I just finished an ARC of The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia, and I had no idea going in that this was part of a series. That said, the author did a great job writing it in a way that works as a standalone. You can definitely follow along without prior context. Still, I bet I would have understood some of the backstory and characters better if I had read the earlier books first.

What really stood out to me was how every character had their own story woven in. I also really loved the way it was written in multiple POVs, moving between past and present. That format kept the tension building while adding depth and perspective.

The cast was likable, the overall plot was strong, and it all felt fresh and different from what I usually read. The suspense built nicely and there were some solid twists at the end that I didn’t see coming.

I especially loved the relationship between Kate “Darcy” and Blake, it added a really nice emotional layer to balance out the tension. My only real fuss is that the ending felt a little abrupt. After everything that went down in the woods, I wished we had just a bit more to settle into the conclusion.

Overall, this was engaging, surprising, and unique, and it definitely makes me want to go back and read the earlier books in the series.

I really enjoyed this police procedural, despite not having read the previous book. It moves pretty quickly and there is a lot of action, with just enough twists and turns to really keep you fully engaged.
The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia is book three in the Iowa Mystery series.
The plot moves at a fast pace and will hold your attention.
There is plenty of action, drama, and a few twists along the way in this suspenseful crime thriller.

Mindy Mejia’s The Whisper Place is a captivating psychological thriller that begins with the familiar tension of a missing woman and a suspicious boyfriend but quickly evolves into something far more layered and unpredictable. What starts as a seemingly straightforward case soon unravels into a gripping web of secrets, lies, and shifting truths that keeps the reader hooked from beginning to end.

Mejia excels at building intrigue. Every chapter adds a new layer of complexity, ensuring the story never feels stagnant. Just when you think you’ve figured out where the plot is headed, a twist emerges that forces you to reconsider everything you thought you knew. This steady escalation of tension creates a deeply immersive reading experience—you’re not just following a mystery, you’re caught in a whirlwind of revelations that make it nearly impossible to put the book down.

The characters are a particular strength. While the missing woman and her boyfriend serve as the entry point into the story, Mejia develops a cast of individuals whose motives, secrets, and vulnerabilities are slowly revealed. No one feels flat or one-dimensional; instead, every character plays a role in pulling the reader deeper into the central mystery. This layered approach ensures that the suspense doesn’t rest solely on the plot twists but also on the intricate human drama at its core.

The writing itself is sharp and engaging. Mejia has a gift for blending atmospheric tension with precise storytelling, creating a novel that is both compulsively readable and emotionally resonant. The pacing is spot-on—fast enough to keep the momentum alive, but deliberate enough to allow the suspense and emotional stakes to build naturally.

Ultimately, The Whisper Place is more than just a missing person story—it’s a thriller that thrives on misdirection, character depth, and the kind of twists that keep readers second-guessing until the very last page. Mindy Mejia has crafted a unique and thrilling narrative that will satisfy fans of psychological suspense and leave them eager to see what she creates next.

I'm so into this series by Mindy Mejia, and the case they were following in this one felt so urgent and intense as we learned the backstory of the missing woman. There's so much Midwestern-ness in this book, and Mindy Mejia captures the landscape and the individuals in a strikingly visceral way. I recommend reading this series in order to fully understand Jonah and Max and where this book finds them.

Solid Book Three Is So Different From Others In Series That It Can Serve As An Introduction. This book is very different than most third books in a series in that it is *so very different* from the first two that if two of the main characters didn't also appear in the prior books, you would almost say these books weren't in the same universe at all.

And yet, the book still absolutely works - and even works as a way of a more "real world" type introduction to these characters before you dive into the more paranormal-ish realism of the prior two books. Apparently several other Advance Review Copy readers didn't realize this was Book 3 of the series - a series I've been reading since the beginning, though with on average 200 ish books read between reading installments of this series, even as I've read them all as Advance Review Copies myself - and they all claim that this book works well as a standalone, so there's that perspective as well. :)

Overall, even with the toned down paranormal aspects here - and perhaps *because of* the toned-down paranormal aspects here, Mejia has crafted a particularly compelling missing person/ found family thriller that doesn't bend your mind the way the prior two books do... but perhaps makes your pulse pound that much harder because of it. Particularly through one sequence late in the text, my own heart was racing enough that I actually glanced at my smart watch to make sure I was actually fine and didn't need to call 911. Seriously.

In the end, truly a creative and compelling third book in the series that leaves open the possibility for more books without explicitly setting anything up, it will be interesting to see where Mejia chooses to go from here.

Very much recommended.

The Whisper Place is my first book from Mindy Mejia.

"Max and Jonah make an unlikely pair as business partners in Celina Investigations. Max is an ex-cop and Jonah is a psychic detective. But it works. They know they have a tough task with their newest client - a man searching for his missing girlfriend who doesn't know her name or much about her...and doesn't want to go to the police.

A woman with a dark secret drives across country wondering if you can ever change your life."

I don't read many books with a paranormal part but Mejia has just the right amount. Jonah has dreams and can feel emotions. It never borders on the woo-woo. This is sort of a procedural where the partners look for the missing girl. Her backstory is filled in with flashbacks and you find out what has driven her into hiding. There's a toxic, gaslighting male character you will hate.
An ending that is absolutely nuts.

Some great fast-paced crime fiction from Mejia.

This was a badass, wholesome and suspenseful thriller. Part of a series that follows two private investigators working symbiotically as ex-cop and psychic, which I found very intriguing! Max and Jonah are enlisted to find a missing woman, who at the same time is desperately trying to disappear. We get all three perspectives, which can get a little muddled without specific reference to timeline. However, the story comes together with cat-and-mouse mystery and red herrings, and a plot twist towards the end that wowed me! I really loved the character development and backgrounds, particularly the investigating duo. There are also some really gruesome action scenes and brutal revenge scenes which I found rewarding. There was also some romance which was sweet, which I personally found a bit sappy, but I don’t like the romance genre so I can imagine it would be even more enjoyable for other readers! Otherwise I found this really enjoyable and I’m keen to go back into the earlier books to get to know the main duo more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy.

A terrific addition to the series but don't worry if you missed the first two because Mejia gives good backstory, especially for Jonah whose psychic and other abilities are key to finding answers even as they hamper his life. Charlie approaches Max, carrying bricks of cash, asking that he find the woman he knows as Darcy who just walked away from his house one morning. This moves back and forth to tell Darcy's story even as Max and Jonah hunt for her. It's a well done and twisty tale that will surprise you right up to the end. Equally important are the characters. Max is in many ways the classic PI but Jonah, who is tortured by his abilities, is totally fresh and unique. Charlie has secrets and hidden depth. This has dark-very dark- parts but there's also some joy. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great storytelling, nice atmospherics, and well, all the rest make this a real page turner. No spoilers from me.

The Whisper Place, soon to be released by author Mindy Mejia, is her third book in the Iowa Mysteries Series featuring ex-cop Max Summerlin and his best friend and partner in Celina Investigations, Jonah Kendrick. Max and Jonah have been friends since college. Jonah is a psychic, and he struggles with visions and dreams of missing persons and has issues forming close and intimate relationships; Max provides support and balance. For the most part they make an ideal team, yet they are still in the growing phase of their business- establishing and maintaining boundaries. In the Whisper Place they have accepted a case for Charlie Ashlot, a relatively new hobby farmer growing a rather lucrative product to find a woman he has fallen in love with in the month he has known her. He knows her only as Darcy; one day they were blissfully happy and the next she went out for a run and never returned.
Darcy obviously has secrets as she doesn't share personal details with Charlie or his sister Blake and appears to always be on guard and fearful of dark and closed places. How do investigators find a young woman without a name or any background information? It is definitely challenging and dangerous, and makes for a suspense filled psychological thriller that is captivating from start to finish. The eclectic cast of characters is well developed as is the intriguing storyline.- together they make for a can't put-it down extremely satisfying read. I thoroughly enjoyed Mejia's writing style, and look forward to reading the first two books in her series and hopefully more in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Crime and Mindy Mejia for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Whisper Place, this review reflects my candid opinion. 4.5 stars.

This was such an entertaining read that had a lil of everything. Suspense *check* mystery *check* even some romance (but not overly done) *check* I enjoyed the twists at the end, even though I saw one of them coming. I enjoyed all the characters and felt the book wrapped up nicely. I didn’t know this is book #3 in a series, but it could def be read as a standalone. This is one to add to the TBR!

Admittedly, I've not read the two books in this series that preceded this one. But reading a bit about the main characters - private investigators Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick, enticed me to dive in (as did previous experience with this talented author). And now, I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Despite having what I'd call a tenuous relationship, Max and Jonah are trying to keep their firm, Celina Investigations, afloat. Their specialty? Finding people - especially those who have gone to extreme lengths to not be found. Their success, to a large degree, comes because of Jonah's special ability - he's a psychic who's able to "read" what's in the minds of other people (not always a plus, as when his target person is Max).

The latest case, though, seems especially difficult; a man named Charlie is looking for his missing girlfriend, who showed up at his sister's pastry shop alone and shaken and agreed to stay and help out. But Charlie knows almost nothing about her - not even her real name (she calls herself Darcy). Photos? Nope. Max, who's in the office by himself, has serious doubts - but when the man hands over more than enough cash to get the team going, he agrees he and Jonah will give it a shot. The other problem? He's just broken a rule of the partnership: No cases will be accepted unless both partners agree. Whoops - welcome to the first of many "blunders" that threaten their already tenuous relationship.

Charlie also emphasizes that the police are not to be involved, adding even more tension because Max is a former cop. Finally, Charlie finds something that suggests the woman's real name may be Kate and that she seemed to be running from something or someone terrifying - although that doesn't provide much to go on. As all this is going on, Jonah is trying to deal with his infatuation with scientist friend Dr. Eve Roth, but he's sure she's far too intelligent and beautiful to ever look twice at someone like him.

The story follows the efforts of Max and Jonah to track down "Kate," especially when it becomes clear she could be in mortal danger. That, in turn, puts the investigators in mortal danger and provides edge-of-seat experiences for readers all the way to the end. My only issue, and it's a minor one, is that I found it difficult to keep the timeline straight (meaning not fully understanding when what I was reading actually took place. But it all came together in a gruesome, but satisfying way and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to meet the quirky and intriguing characters by way of a pre-release copy. Bring on the next one - I'm ready!

The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia is a highly recommended investigative thriller and the third novel in the Iowa Mysteries series.

Max Summerlin, a former police officer, and Jonah Kendrick, a psychic detective, are private investigators who specialize in finding people who don’t want to be found. When Charlie walks into their business, Celina Investigations, he wants them to find his girlfriend Darcy, whose real name is likely Kate. He also offers them $10,000 cash to start, which Max can't turn down. Charlie has his own reasons for not wanting to go to the police. Finding Kate is going to be tricky since Charlie doesn't know her last name either. The investigation leads to some dark and dangerous situations.

The well written, fast-paced narrative is told through the points-of-view of Max, Jonah, and Kate (Darcy). Max and Jonah begin the investigation, trying to find out information about someone who doesn't want to be found. All the discoveries made and lines of inquiry they make are presented and logically followed. Kate's account provides her story and we know immediately that she is a young woman who is on the run from something, but we don't know exactly what until later in the plot.

Even though this is the third book in a series, I think it could be read as a stand alone. There is enough information about the characters provided to easily follow the plot along with their personal lives. Additional character development occurs in this third book for those already reading the series. There is enough action and suspense going on to keep you engrossed in the plot right to the end. The only drawback is I'm not a fan of Jonah's psychic abilities.

The Whisper Place is a good choice for those who enjoy investigative thrillers. Thanks to Grove/Atlantic for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

While this book was a quick one, it didn't really hold my attention. The writing was fine, but the story itself was just kind of boring to me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grove Atlantic, for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

a great book to sink your teeth into. the relationships between our characters were great to read and get to know. i love how in series you do truly come to know, care and feel more involved by getting to follow a person or group throughout. it adds more tension or trueness to a read and make you all the more immersed into both the story and the characters surrounding it.
we've got a woman on the run in this book. why? for innocent reasons or other? we find out why throughout.
Max and Jonah run their own PI firm.they each bring their own unique talents to the firm. one day a man comes in needing their help. the man is looking for his missing girlfriend.
are these two linked?
it gets dark in this book and you have to really try and this makes you really root for the good guys even more. the writing carried you along through this book so you can and dont want to stop reading. the style is spot on for the book and the flow and smoothness was just so good. it made for such a brilliant reading experience. also the way the author knew their characters and their person traits and lives, it meant we got to feel we did too.
i really liked this book. way more than i thought i would going in and i was excited even before i got going. it was just a spot on read for me and i cant wait to read more from this duo and this author.
you know when a book is just really good. both in character,story, pacing and feeling? this was one of those books. and to me there is not much better than finding a GOOD book.

I didn’t know this book was part of a series but I couldn’t tell, you can definitely read this as a stand alone. A psychic PI and his partner make it their mission to find a missing girl with a hidden identity who’s running from her traumatic past. I devoured this story. The amount of suspense I felt while reading was crazy. I loved!✨

The Whisper Place (book three of the Iowa Mysteries Series,) by Mindy Mejia
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
4 stars

I didn’t realize that this novel was the third in a series. I really enjoyed the main characters in this story so I will definitely be going back to read the first two novels to get more backstory on Jonah and Max.

Regardless of the fact that I had not read the first two installments, Mejia was descriptive and detailed enough with the writing that the pieces fell into place relatively easy and I don’t feel like coming in on the third book left me at a disadvantage.

Charlie walks into Celina Investigations with a complicated case. He desperately needs help locating his missing girlfriend BUT he doesn’t actually know a lot of information about her. Darcy mysteriously showed up in his town, works in his sister’s bakery and never really gave up too much information about herself. Max is adamant that there is nothing his office can do for Charlie but ultimately money talks and Charlie lays down a stack of bills equaling 10k and a contract is signed. Max’s partner Jonah learns of the job after Max has already committed them to the case and they quickly realize this will be a near impossible case to solve.

There are three POV’s that we follow, Max’s, Jonah’s and Darcy’s. We learn Darcy’s story and what led her to the bakery where she met Charlie and his sister. Max and Jonah have to devise a plan to locate Darcy with only Charlie’s help because he refuses to involve the authorities.

I enjoyed the found family aspect in the story. Max and Jonah are not only close like brothers but they rely on each other’s skill set, Max is a former police officer and Jonah has psychic abilities. This makes them quite a dynamic duo. Darcy finds a sense of home and family, something she never thought she would have, with Charlie and his sister Blake.

This was a solid read that was easy to immerse myself in. It was suspenseful with well written characters, small town theme and exploration of grief, trauma, the past catching up with you and the power to move forward.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Whisper Place hit a sweet spot for me: a lot atmospheric with a spoonful of human messiness. Without saying too much, there are some flashbacks the juxataposition really builds good tension. The dynamic between the two main characters was solid, that "unlikely consultant + cop" trope pretty much always gets me. Don't care how much I see it.

Their dynamic and the investigation scenes that highlight their unique team work make this a run read. There was a bit of slowness but really solid overall!

First time reading this author. Decent mystery as the pace move's fast at the Beginning gets bogged down at the end and somewhat confusing, but still an entertaining mystery
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy

A solid thriller with a lot of twists. The dual perspective works in this book and I think the author handles it very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The partnership between Max and Jonah is the highlight. Their dynamic is unconventional (a psychic and a former cop), but it works surprisingly well. Some parts of the story felt familiar, the mysterious woman with a dark past, the man who won’t go to the police, but the pacing and tension kept me engaged. The dual storyline adds depth, though I found myself more invested in the investigators than the woman on the run. Overall, it’s a solid thriller with some emotional weight. Not groundbreaking, but entertaining and atmospheric, perfect if you’re in the mood for a mystery with a little something extra.