3.5 stars
Rose Howard's career as an investigative reporter is really starting to take off. She's in the middle of pursuing a big story when she gets a call from Zoey, who is like a little sister to her. Zoey's older sister, Eve, seems to have disappeared and isn't responding to calls or messages. It's not unlike Eve to disappear but isn't like her to ignore Zoey, so in spite of the fact that they had a falling out months ago, Rose agrees to help. Her search takes her to the small town of Sage Hill which seems to have a lot of hidden secrets.

The premise of this book is very intriguing. It's fast-paced and has some very suspenseful moments and surprising plot twists. It's mainly told from Rose's point-of-view but also includes several of Eve's journal entries. The flawed characters have more than one toxic relationship and I just couldn't connect with them. I really enjoyed this author's book, The Bitter Truth, but this wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this ebook. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Okay, Shanora Williams—ma’am—you’ve done it again. I’ve read every single one of her thrillers, and let me tell you, if Shanora ever decides to hang up her thriller hat, I will personally stage a protest at the edge of that lake. I don’t care how gorgeous the scenery is—I’m not leaving until I get more thrillers.

This book? Whew. It's giving “don’t talk to me, I’m reading” energy from page one. Fast-paced, twisty, and just the right amount of WHAT IS HAPPENING?! to keep me glued to the pages like a woman possessed. I devoured it like Rose devours secrets—and trust me, there are plenty to go around in this deceptively peaceful little town of Sage Hill.
Look, I love Shanora’s romance. I do. But her thrillers? They hit different. They hit hard. And they’re exactly the dark, addictive stories I crave when I need a break from HEAs and want to dive into OMG-WHAT-DID-I-JUST-READ territory.

Keep ‘em coming, Shanora. Because thriller Shanora is my favorite Shanora—and I will absolutely be at the front of the line for the next one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (and a side-eye to that cabin owner because... yeah, you’ll see.)

Shanora never misses for me!

I love this one. It was definitely fast paced and definitely a page turner. Just when I thought I had it figured out I definitely didn’t.

I will continue to read absolutely everything she puts out. If you like thrillers, crime, and a who dun it story this is for you.

Thank you to Netgally for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Whispers of the Lake, Shanora Williams delivers a gripping tale of betrayal, redemption, and the dangerous truths that lie just beneath the surface of a fractured friendship. The story follows Rose, a determined investigative reporter who becomes entangled in the disappearance of Eve—her former best friend turned estranged acquaintance after a devastating betrayal involving Eve’s husband.

Despite their painful history, Rose is compelled to uncover the truth behind Eve’s sudden vanishing. What begins as a personal mission quickly unravels into a suspense-filled journey laced with secrets, lies, and unexpected danger. Williams expertly builds tension while peeling back the layers of a complex relationship and a mystery that refuses to stay buried.

With compelling character dynamics and a plot that steadily intensifies, Whispers of the Lake is a twisty and emotionally charged thriller that keeps the pages turning and the questions coming. A must-read for fans of domestic suspense and stories where nothing—and no one—is as it seems.

I could not put this down. It doesn't matter what genre Shanora Williams writes, she is a master! I was hooked from the beginning and the mystery within kept me on my toes.

Rose is a reporter whose best friend Eve goes missing. As Rose does her own investigating, events come to light, people are involved that you don't expect and the ending is the ultimate mind blow! Such a fantastically written piece!

When Your Ex Best Friend goes missing what do you do?
Rose and Eve grew up together. They became close because Eve was experiencing abuse at home and Rose became a safe space for her. But as they grown their friendship becomes strained because of a betrayal that makes Rose abandon the friendship all together. Eve gows missing and Rose immediately jumps into investigation mode to find her even though she questions why she’s doing it in the first place. Prepare for plot twists to drop at the end of each chapter and for the story to take you on a ride.

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh, we all have that friend that we can't handle, and we distance ourselves from them. Yet when something happens to that friend, we drop everything to help them. This is the story of Rose and her friend Eve.

Eve is a travel vlogger. She and Rose grew up together and were best friends, until Rose caught Eve is a strange circumstance. This becomes the last straw for Rose and she distances herself from Eve. Eve's sister calls frantic one day because she has not heard from her in a while; this causes Rose to investigate what has happened to her friend.

The investigation leads Rose to a small town and some strange people. Everyone feels like a suspect in Eve's disappearance. Many blocks are placed in Rose's way but she still powers on looking for her lost friend.

Eve also leaves clues in her journal but will Rose discover what has happened to Eve before sometime happens to her?

Whispers of the Lake is a page turner, and who you think may have done something to Eve on one page, the next chapter, you may have a new suspect. This is one of the best crime thrillers I have read this quarter.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:

Easy-to-read, Entertaining, Page-turner, Twisted, Unpredictable, Wonderful characters

This is a very standard thriller that I'm simply tired of reading. The twists are all the old ones and the end villain is a terminator-style person who is everywhere and seemingly invincible. It's so overdone.
However, my larger issue with this book was inconsistency of the characters and the fact that things changed a few times to suit the narrative. Like: in the beginning of the book our MC couldn't open the laptop because she didn't have the code. But suddenly when all the investigative avenues are done she knows the passcode and that gets her to the next piece of information. It was my fault too though, I should have vetted this book as amateur detective and I did not.
Lastly, the slant against white people was tiring. I see the argument but the snippyness was really off-putting and made me uncomfortable and not like I wanted to participate. And the authors slant against women who sleep with multiple people, people who don't go to therapy, white men, and people in power was gross. I appreciated the therapy rep but it was done so poorly I wouldn't encourage anyone to use that as an example of how therapy goes or what to expect.
Overall this book was not for me.

This book started out interesting, it took so long for something thrilling go happen. This book to me really is not a thriller the story line was prolonged a little too long. Some parts of the book became boring because it dragged out some stuff that basically we already can figure out.

Rose is a sharp investigative reporter known for uncovering the truth—just not always her own. Still reeling from a failed marriage, her life takes another hit when her sister calls with shocking news: her former best friend has gone missing. The same woman who betrayed her in the most unforgivable way. Why should she care?

But some betrayals don’t stay buried—and neither do secrets.

Bestselling author Shanora Williams delivers another twist-packed psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning everything until the very last page.

Intriguing read that held my attention and was overall entertaining. With a mysterious and eerie undertone, it blended small town secrets & emotional drama.

When Rose & her best friend Eve end their friendship after many many years, Rose is the least bit concerned when Eve’s sister Zoe calls to inform her that Eve is missing. Eve has been a bit unpredictable, a bit of a wild card and sometimes known for disappearing. Rose is asked to investigate her ex friends disappearance, and it takes her to a small town that clearly follows their own rules. Secrets are revealed, trusts are broken, as Rose tries to uncover the truth about her missing friend.

Overall a decent mysterious storyline that was worth the read. I enjoyed the alternating POVs from Rose’s point of view and Eve’s diary. There weren’t many twists and turns in this story, as a typical thriller would have, I would classify the more of a mystery. Thank you Kensington Publishing
and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication 🗓️ : 06.24.25

This was my first thriller by Shanora Williams and definitely not my last! Whispers at the Lake grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. Williams does a fantastic job building tension, dropping subtle clues that keep you guessing until the final shocking reveal. The emotional depth makes the story hit harder, making it more than just a thriller—it’s also a story about trauma, resilience, and trust.

As for the characters, Eve is layered and compelling, with a past that slowly unravels as the plot unfolds. I loved her journal entries. The most. It resonated so well with that was going on and we learned a deeper understanding of what she was really battling in life that got her to this place. You never know what’s a person is really going through in their life. Childhood traumas are real! I think Rose was a great friend despite what happened between her and Eve. I’m glad she went looking for her friend.

I can’t wait to read more thrillers by Shanora! I recommend getting the audiobook for this one. The narrator did a great job at bringing this story to life.

I received a complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are mine.

Shanora Williams surely put her back into it and she really tricked me in picking the wrong villain in this story because when that reveal came out I was so shocked. The book follows Rose who works as an investigator and the friend that broke her heart but she has to put aside her feelings to find her best friend Eve who is missing . It’s a thrilling read that also touches on friendship’s ,forgiveness’s and trusting your instincts . It’s a perfect read for when you want an escape.

This read was quick. Solid. A lot of moving parts. So much drama. And Eve….girl! ✨

Thanks for the early read!

“𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻.”

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 6/24/25

Audiobook 🎧/ eBook 📖 duel immersion read

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Reporter Rose Gibson sets off to a small lake town to find her missing estranged best friend, Eve. Still fighting her anger and betrayal over Eves actions, she can’t help but worry about her strange disappearance.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🏡 Eerie small lake town
🛶 Short chapters
🏡 Dual POV- present/journal entries
🛶 BIPOC representation

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: I went into this expecting a twisty, eerie, thriller. I got an eerie atmosphere but a story that was mainly about mental health issues. There were so many cliches used and talked about as well. This would only be classified as a thriller by a stretch. I was however interested enough to find out the resolution of Eves disappearance, overall not thrilled about this one. The narrator in the audiobook wasn’t the best option for creating a spooky atmosphere, I found the voice and inflection to pull me into a more “female drama story” type state of mind. I had to stop using the audiobook pretty quickly, and just stick to the ebook.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️💫

TW: Child abuse/neglect, mental health issues, promiscuity, domestic abuse/neglect

*Thank you @NetGalley, @RecordedBooks, and @KensingtonBooks for sending this audiobook and ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a fast paced, gripping, twisty, impossible to put down book, this is it!! Talk about a book that got AND kept my attention!!!!

Imagine this, your best friend does something completely unforgivable, putting a serious strain on your friendship (rightfully so), and then she vanishes. You’re pulled into the search to find her and piece together what really happened.

Despite the complicated emotions, betrayal and hurt you go looking for her. And in the process, you come face to face with dark secrets, painful truths, and things that were meant to stay buried.

This book took me on a ride!!! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. If you are into fast paced thrillers, with a little mess, twists, and an end you don’t see coming, definitely pick this one up! It won’t disappoint!!

This was my first book by this author and it surely won’t be my last!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Rose was certainly a better human/friend than I would've been... She was relentless in her pursuit of the whereabouts of her best friend, Eve. Almost TOO relentless IMO... and maybe that's where some of the disconnect was for me. I just couldn't fully put myself in Rose's shoes after such a significant betrayal. WOULDN'T be me!

While this Mystery/Thriller wasn't as fast-paced as I expected, I didn’t predict who the villian was, and it came together well in the end.

I've been enjoying diving into more of Shanora's books. Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC + audio in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 25%. I really, really wanted to love this one but I was honestly just bored. It was a mix of the writing and the MC, I just did not connect and didn't care enough to keep reading.

A Missing Woman
A Small Town
One Determined Reporter

When Rose learns that her former best friend has mysteriously vanished without a trace, she knows she can't sit idly by. Fueled by concern and a fierce determination, she journeys to the last place her friend was seen, ready to uncover the truth.

This was a Bookclub pick, and honestly, it was just okay for me. The thrills didn’t really thrill, and the mystery kind of fell flat. I’m glad we got to the bottom of what happened and why, but the journey was pretty long and tedious. I even thought about not finishing it, but I hung in there for the bookclub. I think I’ll just stick to this author’s romances from now on.

2.5 stars. Very forgettable. The writing is fine, but the story is pretty bland and the characters — especially Eve, who seems designed to elicit sympathy — are weirdly unlikable.