This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Naomi has lived in Exton Cross all her life. She is a typical local who knows everyone and there goings on.
Aleema moved there 3 years ago and has not made a single friend.
Kelly is an outsider. New to Exton Cross, she arrives with nothing except her son and a dark secret.
Aleema's daughter goes missing and immediately everyone points the finger at Kelly.
As the search continues many secrets and lies will come to light.
This book is told from the perspective of Naomi, Aleema and Kelly and starts of introducing the 3 women and there back stories.
It started off quite slow while we got to know the woman but by the middle of the book it really picked up.
The author draws you in and I felt the tension and raw emotions between the main characters.
I loved how everyone had something to hide and had a motive for taking the young girl.
There was a lot of sensitive subjects in this book, racism, bullying, abuse to name a few but I felt they were handled extremely well.
The only thing I was not keen on was the Devon dictionary. I'm from Devon and had not heard of some of the words and phrases used. Some of them sounded northern too me.
I just felt it distracted me from the story.

I’m tired of missing kid books and I don’t relate to one’s about mothers. I’m not even sure why I requested this. Someone on goodreads raved about it and I loved the cover. Couldn’t stand the characters

A totally gripping read about a child who goes missing in a small village where the people who live there are not what they seem. Really enjoyed it!

A Rollercoaster ride between Aleema, Naomi and Kelly. You won't want to put this down once you've started it. An unsettling and dark look into small town mothers.

The synopsis/blurb was very intriguing, and this book sounded right up my street.
However, I was really disappointed with this. Very slow. Not a page-turner at all.
Nothing original, and not a book I really can rave about.

It was OK, and I read it - but not one that will stay with me.

This is a tale of loss - of the loss of childhood, the loss of a marriage and home life, the loss of a child, the loss of a community. There is a lot to dislike - the way a man terrorized his wife to bend to his will; the way he was beginning to treat his young son in the same manner; the way a village clubbed together to be judgemental without any facts.

It tries to tackle many issues - racism, homosexuality, bullying, manipulation, prejudice. I'm not sure it succeeded with handling so many issues in actually telling a good story. There were parts that made me very sad, parts that made me angry (perhaps not all the parts the author intended, as I found Joe an incredibly irritating lad). It is based on a child going missing, and the story is cleverly constructed as we follow the mother and others in the village as they try to find out what has happened - but some are holding dark secrets.

Over all an interesting read. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an eerie and intriguing read. I had such a blast with it and would definitely recommend it. You didn’t know which of these characters you could trust and which ones you couldn’t trust. I loved this author’s writing style and would definitely read more from this author in the future! Solid read and great recommendation!

This is a story of strong women who suffering bereavement for one reason or another have had their lives traumatised. Living with fear coming from many different angles, has gradually reduced their ability to rationalise and they subsequently overreact to a frightening situation in their small village. A loss experienced by each mother leaves them acutely vulnerable when a child goes missing , each intent on protecting themselves and their children whilst totally focussed on finding someone to blame. Harrowing events unfold with no clear picture of the identity of the abductor. Human nature demanding answers and after initially good reasons for joining together to search for the missing child soon changes into frightened women turning into a pack of vigilantes. An unusual slant on a story of a picture postcard village where the actions and results of a missing child remove the veneer or respectability from the close community allowing fears, survival, and revenge to shape a terrifying conclusion. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for ARC.

This is my second book by this author but unfortunately I will only be scoring this one three stars too. The idea is good but the plot seemed to lose itself in so many issues. The actual crime became rather blurred and the ending was fairly predictable.

Set in a Devon village, three children become friends at primary school and the focus is on the three mothers: Naomi, who has lived in the village all her life, Aleema, who has lived there for three years and whose daughter is the only “brown-skinned” child for miles, and Kelly, is new to the area. Nobody knows that Kelly and her son are living under new identities due to her ex-husband being a murderer.

Aleema wants to make new friends, Kelly definitely doesn’t want anyone befriending her, but the children become a group of friends. Then one of them goes missing and all the secrets from the past come to the surface.

A brilliant read that kept me gripped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Wow! What a mind blowing story.
I thought it was very well written, and loved the twists, I simply couldn't put this book down.
This was my first Bryony Pearce book but certainly not the last!
Thank you netgalley

Little Rumours is a fast paced tale of three mothers and one missing child. The mothers, unlike their children, are not friends, so when one of the children disappears, rumours and suspicion begin.

I enjoyed the three very different points of view from the mothers, whose characters were well written and I could sympathise with each of them as they dealt with discrimination, judgment and fear of the revealing of secrets.

Despite their differences they were all prepared to go to great lengths to protect their children and the book keeps you on the edge of your chair while you are taken on a twisty-turny journey to an end where I’d guessed the ‘who?’, but not the ‘why?’.

Although I tend to steer away from books dealing with missing children, this one was very different but still an emotional read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.
I really liked the idea of this story but I have to be honest that it didn't actually live up to my expectations.
Fully appreciate reading other reviews on here, it would appear that I'm in the minority on this one
Nonetheless I finished it (I hate giving up on books) and to be honest I can only rate it as a three.

Absolutely loved this book. The plot was quick to hook me in and it moved along at a decent pace. The ending was really good as well

I read this on holiday last week and finished it over 2 days. I was totally hooked from the outset and the awful life poor Joe and his Mum had escaped from. I liked how each chapter was told from each of the 3 main character's point of view. I also enjoyed hearing about their differing experiences of life in the village and although there were differences in their lives, there was more similarity than it seemed they expected.
The characters were all quite likeable in their own ways.
A missing child is just a worst nightmare scenario and it was written so well, I felt their fear when they were searching and couldn't find any trace.
Kept me up late needing to know what happened, I predicted part of the ending, I'm not sure if it was just a little far fetched.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review, an entertaining read.

Wow, this book packed such a punch, I was gripped straight away.

The plot revolves around three women and their families living in Exton Cross, a small Devon village; Kelly and her son Joe, outsiders and in hiding because of a dark secret, Aleema, her husband Noah and daughter Mia who have lived in the village for several years, but still feel excluded. And Naomi, husband Martin and son Leon who have lived in Exton Cross their whole lives. Their children are the best of friends, but when tragedy strikes, each woman and her family is affected and their lives will never be the same again.

I thought the Devon village setting was expertly captured, along with the small minds of many of its long standing residents. The characters leapt off the page for me and really came to life, especially Kelly and Aleema. Their heartache and suffering was palpable.

Although this book is about a missing child, it's about so much more than that. It's about loss, trauma, bullying, starting over, coming to terms with your true identity and above all, the lengths people will go to to protect their children.

It's a brilliant mystery, told from multiple view points and written with passion and integrity. It reminded me a little of Cara Hunter's Close to Home, another excellent book, although Little Rumours has less focus on the police characters' personal lives. I loved it. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the author, Bryony Pearce, publishers Avon Books UK and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this one but, unfortunately I didn’t like it and stopped quite quickly. It made me feel uncomfortable and I wasn’t enjoying it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Whilst this book isn't a gripping page turner and it won't set alight many fires, I did enjoy it. Kelly, Naomi and Aleema are the three narrators, all with their own stories and secrets. When the child of one of these women goes missing, we quickly enter a world where we discover the lengths people will go to, to make everyone believe their child is perfect and the lengths they'll go to in order to protect. I'll look forward to reading more from this author.

Wow, this book really grabbed me.
Little Rumours is told from three mums’ points of view, Naomi has lived in Exton Cross all of her life and knows everything and everyone. Aleema has lived there for three years and has not a single friend and Kelly is the outsider and has a past that she doesn’t want anyone else to know.
One of the children goes missing and the police are trying to find where she is and why she has been taken we get to delve into the three women’s lives more and learn that not all is as it seems and they all have secrets.

The book flowed at an even pace and we got to know each of the characters well, there were times when I liked them all, times when I didn’t quite get what they were about, and times when I didn’t like them at all.
The finale was very good and unexpected. What a brilliant book, I will definitely be looking out for more from this author!