This was exciting and very creepy to read at night. This was a fantastically timed novel as so many city dwellers are considering getting out and living in the country, I may have changed my mind after this!

Stina and Jack have moved to the country as they are expecting their first child and are looking to provide a nicer place and pace of life.

But their new neighbor Mrs Barley seems a little strange, are they even safe?

Suspenseful brilliance.

A good read which held my interest from the beginning to the end with plenty of twists and turns.

I can recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Avon Publishers for allowing me to read this book.

Full of twists and turns you just don’t see coming.

Life seems idyllic for Jack and Stina once they move from the hustle and bustle of the city to their rural retreat. Slowly the whispers about the old lady who lives next door start to reach their ears. She’s always been nothing but friendly and kind to the couple but then certain coincidences occur and who is the mystery man only Stina can see prowling the old lady’s garden late at night? Maybe the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and her mother’s psychiatric problems are genetic after all.

I throughly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I will be looking forward to future books by this author.

A fresh start is what pregnant Stina and Jack were looking for when they settled in the small village. They bought "Whisper Cottage" next door to the seemly kindly and elderly, Mrs. Barley. The more they get to know their neighbor and other villagers, they find themselves questioning their choice. The villagers are convinced Mrs. Barley is either a witch or crazy, but she's only been kind to her new neighbors. As odd occurences happen to people who have visited Stina and Jack, they wonder about their neighbor and her habits. This is a creepy story with some interesting twists.

A super suspenseful book with lots of twists and "could it be you' moments. Overall, I found this book to be well-written and with believable characters with a storyline that keeps the reader guessing until the end.

Yes I did enjoy this book though it did get a little bit silly here and there.
Thanks netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this book.
Jack and Stina moved into their dream cottage in Avoncote, and they were having a baby.
Rose cottage next door was owned by an elderly widow called Mrs.Barley.
They found her quite weird and scared at first, but after a little while they got used to her and her funny ways.
But she had many secrets, and the local people in the village called her a witch, and stayed away from her.
Was she a witch? Or just a lonely old woman.

What an excellent and gripping read. I hope the author has more like this up her sleeve.
I raced through it, I was eager to know what happened. Would recommend this heartily and fulsomely.

Creepy chilling I was drawn right in.The writing the story flowed kept me on the edge of my seat.I was shocked by the ending.Will be recommending so glad I requested.#netball #avonboojsuk

It was a fast paced and a good read. But the ending was for me too weak and i would have loved more twists in this book. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

This psychological thriller grabs the reader's attention immediately with a shocking prologue and continues to ramp up the slowly building sense of dread as the story progresses. Stina and Jack move to the sleepy village of Avoncote after Stina becomes pregnant, hoping to raise their child in the safe and serene countryside. Their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Barley, is an elderly woman who couldn't be kinder to the couple, but they soon realize that the rest of the town's inhabitants regard her with hostility and suspicion. Is she really a harmless old lady whom the ignorant stigmatize because of their suspicious narrow-mindedness? Occasional vitriolic outbursts from the old woman sometimes give Stina pause, as do the sinister-looking small dolls that she makes, and the way that the people she doesn't like seem to attract misfortune. Then there's the mysterious young man that keeps appearing in Mrs. Barley's garden and summer house--a figure that always vanishes before anyone but Stina can see him. As the story builds toward its climax, threads of paranoia and guilt arising from Stina's past become interwoven with her present circumstances until she questions her own sanity. This is a well-written narrative in which suspense develops slowly but compellingly to its conclusion. The characters evolve believably and the relationships between them ring true, and several twists in the tale as the story concludes keep the reader guessing until the end.

Stina and Jack move to an ideal country cottage in a small village and I thought that this was going to be one of those twee stories of a new life, finding that cockerels crow at 3am, church bells aren't as musical as the TV suggests. Fortunately it rapidly moves on. The neighbour is an odd duck - elderly widow, brusque, hated by everyone in the village for being a witch or something. Stina is expecting their first child. She has history as does Jack apparently. They get on with the neighbour. There are spooky goings-on, Stina starts getting paranoid, Jack, busy vet, too tired to believe her and so on. The story daws you in and, although I had an inclining about Mrs Barley it was more than I thought at the end. A compelling read with one loose end suggesting more to come?Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A pretty entertaining read. I liked the atmosphere and how fast-paced the story was, right from the beginning. The story wasn't the most original at first, I've definitely read something like this before, but I liked the new spin that the author gave it. I also really enjoyed the writing style and that this was such a fun and easy read. However I thought the ending was a bit of a let down, I expected much more of a climax and more suspense overall. But it was still a good read.

When Stina and Jack move to an old rural cottage, they’re hoping for a fresh start. Their new home is run-down compared to their neighbour’s, but generous Mrs Barley quickly becomes a friend. Until Stina sees a mysterious figure in the widow’s garden, and her happy new life begins to unravel. And when she hears strange noises in the night, she is forced to question if Mrs Barley is what she seems.

A very slow-paced book, I felt the description bigged it up more than what the content of the book was. It was an okay book, one I liked but not one that I would suggest to everyone to read!

We love strange men that only one person sees. It was a slow beginning but by the end, you see why that was needed. Stina was a fun character to follow. Well, fun may not be the word, but know know that I mean. Why doesn't anyone like Mrs. Barley? Who is she? Who is the weird man in the garden? SO GOOD.

Jack and Stina have moved away from the busy city life of Birmingham to Wisteria Cottage in the picturesque village of Avoncote. Recently married, they are expecting their first baby and are looking forward to building a new life together.

Their eccentric neighbour, an elderly widow called Mrs Barley, isn't well thought of in the village. Within days of their arrival Stina and Jack have become aware of bad feelings about her, but while occasionally odd she is perfectly nice to both of them.

Still Stina finds herself unsettled. As much as she loves her new life, she is kept awake by noises in the attic and strange sounds of chanting from next door. She is worried about Mrs Barley and the dark haired stranger who Stina keeps seeing in her neighbour's garden, but no one else seems to ever see him. Are the explanations supernatural, real or all in Stina's mind?

This is an easy to read story, but doesn't deliver on the tension and sense of mystery needed to really pull this off. I think it was really missing a sense of tension or peril, the is it supernatural or not storyline didn't seem to place anyone in real danger. The actual explanation was more sinister than anything which was suggested during the book, but by the time it emerges any threat of danger has long passed so it is nothing to worry about. It's unfortunate because I thought this has the makings of a nice spooky story at the start, but ultimately it was a bit of a let down.

I expected more from this book. It galloped along with suspense and suddenly fell flat for me. Others may enjoy it more than I did, it just wasn’t the right book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

An Unsettling Turn For The Worse….
Stina and Jack are looking for a fresh start, a new life together. When they come across a rural, run down cottage they think that they’ve found the ideal place to make that new start a reality. To top it off, their new neighbour, Mrs Barley, is generous to a fault. Events, however, are about to take an unsettling and drastic turn for the worse. Intriguing suspense which, after a slow build, becomes a compelling read.

The book follows the story of Stina and Jack, who met at a party and became friends when they both left together. They clicked very well, and soon friendship turned into a relationship. And then to marriage. Stina got pregnant. And they both did not want to raise a kid in the city. Jack's parents were farmers and he strongly preferred and was comfortable with living in the Avoncate village with Stina.

On their arrival, their neighbour, Mrs. Barley, a widow instantly became their friend. Helping the two out from time to time. But it did not take long for Stina and Jack to know that the villagers aren't exactly friends with Mrs. Barley. They suspect she's a witch of some old generation. Kids, Adults, and Elders hated her.

Still, the newly moved in couple thinks of her as some old, nice and rich woman. But Stina starts to have her doubts when an odd man keeps popping in Mrs. Barley's garden. And moreover only she had spotted him, and no one else.

A super slow-paced novel. Whisper Cottage is one of the books I did not like nor did I disliked it. This book never captured me, and did not make me feel like I was where the protagonist was. Perhaps, the lack of character being relatable was what made me distant with it. But I never enjoyed it as I do when normally reading. I got to say the end was a huge disappointment, and left many unanswered questions in my head. And it never really explained what was going on in book at end. It never kept me on edge.

This was a creepy read! I started this, and once I started, I couldn't stop! The characters are well written. I was there with Jack and Stina, as they started their life in small town Avoncote, England. Their new cottage is charming, though their new neighbor, old Mrs. Barley, seems very odd. Is she a witch? Why does everyone in the town hate her? Who is the strange man who shows up in her cottage? Strange things happen around them, and you wonder if Mrs. Barley had anything to do with these odd events.
I enjoyed this read, it hooked me right from the beginning. However, the ending seemed a but rushed and felt a little flat. It made me really wonder how much we really know about people, though.

This book was sent to me on Kindle by Netgalley for review. It is about family dynamics...dark and confusing at times. I had to pass on this one but others might really like this genre.