This was an excellent read, the characters were so diverse and interesting, some of the behaviours from the other parents were so shocking, definitely a few twists and turns along the way, totally reccomend

Naomi has lived in Exton Cross since she was born and she knows everything there is to know about everyone.

Aleema hates it here. It's been three years and she's yet to make a single friend. And she's sure the other mums whisper about her behind her back.

Kelly is an outsider. New to the town, she arrives with nothing but her son - and a dark secret.

But by the end of the day, one of their children will be missing.

It's a bit of a slow burn to begin with, introducing each of the main characters and their backstory., but the pace has picked up by the middle. The story is told from Naomi, Aleema and Kelly's perspectives, this gave us an insight into what the women are thinking. This is a twist filled read that's like no other missing child story that I've read. There is no obvious reason for a child to go missing or a suspect. This is a tense and emotional read. The characters are well developed and believable. I also covers abuse and bullying.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #BryonyPearce for my ARC of #LittleRumours in exchange for an honest review'

In this book we are introduced to Kelly, Aleema and Naomi who are mother's to Joe, Mia and Leon, who are all 11 years old and all best friends. One day Mia goes missing the last person to see Mia was Joe. Joe and Kelly are both new to town wanting a new start and to get away from Joe's father who is a serial killer. So as the rumours spread Joe finds that he is the main culprit. But who really did the crime and why?

This is a really great book and the characters are all really good. If you like pretty little liars then you will definitely like this book I highly recommend.

3.5 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙. 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙆𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙚𝙨.

I know Bryony Pearce from her YA books so I was fascinated to see if she could make the crossover into mainstream adult books. And the answer is a resounding yes.

When a young girl goes missing from a small Devon village no one can imagine where she can have got to. However, it soon becomes apparent that Kelly and her young son have something to hide. Soon everyone starts to point fingers but are they pointing in the right direction?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was totally gripped. I love the way the characters developed as lives started to unravel.

LIttle Rumours is a missing person/whodunnit thriller. I enjoyed this book very much, and read it in 2 days.

Little Rumours was a story told from the point of view of three mothers within a community; Kelly (mom of Joe), Aleema (mom of Mia), and Naomi (mom of Leon). All three children are 11 years old and best friends. At the end of the day, one of these children goes missing, and rumors start spreading like wildfire. Of course, the blame immediately goes to Joe, who was the last person to see her. Also did I mention, that his father is a serial killer? Joe and his mom are also "incomers" to the town, unlike the locals who have been there for generations. Just when Mia goes missing, Joe starts to question his father's actions at his age. Is this a coincidence?

This story is truly a story of four strong mothers who will do anything to protect their children. It also touches on topics such as nature vs. nurture, bullying, abuse (physical and mental), and friendship. The real question is: as a mother, how far would you go to protect your child?

I really enjoyed reading this thriller, and would highly recommend.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to it's release date in exchange for an honest review.

A small Devon town where everyone knows everything about everyone. No secrets here! Or are there?

Kelly has lived in the town for two years with her son Joe. Kelly does not mix or socialise and has a reputation for being standoffish.

Aleema is a career woman who hasn’t been in the town too long. She lives with her husband Noah and daughter Mia. Noah is a local who moved away, the family have returned to look after Noah’s mum Mary. Aleema’s attempts at integrating into the local community have failed. She is “different” and racist comments are the norm.

Naomi has lived in the town all her life. Her husband Martin works away a lot, so it’s usually just Naomi and her son Leon at home. They live in the big house, which has been in Martin’s family for generations. Naomi is the local do-gooder/organiser, involved in everything from PTA to Community Centre.

The three women have nothing whatsoever in common, but their children are best friends and totally inseparable. When one of them goes missing how will the three mothers react? What are their secrets and fears?

I really enjoyed this book and even though the premise is often done, this one felt different and I was intrigued from the start. The author kept me guessing about the culprit, giving me several options to vacillate between, definitely kept me on my toes!

Thank you NetGalley.

This story takes place in a small town in England but could take place anywhere. Everything about it is typical, both in a good way and a bad way. You have the same sort of parents, same sort of residents. Some nice, some not so nice. There is already friction at the start of the book, some subtle racial tension because a hometown boy married a Muslim and they have returned to care for his mother, who takes delight in tormenting Aleema.

The women involved are all acquaintances through their children's friendships. When one of the kids goes missing, tensions arise and secrets come out.

What I really liked about the book was the fact that it was engaging and fast. I didn't want to put it down. It was interesting to see the aftermath and how it affected each family, both in good and bad ways. However, I don't know how well I accept the culprit's motives, but grief can do things to a person.

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital review. My opinion is mine, and freely given.

Brilliant read. This is an excellent fast paced, and addictive read with plenty of perfectly timed twists and turns. The story is told from the view point of 3 different mums all with completely different perspectives on life, and different backgrounds which makes the story that bit more interesting. Although the storyline is quite a difficult one I think it is dealt with sympathetically.

This is the first book I read from this author and although the premise of the book was very intriguing it didn’t grab my attention for longer than a few chapters. Overall it was a good read, but I didn’t like or connect with any of the three POV main characters.

This story was about a missing child and was told from the perspective of 3 mothers. There definitely was some tension throughout the book and I was interested to find out what happened. That being said there were quite a few things going on that were unrelated and never seemed to connect. I wanted to know more about some of the background stories. Overall a good read. I have read this author before and really enjoyed that one too so I look forward to her next one.

Three Mothers. Three Secrets. One Missing Child.
The tagline alone was enough to spark my interest in this book and I couldn't wait to get stuck in. The main characters are all connected through their children and the local primary school. The plot is excellent and the tension is high and very real. I found this to be a deeply emotional read and I was gripped from the first page. The epilogue is truly superb and I loved all the twists and turns. An easy five star read and perfect for anyone who enjoys a gripping, chilling, intense story.

The premise of this story is really great, I just don’t think the book was for me, really. Figuring out the extra language part was just too much for me.

This novel centres on 3 mums in a small Devon village. They see each other at the school gates but very rarely speak, however their children are friends. But when one of the children goes missing after school lots of secrets and recriminations fly around the village.
Each one of the mums wants to protect their child but in doing so could be creating more of a problem
This is another well written novel by Bryony, she shows us how loss can affect our actions and how far people go to to protect those they love.
I received this advanced copy from Netgalley and Avon books and am under no obligation to leave my review
Novel published 31st March 2022

This is my first read from Bryony Pearce, and it is an outstanding story. The characters are written so realistically. None are perfect, they are flawed and real with histories that have shaped them to be the individuals who make the decisions that they do throughout the story.
This story shows how quickly a small community can be gripped by mob rule from making judgements of what they 'think' they know about another person. How quickly that mob mentality can become dangerous.
This is fast paced and exciting, I will be looking to read more of Byony Pearce's other works.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon UK for the opportunity to enjoy this e-ARC.

This book by Bryony Pearce is a fast paced thrill ride of a book. Two mothers are newcomers and one is a local who is involved very much in her town and school. After the kids become friends, the mothers are brought together until one of the children goes missing. Then the mothers are busy blaming each other and trying to dig up all the dirt then can on each other. Be warned that there is some abuse and racism.

Bryony Pearce explores small-town drama as one of Exton’s own goes missing. They all put on a good front, but all three moms in this story are struggling - struggling even before a child goes missing. Why is it when we are in need of support from each other, human nature gets in the way and brings out the worst in us?

Joe’s mom, Kelly Marshall, is new to the community and she has a deep dark secret. Through no fault of her own, she’s lost her identity. Mia’s mom, Aleema Evans, is also a newcomer and in addition to her being Muslim, she’s got insecurities about fitting in. Leon’s mom, Naomi Bennett, is a know-it-all involved with the PTA and she’s the only local of the group. When their children become friends at school, it pulls these three unlikely women together. That is until something happens at school and then one of their own goes missing. The finger-pointing and bullying start as the women grab their shovels and start digging up dirt on each other.

This on the edge of your seat book takes you on a roller coaster ride through spousal and child abuse, racial abuse, gay-bashing, kidnapping, and suicide attempt. Did I miss one?! The whole gamut. This poor community! The author reveals that although none of us will be spared the experience of loss, it’s how the recovery process plays out that will indicate how it affects us. Instead of supporting each other, the stress causes the town secrets to rise to the surface and as dirty laundry is aired, tempers flare and things are said in the heat of the moment. There’s nothing quite like momma bears and their defence mechanisms when it comes to protecting their cubs - and you see the claws bared.

How ironic that I’m reading this as Pink Shirt Day happens this week in Canada. If you aren’t familiar with it, the focus is on celebrating our diversity while supporting inclusive anti-bullying programs for kids in our communities. The theme this year is ‘Lift Each Other Up’ - a theme that the families in Exton should really support.

Readers will appreciate the Devon dialect dictionary.

I was gifted this advance copy by Bryony Pearce, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Phew! This is so fast-paced it takes your breath away. Set in a Devonshire village which is a close-knit community suspicious of newcomers, the adult characters are linked by their children being at the same school. A child goes missing, the only 'brown' child in the village, Aleema, the childs Mother is the only Muslim in the village. Then we have Kelly, a newcomer who lives there with her son Joe. Kelly and Joe have been given new identities to protect them from crimes committed by her ex-husband. Everyone is suspicious of Kelly, simply because she keeps herself to herself for obvious reasons. The adult relationships are dysfunctional and this is made worse as the mystery of Mia's disappearance deepens and the adults start tearing each other apart. All are dealing with loss of some kind or another. The conclusion is startling and totally unexpected. This is an excellent book, great narrative, superb character development, so many twists and turns and a great ending.

Thank you for the eARC compliments of Netgalley - a great read and highly recommended.

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Although I didn’t see the ending coming until the final 3rd of the book, it did take a little while to build. It was still a shocking twist and very much not expected! Well described process and felt myself being drawn into the characters positions. Many thanks for the opportunity to read.

I really enjoyed this book! I have not ready Bryony Pearce before but will definitely be looking out for her books. She describes the setting of the village so well, the taut emotions, the animosity and taking sides of neighbors that can happen when someone looks different. It was a race to find that little girl and bring her home safely and I was along for the ride. Fabulous writing too!