families, trust issues, suspicion, abuse, denial and unknown histories.
This emotional domestic thriller is fuelled by twists and turns, blind alleyways and red herrings. There are five main narrators but even more minor characters. The story is well told, as always by Sheryl, but for much of the time it is slow - paced. However, contradictorily I felt the ending was so fast that the details were not fully extended and whoosh, the story was over in a flash, hurriedly finished off in direct opposition to the general pace of the novel. I also thought that the five narrators told the same story from their point of view and this made for lots of repetition. I wasn’t able to develop a relationship with most of the characters, but my favourite of all was Steve, the voice of reason. He was open-minded and calm. I felt sorry for both Sarah and especially Laura. They were both caught up in a frenzy of intense scrutiny which was unpleasant for them both.
I received this novel through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Bookouture, sent in return for an honest review. Thank you for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have read no other reviews before writing my own. I liked reading this story and am glad I persevered. Know this, you will not be able to predict what is going to happen at the end of this story and I have been very careful not to spoil your reading experience by discussing events that are called ‘spoilers’

Oh my goodness, Sheryl Browne certainly knows how to tell a story that grips and holds you right to the last page. I really felt for Sarah, trying to fight her basic maternal instincts that were screaming at her that something was wrong with her husband’s new girlfriend, Laura, then doubting her gut when she was offered reasonable explanations for her strange behaviour. The story is told in multiple viewpoints so we get to know all the characters and sympathise with most of them although there are a couple of horrors. There are plenty of twists, turns and secrets in the story, and Sheryl’s pacey writing style carries you along and keeps up the tension. I didn’t guess the ending at all, it completely surprised me, so clever. Sheryl is one of my favourite authors and I literally couldn’t put this book down. A recommended read for anyone who likes a fast-paced, twisty thriller with an OMG ending.

Oh, the drama! My goodness. If you think your family or relationship is messed up... give this book a read. You'll feel normal. This domestic/psychological thriller kept me turning the pages, even though I sometimes felt there was TOO much going on. The author did do a good job of putting the reader in the mindset of the characters. Things would happen that appeared suspicious or out of the norm, but then they would be explained by other characters in a way that made me second guess my initial thoughts. I guess you could say I felt like I was being gaslighted the entire novel, just like Sarah, the protagonist. The Whisper definitely kept me turning the pages, but I felt like there was just too much crazy at some points.

Did not finish this book. Got to 20% and gave up. Picked it up again a few days later and tried again,. After skimming through 1-20% to remind me what was happening (i couldnt remember) I still couldnt get back into it. I tried but sorry just not for me.

Havent reviewed on my site as I really dont like posting negative reviews when it may just be a question of taste.

This was a good twisty thriller, Sarah and Steve are 3 year old Ollie’s parents, they split up recently and now Steve is living with his new girlfriend Laura.
Sarah feels uneasy about Laura from the start, something wasn’t quite right but she couldn’t put her finger on what. When she voiced her concerns to Steve he just though Sarah was jealous and was brushed off. Sarah was only concerned for her child’s safety but no one wanted to listen, even her new boyfriend Joe, a policeman who she has known since they were at school worried it was jealously.
But she was right to worry about Ollie’s safety!
I really felt for Sarah, she had that mother’s instinct and everyone she turned to wouldn’t listen. Told in multiple POV’s I felt we got to know the characters, some made me angry, and some had me wondering about them and some I really felt for.
When secrets from the past and the truth came out I was stunned but I understood a lot more about the person than I did previously.
When Ollie went missing I didn’t suspect the person that did it at all. It left me shocked.
This was a brilliant read, I was hooked from early and it stayed that way throughout.

I found this book to be very slow paced & predictable The story wasn't that interesting & it failed to get my full attention first time. I read it a few times to finish this book .

This is my first book by Sheryl Browne and I must say-- I have to read more by her! This is a psychological thriller which starts off slow and then picks up its pace in the middle. There are a lot of twists and turns in the last part. What I really liked was the author's captivating writing style. The story progresses with various POVs which grabs the attention of the readers.

That being said,I would like to reiterate what didn't work out for me. With the way the story was progressing, I was expecting a more solid ending. Unfortunately, the ending was a bit rushed. I couldn't interpret what was happening because too many things were happening at the same time. Although it was unexpected, it could have been better.
But I can give you one thing, the author's writing style will keep you hooked. She has built up the tension in the story wonderfully, and as you proceed further, you will be dying to know what is actually happening.

This was a book all about trusting your gut instinct and trying to see past the assumptions we make of people.

Sarah and Steve are separated and are each dealing with having new partners and how that impacts on their little boy, Ollie.

Sarah is convinced that Steve's new partner, Laura can't be trusted, there are things about her that don't add up. When she looks into Laura's background further it's Sarah who is accused of being stalkerish and the one with the problem.

But Sarah can't push her initial fears to one side, not when the safety of her son is at stake!

Really enjoyed this read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review, this is my honest opinion.

'The Whisper' is the first book I have read by Sheryl Browne. It is an enjoyable read, with a tantalising hook that I'm sure represents a fear every divorced parent of a young child can relate to - the potentially for harm that exists when the co parent embarks on a new relationship

This is the situation that Sarah, mum to preschooler Ollie, finds herself in, following an amicable split from partner, Steve. Sarah insists on meeting Steve's new partner, Laura, before allowing Ollie to stay the night with his father. Sarah quickly senses that something is a bit off with Laura, but finds that no one will take her concerns seriously.

Sarah, herself in a new relationship with policeman, Joe, finds that her own relationship is threatened when Joe fails to share Sarah's concerns Laura. Throw into the mix Joe's persistent ex wife and Laura's, quite frankly, bizarre, mother, and you have a flavour of this novel.

I found the relationships between characters interesting, and while it wasn't perhaps as fast paced or 'twisty' as some of my favourite reads, it is a very decent read that will keep readers guessing!

My thanks to Net Galley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

Engrossing domestic thriller with an enticing plot and lots of interesting players. A who-dunnit where we don't know who that is until the end! Very well done and another hit for author Sheryl Browne!

This was a real slow burner. It took me a while to get into it, and I’m not entirely sure I ever did.
It plods along for the majority of the book with a lot of repetitive behaviour from the characters. We have the neurotic mother who is afraid for her child’s safety, Sharon. We have the ex-husband Steve and his new girlfriend Laura, who is shrouded in secrets. Finally, there is Joe, Sharon’s new fling. These are the four main players, but there are some peripheral characters also. We change points of view throughout the chapters, so we are kept abreast of what they are thinking and doing. However, this adds to the repeated nature of occurrences as we see things from everyone’s points of view.
Sharon is mainly going from motherly instinct, as her accusations and worries, to begin with, aren’t based on very much. As the story progresses, she becomes more hysterical, resulting in everyone around her to think she is going mad and dismissing everything she is saying. It was quite frustrating as she wasn’t telling them everything, only snippets; maybe if she’d calmly told everyone everything, she may have been taken more seriously.
The ending is full of twists and turns, but it was quite confusing. I don’t feel like I got closure on everything that had happened or really understood the intricacies of the unfinished plot lines.
The author advises in her note at the end that this book was based on first judgements of people and stereotypes that we form. I was quite shocked to read this as I hadn’t picked up on this at all. Other than Sharon being worried about a new woman being in Ollie’s life, I didn’t see any other prejudgements or really what the author had been trying to do. She says we judge people on first appearances and what they wear, but Sharon didn’t do this with Laura. Yes, she has a stutter, but she doesn’t judge her on this but instead allows her the time to get her words out and is kind to her. So I was a little confused by this.
I was also bewildered by the title. What was the whisper? No one whispers; there is no gossip that could be construed as a whisper. Yes, there are secrets, but no one whispers about them. So this book certainly didn’t fit the title.
Overall, a little disappointing. I did stick with it and read it to see where it would take me, but I don’t think I will be recommending this one to anyone.

What a great read as usual from this author, well written with great characters, an excellent page turner with plenty of twists and turns from the very first page until the last.

It kept me involved in the storyline all the way, I couldn't put it down and I can thoroughly recommend, well done Sheryl.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this great book.

I absolutely love this author's books and this one. Certainly didn't disappoint. I read it in practically one sitting. The stunning. Cover draws you in. This was a slow burning and tense domestic psychological thriller. And makes you question do you make judgements about people or second guess them based on first appearances or do you wait to find out more and that first appearances are not all they seem. This story has lots of twists and turns whi h kept me on my toes and I was hooked from the first page until the last page. If you are looking for a totally gripping book to sink your teeth into and to escape from the world then look no further than this one.

I have to confess that I am not the target audience for this book. I thought the synopsis sounded good, but to be fair I should stay away from these books with overprotective mothers and shady people in their lives. Although I feel for them, and understand life can be hard, I just find it hard to get really into these books.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the book per se, but I did not find the plot to be original. It was quite predictable. The writing is good, and it's a fairly fast read. The strength is that it was not too drawn out, and it kept on moving forward nicely.

This is the first of Sheryl Brownes novels I have read, and was not disappointed. I certainly will be reading many more.

The story is told from many perspectives, firstly Sarah and Steve are recently divorced and they have a young 4 year old called Ollie, one day Ollie comes home after spending some time with his dad Steve and his new girlfriend Laura, when Sarah sense something is wrong, Ollie whispers ‘Laura has told me a big secret and she said I can never tell you’ Sarah then becomes very suspicious and raises concerns.

This page turner kept you wanting to read more to see where it led, and with a few twists and turns along the way, it was sure to be a good read.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Slow burn psychological thriller with several twists near the end.
Steve and Sarah have split but they have a 3 year old son to co-parent. They’ve both moved on to other partners, but Sarah isn’t convinced that Steve’s new partner Laura, is someone she wants around her son. There’s just too many red flags that Steve isn’t willing to see. And the more Sarah and her partner Joe look into Laura’s past, the creepier things seem and the more Sarah worries about Ollie’s safety. Will they be too late in proving the past is coming out?
There were a lot of repetitive scenes and a lot of inconsistencies in the story which kind of made it hard to connect to at times but then when the twists came they were big ones which helped save the story. Sarah came off as a very protective mother but highly unlikeable and Laura, who I think was meant to be unlikeable, I ended up feeling sorry for.
Overall, it was worth the read, but not one I would tell everyone I know about.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

Do you judge people quickly clinging to your first impressions? Do you listen to your gut instincts or do you let others discount those thoughts? Sarah and her ex- husband Steve have a child named Ollie. Steve was moving in with his girlfriend Laura and Sarah was getting close to an old flame Joe. Sarah and Steve were having issues co-parenting Ollie since Laura entered the picture. Sarah felt as if something was off about Laura and she didn't want Ollie to spend time with her since she knew nothing about her. Sarah decided to get to know Laura better and started seeing red flags which concerned her. She mentioned these concerns to both her ex-husband Steve and her boyfriend Joe. Both men discounted her concerns and felt she was being paranoid. Sarah tried to tamp down her instincts and tried to befriend Laura. Sarah tried to trust Laura but too many strange things kept happening so she decided to check into Laura's past. Laura's mother showed up out of the blue which caused Laura to act strangely. What exactly was going on with Laura and her mother? You will be shockingly surprised at what secrets come out and what happened in the past. I loved the fast pace of the book and how it kept me second guessing the ending. It was a very unique plot that kept me reading late into the night.

Wow Sheryl, is this one of your best books to date!?! For me it definitely is!!!

Can I first and foremost... And this may seem odd when you first start reading this book- That this is a truly beautiful storyline. Once you see it for what it is the pure emotion as a mother, I was completely blown away with Laura and I don't want to say anymore on it because I'm not one for spoilers, but credit to how thought out this storyline was, to completely transform the storyline from something you thought it was, to something that all along that was so incredibly human, and nurturing and caring.... Words can't even describe!.

The actual storyline, a usual suspecting, gripping thriller, to all the twists you'd expect-
What I didn't expect was it all to come crashing down with something I so couldn't see coming at the end... Spiralling itself into multiple plots, and touching on serious subjects come those final chapters, I could truly appreciate being put in there to highlight awareness aswell.

I don't think anyone can foresee what is going to transpire within The Whisper, everything you think you know will be a lie!.
This is going to be my favourite book of 2021 without a doubt, this storyline touches on so much more than you could expect.
The ending is really quite something. Bravo Sheryl Browne, 10/5 stars I absolutely LOVED IT!!!!

Steve has split from his wife Sarah, and has a new girlfriend, Laura. Though Steve and Sarah no longer share a home, they do maintain contact for the sake of their 3 year old son Ollie. Steve wants Ollie to meet Laura, but after his first sleepover with them, Sarah detects a change in her son on his return. Sarah herself has some niggling doubts about Laura - she appears to be very timid and sweet (in fact overly sweet) but Sarah senses a devious and sinister motive behind the facade.

Something of a slow burner, though I definitely wanted to keep on reading, to see just where it led, and to be fair, there were quite a few twists towards the end of the book, but honestly not one of my favourites.

I have read almost all of Sheryl’s books But I have to admit this is the first one I have read in a while. The cover and title totally sold it to me, so I went into this not having a clue what the story was about. And OMG Sheryl certainly hasn't lost her touch. Drawing you in from the start I was well and truly hooked.

After Sarah is told by her son Ollie that Laura has told him a big secret but cannot tell her. Not only does Sarah want to know what this secret is but so did I. I literally couldn't read this book fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.

Being a mother myself you cannot help but sympathise with Sarah. I would be exactly the same. Never judge a book by its cover is exactly this story.

Then just when I thought I had it all worked out the author throws in an unexpected OMG twist….What an ending! I wasn't expecting that. This Whisper that is utterly addictive and full of suspense with plenty of twists and turns. Yet another awesome read by the queen of psychological thrillers!