The following review was posted on Goodreads on 6.26.25:

I reread the first book in this series earlier this year and then read the second installment, so I was primed and ready for this newest installment (which comes out in September). The last book was a bit disappointing, partly because I didn't love the narrators; I was happy to discover that THE WHISPER PLACE is told through the perspectives of Max, Jonah, and Kate (the missing woman Max and Jonah are hired to find). Max isn't the most dynamic of characters, but Jonah is much more interesting. Kate is sympathetic and likable enough although she's not very unique or memorable. Eve and Earl (my favorite characters in the series) make several appearances in this installment, which made me happy. I just wish they had played a bigger role in the story.

As far as plot goes, this book is just as exciting as its predecessors with lots of conflict and action to keep it interesting. The story's vibe is darker and more disturbing, though. It's not very original either. That being said, the novel is still a page turner. I kept reading because I cared about the characters and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. So engrossed was I that I whipped through THE WHISPER PLACE in about a day.

The first book in this series is still my favorite. I'll stick with the series, though, because I like the characters and I want to see how they develop and progress over time. I'd love to see more Eve and Earl. No matter what, Mejia knows how to tell stories that draw me in and keep me reading. Whatever she writes, I'll read.

If I could, I would give this book 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I'm rounding up.

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, violence, blood/gore, disturbing subject matter, and sexual content

The Whisper Place is the third book in the series featuring private investigators Max, a retired cop, and Jonah, a psychic as they join forces to find missing persons, aided by Jonah’s visions. In this edition, the duo are hired by a boyfriend to locate a young woman who has disappeared from a small town. The problem: her boyfriend won’t go to the police, and he doesn’t know her name. The first part of the book moves quickly, with the pair using their respective skills to try and identify the woman, uncovering a shady past of a woman apparently on the run. But the book gets slowed down as Jonah grapples with his relationship with his new girlfriend Eve, a client from a previous case, made even more difficult due to his psychic abilities. Some of the narrative is also confusing as the scenes shift timeframes, but those shifts aren’t clearly marked, so it takes the reader a second to decipher exactly where you are in the story, a minor annoyance that could have been eliminated with a graphic. All in all it’s still an entertaining read, the pairing of the two partners works well, and Jonah’’s issues aside, it’s a suspenseful story. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy! I will say i found it hard to follow in the beginning which felt like a slightly slower start because i didn’t realize this was a third book in the series, totally my fault. But i was still able to read it as a standalone! I’d love to read the first two books and read this again!

Third in the Iowa Mystery Series. Max and Jonah are hired by a man to find his missing girlfriend, a woman with no past, who came out of nowhere, and then disappeared back into it. He's not even sure of her name. We slowly learn just how horrific her past was, and why she can't seem to stop running. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mindy Mejia for the ARC of this. I enjoyed this story alot, but there were places where I felt that they were just added in as filler pages. I enjoyed the character development through the book and the ending was a satisfying conclusion after the revealed twist. I also enjoyed the multiple POV style of it, even though sometimes it became a little jumpy. Overall I found it an enjoyable book, with good characters, well-written and a satisfying twist and conclusion.

I’m a big fan of the Iow Mystery series by Mindy Mejia. “The Whisper Place” fits right in with the first two books. It was face-paced and intense. As someone who read the first two books (it’s been a while), I do appreciate the slight recaps to jog my memory. I also think it’s helpful for those who are new to the series.

The multiple POV was also extremely well done. There was a lot of depth to the plot of this one and I loved how atmospheric it was. The twists were well designed and not one right after the other, which really helped me enjoy the book.

It stands up well on its own, but I recommend reading the first two books in the series, simply because they’re all great.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected and was able to jump right in despite it being book three of a series. It was strongest in its relationships, they felt real and I was rooting for all of them, the two partners in the detective agency, Jonah the psychic with the boundary issues and Max and the relationships between Max and his wife, Jonah and his new girlfriend, as well as the mother/daughter and the brother/sister and their friend, the missing woman who was hiding her identity and on the run. While the action sequences were necessary to the plot, they were less interesting to me . Overall a good read.

A gruesome event has Kate on the run, if possible to the end of the earth.
On a break from the road she meets Blake who runs a pastry shop and needs a helping hand. The women connect deeply and Kate decides to stay.
Unfortunately the past catches up with her and Kate goes missing.
With two PI's handling the case, the reader finds out what happened in past and present.

The Whisper Place is a fast paced exciting story, set in modern day Iowa. It moves from sweet baked goods and wide open country with fresh air to rotten wood, an old smelly car trunk and dense woods where past and present collide. A constant power struggle between darkness and light.
This well crafted intense psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.

This is the first book I have read by this author so it took me a bit to get into only because I was confused on a few of the back stories. Completely my fault and the author did a great job of explaining situations to help. This was a nice easy quick read with a few twists. Overall I really enjoyed this book and will look for more by this author. Thank you Netgalley and Mindy Mejia for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing an eArc in exchange for my honest thoughts. I'd like to preface this by saying i had zero idea this was part of a series which is 100% my fault and honestly if I didn't see the title on Goodreads I probably wouldn't have figured it out on my own. That being said, in my opinion it worked well on it's own. We follow three perspectives, Max, Jonah and Darcy, as always with stories set up this way I always tend to gravitate towards specific POVs and for me I leaned towards Max and Darcy more than Jonahs. I really enjoyed this story, but couldn't quite get behind the psychic element (again my fault for not realizing it was part of a series), especially because the main conflict was actually quite believable. I enjoyed the pacing of the present to past, as well as the writing style. This was a solid thriller/mystery but didn't have that oomph for a higher rating in my opinion.  I would read more by this author because I enjoyed the writing but maybe something with less psychic dreams.

The Whisper Place starts as a slow burn, constantly building pressure and intensity before erupting in a panic-induced race to the finish that will have you reading at warp speed with a frantic need to learn the outcome. Mindy Mejia has crafted an emotionally gripping and severely unsettling thriller that will fray your nerves and exercise your heart.

Charlie walks into the office of Celina Investigations and drops a large bundle of cash on the desk, asking Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick to find his missing girlfriend. But there’s a catch – he doesn’t know her real name. It’s the type of case that Max, a former police officer, and Jonah, a psychic detective, are perfectly suited to explore. As they investigate and learn about the missing woman’s past, their concern and sense of urgency explode and create a desperate need to find her immediately. Before it’s too late.

The third book in this series, The Whisper Place does a good job of continued character development to advance the narratives from the two prior books while also representing a good starting point for new readers to jump in. It’s a thriller that thrives on the actions, emotions and relationships between the individuals in the story, using their relatability to build strong connections with the readers that gets them fully invested in the outcome. So, when the story kicks into high gear, increasing the danger and the possibility of multiple characters not surviving, you’re all in and have a visceral need to rocket ahead to get to the conclusion. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst. A feeling that only the best thrillers can pull off. And this thriller is one not to be missed.

“How do you find a woman who doesn’t exist?”
I devoured this twisty thriller set in the haunting backroads of Iowa. The Whisper Place is the third in Mindy Mejia’s Iowa Mysteries series, but it absolutely works as a standalone—I haven’t read the first two (yet!) and still found it gripping from the get-go.

We follow Max, a former cop, and Jonah, a psychic detective (yep, you read that right), as they team up to locate a woman who seems to have vanished into thin air. The case? A man walks into their office with no details, just a desperate plea to find his girlfriend—who may or may not even exist.

Told in multiple POVs, Mejia weaves a compelling mystery that unfolds across roadside diners, eerie woods, and an 80s-inspired bakery (yes please). I loved Max and Jonah’s dynamic—gritty, smart, and quietly vulnerable—and can’t wait to backtrack through books 1 and 2 to see how their partnership began.

With just the right balance of suspense and heart, this book asks: can we really escape who we once were?

4 stars
Out 16 September 2025 – thanks to @groveatlantic and @netgalley for the eARC.

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Mindy Mejia seems to understand what makes people tick and offers us interesting, flawed and very real people.The private investigators in the Iowa series, Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick, are great characters and believable despite Jonah's strange powers. Although this book works well as a stand-alone I would highly recommend readers go back to the start of the series to get the most from these characters' backstories. The plot, as with all of Mejia's books, is intelligent and twisty and will propel the reader along on a tense and enjoyable journey. I will definitely look out for whatever Mindy Mejia offers next and after reading The Whisper Place I was compelled to revisit an early novel of hers "Leave No Trace" which is also well worth a read.My thanks to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for an advance review copy.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

This is the 3rd book in the Iowa mysteries series. I haven't read the 1st two books and I wish I had. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and felt a connection with them. I love watching shows about psychics so this was an added bonus.

My mistake in not knowing that this was a third book in a series, so I was a little confused early on but was able to sort through thanks to some of the backstory being trickled in for the potential new reader. I enjoyed the main characters unlikely teaming to help solve the case of a missing woman.

Thank you Grove Atlantic & NetGally for this ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have ready Mindy Meija's books before, this one was a slow burn at the beginning for me, I think because it is book 3 of a series, had I read the first two books I would have probably followed it a little more. However I enjoyed the character and the plot of this story. I feel like Mindy does a great job with her character building and really painting a great picture. I will definitely be checking out other books in this series!

The Whisper Place
Iowa Mysteries Series, 3
Mindy Mejia
Atlantic Crime
09/16/2025

The Whisper Place is Book 3 in the Iowa Mystery Series following Jonah Kendrick and Max Summerlin and their not so traditional private investigation firm, Celina Investigations. First of all, let me say the first two books are fabulous and the more you read, the more invested you are in Jonah and Max and their quirky but fun relationship as friends and co-workers, but if you don’t have time to read those, it is safe to jump in here. The author will give you just the right amount of information to catch up and not be repetitive for the series readers.
With Max Summerlin’s law enforcement past and Jonah Kendrick’s psychic gifts, they’re an unlikely pair—but exactly the team you’d want on your side when someone goes missing. One day Charlie walks into their office and asks them to find his girlfriend. This is where the questions start. (1) He does not know her last name and a lot of other basic information; (2) He has stacks and stacks of cash and; (3) It is obvious he is holding some secrets of his own.
This story tells us about Darcy (maybe Kate) who is running from something, but what or who is unknown. The Whisper Place is told in a linear timeline, through multiple POV’s with gut wrenching and heart-breaking flashbacks. This book is part mystery and part psychological thriller. Mindy Mejia doesn’t just tell a story—she drops you right into the heart of it. You feel every ounce of the trauma and terror the main character endures. The pacing? Flawless. Just when you think things are settling down, Mejia hits you with a twist that pulls you right back in. The red herrings? Constantly keep you guessing. I won’t be missing a single thing she writes.

Fantastic book! I would highly recommend both this book and other books by this author. Be sure to read this book!

Thank you Netgalley & Grove Atlantic for this E-Arc.

★★★★☆

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Going into this book I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't read any other Mindy Mejias books so everything was new to me.

The first 20% of this book I was a bit confused, which is all on me! Like I said, I've never read any other books by this author, and as this is book 3 in the series, there was some backstory I didn't know. The author did a great job at recapping the important stuff so people like me wouldn't be left in the dark, which was really nice!

I really enjoyed the multiple povs, they all made sense when they appeared so I wasn't necessary looking forward to one specific pov throughout the book.

I binged the "last" 70% of the book because after the original confusion, I really got into the story. I wanted to know what happened, how they were handling the case & how it would all end.

Even though I'm most likely already spoiled for the earlier books, I'm really considering picking them up. The writing style is something I want to experience again!