3.5 ⭐

Audrey Audain helps readers unpack the myth of the perfect mother. She takes us to the upscale neighbourhood of Harlow Lane and shows us that motherhood is not an idea, it’s a real relationship and reminds us that no human relationship is perfect. Marriages, nor friendships. She encourages us not to see things in black and white, good and bad, but rather in gray … and realize that sometimes there are things we can’t control. Audain points out that our lives get off track when we listen to and place importance on the whispers. The real and the imagined. The ones we give in to and the ones we silence. Whispers - we all hear them.

This story is a tapestry of points of view and characters and this is what makes it relatable. We are all struggling, all imperfect and all have secrets. Many of us will see ourselves in the neighours and for some of us, it will be confirmation that we are doing just fine. For others, it will be an eye-opening look in the mirror. There’s something in our human nature that craves attention and confirmation. Audain gives it. Regardless of which neighbourhood woman we see when we look in the mirror. Audain has dug deep and revealed the nice and not-so-nice side of the desperate struggle to become the perfect parent, the perfect spouse, the perfect friend and the perfect neighbour. The raw emotion is over-riding and the multiple POVs add to the value of the reading experience.

There’s nothing quite like trauma and stress to reveal our hidden personalities. You’ve got a front-row seat to it all. Enjoy!

Readers, please familiarize yourself with trigger warnings and be prepared for graphic descriptions on the same topic. The author doesn’t shy away from taboo subjects, either.

I was gifted this copy by Penguin Random House Canada, Viking and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

But more than any proof she has, is a feeling. She'd once heard them described as the whispers-- the moments that are trying to tell you something isn't right here.

We have all heard them - those small voices in our heads that let us know we should be paying attention, that there is danger or that things are not quite as they seem. This novel is expertly built around those "whispers" and how 4 vastly different women listen or ignore them. Each of the main characters has the life they lie in public and then their private thoughts, fears and jealousies.

As a character based thriller it is masterfully crafted. The reader often feels as though they are just another neighbour watching the four families go through the days leading up to the event that the story is built around.

I found myself both rooting for and annoyed with each of the women in turn and realizing that they were created so well that they seemed quite real while I was reading the novel. The teasers about the event were subtle enough that I was still surprised when the evening was finally recounted.

I know this is the author's second novel and I am very interested in reading her first work.

I am all about the juicy neighbourhood drama/scandal/suspense books. I absolutely LOVE them. And that’s exactly what this book is all about.

The tension just builds in this book.

Neighbours gather at the Loverly’s for a end of the summer barbecue. When they hear Whitney lose her temper at her 10 year old son in the bedroom upstairs through his opened window, it’s also not the first time Whitney has lost her patience with Xavier. But that same window leads to Xavier falling from his bedroom in the middle of the night.

Was it an accident? Did he get pushed? This book will have you guessing until the very end. With all the drama, scandals, and secrets in between with friends, husbands, and neighbours.

I just wish we found out a bit more with the other families at the end.

In my opinion this was much better than Ashley’s other book “The Push”.


Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a DRC. The Whispers is available June 6.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Ashley Audrain is an incredibly talented author and if you read and enjoyed The Push, you’ll likely enjoy this too. She nails down the slow build of a domestic thriller and the shock factor that lots of people look for.

Personally, I found this book tough to get through. There are some series TW/CW and, as a parent, a lot of the content was hard to stomach at moments. That being said, every character has some deeply flawed/human and unlikable qualities and were still relatable in ways.

This book gave me a bit of Desperate Housewives vibes just with the neighbourhood happenings but was overall a strong read. I can see people really enjoying this one!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

A good read about motherhood and the choices we make set in a suburban neighbourhood. The story is effectively told from four points of view and touches upon issues of motherhood, infertility, lost pregnancies, loneliness, guilt and the balance between motherhood and independence. None of the women are really likeable but their stories do shed light on why they behave the way they do. This is a character-driven story so it is more of a slow-burn read. The ending is good and the epilogue is satisfying. This is good women’s contemporary fiction that explores the role of women as women, mothers and friends.

Thanks to Viking and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I loved The Push by this author when I read it in 2020 and The Whispers has that same feel. This is the proper way to do a slow burn psychological literary fiction that is very character driven. It helps that the writing is captivating, it pulled me into the drama of the neighbourhood. There are a lot of secrets between the residents of Harlow Lane and what are they willing to do to keep them? I liked the way the book delves into the backstories of the characters and how unique the plot itself is.

There are really difficult topics dealt with in the book and Audrain doesn’t pull any punches writing about them. The characters aren’t very likeable and I don’t usually enjoy books with this many asshole characters but it works here because the story, plot and writing are so engaging you can’t stop reading until you find out what happens next. If you enjoyed the author’s debut, The Push then do yourself a favour and read this one as well because Audrain manages the same magic in her sophomore release.

Four women in a well to do neighbourhood find their lives inexorably bound when one of their children has an accident and all of their secrets are thrust into the open.

While I imagine it must be difficult to write a book following the success of “The Push”, Ashley Audrain did not disappoint with this one. Written in the same vein as her first book, “The Whispers” is a psychological thriller, with many unexpected surprises. Her books are raw and she deftly exposes all of the characters deepest, darkest feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I need to preface this by saying The Push was one of my favourite reads of 2021 and I couldn’t have been more excited to read The Whispers. I did quickly realize that I needed to stop comparing the two in terms of enjoyment. Once I did that, here’s how I felt.
The Pros:
- I loved all of the characters and side characters. Maybe I didn’t like them but I loved how complex they were and all of their inner thoughts.
- I loved the flashbacks to the party. That part of the storyline reminded me a lot of “The Slap”.
- I really enjoyed Mara’s story and the similarities between her son and Xavi.
- The ending was fantastic but I wanted to find out what happened next!
The Cons:
- It took me until about 1/3 of the way through to really start enjoying the story.
- I found the characters and timelines hard to follow at first. (Especially Whitney’s Wednesday flashbacks)
- The husbands were hard to keep track of at first.
- I could have lived without the extremely graphic detailing of the numerous pregnancy losses.

Overall I enjoyed this but I wouldn’t say I loved it. I think if it was easier to follow in the beginning I could have loved it. It took me about a month to get through because I kept putting it down for a while, but once I was halfway through I didn’t want to put it down.

3⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When a young boy suffers a horrific fall, four women in a wealthy neighbourhood are left to grapple with the the events leading up to that horrible night and, in doing so, begin to unravel secrets that some would prefer to keep buried.

I received an advance copy of this book and was excited to dive into it after reading Ashley Audrain’s debut novel, The Push, two years ago.

I loved the concept of the book and the way it examined how our innermost thoughts (i.e. the whispers) could dictate our actions and re-write the narrative regardless of whether or not that narrative is true. I also loved the immensely complex and layered characters the author created. Whether it was a primary character or a minor character, they all felt three dimensional.

Unfortunately, while I appreciated the writing style and the character development, I struggled to get through this book. None of the characters felt particularly likeable and I found it difficult to feel invested enough to care what happened to them.

Thank you NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for providing an arc of this book.

A suburban housewives mystery, with no shortage of sex, intrigue, backstabbing, double-crossing in the lives of three couples that are neighbours. There is no shortage of descriptive suffering for Rebecca who barely hold her pregnancies for more than 18 weeks. I liked the characters in so far as I enjoyed how dishonest they were to each other. How little true connection meant to any one of them. The plot keeps you spinning from one possibility to another, until finally what happened is revealed. The entire novel is a backdrop to the suffering of an elderly neighbour, and her secrets, who receives little if any empathy from any of the characters. I enjoyed this story. 4 out of 5 stars.

After reading The Push by Ashley Audrain I jumped at the opportunity to read her newest book set in a suburban neighbourhood as we follow the lives of a few couples and a tragedy that has taken place. Every time I thought I figured out where the plot was going it would take a new turn and shock me. Great book for those starting out with thrillers as it will keep them engaged and guessing the entire time.

If you are interested in
- The explorations of more taboo topics within motherhood
- Gossiping neighbours
- Everyone having a secret
Then you should definitely pick this book up!

Warnings for: Miscarriage, and Child Abuse

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Wow! A very dark novel that revolves around a suburban neighbourhood and the relationships between the characters. I had to keep reading until the very end…and what an ending!

I was very excited to read this as I loved The Push. I wasn't disappointed. It had me hooked from the first page. A really interesting story with some likeable characters and some not so likeable characters, and it kept me guessing to the very end. I am still thinking about it! Loved it, and would highly recommend.

From the author of The Push, a debut novel I absolutely loved and could not put down, comes Audrain's second novel which looks at the ways in which women feel they must change who they are completely, when they become mothers.

I read this book in a day. It is incredibly cynical about marriage and motherhood, but there are small threads of hope interwoven in the pages. Much like life itself!

Highly recommend. Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc.

The Whispers is a solid domestic thriller. I was not fully sure what I was getting into when I started this book, it's more about relationships and personal issues than anything else. Trigger warning: miscarriage.

HOLY WHIZZ I love love loved this one SO much! It was worth the wait!!!! I loved the Push, no naturally I knew I would LOVE this one! I love stories of scandal and neighbours, this was such a fast read, it definately left me wanting more = MAJOR BOOK HANGOVER . 5 star

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Whispers by Ashley Audrain.
3.5*
This is the second novel by the author and I feel her writing is getting stronger. The Push was a huge success for a first novel and I feel The Whispers is worthy of the same buzz. This novel does have some dark themes and difficult to read passages so please look for trigger warnings ahead of reading if you need.
The characters and storylines were well interwoven and this would make for a good Book Club selection with so many topics to discuss. I will definitely keep the author on my to read list.

3 neighborhood couples are the main characters through most of the book. Their thoughts and anxieties are detailed and make you wonder how everything can end. The disloyalty, the frustration and the tragedies.
One Mother has 3 children and a full time job, she hates that her children take up her time. One Mother who stays at home and dotes on her daughter and the third who wants desperately to have children but can’t. They all have very different lives, but become entangled in so many ways.
It is a very emotional story, one that is difficult to put down, because you can hardly prepare yourself for what is going to happen next. Each section is spoken by one of the ladies, their thoughts and emotions come through loudly! A very well written soap opera!

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, Netgalley and Ashley Audrain for an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved The Push so was really looking forward to this one. The Whispers is another domestic thriller based around the concept of motherhood. It definitely held my attention and kept me guessing, but I didn’t like it quite as much as The Push.

I did find myself a bit confused by the ending, especially with the paper airplane bit. Maybe I just missed something? I also didn’t think it was necessary to have such graphic descriptions of miscarriage. I think those parts would be triggering to any reader, not just me and I skimmed those parts.

Overall, this was another good book by Audrain, and she has definitely become an auto read author for me!

After reading The Push, I absolutely could not wait for Ashley Audrain's next novel. The Whispers did not disappoint, and frankly, I enjoyed it more than The Push!

The novel revolves around a group of neighbours who live on Harlow Lane. The chapters alternate between their various perspectives. The story starts when one of the neighbourhood residents, Whitney, gets some terrible news. Her son fell out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night. Whitney is immediately by his side in the hospital, waiting for him to wake up.

We meet Whitney's various other neighbours: her best friend Blair and her husband; Rebecca who is a doctor at the hospital Whitney's son is at and desperately wants her own child and her husband; and an elderly woman Mara, who is keeping tabs on thee neighbours and dealing with her own heartbreak.

Over the course of the novel, shocking events unfold. Secrets come out. The choices of the four women are explored as well as the consequences of their actions. Everyone has something to hide.

As much as this novel is a thriller, it also deals with complex issues such as motherhood, grief, miscarriage, and marriage. This was a page turner and kept me guessing, but was also an emotional rollercoaster.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, Viking, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.