Fantastic read. The story itself is dark and all too credible, while the characters are so real you feel this could be fact rather than fiction. I really liked the way the author revealed the various twists to the crime as it became resolved.

This book got me so hooked that I finished it in less than 24 hours! Some solid, albeit flawed, characters and excellent storyline. My only problem is that I noticed so many grammatical errors, so hope that was rectified before publication.

A fast paced, tumultuous novel based on an investigative journalist with her own troubled past. The book is part of a series and is offered as a stand alone, but characterization may be better understood if read in succession. The plot is multifaceted and intriguing, focusing on the dark subject matter of the desires, depravities, and demoralization of modern sex work.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the ARC of #WhisperRoom which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for Whisper Room.
Sex, blackmail, murder…This one gets RIGHT into it and doesn’t stop until the very last page. Truly binge worthy and quick, and I love the MC. I didn’t realize this is part of a Gevena Chase mystery series, and I couldn’t be happier that there’s more of these! I’m excited to discover the author’s entire backlist. He did a great job of linking together multiple storylines without overwhelming the reader or causing confusion. I feel attached to these characters already and can sense some romance in the air, too! RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This one ended up not working for me. I found some of the subject matter hard to digest. This is probably an instance of the reader not being a match for the book!

(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)

Publication date: 02 August 2022
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Plot:

A criminal reporter named Geneva Chase investigates a case in which an anchor-man held his wife captive because of being threatened with extortion by an escort company called The Whisper Room. But when escorts who worked for The Whisper Room are found deceased, Geneva is convinced that there is more going on. Will she be able to discover the truth prior to any further fatalities?

Thoughts:

This is my first book from this author and I chose this book for the blurb. It’s also part of a series which I didn’t the previous books of but was still able to read it without feeling lost.

This book was fast paced, making it easy for me to read without putting the book down. I read it in one sitting because of the mystery it had. I liked Geneva’s resilience, she had her own issues in life but she got through them and put them aside for her to solve the case.

However, the book had a lack of flow at certain points and it also didn’t seem believable because of the sub plotlines. There also wasn’t much about Genie (Geneva’s) past other than in passing but I think it could have made her character development better.

Geneva Chase is still doing freelance work as an investigative journalist for her dying newspaper, The Sheffield Post, when she gets the call to cover a breaking story. Elliot Carlson is a local news anchor with a huge chip on his shoulder. Genie has never liked him, but even she is shocked to learn that he’s holding his wife Michelle at gunpoint in the Carlsons’ upscale Connecticut home.

Fortunately, the police manage to disarm him with no loss of life. A shaken and angry Michelle chooses Genie to tell her side of the story. Apparently, Elliot was being blackmailed by an escort service called The Whisper Room. They threatened to send a video of him having sex with a minor to his boss at the TV station and, worse, to his wife, if he didn’t pay them a substantial amount of money. Thinking they were bluffing, he ignored them. They were not bluffing, and sent the video out as promised.

After watching the video, an irate Michelle attempted to kick him out of the house, leading to hot-tempered Elliot completely losing it. Genie is sympathetic to what Michelle has gone through, and happy to provide even-handed coverage with her interview, but her interest is truly piqued by word of this mysterious Whisper Room. An escort service blackmailing its wealthy clientele makes for excellent news, and Genie is nothing if not a newshound.

Her investigations eventually lead her to the owners of the exclusive service, who are quick to describe The Whisper Room as a dating app for the very wealthy. The owners deny any involvement with a blackmailing scheme, instead accusing a former employee of trying to make them look bad in order to boost his own business. Genie diligently follows up on their information, interviewing their rival:

QUOTE
“Is it true you used to work for The Whisper Room?”

He grinned. “For a while. It’s where I got the idea for the Midnight House. I really didn’t like being an escort. I got tired of humping middle-aged women, and men who claimed they weren’t gay. I decided to start my own escort service.”

“Dating app,” I corrected him, smiling.

He nodded his head. “Dating app.”
END QUOTE

Just as Genie is starting to think that she has a juicy article about rival sex work businesses for her paper, the stakes are raised by the appearance of a body in the Long Island Sound. A young woman was asphyxiated before being thrown into the water – a young woman who just happens to be the same person Genie was looking for to confirm further details of her story. With murder now in the mix, Genie has to tread far more carefully in her pursuit of the truth.

Though since when has our plucky heroine been the kind of person to care more for her safety than the story? After news leaks that Elliot might have been responsible for the young woman’s death, Genie gets a drunk phone call from the beleaguered former news anchor himself, inviting her to a front seat at the next big story of her career. Alarmed by his tone, she calls the cops, but can’t resist heading out to the address he gave her to see what’s going on:

QUOTE
I looked up at the window and my heart stopped.

Elliot Carlson was staring down at me, grinning.

In a particularly unnerving moment, he waved me to come inside.

<i>Genie, if you go in there, you’re the stupidest person on earth.</i>

A siren wailed in the distance, getting closer. [The assistant police chief] was true to his word. He was sending someone by to check on the situation. From the sound, the police cruiser would be there in minutes.

There wasn’t much time.

<i>If you’re going to do this, do it.</i>.
END QUOTE

This isn’t the only dangerous situation Genie will walk into over the course of this twisty thriller. In fairness, she’s usually pretty confident in her ability to take care of herself, even when she becomes the target of villains bearing grudges. It’s only when a killer sets their sights on Genie’s teenage ward Caroline that Genie becomes truly afraid of the murderous forces at work behind the scenes of these elusive services.

There are subplots and red herrings aplenty in Thomas Kies’ fifth Geneva Chase mystery novel. I really enjoyed the cameos from the Friends Of Lydia, and very much appreciate the even-handed look at modern sex work in the United States. Genie is a great protagonist, balancing pluck with risk assessment and self-doubt in healthy amounts as she juggles being a guardian with being a journalist. Series fans will be thrilled, and newcomers like myself will find a heroine who’s easy to root for as she ferrets out the truth on her fascinating crime beat.

Whisper Room by Thomas Kies is the fifth book of the Geneva Chase series, featuring a freelance crime journalist. Geneva attends a hostage drama to report for her local paper, the Sheffield Post. Knowing the local Sherriff gets her inside access as she tries to get to the bottom of the video of the local television presenter’s dalliance with an underaged paid escort. As Geneva investigates, tracing down the business owners, discovering the blackmail scheme and then a murder, when the body of a young woman is washed up in Long Island Sound. Struggling with her sobriety and dealing with a teenager doesn’t stop Geneva from putting herself in danger, as possible links to organised crime are made. Then another body washes up and the danger is visited upon her doorstep as she investigates to find the truth. An enjoyable tale of a flawed hero, with building tension and a dramatic finale making for a three and a half star rating. With thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

This series continues grow stronger and more engrossing.

I've been reading the series since book 1. Love to see the recurring characters have grown and developed. The blackmailing and sex escorts and trafficking case in "Whisper Room" were interesting and exciting yet, in my opinion, too much was going on and after awhile I lost a tad of the interest in the cases. Overall, "Whisper Room" was another strong installment. I hope the the case in the series could be something different other than sex related trade or something along the line.

4 solid stars.

This book turned out to be a part of series which I was not aware of, but I thoroughly enjoyed this as a stand alone book.

this book has blackmail, serial killing - overall it was a very intriguing book.
Geneva Chase and several other reporters are there on the scene when the local news anchor has held his wife hostage. What follows this is a series of unpredictable turn of events.
Geneve has to figure out who is blackmailing so many people who used the escort services from The Whisper Room and she also has to keep the people around safe as she cannot trust anyone.

This book was a gripping all the way till the end.
Thank you Netgalley, Thomas Kies & Poisoned Pen Press for approving the ARC.

I am off to find the first few books from this series :)

Geneva Chase, an investigative reporter who's now doing background checks and struggling with sobriety and her teenage ward Caroline, finds herself in the middle of an intriguing and topical blackmail scheme and, of course, murder. Turns out the app the Whisper Room, which connects those who want, shall we say, escort service, has been hacked and the users blackmailed. Unfortunately, it's also meant the death of young women who work for it. Genie, a terrific and original character, learns more than she expected about apps and herself as well in this well written and entertaining thriller. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books as this will be fine as a standalone. It's a page turner.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Great mystery - so glad it will be a series - can't wait to read more!

Great story, keeps you on your toes. Hard to put the book down.
It starts of with a journalist Genie and how she got to where she is. She is on the trail of something and can’t seem to stay away, is she potentially putting herself in danger of even more could she potentially wind up dead?

A great series with a slightly different slant on crime stories. Told from the viewpoint of a female investigative reporter, who has had her own history of drink issues, being fired, a stormy and troubled love life often involving married men.

As always, these stories move at a fantastic pace. Helped by short chapters. This story centres on an Escort service with a twist and blackmail,

Although this is book 5, you can read it easily without reading the others. But please go back to read the first 4 they are wonderful. Lets hope there is a book 6 soon.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and most of all Thomas Kies for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review

I had no idea that this book was a part of a series when I requested the ARC! I was really hesitant to read it because I'm a stickler for reading books in order. I decided to just go for it. The book was really good. Genie is a freelance journalist, she is likable and easy to relate too. People tend to trust Genie so her investigation into the person blackmailing clients using a prestigious escorting app and to murder moves faster than the police investigation. I did feel like I was missing some background while reading the book because I jumped right in to #5, but I don't feel like I was missing key elements. Now to read to the other books in the series!

Thank you @netgalley and @thomaskies for access to the arc of Whisper Room!

I loved the trill of this book, I honestly thought I had it figured out, and was wondering why there were still 20 pages left, and then ANOTHER plot twist.

The only reason this book got 3 stars instead of 4 was the recap at the ending. It felt weird. The conversation between the two characters didn’t flow.

This book was so crazy! It pulled me in with the description and kept me hooked the whole time. I was trying to find out who did it and the book kept making me think it was everyone. 😂 I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a good crime story.

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
4.25 stars

I enjoyed this book a lot and it kept me interested enough throughout. There were some slow parts and it dragged a little towards the end but overall I enjoyed it.
The mystery/thriller aspect was strong and I could see this as a tv series. One of my favorite female characters for mystery/thrillers.
I will definitely be reading other books in the series.

Not my favourite book either. I found it too long winded and unnecessarily boring.so I didnt get far with it.

Whisper Room by Thomas Kies is the first book I've read by this author. The story is pretty fast-paced, and the storyline is believable. I really liked the main character, Geneva, and her tenaciousness. I liked getting the perspective of an investigative journalist rather than through the eyes of the police, so this book was a nice change from other books I have read.

I would recommend this book and will check out other books by this author.

#NetGalley @PPPress