I can usually tell by the first chapter whether or not I will love a book. Writing style is THAT important. So I wasn't surprised that Chandler Baker's Whisper Network lost me immediately after listening to the first few chapters.
Although I did not give up on the novel, it was almost torture to finish it ... I just wanted it to be better. I hate when authors just throw readers into a setting and introduce us to characters without giving any indication as to why we should CARE. Baker quickly brings in an influx of characters and drops us in the middle of our lives, and the result is a confusing mess that is neither compelling or original.

Almarie Guerra's narration is fine, although I did end up putting this audiobook on 2x speed just to make this dull and plodding story move forward faster.

This was an interesting read for me. It is a mystery told from the point of view of multiple women, mostly attorneys. There is quite a bit of jumping between first and third person, so you definitely have to pay attention. The narrator of the audible version has a perfect voice for the narration. It seems to fit with the descriptions of the characters and their actions. The storyline is timely in that it deals loosely with the #MeToo movement. This is a good beach read as it does not delve too deeply, but I was unable to connect with the characters in a manner that would allow me to empathize with them. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

The audio was okay but could have used some more thrilling moments overall this style of thriller was not for me.

Things are going to change at the law offices where the women have worked for years. The CEO has died and a new one will be chosen. When it appears that the frontrunner is Ames, a man who has a reputation for sexual harassment in the firm, some of the women lawyers decide enough is enough.
The women are all elite lawyers but quite different. There's Sloan who is a driven women determined to make her way up the ladder and who had an affair with Ames years ago. Grace is a new mom with a baby at home and struggling to keep up. Ardie is a bit older and is recently divorced, realizing that she is now the sole support for her new household of her son and herself. Katherine is a new hire, and seems to be Ames' new target.

The women decide to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company for providing an unsafe working environment and against Ames in particular for his acts over the years. The company is determined to fight back. When Ames goes over the railing on the rooftop of the firm to his death, lines are quickly drawn. Was it suicide? Was Ames pushed to his death?

Chandler Baker is an attorney herself and has written this novel from her own experiences and from stories other professional women have told her. Sexual harassment in the workplace is still a very real experience and not every women has the legal knowledge and expertise these women did to deal with a job threatening experience. I listened to this novel and the narrator was great and sounded like a sharp, professional woman would sound. This book is recommended for both mystery and women's fiction readers.

This book is very thought provoking. It made me think back to different experiences I have had over the years and consider them differently. Which I think is one of the things this book set out to do. It wanted to draw attention to the many issues that women face in the workplace. So many great thoughts on what it is to be a women in the workplace. A mystery book in nature as it sets out to solve the who done it but also focus on friendships, family and a very relevant social commentary.

The audio book was fantastic with the narrator having great accents for the different characters. I could easily tell who was speaking. The narrator held my attention and was easy to listen too. A great performance.

A solid career oriented book about working with specific male counterparts. However it is a bit slow at times, and you may struggle to keep going. The ending wraps it up nicely, and there is a lot of content to discuss with a friend or at book club.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my audio copy in exchange for this review.

This booo is part thriller, part women’s fiction, and part social commentary - all told through the voices of four different women. They hear the whispers that surround him, they have all been subjects of the gossip. They are not always the best people, bur when the time comes to stand up for one another, they take charge. They stop whispering, and speak up.

I have to say, as a reader I didn’t love any of these characters. They certainly grew on me, but generally I found them hard to like. There is definitely a slow-burn buildup but I found myself often disconnected from the characters and turning the audiobook off. The book read over all as just okay for me.

Great intentions, but weak execution.

The Whisper Network starts out with a death, and then following are interspersed interviews/interrogations about the working conditions within a corporation, along with chapters featuring differing points of view from each of the women involved in a colleague's subsequent suicide/possible murder. It reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty, in this aspect. The book explores women in the workplace--how men view and treat them, how they view themselves and treat other women and how they try to balance their careers with their home lives. It was intriguing, and although slow in parts, kept me wanting to find out WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHY?? The women all individually feel defeated by the work culture, but they find strength together to object to the mistreatment and create lives for themselves that are more supportive to their true spirits and life goals. It is inspiring as many of us have felt similarly in situations where we feel we don't have the cultural respect or support we all deserve.

Narrator: Lovely voice and great at creating individual voices (as there were so many female characters in the beginning, it did take me a bit to figure out who was who, but then it was easier). 4/5

LOVED the author notes at the end! I often don't listen to those, but this one was wonderful as it explained the true life inspirations for this important story.

'Content Warning: Mentions of sexual assault.

'The Whisper Network' is a story about the experiences and situations faced by many working women caught between the social and corporate pressures of reporting, or not reporting sexual harassment. As you can imagine, the range of situations that this premise could conjure make for a richly complicated story. The book is based on the author's own experiences as a corporate attorney told through the guise of a murder-mystery in split narrative form. The timeline of events jumps back and forth starting with a body, a possible murder, and interviews with suspects interspersed throughout the primary arc.

When Truviv’s CEO dies suddenly, Ames Garrett is destined to be his successor. For the women that work with Ames, this news is less than ideal. Told from multiple perspectives, we learn about Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita and how each of them have experienced unwanted advances, and sexual assault, from Ames. Readers quickly realize how their stories are connected and how insidious working conditions have been at Truviv for a very long time. The women in the office have passed coded messages and whispers to one another about the men they work with for years, until finally, those messages grow from whispers to lawsuits. What transpires is a domino effect revealing the levels of a corrupt system and the value of true female cooperation.

On its surface, I can see why readers of thrillers and mysteries would be less than enthusiastic about this book. Its messy, complicated, and uncomfortable. Often breaching the line between fiction and reality. I would argue that the growing sense of claustrophobia and the feeling of helplessness perpetuated by the narrative are enough to spur any reader toward the conclusion. Because what Baker has done with this book is to explore the ways in which advocacy, agency, and omission can all factor into the micro-level, nearly subconscious, decision making that women engage in on a daily basis. Themes of gender politics, intersectional feminism, and classism sung out from within the pages. I found the writing to be smart, engaging, and absorbing once I climbed over a slow start. Once I understood more about each of the characters and their relationship to each other, I was just as curious to see how their story would play out.

I received an audio copy of this book to listen to on the NetGalley app. It was my first time using the app for this purpose, and while it was a fairly user-friendly experience, I have a new complaints. For one, the all of the chapters were labeled as "Whisper Network", so it was difficult to track progress unless actively listening for chapter headings. Chapter numbers were also not displayed anywhere within the interface that I could see. I also noticed that sometimes the numerical countdowns for each chapter were often cut off when viewed on my phone. At times, I could not see how many more minutes were left in a particular chapter. To be fair, this could be because I have an older model phone, but I still found it frustrating.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a gratis audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book in hardback, and the audio edition was perfect! I enjoyed that narration and reliving the story through a different "voice". This was perfectly paced (I listened at 1.5) and the characters felt even more real than before. This is a great compliment to the book version.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

4.5 stars.

Amazing story, made even more compelling by listening to the audio. I felt completely wrapped in to these women's lives and the mystery as to what happened - both for the witness statements and the history storyline. I loved how the women recounted the many ways they had to be more but also detailed the small slights we're just supposed to keep ignoring. The simmering rage in the story was so well done. This idea of the excel spreadsheet - passed around and anonymously updated- I loved the moral dilemma and the differing POV. What a great story! It made me mad, made me rage with and against characters in the book - but most of all, it held me completely wrapped up in it. I had to know how it ended. I'm so glad I gave this one a try - I loved it!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

Wow, I loved this audiobook. The narrator was amazing (which I find is very important in an audiobook) and the plot was very interesting. Listened to this in a couple days. I would definitely recommend!

This book was all over the place. I was not intrigued and felt bored at times. It seemed as though it was trying to play along the lines of Big Little Lies.

I listened to this book months ago and forgot to review it. I still think about it to this day, which is a testament to how good it is! This book tackles sexual harassment in the workplace, the old boys club, etc. It made me so mad for the characters. A very fitting book for the current time. It also had a satisfying ending. The narrator was great and it was easy to track the different characters. Give it a read or a listen!

The Whisper Network starts off with the death of the CEO at Truviv. Ames, who has a sordid history with the women at Truviv, is named the new CEO and the rest of the book follows the lives of four women who work with him. There are twists and turns, secrets and lies each with their own catastrophic consequences.

I really wanted to love this book but I found myself being easily distracted. In the end I found it to be just okay.

Chandler Baker always has a way of making you think about what's important while telling a story. In the Whisper Network, Baker tells a story of a group of women from all parts of the workforce and portrays their struggles both professionally and personally. This book really makes you think about how far we have come as women in the workforce as well as how much work there really needs to be done still as well. Do yourself a favor and pick up this wonderful gem.

The Whisper Network is about 4 women who have worked at the same corporation under the same boss named Ames, for years. He has a pattern of sexual harassment and treating women wrong, all of which has been ignored. Hence the name of the book, as everyone kept his behavior hushed in whispers. When the CEO dies, Ames is next in line to take over the company. The women are unwilling to let his behavior slide any longer and don’t want to see him take charge and will stop at nothing to expose him. Things don’t go as planned and spin out of control.

I thought this was going to be more of a thriller, so I was a little disappointed. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the plot. I do appreciate its look into workplace issues and disparities. All in all this would be a 3 star read for me.

I loved how the women were depicted where they could be any one of us. It felt like it was about women and for women. It was about their lives, their friendships, and their families. It was about their environment in their workplace. And the secrets hidden there. All of the characters have ties to Ames, a powerful man at their company who soon may be moving into an even more powerful position.

Chandler Baker's first novel is a suspenseful workplace drama with some twists and turns along the way. I found the plot to be great, but felt there were some stutters and stops along the way. I found myself somewhat confused about characters with the back-and-forth between the current timeline and the deposition. Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and the characters' will to make something right. The ending was great, and wished I'd been able to get to it sooner.

I really did not like any of the characters in this story, however, I did enjoy the story and the overall message. Definitely a timely and worthwhile story.