This thriller was definitely thrilling! The atmosphere and vibes were spot on! It kept me on the edge of my seat and twists were awesome! I have loved everything this author has written! 5 stars ⭐️

ARC Review

Whispers of the Lake by @reallyshanora

5 stars

A marriage on the rocks, a missing friend, and a tangle of shocking lies converge at a peaceful North Carolina lakefront cottage in this irresistibly twisty new psychological thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shanora Williams.

“There are friends you keep for life who feel similar to your heart- an organ you carry with you at all times. One you take care of and listen to. One who means so much to you. Then there are the friends who are like dead limbs. Sure, it’ll hurt cutting the limb off and yes, amputation will suck, but you’ll find so much relief when you realize you don’t have to carry such a heavy burden anymore.”

This fast paced thriller was a messy, bingeable read that kept me turning the pages! The last 20 percent had me holding my breath and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! The journal entries were the perfect icing on the cake!

This is my new favorite thriller from Shanora! 10/10 recommend! Get your hands on Whispers of the Lake dropping June 24th.

#thrillerbooks #shanorawilliams #whispersofthelake #kensingtonpublishing @kensingtonbooks #netgalley @netgalley

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this book. “Whispers of the Lake” publishes June 24, 2025.

This was a pretty solid mystery/thriller. It follows Rose, who is trying to find out what happens to her former best friend, Eve, when she stops answering everyone’s phone calls and messages. Rose starts to investigate what’s happening, and we’re provided the perspective from Rose, as well as journal entries from Eve peppered throughout.

The story itself was good. It was straightforward, and not overly twisty. It had its twists, that I ended up guessing just before the reveal, but they definitely weren’t on my radar beforehand. I didn’t know how the story would fully progress or wrap up, so that was a pleasant outcome.

For the characters, I really liked Rose. I think she has very real reactions, although I do think she was almost too forgiving. Eve, on the other hand, annoyed me a lot. Even her journal entries annoyed me - I found her an unlikeable character who was just aggressively sex obsessed. That type of character doesn’t work for me, so I found it harder to connect to her.

Loved this quick read by Shanora Williams!! It quickly reminded me that I just need to grab her entire catalog. The story starts with a fast paced “Waiting to Exhale” moment and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I also appreciated the plot twist as it was not on my radar. Perfect, cozy, weekend thriller!!

This is very engaging read, starts off strong and kept me interested the whole time! I really enjoyed it! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for arc copy of this book!

I truly enjoy this book from the very beginning.
Rose’s sense of betrayal by her best friend and husband.
I felt how emotionally damaged Eve was. The childhood trauma she and Zoey endured. The strong bond of friendship, no matter how devastating would compel you to seek out the truth if your loved one went missing.
This is a story of family, friendship, pain and suffering, acceptance and closer. Thank you Netgelly for this ARC.

Not surprising, I could not bring myself to put this down for the last 150 pages.

Eve isn’t taking calls and her former bff, Rose, as much as she’d like to leave it alone is swept up in reaching her. As she begins to track Eve, she’s sucked into a vacuum of secrecy in an equally mysterious and somewhat sinister town.

Shanora ALWAYS hooks us from the first few pages and I know I’ll spend the entirety of the book dying for answers. This was no different! I loved the characters at play, so many suspects, so much detective work for the reader. There is a subplot of relationships-friendships, marriage, dating, familial which are all tackled as the story progresses. None of it is easy but all of it is eligible for healing.

Rose is an investigative reporter. She is at a weird place in her life. While career wise everything is going well, her personal life is going downhill. In the midst of investigating a huge case, her former best friend Eve has gone missing. In Rose’s mind she is done with Eve, why should she care? Still she begrudgingly sets out to figure out where Eve is.

This was a quick fast pace thriller with a little action! The characters were well written and the layers of complexity in the relationship between the two main characters, had me rooting for a particular outcome. I did not see the twist coming!

Is there anything Shanora can’t right?!?! After obsessing over Beautiful Broken Love I can say this thriller didn’t disappoint. It was such a fast pace, binge worthy thriller with so many reveals.. I enjoyed the pace and reveals throughout the chapters. Eve’s diary entires were a nice touch to give us more of an idea of who Eve was( not sure how I feel about her and her decisions) overall this was a great popcorn type thriller.

This was such a good read! The characters were great, the story line had serious depth and the suspense was insane. This was twisty and turny and real solid mystery. I absolutely loved this one.

If your best friend betrays you in an unimaginable way, how far would you go to find them when they go missing? That’s the journey that Rose finds herself on, but “some truths are best left alone. And secrets [she] never saw coming could easily sink her and her future without a trace.”

Y’all we’ve got another messy and bingeable thriller from Mrs. Shanora! This one has all the drama and all the small town vibes. I knocked this out in just a view hours.

I have been waiting for another book from Queen Shanora and wow here it is! So happy for the chance to read the ARC from NetGalley. This book was even more thrilling than ones before. Living Rose's frantic efforts to find her missing friend Eve was filled with dread and anxiety. It kept me guessing and sweating til the end. The end - wow brought out all my feels! Home run, Miss Shanora! Can't wait for the next one.

A marriage on the rocks, a missing friend, and a tangle of shocking lies converge at a peaceful North Carolina lakefront cottage in this irresistibly twisty new psychological thriller!! Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had good suspense, mystery, murder, dark secrets, intrigue, a good who done it and some shocking twists!! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

The Book is very engaging! The story started off strong and kept me interested S trying to pick up hints as to who did it! This book was amazing! The plot the writing got me hooked from the beginning and did not let me go! I The journal entries from Eve were re a great touch. She was guiding the story of what happened to her. There was not a dull moment in the book. it read like a movie! Shanora Williams is a " New to me author" NOW that I see for myself how wonderful her writing and plots are, I will for sure be going though her catalog of work! I can't wait for everyone to read whispers of the Lake! Great job!!

Imagine your best-friend goes missing, and no one has heard from her in days. Although she did something awful to lose your trust and betrayed you, you still care about her and you want to find out where she is so you take a trip to the cottage where her last known location was.



I love a good fast paced thriller that keeps me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This book was just that. .



Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advance readers copy of this book.

Rose went no contact with her best friend Eve a few months before due to a horrible betrayal. However, when Eve turns up missing, Rose can't help but feel the need to look for her. She tracks down her last known location and can't get over the fact that everyone seems to be hiding something.

Whispers of the Lake was a fairly tame thriller. While it was a bit predictable and not necessarily super twisty, it was well done and a good read. I did find Rose to be a bit annoying because she seemed to be an absolutely terrible decision maker, but that could be just me. I did feel that there was a large cast of characters and it got a bit muddled at times. But overall, it was a solid 3.5 star read but I feel good rounding to 4 :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rose, an investigative journalist is searching everywhere for answers surrounding the disappearance of her childhood best friend. This story definitely kept my interest but please read the trigger warnings. The book is not that dark or graphic but at times felt very real and sad to me. I think that shows how great of an author Shanora Williams is. There are some layers here that I enjoyed diving into. What makes someone who they are and how does their upbringing affect them and the decisions they make? Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I was definitely expecting something darker and creepier. The story had a few dull moments, which just threw off the pace. There was a lot going on though, so I still wanted to see it through.

I found the main character Rose a bit irritating, but that’s probably the intention of the author.. making you feel an emotion towards her. She seemed to do things her own way and not listen at all. And then there was Eve, who may have been misunderstood but when it came down to it, her decisions were her own fault. Rose won’t stop till she finds Eve, who goes missing. But damn does she get herself into a mess.

Overall this book was okay at best, it had potential to be pretty good. I appreciate the ARC! 2.5⭐️ rounded up

This is my second Shanora Williams book, and i really enjoyed this one.so thank you netgalley for the arc.this book waas really entertaining, the pacing was medium. while there is a lot happening in the story it kept me on the edge of my seat. Rose best friend Eva kissed her husband Cole and now she is missing.

If Shanora Williams writes it, I’m going to read it. This was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed every second I spent reading it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!