Grace and Anna were the best of friends when they were kids. Years later when Grace returns to Australia with her daughter. She expects that they will reunite like no time has passed. However, to her dismay Anna has a new group of friends who are almost jealous of the friendship between Grace and Anna.

A girls night out with Anna, Grace, and Anna’s friends is the perfect time to drink, talk, laugh, and really get to know each other. The next morning, Anna is not present at school drop off. Three days later still no sign of Anna. This is highly out of character for her and her husband and son begin to worry. Grace also starts worrying about where her best friend could come possibly be.

People start whispering about what could have happened or who did what. Grace is sure someone knows something. She won’t stop until she finds her best friend.

I liked this book. The relationships are broken and everyone is hiding something. You have no clue who to trust and that was part of the fun.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The blurb about 'The Whispers' does very little to tell the reader what this story is about. What Heidi perks has written is more of a story in obsessive and controlling female friendships.

Grace and Anna have been best friends since age 5. Grace moved to Australia when she was 17 and was heartbroken to leave Anna behind. Now, she's returned to Clearwater and is excited to reunited with Anna and raise their children together. Only now, Anna has a new group of friends and doesn't seem to want to let Grace into the circle.

After a girls night out, Anna goes missing. Grace seems to be the only one concerned about it....not even Anna's husband seems worried.

And then....then perspective shifts....then we get Anna's side of things.

This book is interesting. It's not...great. But it's not terrible. it shows female friendship from both angles - the good and the bad. The high and the low. There are twists...and they are good! But there are subplots that go nowhere and are kind of dead ends. I wish they would have been explored or expanded a bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

First book I have read by this author. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review. It is rather a quick read and a great mystery novel. I really like this authors writing style and will look for more from her.

"The Whispers" by Heidi Perks, is about Anna and Grace who are childhood best friends. Grace has a picture perfect family and they take Anna under their wing due to her tough home situation. Eventually, Grace and her family move to Australia. They lose touch with Anna. Years later, Anna and Grace reconnect, but soon after Anna goes missing. Grace suspects someone close to Anna may be responsible and will stop at nothing to find out the truth about the disappearance.

The writing in this novel starts out strong, but midway goes into subplots that do not add much to the story. The plot has high school "tit for tat" type jealousy between the characters which becomes the central focus for a considerable amount of time. There are enjoyable high points in the writing such as Grace's mom making warm childhood memories for the girls. I look forward to reading more books from the very talented Heidi Perks.

"The Whispers will be published March 8, 2022.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Book, for sharing this e-book with me in exchange for my honest review.

It is difficult to be friends with women, especially when you are woman. Anna has found her group of friends, but then a blast from her past returns to town, Grace. Why isn’t Anna more happy to see her? After all they were once close as sisters. Who really controls whom? And why is the past so darn important.
So many snarled secrets to untangle in this fraught filled novel.
Two things to consider: on,y be friends with men and avoid sharp drop offs.

2.5 stars

The story of Grace and Anna’s friendship and Anna’s disappearance is told from three perspectives — the “whispers,” which are a handful of italicized chapters of the third-person chatter of other parents in the schoolyard; Grace’s perspective in the third person; and Anna’s perspective in the first person. Some of the chapters are numbered, some of them are dated, and some of them are numbered and dated. There were chapters that went back to when Grace and Anna were children. Honestly, the back and forth of the timeline was ridiculously distracting for me.

This book started out with a Big Little Lies meets Broadchurch vibe for me, both series that I enjoyed. This one was so complicated, though, that I couldn’t enjoy it. It felt like the author added elements to the story just to throw off the reader, and it just became too confusing.

All of the characters were shady. None of the characters were likeable except maybe Grace’s husband Graham, who I didn’t even think was necessary to the storyline. There were so many references to some big secret thing that had happened when Grace and Anna were teenagers, but by the time I got to the end of the book, I really didn’t care anymore.

And the whispers were pretty much irrelevant. They added a schoolyard gossip element to the storyline, with everyone trying to figure out what was going on with the five women. But it’s the title of the book. I expected that perspective to be prevalent throughout. It was literally a handful of chapters. The main focus was Grace’s and Anna’s chapters, and I still don’t think I really know everything that happened.

I think the author tried too hard to make this one suspenseful and fell far short. It was a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Heidi Perks for the advanced copy of The Whispers in exchange for my honest review.

Anna goes out for a night out with her girlfriends, excited to let her hair down. Only, she doesn't show up for school drop-off the next morning. Or several mornings after that. Her childhood best friend, Grace, feels as though she is the only one who is truly worried for her friend. And as rumors begin to swirl about where Anna really is, Grace knows she must take matters into her own hands.

I'll keep this short and sweet and just say this one wasn't for me. I think the writing was really good, I just wasn't into a bunch of grown women acting like mean girls, and the mystery didn't grip me quite as much as I was hoping it would.

I'll definitely still be reading more by Heidi Perks in the future!

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.

So when Grace’s dad passes away, and her marriage to Graham becomes so frayed that it might break, returning to Clearwater, seems like it could be the perfect place for a fresh start, and the ideal place to raise her daughter, Matilda.

But, Anna has a new group of friends.

Tight-knit and cliquey, she and the other women, Nancy-Rachel-and Caitlyn-are constantly linking arms, saving seats and whispering amongst themselves on the other side of the playground from the other mums from year four.

Despite her new friends, not warming to Grace, Anna reluctantly invites her to join them at their next “girls night out”-one that Anna won’t return home from. She doesn’t arrive for the school drop-off the next morning either-or the one after that.

Grace knows that Anna would NEVER leave her son, Ethan behind but nobody else seems as concerned as she is-including the police-so she takes matters into her own hands, and begins the search for her friend.

Could her disappearance be linked to a case from the PAST, and to the secrets they have buried?

I enjoyed Heidi Perks last book, “Three Perfect Liars” so despite the thriller trope of a current case, being linked to buried secrets from childhood, growing a bit STALE- I decided to give this a go. Unfortunately though, this book didn’t quite deliver for me. After a strong start, the story STALLED-nothing seemed to be happening-and when something finally did-it was underwhelming.

Reviews are mixed for this one-so perhaps if you read the genre less frequently than I do, you will enjoy this one more than I did. For me unfortunately, it only rates between 2-3 ⭐️.

Thank You to Gallery for the gifted copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
AVAILABLE March 8, 2022.

The Whispers by Heidi Perks is the novel version of: With friends like these, who needs enemies? And I am here for it! The author deftly explores the sometimes toxic nature of female friendships, crafting a twisty book I couldn't put down. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed THE WHISPERS alot!
This is a well written, at times very intense,chilling tale of friendship, deceit, manipulation and secrets that had me hooked in from the very first page.
I absolutely loved this riveting thriller.
Cleverly plotted with several twists and turns.
The writer draws you in to the characters and their lives, whilst spinning the web of deceit to pull you into the story.
I read this very quickly because I just couldn’t put it down, every spare minute I was picking it up to read more.
I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Gallery Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

The promo got my attention:
Story …
• Explores Toxic relationships
• Dark secrets
• Twisted web of lies

This is a story about friends ~ old and new.
Grace Goodwin and Anna Robinson were childhood friends actually more like sisters than friends. Grace had move from the coastal town of Clearwater, England to Australia with her parents when she was seventeen. Now nineteen years later Grace is married and has returned to her childhood home with her eight year old daughter as her husband us working in Singapore .Grace believes that since she and Anna were so close they will pick up where they left off.
However, Anna has a new group of friends ~ A Gang of Four... Anna, Rachel, Nancy and Caitlyn.
Anna enjoys her night out with the friends. After one fun evening, she isn’t at the school drop –off the next morning. Husband and others are frantic.
Grace sets out to find out where she is and is sure someone is hiding the truth.

Story wasn’t exactly what I expected~ doesn’t mean it isn’t good just not the Mystery/Psychological/Thriller I was hoping would develop.
I am sure my opinion of this story is timing. I recently read some awesome stories and believe my expectation carried over and was rather high!

Want to thank NetGalley and Gallery for granting me this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 8, 2022.

Grace Goodwin moves from Australia back to Clearwater with her 8 year old daughter Matilda. She wants to rekindle her friendship with her best friend she had during her teen years, Anna Robinson. The problem is Anna has new friends now and they are not to open about including Grace in their group. Anna begins to shut Grace out and then one night after girls night of fun Anna disappears. Grace contacts her husband Ben, questions all the girls in the group and even goes to police. She know her friend wouldn't just up and leave her son Ethan.

I have read several Heidi Perks’ books and enjoyed them all. THE WHISPERS was a great psychological thriller that I had a hard time putting down. It was a quick and easy read for me that had the perfect mix of mystery, suspense, and creepiness! The ending did not disappoint. You can add THE WHISPERS to the long list of great books by Heidi Perks!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

This was a great book, was not expecting much from of it, but the hoe hum of mystery books. This was another one of the stories that I wish could keep going and going. This story makes one step back and rethink their decisions and choices in life. This is a very good book for anyone looking for something new.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Whispers, the newest thriller from Heidi Perks. When childhood best friends Anna and Grace are reunited after nearly twenty years apart, Grace is ready to pick up where they left off... but is there a reason that Anna isn't ready to welcome her back with open arms?

When Anna and Grace were children, Anna was raised by her father after her mother abandoned them. Although her father tried his best, Anna craved the traditional family life that Grace seemed to have. Grace and her mother Catherine welcomed Anna into their family and the girls became inseparable until Grace's family moved to Australia when they were teenagers. Now they both have their own families and Anna has a closeknit group of friends that seem intent upon excluding Grace from their clique when she returns to their small England town. Yet as events unfold and secrets from the past are revealed, we learn that the friendship between Grace and Anna may not have been what it seemed.

Readers who enjoyed Big Little Lies will absolutely love this twisty, gripping thriller that will have you questioning what you think you know right up until the very end.

Anna and Grace are childhood best friends. They are separated due to a move and as adults Grace moves back to the town they grew up in. She desperately wants to be a part of Anna's life again and a part of her circle of friends. A terrific tale of of jealousy and secrets.

A woman gone missing. It’s a favorite plot device these days because, sadly, it’s a common real life headline. In this story, Anna, a woman seemingly beloved by all, disappears. Her best friend and confidante, Grace, becomes worried when Anna fails to show for one of their sacrosanct girl’s nights. Grace doesn’t believe Anna just walked away on her own and she’s sure someone “disappeared” her best friend. Grace’s fight to uncover the truth and find her friend is a testament to friendship and the courage a woman will summon to help someone she loves

This is a delightful thriller about a group of friends. I really love the story and the characters. The ending was also quite unexpected. I highly recommend this read.