The Whispers: The new impossible-to-put-down thriller from the bestselling author

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In 1997 Anna and Grace were the best of friends. Sure, Grace was more of a mother hen to Anna, who lost her mother early in life, and in turn rebelled with a seemingly constant need for attention, but they're as close as can be. When new girl Heather moved to town and strikes up a friendship with Anna, Grace feels threatened and paranoid she'll lose her bestie to another more exciting girl. Fortunately for her fate intervened when Heather disappeared, never to be seen again. Or was it fate or something else?? The disappearance was never solved and the case went cold. The women are also heavy drinkers which doesn't help and as the night progresses arguments and angry whispers stir within the group leaving Grace clueless and feeling unwanted as Anna has pretty much avoided Grace throughout the entire evening. When Grace feeling relief finally goes home while leaving the group behind notices that heated discussions continued to crop up around the table. Lying by the pool Laila likes to people-watch (don’t we all! 😂). However, she becomes a tad obsessed with another lady and her family, much to the annoyance of James who is starting to act strange and seems to be harbouring some secrets of his own! With a couple of other suspicious characters, there are certainly plenty of suspects when tragedy strikes at the resort just a few days into the holiday! I was riveted by this plot. So much so I never wanted it to end, yet, on the flip side I wanted more, I needed more. Oh, I got much more!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Whispers by Heidi Perks for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

The new impossible-to-put-down thriller from the bestselling author

The story of Anna and Grace's friendship and Anna's disappearance is compelling in its own right, but the real triumph emerges from Perks' skill as seeing some women for exactly who they are and what they are capable of.' DAILY MAIL The women are left with only their co-dependency. While such associations do often end up in lopsided relationships and emotional abuse, they are further complicated by the fact that they are also life-saving for those involved. Their children’s school then becomes the locus for these women to channel their core miseries. Insecurities lurk and feed in this echo chamber of secrets, repentance and jealousy. The charm of this thriller lies in how the author peels each woman’s personality for her reader to understand where she comes from or why her emotions are wrought in deceit and obsession. I found The Whispers a thought-provoking and deliciously suspenseful read. Any female reader will recognise the types of individual and group dynamics Heidi Perks describes, especially those of us who have observed and/or experienced playground (parent) politics ourselves! Twenty Two years ago, Anna and Grace were the BEST of friends-more like sisters- until Grace and her family relocated from the UK to Australia.

In their town the woman are very cliquish and Anna seems to have her own small trio of friends who aren't very welcoming or friendly to Grace. Anna also appears distant and seems to avoid Grace as much as possible which is surprising and uncomfortable and difficult for Grace to understand. Although she has noticed one of the women is overbearing and controlling especially of all the ladies' conversations particularly of Anna's. One night shortly before Christmas Anna finally invites Grace out for a ladies's night with her friends. Grace has mixed feelings about the invitation yet she's happy to be with Anna for the evening. Heidi Perks'' new novel takes ''sinisterness at the school gates'' to a scary new level. You''ll be watching your step'' JANE CORRY Reading is a personal and subjective experience, and what appeals to one may not please another. So if you enjoyed the excerpt from The Whispers, and the plot outline appeals, please do go ahead and read it. Just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean that you won't enjoy this.The truth is that if Grace wants it to happen, then there is every chance a murder enquiry might open up. Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear. A surprising plot and lots of twists with interesting characters. I loved the writing style and the setting of the story' I found it difficult to like any of the ‘friends’, I found them to be self-centred, overbearing, controlling and immature, not my favourite traits in anyone let alone a friend! But this isn’t a negative because I actually enjoyed the book more for not liking the characters. It was fascinating to see the dynamics within the group change once Grace joined the group, and witness the complexities of Grace and Anna’s relationship unfold.There are also random chapters from the ‘playground mums’ which I thought was a genius ploy on the authors part, as the reader you feel part of their conversations, you jump to conclusions and form opinions based on half truths, and second or third hand information. Grace has had enough of all the women and especially Anna for treating her so poorly until the next morning when she drops her daughter off at school and hears that Anna never made it home the night before and when she questions the other women they all seem to have different stories about the end of the night and facts are not lining up properly. Why? Why wouldn't the women be truthful, what would make them lie? As the day progresses and Anna still has not surfaced, Grace feels lost and thinks something very bad has happened to Anna and someone in that group knows what really happened late, last night. What happened to Anna?