Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams.

This book pulled me in right away with its dark, moody setting and a slow-burning mystery that kept unraveling in chilling little pieces. The lakefront house, with its eerie stillness and haunting atmosphere, became almost a character itself—perfectly atmospheric for fans of suspense set in secluded, isolated locations.

The protagonist is complex and flawed, someone who has experienced deep trauma and is trying to piece her life back together. Williams does a wonderful job of blending psychological tension with emotional depth. While some reveals felt predictable, I appreciated how the story explored generational trauma and secrets without rushing the suspense. The pacing ebbed and flowed, keeping me on edge during key moments while also giving space for the emotional aspects to breathe.

I especially loved the way Shanora Williams layered the past and present—it gave the story a dreamy, unsettling tone, where you’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s hidden. The twists, while not completely shocking, still landed with emotional weight. And that final act? Satisfying and a bit heartbreaking.

If you love a gripping psychological thriller with eerie vibes, complex women, and secrets that refuse to stay buried, Whispers of the Lake is worth diving into.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC.

(3.5/5.0)

I was excited to read this book because it was based in NC. I was pleasantly surprised a lot of it is in Charlotte, where I live, and referenced a lot of Charlotte icons throughout.

This was a pretty straightforward thriller and I did enjoy how fast paced it was. The authors writing style kept it engaging and I really enjoyed it.

I wish the town with it's creepy vibe and secretive people would have been a bit more fleshed out. It really could have played into a more horror vibe I was hoping for based on the cover.

The characters were my flaw. Eve was truly awful, Rose really should have cut off that friendship and never looked back. Rose was pretty insufferable too. She was wreckless and made a lot of questionable decisions throughout. Honestly I think the only character I liked was Nico and Rose 100% was overusing him for favors.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, I just found the characters a little too flawed and unrealistic. I didn't guess the final twist though until the very end so that was a nice surprise.

This was dark as hell, and it doesn’t take much to shock me. This shocked me to my core. And I want to read more from this author! I can’t wait to read more by this author in the future as I feel like she can write a thriller super well.

I really enjoyed this book. From the beginning I was locked into the story , yes at times I was side-eyeing Rose because of her doing so much to help someone who betrayed her.
I was not expecting the plot twist , I was trying to solve the mystery the whole time and was sitting up in my seat when the truth was revealed.
I loved the life gems that were dropped throughout the story especially at the end.
I do wish the journal entries were dated just to see how timeline better of Eves thoughts. Overall a great read !

From the very first scenes, this book had me thinking of iconic movie moments, like Bernadine torching her husband’s car in Waiting to Exhale, or that explosive family scene in Soul Food where everything comes out at once. Shanora Williams hooks you fast, but then she pulls you deeper into a story about betrayal, trauma, and the hard choices we face in love and family.

At its core, Whispers of the Lake asks: would you risk your own life for someone who betrayed you in the worst way? Especially after you’ve survived your own brush with danger? That moral tension sits at the heart of this story, and the way it unfolds is completely unpredictable.

When the twist finally comes, and trust me, you won’t see it coming, the pacing shifts into high gear. It’s vivid and cinematic. I could picture everything as if it were playing out on screen.

Shanora Williams is a new author to me this year, but this is already my third read from her, and she’s officially a must-read. Her ability to blend fast-paced suspense with layered emotional storytelling is impressive, and I’m excited to keep going through her backlist.

Highly recommend if you like thrillers with depth, drama, and a plot that keeps you guessing.

Overall, this book was pretty good. It was an entertaining book for sure, but I had a little bit of difficulty connecting with the main character because I thought some of her actions were just totally unbelievable. There were some good elements of surprise and it was a thriller for sure But I prefer some of other some of Shanora’s other books over this one.

I did however enjoy the complexity of the friendship and Eve’s unlikeable-at-times character.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this story to some extent. I loved the writing and how fast paced it was. I did enjoy some of the twist and turns too. However, i just don't think i like any of these characters.

I could not stand the missing friend Eve. The more the story revealed about her, the more i disliked her. I'm not going to say she deserved what happened to her in the end but i'm also not going to say she didn't. But at least she had the "grew up in abusive household" crotch to fall on. The FMC Rose on the other hand, well...

Rose really got on my nerves a lot. I don't know if that was the author's intention. If it was, kudos to her because it worked. Rose had no sense of preservation and whatsoever and lacked self love. Old girl was doing the most for a raggedy ass friend

"Why was I breaking into houses and sneaking onto people's property for a woman who'd betrayed me? For a friend who likely wouldn't have been doing the same for me if she suspected my life was in danger"

"Even though Eve hurt me, deceived me, made me feel lower than I'd ever felt in my life, I never wished death upon he"

Rose was better than me because I was wishing worse than death on Eve the entire time.

Overall, this was good fast paced mystery read with great twist and turns.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing | Dafina and Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you Kensington Publishing for the arc copy.

Quick and easy read that I was able to finish in a day. I was a bit unsure if I would like it in the beginning but it grew on me. There were a few moments that had me bit spooked.. but that’s just me being a scaredy cat lol. I kept thinking “oh no oh no I don’t want to turn the page if this is about to happen.”

I loved the journal entries from Eve’s perspective. Seeing the story only through Rose’s POV at first had me looking at Eve one way, but the journals completely shifted that. I do wish Eve had taken the time to get help for what she was battling instead of just accepting the “this is just who I am” mindset.

I appreciated the vulnerable sessions between Rose and her therapist. The power of therapy is real.

•You truly never know what a person is going through

•We’re all out here battling something daily

•People hide their pain and avoid help because of the fear of being judged by folks who can’t see beyond their own bubble.

•We all need therapy

Oh. Also, Rose was a little crazy but also a real one! I don't think I would’ve done half the things she did. Doesn’t make me a bad friend, but it’s just not me. Overall, pretty good psychological thriller! I didn’t see the plot twists coming until it hit me right dead in the face.

Eve !!! Honestly wasn’t worth it but I love how the story unfolded definitely would recommend to friends and other readers

Whew, this one had me hooked from the jump. Whispers of the Lake was emotional, eerie, and had just the right amount of suspense. Shanora really knows how to build tension and keep you flipping pages late into the night. I didn’t know who to trust, and I loved every minute of it. That ending? Yeah, I’m still thinking about it.

Thank you Dafina for the gifted digital ARC (and Shanora for the gifted physical ARC!)

Shanora Williams strikes again! I read this book in less than 12 hours, it is an absolute banger. I have to start by saying our female MC, Rose, is a MUCH better person than me. I won't say more than that so it doesn't spoil anything.

I loved the pacing of the story, and the fact that you were never fully confident about who you could trust. The big twist totally threw me for a loop, and I really enjoyed how everything wrapped up.

I will continue to devour everything Shanora writes! I am so grateful to be on her ARC team, she does not get enough hype!

Whispers of the Lake pub date is June 24.

I devoured the first 35% ish in one sitting, then it gets a bit over the top but overall it’s an easy and fast read thriller! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, what a ride!

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams. An easy book to get hooked into, Rose’s ex best friend, Eve, goes missing, and Rose (despite her complicated feelings) drops everything to find out what on earth has happened to her. This leads her to a cottage on a lake which travel reviewer Eve was meant to be reviewing when she disappeared. I liked the tail end of this book, when it ramps up abit. There were definitely unlikeable characters, and I did struggle abit with them.
Thankyou NetGalley, the author and publisher for early access to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I have read 2 other thrillers by this author so I know what to expect. Messy characters, messy relationships, simple writing that makes it a popcorn read I can fly through. And yet, I didn't love this one.

Don't get me wrong, this is a short book you can fly through. The author's writing is easy to read and just flip through the pages. However, the pacing in this one wasn't the best. Usually I feel like the author is good at keeping up the pace of the story. Since this one read more as a mystery than a thriller in the beginning, it was kind of slow as she gathered clues. I kept finding myself not called to pick up the book because the suspense just wasn't there for me.

The ending, while it did pick up, I just feel some of it just felt convenient. For example, the journal entries.
In the beginning they were okay but as we kept getting more information, it just felt inconsistent. And then of course, we don't get a piece of key information until it's convenient. Then at that point, you just know it's the villain. I've noticed the author does this in their other books but because I was kind of bored in the beginning, I couldn't really move past it in the beginning.

I will say that I enjoyed the messy dynamics of the relationships, the messy characters. That's an element that I enjoy that this author adds to their thrillers. Some topics were heavy (SA, abuse, etc) and because the author writes these popcorn thrillers, I don't think some were handled that well (I side eye the therapists in this book a little). But, loved the little romance that was in it. Just added a little light touch to so much...dark things.

Overall, I would recommend this to people who just want a mystery that reads fast. Check content warnings, though! There's quite a few.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. The character development really stands out for me, and I love how the author wrote her flawed characters in such a way that I couldn’t help but root for them. I think thriller readers will really like this one.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was exactly what i was looking for - a thriller book set in a lake house a while away from other people/other cities and when i tell you i flew through the book - i did omg. I finished this book in 3 days when i had barely time when so that has to say something about the book. In around 70% of the book i took a guess at who the one at fault is and boy oh boy i was soo wrong, it feels stupid even thinking it right now. But in the end im happy for Rose, Zoey, and Rory.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Whispers of the Lake is yet another twisty thriller from Shanora Williams, and it definitely delivered on the twists and turns! I was immersed from almost the first page, wanting to unravel the tangled web at the center of the book. And while some aspects fell a little short of expectations, it was a wild ride nonetheless.
This is definitely one of those thrillers where all the characters are very unlikable. As such, I wasn’t massively invested in them. But I did find the drama between them compelling, in the way I also enjoy messy interpersonal drama. While the musings about how Eve betrayed her friendship with Rose by sleeping with Rose’s husband were a bit overdone, I did appreciate how it contributed to Eve’s complex feelings about the matter.
The mystery was fairly compelling, although the ending was where it kind of jumped the shark for me. I feel like I had more personal investment in the messy interpersonal dynamics, so having the “twist” be removed from that, while creating shock value, had me scratching my head more than gasping in surprise.
But while this wasn’t my favorite of Shanora Williams’ thrillers, there were still aspects I enjoyed. I’d definitely still recommend it if you enjoy thrillers with flawed, messy characters, especially featuring Black people in leading roles.

If your ex-best friend went missing, would you drop everything to find her? Reluctantly, Rose does just thar, even after her ultimate betrayal. And to do that, she uses her investigative journalist skills to dig around this small town. I really enjoyed that we got to see the best friend's perspective on the events that happened. I could understand why some things happened and she became more likeable, instead of just a selfish friend.

This was a great introduction to Shanora Williams and I can't wait to dive into the rest of her catalog.

A fast paced thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire book. I personally didn’t trust ANYONE.
Rose (ex) bestfriend goes missing, as much as she doesn’t want to care, she wants to find out where the heck Eve is. As she figures out where Eve last location is, she takes the trip to ask the necessary questions to figure out what might’ve happen to her or did she just disappear in true Eve fashion.

Now listen🤣 I finished this book so fast because I really needed to figure out if Eve was playing. The whole time I kept saying “ Eve don’t piss me off”🤣🤣. The eerie tension in this book really kept me hooked. I was side eyeing everyone, and when I say everyone even those damn brownies 🤣🤣🤣 ( you’ll see, just read it, ok?)🤣🤣

Overall , i really enjoyed this book. If you’re looking for a fast paced thriller I highly recommend this one.

Whew… let me catch my breath. This was another fast-paced thriller that I devoured in one sitting!

In this story, we follow Rose, an investigative reporter on the cusp of her big break while simultaneously dealing with a cheating husband. Just as her career is about to take off, she receives devastating news: her childhood best friend, Eve, has vanished from an Instagram-worthy remote cabin in the small town of Sage Hill. Reluctantly, Rose travels to Sage Hill to investigate her friend’s disappearance—only to discover that beneath the town’s picture-perfect facade lies a web of dark secrets.

The narrative alternates between Rose’s present-day investigation and journal entries from her past, building suspense until the big reveal.

While I figured out the killer early on, I still thoroughly enjoyed the tense atmosphere and the eerie small-town vibes. Rose sometimes frustrated me; she tended to jump headfirst into dangerous situations without much thought, but her fierce loyalty to Eve kept me invested. This is ultimately a story about how trauma can seep into every corner of our lives and shape who we become. Rose and Eve’s complicated friendship was layered, raw, and compelling.

⚠️ I do recommend checking the content warnings before picking this one up, as the story contains multiple instances of domestic violence.

Pick this one up if you’re in the mood for a stay up all night, read under the covers with a flashlight kind of thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.