‘The Whispers’ by Heidi Perks, reviewed by Jeanette

‘The Whispers’ by Heidi Perks, reviewed by Jeanette

I know the Number 1 rule is not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover of this book caught my attention – the title in bold orange and then underneath the chilling words!

A missing wife

Four friends

Who is telling the Truth!!

I had attempted to read this book before and had put it down, but in this surreal time of lockdown, I picked it up again to read and I am glad I did.  It is the story of relationships, secrets and the intricacies of childhood friendship, between the two main characters, Anna and Grace.  The friendship wasn’t as idyllic as it seems, and years later; when Grace comes back to live in Clearwater, her hometown, when they grew up and struggled with fitting into the group of Anna’s friends now – Nancy, Rachel and Caitlyn  Anna goes missing after a night out with the friends, and it is the obsession of Grace to find her is scary.  The tension,  disappointments, jealousy and fear of exposing childhood secrets all build up ‘on a slow boil’ to the ending.

I liked the descriptive way the author wove into the main story the other characters.  It is a sign of a good author when you can visualise the characters in your mind.  I always prefer to read English crime/thrillers, they seem to have more depth of story and characters than some American ones.

Read this book and have an intense ride along the way.