Sex, murder and blackmail

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4.5/5 stars!

An elite escort service app is suddenly at the the center of a very high profile case involving blackmail and murder and its up to investigative reporter Geneva Chase to find out who is behind it, but she must be careful, the deeper she digs the bigger the target she puts on her back.

I was a little apprehensive to read this book, I hadn’t realized that it was part of series of books involving the main character, and so I was worried that I would be lost. But I dove in any way because the topic was fascinating to me.

My fears were soon put to rest! Not only was it easy to get into but I didn’t feel it necessary to read the other books. This book was incredible on its own! It was incredibly fast paced and keeps you guessing right until the very end! I honestly felt like I was behind the scenes of an incredible crime thriller and I cannot wait to read more from this author! Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book!

Loved this fun mystery! A TV reported is caught with an "underaged" prostitute, and the adventure begins. Geneva is a journalist and takes on this reporting challenge and is introduced to women who run and participate in the "Escort Service" business. Suicides and murders and blackmail begin to happen, and Geneva gets involved, a little too deeply. This mystery kept me guessing until the end, and the final pages were quite satisfying. Highly recommend for a vacay beach read!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Whisper Room.

Finished reading while I am currently on holidays. Will post a longer in dept review when I return home.

Super quick sum up - four stars, easy to follow investigative crime reporter storyline. Had a bit of a badass cozy mystery vibe. The ending came out of no where to me! Not what I expected! So many ways this could have went at the end and this was not one of the scenarios I had in mind 😂

One day you think your life is great and you are living the regular American dream, and then your husband is murdered. Not only are you tumbling down a rabbit hole, having to share the news with your teenage daughter, but the police are investigating you and your bank accounts are frozen. Left with the money you have on you, a lavish lifestyle and oh yeah, a drug cartel looking to get back the money your husband owes back, follow a woman that will do anything to protect her daughter from the world that she knew nothing about, and the hate she feels for the man that was supposed to take care of them.

Glad to see this is going to be a series because I really enjoyed Gen! I love mysteries told through the lens of investigative journalists and this one did not disappoint. Gen is a freelance reporter and researcher who is getting her life back on track with newfound sobriety and dedication to her ward, Caroline --- the fifteen year old daughter of her deceased boyfriend. While called to a hostage situation, she starts to uncover more about an exclusive escort app, "The Whisper Room". Her questions take her on a wild ride of blackmail, murder, cartels and more.

It was fast-paced, interesting, and a unique plot line. Although some of the twists were a bit predictable, still a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to more from these characters!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and imprint of source books for letting me read the Whispering Room. this book was a part of a series however it could be read as a standalone. This book was a quick read with short chapters. However, I was not impressed with this book I thought it was very repetitive.

Thanks netgalley for the chance to read this book! I really enjoyed it!
The whole story was so intriguing and had you wondering who done it the whole time. I loved the plot! With the murders it really made you think who could be behind this? I rate it 4 stars!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Sex, blackmail, and murder...welcome to The Whisper Room! This was a fun, cozy mystery with well developed characters. I enjoyed this book and would pick up another from this author.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and @netgalley for this eARC . Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get through it. I wish this would have been more of a plot-based story rather than so much focus on the MC's alcoholism and her ward.
The premise was intriguing, but not enough to hold my attention.

Thomas Kies follows his Sue Grafton Award nominee, Shadow Hill, with another compelling mystery featuring Geneva Chase, a crime reporter whose drinking cost her a career. Now, the journalist is working freelance in her Connecticut hometown. It’s a call from the local paper, the Sheffield Post, that sends her on an investigation into escort services and dating for the rich and powerful.

Genie never liked Elliot Carlson, the smarmy anchor for a local television station. But, she was shocked when asked to report to his house where he was holding his wife hostage and holding off the local police. According to his wife and local media, they had all received a video purporting to show Carlson with a fifteen-year-old girl. He claims an escort service called the Whisper Room was blackmailing him.

As with all of Genie’s reports, there’s more to it than the surface story. Carlson isn’t the only one being blackmailed. And, the owners of the Whisper Room claim they’re not blackmailing anyone because their moneymaking business would implode. They have an app that makes the process seamless for their customers. They screen their customers, screen the young women involved, and would never hire a fifteen-year-old. But, Genie recognizes bodies that are showing up as several of the Whisper Room’s escorts.

Escorts. Wealthy men. Blackmail. Suicide and murder. The entire time Genie digs into this story, she can only worry about her sixteen-year-old ward, Caroline Bell. Caroline’s age and appearance makes her an ideal candidate for those blackmail videos.

Genie is an intriguing sleuth, a reporter desperately trying to hang on in a dying newspaper business. She’s desperately trying to stay sober, for Caroline’s sake more than anything. But, no matter how deeply she gets involved in an investigation, Geneva Chase is still a shrewd investigative journalist.

Readers who appreciate mysteries involving journalists and the news business should try Kies’ Geneva Chase books.

In this fast-paced and engaging mystery/thriller, veteran journalist Geneva Chase gets a tip that a local TV news anchor has barricaded himself in his home and has taken his wife hostage, after footage of him engaging with an under-age escort emerges. Though the situation is resolved peacefully, Genie can sense something is not quite right. Digging in, she discovers that the anchor was the user of an exclusive dating app, The Whisper Room, and was blackmailed to prevent release of the video. Genie quickly discovers that this pattern of blackmail is recurrent; and tracking down the owners of The Whisper Room raises further questions. Shortly after, one of The Whisper Room's escorts turns up dead – then another. Genie is quickly thrust in a complex, seedy world where nerdy app developers, sex for hire, human trafficking, organised crime and murder intersect.

This is the second book in the Genie Chase series, and whilst I didn't read the first, I thought the author does a great job of making the book relatively stand-alone so prior reading is not necessarily required. The recovering-alcoholic-reporter is a tried and tested narrative element, but adding in the fact Genie cares for a ward adds complexity to her character. For a shortish book, I thought the character development was really good. Perhaps my only critique is the fact that there are almost 2 plot devices that run in parallel for much of the book, and then intersect at the end. The book was an exciting read and interesting, but I kind of wonder about the believability of having all these events happen in one place.

All in all, an enjoyable read, and one that motivates me to pick up more from the author. 4/5 stars. The book is due out in August 2022. Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Whisper Room
by Thomas Kies
This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Poisoned Pen Press, and by #NetGalley. The opinions expressed are completely my own.
Sex, blackmail, and murder...welcome to The Whisper Room. What a wonderful read. It has everything. Women taking a stand for the others. It was not like any other I read before.

Another page turner with the tough guy reporter Geneva Chase. The action and suspense were good and the conclusion was staring at the face when it got dragged out. A good series.

An enjoyable book which was quiet risky in places but it was a good story and the ending was good so what more can one ask for in a book …

Tautly Woven, Tumultuous…
The fifth Geneva Chase Crime Reporter mystery finds Genie mixed up with some dangerous people as the Whisper Room app comes to light. Sex, blackmail and kidnapping all rear their heads in an explosive situation. What is the Whisper Room and who uses it? Genie is about to find out. Whatever this is, it is one story that Genie does not want to miss. Pacy and well crafted with a perfect sense of place, this is a tautly woven and tumultuous read. A sure winner in this series.

Unfortunately I could not finish. I'm not interested in reading about alcoholic characters and the story was very clunky and disjointed.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were well developed. I would have liked to know more about Genie and Caroline’s backstories. I would recommend this book to fans of Law and Order SVU.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley!

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I really liked Genie, a crime journalist, who is trying to solve some crimes involving an escort app called Whisper Room. Genie really makes the story as she is a firecracker! I solved it before she did, however. My one criticism is that I wanted to learn more about Genie. There are hints about her past that obviously affect who she is (her drinking, past relationships, her dead fiancee's daughter that she is raising). The crime stuff was also interesting, but I would like another book about her! I did find it a little creepy that there was all this weird sexual tension and passes made by men she used to date. She handled it really well. Hope there's another book with her in it!

The Whisper Room is a great book and full of mystery and intrigue. Geneva Chase is asked to cover a hostage situation for the paper she used to work for,

I have the feeling that this is not the first book about Geneva Chase as there are several things mentioned about her that are not really explained. Even though I would have liked to know more about her past, I still really enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to everyone.