This was my first novel written by Bryony Pearce, but I can say with certainty that it will not be my last.

This is a very quick and easy read that I feel a lot of people will be able to relate to. I hear my friends talking all the time about their "mom groups" or how they need to schedule a dual play date "kid/mom's" . Little Rumour's centers around three moms who are not friends but have children that are . When one of the kids go missing, secrets begin to be exposed.

This both switches narration between the 3 different women (I loved this!!!) . I was able to get to know each woman individually and it allowed me to better understand each.

This novel is filled with many twists that you will not see coming. The mystery was just enough to keep you on your toes, HOWEVER, I did figure out what was going on a little earlier than I would have liked . This did not ruin the book for me at all . I still liked to be able to see my theory play out.

All in all I would recommend this book as it was very well written and the story line was enjoyable.

i found the monologues of the 3 main women in this book abit tedious. With too much being about the women and not enough about the crime. Once the plot did develop it did so brilliantly, with growing suspicions and desperation of the characters. once it warmed up was a decent thriller

3.5/4 stars. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. It was good but in my opinion a little to long for what it was. It dragged at times were it was a little boring. Overall I enjoyed the story and the characters were great. I enjoyed the style of writing by the author as well. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book sounded interesting and intriguing, and the plot was as thrilling and exciting as promised.
I was absorbed into the story right from the first page. The narrative was told from the view points of the main characters, and it was clear and flowed nicely. The characters and their families were well defined, which eliminated the need to keep referring back.
This book definitely had the "just one more chapter" factor, which is always a plus point.
Right up to the moment of reveal, this story had ticked every box.
The ending let it down a bit for me. Once all the twists had been turned, there was a slight feeling of deflation and unrealism. For me, this took the edge off what would have been, a really cracking book.

When I say this was a hard pill to swallow boy do I mean it.
It starts out with a little boy named Joe and his mother Kayley telling him to watch his cartoons and not to bother his father. Scooby-Doo to be exact. Well you know how kids are they don't listen.
Joe goes to find his father William and instead he has to run for his life from the father he loves because William gets a hair up his ass and decides going after women isn't for him and instead tries to kill his family. William ends up being convicted and Kayley escapes with little Joe. They escape Manchester and end up in this suburb village place.

Joe attends school with a boy named Leon and a girl named Mia. They become very close. But as Joe is getting older and recently finds out the truth about his father William the serial killer, his psychotic tendencies start to begin. He ends up doing some serious damage to a boy in his grade. The mother is none too pleased with Joe's mother and feels she is hiding something. Then Aleemas daughter Mia ends up missing. This is where things really start to slowly unravel.

I found myself not wanting to stop reading any part of searching for poor little 11 year old Mia. I could feel her parents pain so hard. Joe was the last person seen with Mia in the village. Joe is a suspect and Aleema feels terrible but she contacts Joe's mother and something seems off. Little do they know that poor Kayley believes Joe did something with sweet innocent 11 year old Mia, but like she did for William ends up trying to cover him up.

Did Joe hurt Mia, is their more to this story then meets the eye?! Who was that older woman in the red coat?! Was this murder or a kidnapping?! Will they find Mia alive?! Just read more to find out for yourself. I promise you will not be disappointed and you'll be on the edge of your seat just like I was, unable to put down this book.

I loved this book. The 3 main characters are Aleema, Kelly and Naomi. Aleema moved in to the village with her husband and daughter Mia, to look after her mother in law, but she still feels like an outsider, mainly due to her religion.
Naomi lived in the same village all her life , her husband travels to Exeter for work They have a son called Leon.
Kelly and her son Joe moved to the village after she found out her husband was a serial killer.
Mia, Leon and Joe go to the same primary school and they are very good friends.
One afternoon Mia goes missing. The people in the village find out who Kelly's husband was and they start suspecting Joe of kidnapping Mia. Are they right? Will she be found on time?
I really recommend this book.

This story is told from the POV's of three women, Naomi, Aleema and Kelly. The connection between them is that their children are friends, however by the end of the school day, one of their children will be missing with rumours that one of them knows why. I enjoy a multiple person POV read and I read this in only a few sittings, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I have some of my 5 star reads and therefore I have rated it 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

An excellent fast paced thriller read, well written about three mothers that kept me involved in the story line from the beginning until the end with a twist to finish it off.

I can recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Little Rumours is a thrilling story that will keep you guessing. It’s an easy fun read for anyone who enjoys the genre.

OMG how great. This Author can do no wrong. This book is beyond incredible and totally unputdownable! Just go in blind and you will read for hours. It's that great.
Thanks to Netgalley.

Little Rumours has an interesting synopsis. 3 Women, with secrets....and by the end of the day, one of their children will be missing.

The book is told from the POV's of each woman, Kelly, who hides her true identity from everybody, Aleema, who feels like she never fits in, being a Muslim woman, with no friends....and Naomi, resident know it all who has lived in Exton Cross all her life.

As sad as Kelly's life was, the most interesting part of the book was about her history....I would have loved to have read more about that.

The story really dragged out for me and I found the characters really unlikeable. I do think the reason the child went missing was quite interesting, but it just took so long to get to that point for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK, Avon fir the copy of this book. This was a pretty quick read and I liked the story. Lots of red herrings though I did have a feeling about who was involved kind of early on. I didn't like the characters and could not connect to any of them because most f them felt like caricatures, not real people. People who don't need to like or connect to the characters might enjoy this book, but sadly, it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book for my honest review and opinions. I found this to be a quick enjoyable read. It was full of lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. I will for sure be adding Bryony Pearce to my list of must read authors going forward.

A fresh take on the missing child genre of book. Well written with some good twists and turns. Kept me reading until the end.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really fast paced. You're dealing with three mothers each dealing with their own conflict. Their children attend the say school. I wouldn't say that the mothers get along with one another, that is until one of the school kids goes missing. One of the mother's secrets comes to light and that's how the rumors start. The village of people start to blame her and her child for the other child going missing. I also like how the story touches on the bullying kids face, parents not believing them. It also touches on racism and we view others that are different than us. Like I said, this is a really good, fast paced story. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a page turner.

Would really recommend this book , a very unstoppable read, could not leave this book down, it was so will written that you connected with each and every character and really felt you were living with them in there life’s. This was such an intriguing story with lots of twists and turns not knowing the truth while the story unfolds.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me hooked till the end. The characters were well developed and relatable.

I'd be interested in reading more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book of every parents worse nightmare - a missing child.
The characters are well developed if not likeable (some of them) some of them I warmed to as the story went in and the reasoning behind why some of them were the way they were ie Kelly.
Solid plot though, fast pace with a gripping ending, full of suspense and with a bleak setting makes for a tense read, highly recommended.

When I finished “Girl on the Platform”, I was ready for the next novel by author, Bryony Pearce.

Story is told from the POV of three mothers who live in the same Exton Cross community which is a small Devonshire town.
Naomi Bennett has always lived in this community
Kelly Marshall is new as well as
Aleema Evans
Their children Joe Marshall, Leon Bennett and Mia Evan are all eleven years old, go to the same school and are best friends.
Story starts when Mia wants to go her grandmother’s after school. Aleema states she cannot stay for eat. That evening Mia vanishes from the park where she, Leon, and Joe gathered after school. Leon left first and then Joe.

There is no doubt you will feel the tension and emotions. Ms. Pearce draws us in; the experience feels very real! Many readers gave this story a low rated; which I understand as it was not a fun read.

I am a psychological thriller fan so was very curious, yet I feared the worst and really did not want to read anything disturbing. I could have finished last night but didn’t and of course was awake half the night thinking about it!!

As a psychological thriller fan, I love trying to figure it out whodunit (as a Guidance Counselor, I took a lot of psychological courses, so this should be natural and easy for me ~ ha-ha.)
However, in this case, my suspicion was correct ~ I just didn’t have the motive.

I love reading the Author’s Acknowledgements and or/ Author Notes.
In this case Ms. Pearce] explains this story covers many sad social issues ~ Abuse ~ physical and mental, Bullying, Kidnapping, Racism, and Loss ~ which is touched on in many ways.

BTW: I liked the Devon Dictionary with the Devon dialect at the beginning of the book. It was mentioned that it was a bit unusual but I thought it was fun.


Personal Note: Story reminded me a lot of [author: Rachel Caine]’s “Stillhouse Lake”.
In this case Kelly and Joe are assumed of wrong doing once the villagers find out that they are
related to William Addison a serial killer. Kelly changed her name as she was Kayley Addison.

Want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK - Avon for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 15, 2022.

Omg. What just happened? After trying to figure out the answers to the mysteries and questions, when the inevitable was revealed, I couldn’t keep my mouth closed! Damn, that was so good! The doubts in my head, the cloistered truth dangling on the edges of my decorum finally made sense after the big twist!

So so good. I am still overwhelmed. Kathy’s character was so relatable, any mother who would lose their child in unusual circumstances would normally react that way. The author was really able to bring out the human emotions in this kind of tragedy. Brilliant!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC!