The Whispers is an enthralling psychological mystery/suspense read. Heidi Perks explores the dynamics, intricacies and intensities of female friendships, from childhood, through adolescence to motherhood and beyond.
The book opens tantalisingly with the discovery on New Year's Day of a woman's body at the bottom of Crayne's Cliff, an area locals know to be prone to landslips. We're not told the victim's identity, but the detective from whose perspective the prologue is told recalls an earlier tragedy, involving a younger woman, and the fact that three weeks ago, a woman called Grace Goodwin had reported a crime...
We're then taken back four months, as the narrative works forward to the present day. The point of view shifts between those of Grace Goodwin, Anna Robinson and a Greek chorus-like overview emanating from the observations of other parents in the school playground.
Thirty-something mother of one Grace Goodwin has recently returned to her (fictional) childhood hometown of Clearwater, on the UK's south coast, having lived in Australia since late adolesence. Her husband has a high-flying job based in Singapore, so she's effectively a single mother of 8-year-old Matilda much of the time. She's looking forward to re-establishing a close friendship with Anna Fallow (now Robinson), with whom she enjoyed a childhood and teenage friendship akin to sisterhood.
However, as the story slowly unfolds, through present day perspectives and occasional flashback sections, we realise that there is a darkness underpinning Grace and Anna's relationship. What is the past event that seems to preoccupy them both in the present day, and why does Anna seem so reticent to rekindle her close friendship with Grace?
Heidi Perks skilfully uses foreshadowing, hints at the possible unreliability of the character's recollections, and immerses the reader in each woman's experience. Our sympathies are pulled back and forth as we observe the tensions between the central group of female characters. What loyalties do we owe our friends? Is the length of a friendship necessarily indicative of its strength or health for the protagonists? What can we reasonably expect from our friends, or they of us? At what point do we concede that we have outgrown a friendship and walk away?
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!
I would highly recommend The Whispers to any and all readers who enjoy character-based dramas set against a background of mystery and suspense.
My thanks to the author Heidi Perks, publisher Penguin Random House UK - Cornerstone - Century imprint, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
(Thanks also to Carolyn, whose excellent review prompted me to seek out a last-minute ARC)

I really love Heidi Perks' thrillers and this is my favourite so far. There were no hugely massive or shocking twists or surprises really, but the writing was fantastic and the pacing was perfection. The plot itself is intriguing - we follow Grace as she returns to her home town and tries to reconnect with her old best friend. Things aren't as easy as she hoped though, as her old friend Anna now has a new set of friends who are suspicious of Grace. Things aren't always as they seem as our loyalties flip between the two while we try to work out who to trust. This was such an enjoyable, well-paced thriller and I highly recommend it.

Another great book by Heidi Perks!

This is a story about a toxic friendship but who is the bad apple?
It is a story about secrets and lies and what you would do for your friends.
The story kept me guessing for most of the book and when I realized what was going on I still rushed through it to see how things will play out.
A definite must-read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I quite enjoyed this book , it was well written and an interesting story . It didn’t have any surprises, I was expecting more twists and turns . I would recommend it but not as suspenseful as I would like

EXCERPT: I turn back to Sally, thinking of the last conversation I'd had with Grace two days ago.

'Do you think of Heather, Anna?' she'd asked me. 'Do you ever think about that night like I do?'

'No one knows Grace like I do,' I tell Sally. 'No one has a clue what she is capable of.'

The truth is that if Grace wants it to happen, then there is every chance a murder enquiry might open up.

ABOUT 'THE WHISPERS': Anna Robinson hasn't been seen since she went on a night out with her four closest friends.

She has a loving husband and a son she adores. Surely she wouldn't abandon them and her perfect life. . .

But what has happened to her?

At the school gates, it's not long before the rumours start. Anna's oldest friend Grace is beside herself with worry - desperately searching for answers, and certain that someone is hiding the truth.

With each day that passes, Anna's life is under increasing threat. And a the pressure mounts, it won't be long before something cracks. . .

MY THOUGHTS: No. I didn't find this thrilling, or suspenseful. It was largely repetitive. I was considering abandoning this at 60% when there was a twist that piqued my interest. But I was soon struggling again.

The plot lacks substance, and the characters depth. They are very much cardboard cutouts. At the denouement I found myself wishing that the cliff would collapse and take the whole lot of them over the edge, but the author was determined not to give me any satisfaction.

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.

⭐⭐.4

#TheWhispers #NetGalley

@heidiperks #randomhouseukcornerstone

@HeidiPerksBooks @PenguinRandomUK

THE AUTHOR: Heidi Perks was born in 1973. She lives by the sea in Bournemouth with her husband and two children. She has a huge interest in what makes people tick and loves to write about family relationships, especially where some of the characters are slightly dysfunctional.

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.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

A bit of a slow burner, the storyline is a bit repetitive with the same story told by different characters who none of them are likeable.

Anna and Grace were childhood friends separated when teenagers when Grace moves to Australia with her family.
On returning to the UK Grace wants to take up her old friendship with Anna where it left off but the friend turns toxic.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled to get into this book initially. I found it didn't engage me and considered giving up but then thought I would read a little more and, bam, it started to pick up greatly.
Once the twist was revealed then the book became truly gripping and you just had to keep reading to find out what would happen.
Always intriguing to see different perspectives on the same events. Cleverly done!
I'm glad I didn't give up.

With friends like these who needs enemies?! Heidi Perks dark new thriller The Whispers is certainly a winner!

From page one I was gripped, I don’t want to give too much of the plot away but this book is like nothing I’ve read before, it leaves you gasping and looking at the page like WOW! This would make an excellent Netflix series.
Loved reading this story. 5/5!

Oh my what a book! I really enjoyed it. The last quarter had me totally gripped and I was desperate to find out the outcome. There is always two sides to every story and this one is mostly told from the point of view of the two main characters, Grace and Anna with a sprinkling of observations from the school gate mums. I liked the style of writing, I enjoyed reading about the women, a few twists I didn’t see coming, I definitely recommend this book. Thank you #net galley

I couldn’t get into this book and found it very slow moving with unlikeable characters.
Grace comes back from Australia, expecting to be able to pick up her childhood friendship with Anna but Anna has moved on. She has a new circle of school mum friends who don’t want t to integrate Grace into their circle. As the book progresses you realise how controlling Grace is.
I found the story slow until near the end when it picked up and I didn’t like the characters.

I sat and read this from cover to cover, cleverly written with twists and turns aplenty. A perfect Sunday afternoon read. One of my favourite books this year.

Grace Goodwin leaves Australia and returns to her childhood home, Clearwater near Weymouth with her daughter Matilda. She is looking forward to seeing her childhood best friend Anna, as they were inseparable growing up, until Grace moved to Australia with her parents.

Anna however has her own group of best friends and it soon becomes apparent that there isn’t room for another friend to join and whilst Anna is happy to see Grace, she does not want to talk about their past Friendship.

When Anna goes missing after a night out with Grace and her friends, she feels like she is the only one concerned about Anna. Why are they not calling the police?

This is a gripping story and it kept me guessing with its many twists until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I absolutely loved Heidi Perks’s novel Now You See Her (it made my top 10 of 2019) so I couldn’t be happier with the chance to read her latest novel The Whispers and – I can repeat my words from a few years ago – I absolutely loved it! The Whispers made it definite, Heidi Perks is on my auto-buy list from now on. I love the massive twists she incorporates in her stories. She really took me by surprise again this time and I was ready for anything but this.

The prologue starts with the discovery of a dead body (it’s in the first sentence so it doesn’t count as a spoiler I think) and then jumps to four months before, when Grace Goodwin shows up with her daughter Matilda at the local school in Clearwater, where she grew up herself. She’s looking for Anna, her childhood friend – they were even more like sisters then – but when she sees her it’s clear that Anna’s three new friends don’t really want to share Anna.

It is impossible not to sympathise with Grace who feels all alone and only wants to revive the friendship they once shared but her old friend doesn’t seem interested in reminiscing about the past. Anna’s friendship with Nancy, Rachel, and Caitlyn made alarm bells go off in my head, the circle of friends felt all wrong and Nancy came over as having quite an intimidating and domineering personality, I didn’t like her one bit. Then Anna goes missing after a night out with her besties and NOBODY seems inclined to involve the police. At least she has one good friend, Grace of course, who tries to find answers. Nancy, Rachel and Caitlyn were the last ones to see her so surely one of them (or maybe all 3 together) are keeping secrets? Would they really hurt her though, and if so, why? I was still able to hear Anna’s thoughts through her sessions with a therapist and I knew something was eating at her but she doesn’t immediately share what it is so the anticipation was a wonderful slow build of tension.

Cue an invisible break in the story where there’s a shifting of gears which put some of the things I thought I knew and felt in an entirely different perspective. I fell from one surprise into another and could hardly believe my eyes. I suddenly felt ambiguous towards both Anna and Grace and unsure what to think about the three musketeers,… Whose story to believe? It’s brilliant how she managed to make me feel throughout the story and made me change sides again and again, only to finally leave me with a astonishing ending. The ending should have felt righteous and justified and yet I couldn’t help feel sad for this person. Believe me I wouldn’t change the ending at all and I loved how tragic it is, it’s just one of the things that makes the impression of this novel long-lasting.

The Whispers is a fabulous psychological type of novel. I’d love to read more books of this type so I’m going to add the ones I haven’t read yet and I’ll definitely keep my eye out for the next one!

The time old tale of 2 friends with a secret from the past, fast forward years and they are back living in the same town, 1 of them has new friends, 1 doesn’t, as say a time old tale but still no one forced me to read it!
Now, the good bit first, this author writes fantastic ‘Mum’s at School gates’ observations, her descriptions of these daily carrying’s on are superb, in previous books and in this one, spot on
Sadly though this book was just not for me,I see mixed comments on it but it just didn’t hold up against the very high level of thrillers that are out there (and more arrive daily) the plot was threadbare, the characters both main and the 3 extra friends all unlikeable and uninteresting and it was so repetitive, nothing really happens and when it does it’s not that exciting
And there I will stop apart from to say I look forward to the authors next book...
3/10
2 ( based purely on the School gate parts) Stars

Grace and Anna were best friends at school, hardly ever separated.

Grace moves to Australia and is there 20 years and the friendship has drifted over times and miles.
Then Grace returns and hopes they can be friends again but Anna has close friends now. One night Anna goes missing and Grace is the only one who seems bothered.

When Grace returns to her British hometown of Clearwater after two decades in Australia, she hopes to renew the friendship with Anna. As kids and teenagers, the two had been close as sisters, due to her poor family situation, Anna more or less grew up with Grace’s family until they decided to move to the other side of the planet. However, Anna does not seem happy at all about Grace’s return, she has established a small circle of good friends and is reluctant of letting her former best friend join their group of four. After one evening at the local pub, Anna does not come home but neither her friends nor her husband seem to be really concerned so Grace takes over responsibility: she informs the police and starts to ask questions. Why do all people in the small sea-side town behave strangely? It has always been her to be in charge and to take care of the small and big catastrophes, so not much seems to have changed. But on her own, will she be able to find Anna and to uncover why all people are telling lies?

Heidi Perks wonderfully portrays life in a small town. Everybody knows everybody and is keen on spreading rumours, especially if there is something cheesy or malicious to share. As soon as Grace turns up for the first time at the schoolyard to bring her daughter to her new school, “The Whispers” among the mothers start and cannot be silenced anymore. Quite authentically, we hold as true the things we can observe and the bits and pieces of information we get and make sense of the story – and thus fall into the author’s trap since not much is really what it seems at first.

Admittedly, even though Grace as the protagonist is portrayed as a sympathetic woman, I did not really like her as she was, in my opinion, a bit creepy from the beginning. A lot of people live in the past and want to repeat it, therefore, returning to the place where she had a good time is not too strange, yet, the fact that she does not want to accept that Anna does not want to bond with her anymore and that she does not even make the slightest effort to find other friends, I found quite weird and obtrusive.

After Anna gets missing, the other characters indeed do behave inexplicably, yet, it does not take too long until the author reveals the other side of the story. As an experienced crime novel reader, you tend to be cautious and hesitant from the start when you are only presented with one character’s point of view, this is why I did not find it too surprising that not all things are what they seem at first. However, what I totally adored was how Heidi Perks managed to portray especially the small town women and their gossiping and how they make an effort of polishing their own lives to appear as someone superior to the others.

An entertaining read with some unexpected twists which brilliantly captures small town life.

The type of gripping read you can imagine being made into a tv drama!! Grace and Anna were childhood best friends, when Grace moves to Australia the friendship wanes. Years later, Grace moves back with her daughter and the reunion is dramatic ! Secrets come to light! Loved it, thanks!!!

We all have those childhood friends who we think we will be friends with forever but as life moves on we slowly drift apart. When Anna’s school friend Grace turns up at the school gates to collect her child she is initially happy to see her old friend again but sometimes things in the past need to stay that way. Anna now has new friends and after she goes missing on a night out why is it only Grace that seems concerned and why has she disappeared. This is an exciting thriller and I really enjoyed this book.

Disappointing. It was difficult to like either Anna or Grace or even Anna's friends. I was about to give up half way through as it was so boring (an extremely rare occurrence for me) when I realised I only had 2 hours left. The end was so predictable but unrealistic that I wish I hadn't of bothered. Even the way Anna disappeared at the beginning of the book was totally unbelievable. Looking at other reviews a lot of people enjoyed the book but it wasn't for me. For that reason I have given 3 rather than 2 stars.

This thriller noir opens with the body of a woman found at the foot of a cliff - but we don't find out who is dead until the very end. It could be any one of a group of friends - Grace, who has returned to her home town with her young daughter; Anna, her friend from her teenage years, or any one of Anna's new coterie of school-gate chums. The story goes back a few weeks to explain the interactions between the women - Grace feels the new friends are keeping her and Anna from renewing their once close bond. In particular, she suspects Nancy of having some hold over Anna. It soon becomes clear that Anna is troubled about something - but that seems to be related to something that happened in the past, with Grace. It's all going to end in tears, as we know from the opening pages.
I found this story a bit difficult to get into, if I'm honest. Told from the differing viewpoints of Grace and Anna, the narrative rehashes their present circumstances and keeps skirting around the past, so we are more than halfway through the story before it picks up any real action. After that, it gets more interesting as a tale of past tragedy emerges and it becomes clear that there is more than one unreliable narrator.
But the main issue I had with this book was that I didn't warm to any of the characters. You're meant to feel sorry for Grace, frozen out of the friendship group, but her thoughts and actions didn't endear her to me. I felt similarly about Anna and her friends - though to be fair, seen through the prism of Grace's eyes, they don't stand much of a chance.
As a story of flawed friendship, this works well - I just wish there had been more action in the first half, and at least one more sympathetic character.