Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a copy of The Whispers.

I enjoyed this one so much more than The Push and I’m so glad that I gave Ashley Audrain another chance. The amount of drama in this, i was living for it!!

Four couples living in the same neighborhood where their lives with all their happiness, sorrows and issues intersect. This is the story of four women in each their perspectives on how their children will affect their future forever.
The book is well written and interesting up to the very end.
It is filled with truths and drama.

The Whispers
Ashley Audrain

This is the story of a cul-de-sac in an upper middle class area and it delves into the lives of four women and their families.

Whitney is a driven professional woman who has no time for her three children. And particularly no patience for her eldest child Xavier. Her husband Jacob is the buffer between her and the kids. But Jacob travels a lot for work. So the nanny is responsible.

Britney is the perfect mother to daughter Chloe. She’s married to Aiden. Together they make the perfect family unit. Or so it seems.

Rebecca is an ER doctor and she and her husband Ben would dearly love to have a child but after several miscarriages, they’ve decided to quit trying. Emotionally, it’s much too difficult. Rebecca can keep secrets. And so can Ben.

Mara is an eighty year old woman who’s lived on the street since forever. She sits on her porch and sees. Her husband, Albert prefers to remain inside. Mara mourns the loss of her son.

A party at Whitney and Jacob’s turns sour when Whitney catches Xavier eating all the goody bags that Whitney had planned to gift her guests. She screams shrilly at him and uses very harsh language. And so starts this tale of a child falling out a third story window.

What follows will have you turning to pages as quickly as possible to find out exactly how it happened. Why would a child of ten years try to kill himself? Or did he?

I had to stop myself several times from skipping to the end to find out. You will too.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for allowing me to review this ARC.

Hm, this is a tough one. Right off the bat, I really didn't enjoy this as much as THE PUSH. I struggled a bit to get into that one--I've found Audrain's writing style isn't really my thing--but came to really like it as I continued to read. However, this novel never quite captured my attention in the same way.

I honestly found the alternating POVs a bit tedious, and probably for half the novel I was confusing husbands and children. (Which, to be fair, is a problem I experience frequently with these kinds of domestic suspense multiple-family POV novels.) But I really didn't like or care for many of the characters, other than Rebecca and Mara. Rebecca was one of the few characters who actually felt realistic and well-rounded, and I wanted to protect her against all the other nasty and horrible neighbours. And as a child of Portuguese immigrants to Toronto, I really empathized with Mara and adored all the small nods to the Portuguese immigrant culture in a big city. But beyond that, I didn't have much energy to read this novel, particularly in the Whitney and Blair sections.

I will say Audrain makes some fabulous remarks about motherhood, marriage, infertility, and female friendship, and so while this was not my favourite read, I will be watching out for her next novel.

A fairly good story with a couple of interesting relationships among neighbors…and a small mystery of what happens to a fallen child. I thought the back and forth of times weren’t necessarily clear, and I found it slightly difficult to keep track of which couple was which and their respective issues. I wasn’t as enthralled as with her previous novel.

This book was a wild ride. It was the perfect neighbourhood drama that kept me turning pages in hopes to find out what would happen next.

I loved The Push so I expected to love this one too, unfortunately I just couldn't get into this one. I think perhaps this might have been a bit more of a "me" problem and not being in the right headspace.

I think I will revisit this one again at another time!

This would probably be good for someone that's looking for a community based thriller, twists and turns and dark thoughts. I do suggest checking trigger warnings first though.

“She is lonely, desperately and achingly lonely, the way a mother with a family is not supposed to be.”

I absolutely loved The Push by Ashley Audrain, it was one of my favourite books I read last year, so I went in to this one nervous but ended up really enjoying it. For me, it wasn’t quite as good as The Push but loved the motherhood theme with no sugar-coating! A story centred around a street and its inhabitants, the book follows four women from the street and how their lives are intertwined. There’s an affair, secrets and an accident. The book alternates between past and present and keeps you on your toes. I loved the use of the word ‘whisper’ throughout the book.

I was a big fan of The Push, so I was excited for Audrey’s follow up book. I enjoy dark and anxiety inducing books, so this was another win.

The Whispers is a story told in multiple POVs and revolves around a 10 year old found in his yard after falling out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night. As the story goes on, you learn more about his Mother and his family life, as well as the neighbours around him.

The book talks about the events leading up to that night as well as the secrets everyone has been keeping hidden.

Her books definitely have a dark undertone, but overall I just find them so sad. She creates very real and complex characters and my heart broke for Blythe in The Push and I just wanted to hug Rebecca in The Whispers. I actually expected this book to be much darker than it was and I don’t think it can compare to The Push in that aspect.

I really love her writing. She is such a great talent who can tell such a fantastic, stressful tale. I would say I liked the story of The Push more, but didn’t enjoy the multiple timelines of that one. I liked that this was told in a mostly linear timeline (with a few recent “flashbacks”.

There was one part of the story that I think was supposed to be a twist/surprise, but I thought it was very obvious. I absolutely loved the ending and thought it was perfect!

Overall this was another great book by Audrey and I definitely recommend for those that don’t mind their stories a bit dark

The Whispers is not quite a mystery or thriller, but is a fast-paced book that features a few dysfunctional families and some rather unhinged female characters. If you've read Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl, this story will give you similar "guilty pleasure reading" vibes. I did expect a punchier ending to the story (it was a bit predictable) and some characters could have been more developed, but overall, the intrigue and short chapters made for a quick read, one that you can finish within a weekend! Fans of Liane Moriarty will enjoy this one!

Read if you like:
🏘 Neighbourhood drama
🤯 A couple of crazy female characters
🏥 "Accidents" and medical suspense
📖 Short chapters

⚠️ Potential trigger warnings: infertility, miscarriage, infidelity, bullying, suicide, child abuse (may not be an exhaustive list).

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Whispers is dramatic, unsettling and peels back the curtain on motherhood, marriage and friendship within a group of neighbours.

Ashley Audrain takes a neighbourhood drama with plot lines you may have read before and adds an uncomfortable deep dive into the dark, anxious thoughts of the people involved.

I’ve been struggling with how I feel about this book, because I did find a lot of it familiar and the only difference with other books I’ve read like this, was that it was trying to be shocking. However, even despite the predictability for me, I found myself quickly flipping the pages to see where it all went.

This would be a great read for those who enjoy neighbourhood dramas, stories with twisted endings and dark looks into peoples thoughts and experiences.

This book definitely should have trigger warnings, especially surrounding motherhood and marriage.

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

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain is a neighbourhood saga centred around a young boy who falls from his bedside window in the middle of the night, not long after his mother very publicly explodes at the boy for disobeying her.

After reading The Push in 2021, I was dying to check out Ashley's new novel so when @tandemcollectiveglobal asked me to be a part of their #thewhispersreadalong I jumped at the chance.

The Whispers had a similar unsettling/disturbing vibe as her first novel, but with more focus on the secrets that lie behind closed doors in a seemingly idyllic neighbourhood. On brand for Ashley, it delved into themes of the darker side of motherhood. You might hate a lot of these characters as you read this story, but you're probably not being honest with yourself if you didn't see a little sliver of yourself in there.

I didn't find this one as compulsively readable as the first. The tension building and short staccato sentences and chapters of The Push left me unable to put it down, whereas this one was a bit more of a slow burn. I enjoyed it, but it didn't keep me up all night like The Push.

As with The Push, this story is TW heavy, so please do proceed with caution (graphic depiction of miscarriage, infidelity, child abuse).

I recommend this one for those who love neighbourhood sagas, stories with twisted endings, housewife drama, and fans of The Push. This story was also giving me major The Slap vibes, so if you enjoyed that novel, I think you'd like this one!

Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish this book.

I felt that it was too convoluted and I wasn't engaged enough to try and pull the different threads.

A very bleak read on motherhood and marriage to be honest. I'd consider this a darker read just due to the subject matter and would recommend checking TWs beforehand.

Whitney and Jacob's son Xavier is in ta coma following a fall from his window. The community is left reeling and Whitney won't talk about what happened. We hear perspectives from Whitney herself and three other women: Blair, Whitney's best friend and mother to Xavier's best friend, Rebecca, the neighbour and doctor treating Xavier, and Mara, an elderly neighbour who keeps an eye on things. Each character has their own secrets and trauma around motherhood and marriage. What happened to Xavier that night? What secrets will be revealed?

The inner dialogue of each character was crucial in understanding their backgrounds and reactions to Xavier's accident. These characters are very human and flawed. Honestly, there were only a handful of characters I truly cared for. However, even the characters I grew to dislike, I can say I understood their psyche from the author's work in displaying their innermost thoughts.

I do wish we got more of an ending, but I think the open-endedness forces the reader to contemplate how and if the characters will truly grow from the whole experience. In my mind I think one character really gets her just desserts - based on her perspectives I honestly do not think she can change.

Overall, this one kept me at the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. It will keep me thinking for awhile that's for sure.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book is about four women and their families. What do others whisper about you. I really enjoyed this book however it does go into the past and back to the present a lot. The character Blair was a little weird, Whitney was selfish, Rebecca made me sad and Mara needed someone to see her. Four women and all that happens to them it was very interesting and I really liked the way it ended. Whitney’s boy has an accident and is in the hospital. You are trying to figure out what happened. I would recommend this book. I received a free book from net gallery and the views and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Audrain’s latest. I’m not sure if I’d call this one a thriller, maybe a domestic suspense?? After a tragic accident happens to a young boy, the lives of several families in his neighbourhood are pulled even closer together. It’s very readable and I liked the various POVs. Every chapter left you wanting a bit more from that person which made it hard to put down. I did predict the ending but didn’t mind cause I liked the journey.

And that final line? Brilliant 🤌🏼

Pub: June 6, 2023 by @pameladormanbooks

Thank you @penguinrandomca for my gifted copy 💚

➡️ Swipe for synopsis ➡️

Ashley Audrain writes dark books and I am here for it.

Her latest book, The Whispers, holds no punches as it explores the different layers of motherhood, friendship, marriage and womanhood.

Audrain writes interesting troubled characters. For the most part, they are unlikable. What makes them stand out to me is that their unlikability sits firmly in the real world. Lying, cheating, insecurity, jealously, loneliness and anger are actions and emotions many of us see and feel in our daily lives.

If pushed to the extreme, would we be all that different from the Loverlys, Parks and Goldsmiths…?

And the ending! That last line is just so good. I recommend The Whispers to any reader who enjoys intelligent psychological dramas.

We have some seriously awesome female writers here in Canada :) I'm already counting down to Ashley Audrain's next book!

Wow! This is an amazing book. I couldn’t put it down and then when I was finished I just want to get right back to it!
I am giving this book 5 stars.
The story is about 3 different women who live in the same neighborhood. Their lives intertwine a little more than they realize. Husbands, children and social events everything is all mixed in in their lives. There is also the 4th women who sits by excluded from their lives but witnesses everything.
This is so worth your time. I’m sure you will love this book as much as I have.

The Whispers bounces between 4 female characters, each fleshed out well and with a voice. Though the book took a bit for me to get into, once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The book explores the meaning of motherhood and what motherhood does to woman’s sense of self while at the same time is a mystery. It’s easy to sympathize with even the unlikeable characters and the end doesn’t disappoint.

This one scared me a bit. I have children and the conversations relating to motherhood hit very close to home with me. Overall, it was a good read but I was left very unsettled as a reader due to my role as a mother.