Trigger Warning for Sexual Assault

I think that this solidifies Shanora Williams as an author that I will continue to read from. This has journal entries from Eve. And I really liked that extra element because it helps us understand her perspective and why she did the things she did.

This was a good mystery/thriller. Rose was your typical self-sacrificing protagonist. Eve, poor Eve. It was hard to hate her, despite all of the destruction she left in her path. My heart broke for her over and over throughout this book. I found myself growing more attached to Eve’s character and story than Rose’s. I really enjoyed this and wouldn’t have minded if it was a little longer. I recommend this for a quick and enjoyable read.



Thank you to NetGalley & Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this eARC!

I've really enjoyed this author's other books, The Other Mistress and The Bitter Truth, so I was looking forward to reading this one! Rose is healing from the break up of her marriage when she begins to help search for her missing ex-best friend, Eve. Rose seems to be heartbroken and work oriented, focused on a new story that might make her career take off. So it really was surprising and seemed very out of character for her to drop everything to search for Eve, even placing herself in danger to do so (and never even finishing that important story, even at the end). Eve had led a troubled life and readers get a glimpse of that by reading her diary entries. I loved the spooky atmosphere of the small town, Sage Hill and finding out all of the town's hidden secrets, which contrasted with the beauty of the lake and woods at the cottage where both Eve and Rose stayed while there. I enjoyed the story's twists and turns, as I kept reading and couldn't put the book down! The story however, was at times a bit unbelievable when Rose, an intelligent resourceful, woman, keeps making the same safety judgement mistakes over and over again, despite warnings from her family and the police. Also the mystery's resolution was a bit too much a surprise revelation, instead of a mystery where there are clues imbedded to piece together along the way, as seemed to be more the case in the author's previous books. I did enjoy the ending, where Rose was heading towards a brighter future and look forward to reading more by this author.

Fast paced thriller with an ending that i never saw coming. Great story about friendship and the lengths you would go for someone.

In my opinion, this book was one of Shanora Williams worst books. The plot fell through halfway, the main characters were not remotely likeable, it was slow paced at first but 70% in started flying. It seemed thrown together the last half of the book, just go wrap it up quickly. I hate leaving bad reviews, but I have to be honest.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book until I figured out what was going on. It wasn't necessarily predictable it just turned into more of a mystery then a thriller at some point. I still love me some Shanora Williams and will continue to read everything she writes.

3.5 stars.

I found this book to be a really compelling read! Rose’s character stood out to me—I admired her determination to uncover the truth about Eve’s disappearance, even after the painful history between them.
My heart broke for the trauma Eve and her sister endured growing up—it was heavy and heartbreaking.

As the story unfolded, I found myself suspect of literally everyone in that town. I had plenty of theories, but when the truth about what happened to Eve was finally revealed, I was completely taken by surprise. It was the last person I would’ve suspected!

Anything by Shanora Williams and I guarantee she’ll have you trying to guess what’s coming next. This one is a perfect summer vacation by the water read.

Rose Howard is an investigative reporter who has found herself in the middle of her own mystery. Her marriage is in shambles after her husband's betrayal and she's not speaking to her best friend, Eve. When Eve's sister calls Rose to try to track Eve down, Rose takes it upon herself to try to track Eve down. When she arrives at the last place Eve was, Rose quickly realizes that something isn't right and she needs to use all her investigative skills to find out what happened to her friend.

This is a quick thriller where you trust no one and can't wait to see what happens next. I read this book in one sitting. Curl up for an afternoon and dive into this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC of Whispers of the Lake.

Thank you to Netgalley and Shanora Williams for this ARC of "Whispers Of the Lake" in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. It was very fast paced and I was able to complete it in one sitting, as it kept my attention and I needed to know what happened to Eve.

I really enjoyed the multiple POV, through Rose's storytelling and Eve's diary. We were able to see both sides of an extremely complex relationship.

This was my first Shanora Williams novel but will not be my last. I look forward to finding other books that she has written now.

Whispers of the Lake
Shanora Williams

Investigative reporter Rose is in the midst of a divorce from a cheating husband. He cheated with her best friend, Eve. Eve, a travel blogger, is now missing, without her purse or passport, and it is up to Rose to find out what happened to her. Despite the fact she cut her off after cheating, Rose still cares enough to find her even if it means putting her own life in danger by returning to the cabin by the lake Eve visited just before she vanished.
This was a bit of a dark and twisted thriller, but I’m here for it. One thing is for sure, Shanora knows how to bring the drama! Thoroughly entertaining, it was the perfect read to beat my summer slump and may be my favorite of Ms. Williams so far. 4 ⭐️
Thanks to the author, Kensington Publishing, and #Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What a ride! This book was so amazing. Whispers or the Lake had such an emotional element on top of all of the suspense. It had twists. a small town, a great plot and relatable characters. This was a domestic thriller all lovers of the genre should read.

OKAY THRILLS! This was such a journey my goodness. I enjoyed every bit of it! Shanora Williams is an auto-buy author for me!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Whispers of the Lake plunges us into a murky emotional landscape where trauma isn’t just a backdrop—it’s the undercurrent pulling every character deeper into themselves. Shanora Williams delivers a chilling domestic thriller wrapped in an exploration of loss, identity, and trust. But what makes this tale stand apart isn’t its plot twists alone—it’s the emotional contouring she applies to each reveal, like bruises surfacing long after the wound.

Williams layers her descriptions with a haunting stillness that mirrors the protagonist's internal fog. This setting amplifies the novel’s claustrophobic dread while also offering a false sense of serenity. You’ll feel the chill in the air, the heaviness in each silence, and the creeping sense that something—or someone—is watching.

Williams plays with memory like a trick mirror. She leans into the psychological unraveling of the protagonist, who returns to her childhood lake house not to find peace, but to confront the ghost of a tragedy that refuses to stay buried. Grief, maternal tension, buried truths, and moral ambiguity swirl together to blur what’s real and what’s not. Each chapter feels like a slow breath before a scream.

The protagonist's voice is raw and unreliable in the most artful way. Her pain is textured—never exaggerated—and her confusion feels honest. The side characters are deliberately constructed to feed the reader’s suspicion. No one is safe from the reader’s doubt, which makes the final turn not just surprising, but genuinely unsettling.

Whispers of the Lake is a meditation on how trauma distorts the shape of reality. Shanora Williams doesn’t ask the reader to solve the puzzle; she dares them to wade into the water, knowing it might change them.

☆ARC REVIEW☆
Publication date: Available now!

Honestly if it weren't for the narrator that I listened to along with reading, I would have DNF'd. For me, the narrator definitely saved it because it was far too slow moving and did not keep my attention.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, Kensington Publishing afor advanced copies in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the suspense and it definitely kept me on my toes. The characters were likable, and the ending was satisfactory. I would definitely recommend it to others.

Shanora Williams has done it again. This is a "who done it and why" type mystery and a twisted, dark story, wrapped up into one masterpiece. Impeccably written, the characters are well developed and even paced.

With Rose's marriage in shambles and her former best friend missing, her investigative skills are put to the test. There were twists and turns and lots of suspense which I love! There is a built up from the beginning of the book all the way to end. Well done!

This was my first read from Shanora Williams, and I’m officially hooked! Whispers of the Lake is fast-paced, suspenseful, and full of twists; I couldn't put it down. While Rose’s risky decisions had my nerves shot more than once, her drive to uncover the truth pulled me all the way to the last page. A crumbling marriage, a missing friend, buried secrets, and small-town tension collide in a story that questions whether Rose is fueled more by her reporter instincts or lingering loyalty to her friend, Eve. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC. This was a chilling thrill ride I won’t soon forget!

This book was amazing and I’m so proud of Shanora Williams. The story kept me on my toes. I was expecting one perpetrator and I was taken aback when it was someone else. I loved the mystery aspect. I probably wouldn’t consider this a thriller. It was definitely a mystery. I really hope more people dive into Shanora’s catalogue. She deserves all her flowers!

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams
Rating: 2.5 stars

Whispers of the Lake starts with a compelling enough hook: Rose Howard, a successful but burnt-out journalist, leaves behind her crumbling marriage and career pressures to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her ex-best friend, Eve, in the quiet town of Sage Hill. But while the premise hints at suspense and emotional depth, the execution is another story.

The writing is littered with clichés from the very beginning—every tired thriller trope imaginable gets pulled out: tripping while running, hiding in obvious places, ignoring law enforcement, losing cell signal at the exact wrong moment. It often felt like reading the script of a predictable horror film. I spent at least half the book internally yelling at Rose for her baffling decisions and needed frequent breaks just to recover from the sheer ridiculousness of some scenes.

The prose itself is overwrought, relying heavily on similes and melodramatic introspection. The book opens with clunky emotional declarations like “How do I find that dreaded happiness again?” and never really recovers. There’s a tendency to state rather than evoke emotion, and the narration leans hard into the “tell, don’t show” trap. Eve, in particular, is handled poorly—we’re not given the space to develop our own feelings about her. Instead, the narrative insists we feel sorry for her, often inserting therapist notes and journal entries as shortcuts to empathy.

The dialogue and internal monologue were often unnatural, and I found the narration grating—too dramatic, too self-important. The protagonist's voice didn't feel authentic or grounded, and instead of creating tension, many scenes bordered on eye-roll inducing.

Even structurally, the book raised questions. It takes nearly a week for Eve to be reported missing, and it's her ex-best friend—not her sister—who takes action. That choice, and others like it (including reporting her in her home city rather than the town where she vanished), didn’t feel believable.

The cover and title also acted as accidental spoilers, giving away more than they should. And while the themes around mental health could have added depth, they were handled clumsily, with lines that reinforced harmful stigmas like “If I take meds, I’ll be weak.”

In the end, Whispers of the Lake felt like a missed opportunity—a book that had all the ingredients for a moody, tense mystery, but fell back on lazy plotting, tired writing, and frustrating character work.

Thank you to Shanora Williams, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.