OKAY THRILLS! This was such a journey my goodness. I enjoyed every bit of it! Shanora Williams is an auto-buy author for me!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Whispers of the Lake plunges us into a murky emotional landscape where trauma isn’t just a backdrop—it’s the undercurrent pulling every character deeper into themselves. Shanora Williams delivers a chilling domestic thriller wrapped in an exploration of loss, identity, and trust. But what makes this tale stand apart isn’t its plot twists alone—it’s the emotional contouring she applies to each reveal, like bruises surfacing long after the wound.

Williams layers her descriptions with a haunting stillness that mirrors the protagonist's internal fog. This setting amplifies the novel’s claustrophobic dread while also offering a false sense of serenity. You’ll feel the chill in the air, the heaviness in each silence, and the creeping sense that something—or someone—is watching.

Williams plays with memory like a trick mirror. She leans into the psychological unraveling of the protagonist, who returns to her childhood lake house not to find peace, but to confront the ghost of a tragedy that refuses to stay buried. Grief, maternal tension, buried truths, and moral ambiguity swirl together to blur what’s real and what’s not. Each chapter feels like a slow breath before a scream.

The protagonist's voice is raw and unreliable in the most artful way. Her pain is textured—never exaggerated—and her confusion feels honest. The side characters are deliberately constructed to feed the reader’s suspicion. No one is safe from the reader’s doubt, which makes the final turn not just surprising, but genuinely unsettling.

Whispers of the Lake is a meditation on how trauma distorts the shape of reality. Shanora Williams doesn’t ask the reader to solve the puzzle; she dares them to wade into the water, knowing it might change them.

☆ARC REVIEW☆
Publication date: Available now!

Honestly if it weren't for the narrator that I listened to along with reading, I would have DNF'd. For me, the narrator definitely saved it because it was far too slow moving and did not keep my attention.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, Kensington Publishing afor advanced copies in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the suspense and it definitely kept me on my toes. The characters were likable, and the ending was satisfactory. I would definitely recommend it to others.

Shanora Williams has done it again. This is a "who done it and why" type mystery and a twisted, dark story, wrapped up into one masterpiece. Impeccably written, the characters are well developed and even paced.

With Rose's marriage in shambles and her former best friend missing, her investigative skills are put to the test. There were twists and turns and lots of suspense which I love! There is a built up from the beginning of the book all the way to end. Well done!

This was my first read from Shanora Williams, and I’m officially hooked! Whispers of the Lake is fast-paced, suspenseful, and full of twists; I couldn't put it down. While Rose’s risky decisions had my nerves shot more than once, her drive to uncover the truth pulled me all the way to the last page. A crumbling marriage, a missing friend, buried secrets, and small-town tension collide in a story that questions whether Rose is fueled more by her reporter instincts or lingering loyalty to her friend, Eve. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC. This was a chilling thrill ride I won’t soon forget!

This book was amazing and I’m so proud of Shanora Williams. The story kept me on my toes. I was expecting one perpetrator and I was taken aback when it was someone else. I loved the mystery aspect. I probably wouldn’t consider this a thriller. It was definitely a mystery. I really hope more people dive into Shanora’s catalogue. She deserves all her flowers!

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams
Rating: 2.5 stars

Whispers of the Lake starts with a compelling enough hook: Rose Howard, a successful but burnt-out journalist, leaves behind her crumbling marriage and career pressures to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her ex-best friend, Eve, in the quiet town of Sage Hill. But while the premise hints at suspense and emotional depth, the execution is another story.

The writing is littered with clichés from the very beginning—every tired thriller trope imaginable gets pulled out: tripping while running, hiding in obvious places, ignoring law enforcement, losing cell signal at the exact wrong moment. It often felt like reading the script of a predictable horror film. I spent at least half the book internally yelling at Rose for her baffling decisions and needed frequent breaks just to recover from the sheer ridiculousness of some scenes.

The prose itself is overwrought, relying heavily on similes and melodramatic introspection. The book opens with clunky emotional declarations like “How do I find that dreaded happiness again?” and never really recovers. There’s a tendency to state rather than evoke emotion, and the narration leans hard into the “tell, don’t show” trap. Eve, in particular, is handled poorly—we’re not given the space to develop our own feelings about her. Instead, the narrative insists we feel sorry for her, often inserting therapist notes and journal entries as shortcuts to empathy.

The dialogue and internal monologue were often unnatural, and I found the narration grating—too dramatic, too self-important. The protagonist's voice didn't feel authentic or grounded, and instead of creating tension, many scenes bordered on eye-roll inducing.

Even structurally, the book raised questions. It takes nearly a week for Eve to be reported missing, and it's her ex-best friend—not her sister—who takes action. That choice, and others like it (including reporting her in her home city rather than the town where she vanished), didn’t feel believable.

The cover and title also acted as accidental spoilers, giving away more than they should. And while the themes around mental health could have added depth, they were handled clumsily, with lines that reinforced harmful stigmas like “If I take meds, I’ll be weak.”

In the end, Whispers of the Lake felt like a missed opportunity—a book that had all the ingredients for a moody, tense mystery, but fell back on lazy plotting, tired writing, and frustrating character work.

Thank you to Shanora Williams, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams is a slow-burning mystery that pulls you into the emotional journey of Rose, a journalist determined to uncover the truth about her best friend Eve’s disappearance. Her search leads her to a nearby town full of shadows and secrets, where every answer only seems to deepen the mystery.

I really connected with the conflict Rose faced throughout the story. Her internal struggle felt incredibly real, which gave the book a strong emotional pull. Shanora Williams does a great job showing how grief, loyalty, and fear can all exist at once.

The pacing was a bit up and down for me. Some chapters kept me hooked while others felt like they lost momentum. That said, the twists and perspective shifts added depth and kept me invested in finding out what really happened to Eve. I also appreciated the narrative moments that stepped away from Rose to offer a broader view of the plot.

While it was not my favorite from this author, I still admire her ability to create atmosphere and believable characters. This book made me think, and I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded piece by piece.

Overall, a solid and thoughtful read. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller blew my socks off! Rose is a fascinating, flawed character going through a lot in life. She steps up to help a missing ex-friend (it's complicated) and finds herself in a creepy small town with unfriendly neighbors who won't answer questions about where her friend is. I couldn't put this down. Highly recommend!

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a first read for me of Shanora Williams books. While the book was a bit predictable for me I did really enjoy it. It was well written with good pacing and I will be looking into more of her stories. The character’s were very believable to me as that is something I really looks forward too especially for a new to me author.

Thank you to all involved for allowing me to ARC this story.

I definitely enjoyed this story. The plot was good and I was caught off guard when finding out who the villian was., However, some of the writing seemed a bit immature.

m late on posting this but still wanted to give you guys my honest review. So I like the story, but I feel like I had trouble trying to figure out how much I wanted to empathize with Eve and her situation because she was a really complicated character. I think without the proper context, Rose had every right to be mad at her, but I knew she’d feel bad if she found out what really happened. Also I feel like the storyline was a little bit predictable; I had a feeling about who did it from the beginning I just didn’t know why until we got closer to the end. Overall I rate this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This story follows Rose who receives a call from Zoey, the little sister of her ex friend Eve. Zoey is concerned that something happened to her sister and needs help from Rose to look for her. Rose has mixed feelings about Eve but agrees to look for her. Eve’s last location is at a cottage at Twilight Oaks. While Rose is on the search you get diary entries of Eve so you get to see what she was up to in the months prior to her disappearance and what happened to end their friendship. Overall a good read . Wasn’t sure who did it the whole time. Enjoyed the twist at the end.

This might be the year I get into more thrillers, this one gagged me cause imagine if your best friend slept with your man and she goes missing. would u find her or do a quick prayer to the lord? The main character in this book definitely decided to go investigate where her missing friend is which lead her to this small town where things just seems off. Rose is stronger than me but this book had me glued to the pages, there was some drama, it was messy and the twists were twisting. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend the audiobook as well! The narrator did such a good job. I’m going to have to read more of Shanoras thrillers. I absolutely love her writing.

Thank you to the author for this e-arc and alc

Whispers of the Lake was a solid domestic thriller that kept me hooked. The drama and pacing were on point, and there were some juicy twists, even though I saw a few coming. It still kept me turning the pages and guessing. Definitely a fun, bingeable read if you’re into twisty secrets, friendship drama, and suspense!

Entertaining psychological thriller and missing person mystery.

Rose Gibson is in the middle of finalizing a contentious divorce when her friend, Eve Castillo, a proximate cause of said marriage breakdown, goes missing. Rose and Eve haven’t spoken for months, but Eve’s sister is desperate to find her. Eve, a travel vlogger, apparently rented a lake cabin in North Carolina but is not now responding to her sister or any of her boyfriends. Despite Rose’s issues with Eve, she decides to go to Sage Hill to see if she can find out what happened.

I enjoyed reading the NetGalley ARC e-book along with listening to the audio book provided by the publishers. The setting was interesting and the action fast paced. The mystery of the disappearance solved by an amateur sleuth facing off with bad small town cops and residents was fairly predictable. Eve’s journal entries provided the details while Rose floundered around questioning people. Rose is helped by fellow journalists and computer hackers who can get her information. In peril at the climax, the conclusion follows quickly.

The narrators, Dominque Franceschi and Jasmin Walker, did a good job of voicing the characters and adding the dramatic flair that enhanced my appreciation of the book.

A quick, fast-pace, emotionally charged, missing person mystery thriller. When Rose's best friend goes missing, she travels to a lake-side cottage where Eve was last known to be. Secrets lurk around the small town and Eve's journal entries give suspenseful context along the way. Shanora Williams writes immersive and juicy books with a mysteriously sexy tone. I enjoyed this one!! 4 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this plot. Creepy atmosphere at the lake, great cast of suspicious characters and properly curious protagonist. A really easy read that keeps you guessing up til the end!

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams is a masterfully written psychological thriller packed with suspense, secrets, and jaw-dropping twists. The characters are complex, the pacing is perfect, and the tension builds with every chapter. Just when I thought I had it figured out—bam! Another shock. A total page-turner from start to finish