This thriller noir opens with the body of a woman found at the foot of a cliff - but we don't find out who is dead until the very end. It could be any one of a group of friends - Grace, who has returned to her home town with her young daughter; Anna, her friend from her teenage years, or any one of Anna's new coterie of school-gate chums. The story goes back a few weeks to explain the interactions between the women - Grace feels the new friends are keeping her and Anna from renewing their once close bond. In particular, she suspects Nancy of having some hold over Anna. It soon becomes clear that Anna is troubled about something - but that seems to be related to something that happened in the past, with Grace. It's all going to end in tears, as we know from the opening pages.
I found this story a bit difficult to get into, if I'm honest. Told from the differing viewpoints of Grace and Anna, the narrative rehashes their present circumstances and keeps skirting around the past, so we are more than halfway through the story before it picks up any real action. After that, it gets more interesting as a tale of past tragedy emerges and it becomes clear that there is more than one unreliable narrator.
But the main issue I had with this book was that I didn't warm to any of the characters. You're meant to feel sorry for Grace, frozen out of the friendship group, but her thoughts and actions didn't endear her to me. I felt similarly about Anna and her friends - though to be fair, seen through the prism of Grace's eyes, they don't stand much of a chance.
As a story of flawed friendship, this works well - I just wish there had been more action in the first half, and at least one more sympathetic character.

This is a great read that keeps you on your toes.
It’s hard to know who to believe in this story as both Anna and Grace are quite compelling.
The story centres around the two women after Grace has returned to the UK after spending a lot of years in Australia.
The women were very close friends as children but at seventeen, Grace moved to Australia with her family.
Anna meets Grace on the school playground and we get the view of this from the perspective of other mums whispering about their meeting together.
Anna is now close to three friends but Grace feels that they’re not giving her a chance.
Anna goes missing after a night out with all of them, including Grace and this causes Grace to worry. She can’t believe the others aren’t as concerned but when Anna comes back, we find out she has been trying to find answers.
At this point in the story we see a different side to Grace and the story gets really interesting.
This is a twisty drama about friendship and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this creepy novel

anna and grace are best friends and have been since they were 5 years old...they are friends right up until graces family emigrate to australia

years later grace returns to the very place of her childhood and want to rekindle that friendship with anna but all she sees is a clique, a very tight clique that doesnt let anyone else in...they seem to have control over anna...grace is very concerned to see how controlling they are and wont let grace in...

wow its amazing how reading about this sort of clique happens everyone on the outside looking in and only those in the clique keep those inner secrets...

but is the clique as close or is there something sinister going on

grace is determined to find out and rescue anna...

i must admit the more i read the more grace was getting on my nerves....and at one point i had to walk away then i got back into it and boom it turned about face....gripped right to the end

its the stuff to give you nightmares this sort of book because this sort of things really does happen

Thank you to the publisher for my advanced reading copy of this book.

This was my first Heidi Perks book and sadly I just couldn’t get on with the writing style. There was something about both that and the characters (though well written) that made me struggle to connect or become invested in the story.

This is a book that contains that absolute best and absolute worst in female friendships. Only, as a reader, it isn’t quite clear until the thrilling ending who truly has the other’s best interests at heart. Anna and Grace have an intriguing and complicated relationship, which on the face of it seems somehow threatened by Anna’s other friendship group who appear to want to keep Grace firmly at arm’s length. At times I thought I had them all figured out, only to have my perceptions well and truly turned on their head on the very next page!

Playground politics and whispers at the school gates and beyond form a large part of the storyline, and I have to say it made me feel fortunate to not have experienced this (at least not yet!). Parts of the book brought to mind Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, with the secrets, untruths, pacts and never quite knowing who to trust.

Heidi Perks writes such great thrillers. Twisty, addictive, perceptive, brilliant. With thanks to the publishers for gifting me a digital copy to review. The Whispers is out now in e-book and in hardcover on the 15th April.

Grace and Anna have been friends since they was five , Anna spent a lot of time at Grace’s as her mother had left and Grace’s mum was there for her.
At 17 Grace emigrated to Australia with her family.
Now Grace is back.
One evening Grace, Anna and Anna’s three friends have been out for a drink.
The next morning Anna is nowhere to be found .
What has happened to Anna.
Anna’s three friends come across as nervous Grace thinking that something is not right.
The three friends do not like Grace
So what has happened to Anna
Where has she gone
And who can she trust
Great book
Thanks NetGalley

Amidst The Rumour Mill...
Why would a woman abandon her apparently idyllic life? Secrets and lies abound in this engaging suspense from Heidi Perks. Amidst the rumour mill will the truth eventually be discovered? Well drawn with a compelling narrative. A quick and entertaining read.

Grace and Anna are childhood friends, before they are split up by Grace's family moving to Australia. Grace then returns and the plot unravels for Anna.
Twists and turns on the book and their friendship is not/was not all it seems.
Great read as it tells the story of their childhood days and how that has affected their adult friendship

The story revolves around Anna and Grace, and their shared past as children, before Grace went to live in Australia. Now she is back and Anna doesn't seem keen to resume their friendship.

After a night out with the girls (Anna's friends), Anna disappears and Grace moves heaven and earth to find her. Her disappearance is linked to her past, and to her difficult friendship with Grace.

Somehow this just didn't work for me. I didn't find any of the characters elicited my sympathy, and I had little interest in their self-obsessed angst about their friendship. At times they behaved like little children - holding hands and stroking arms as they talk. There was no sense of impending doom or suspense building towards the climax.

Not my favourite read. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and Century for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I never repeat the blurb. This just did not capture my interest, although I have loved this writer's work before. Shame.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. I enjoyed Heidi Perks’ last book, The Wives, but this is a step above.
Grace has moved back to her family home and is delighted to be living near to her oldest friend, Anna. Cleverly alternating between the two protagonists, the novels messes with your head. What is the real backstory? Why is Grace back? And why is Anna so reluctant to spend time with her?
To say more would be to give the plot away but this is a excellent ride of a thriller. Definitely one to curl up on the sofa with, you won’t want to put it down.

Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhouse for allowing me to review this ARC

This book was really, really, really good. Totally addictive and it was hard to put down. Heidi Perks is a clever author who knows how to make you think you're following a certain path then BAM you get led down a completely different path with twists, shocks, secrets and an abundance of twisted characters who you will either love or hate. I was gobsmacked with the ending, I didn't think for a minute it was going to end that way. Brilliant characters, gripping plot and pages you can't stop turning. I can't wait to see what Heidi writes next.

Heidi Perks is a new writer to me but having read this excellent psychological thriller I shall be seeking out her work. Grace has been living in Australia for many years and, now back in her home town, she expects to resume her friendship with Anna, which dates back to childhood. Inevitably things have changed and Anna has a new group of friends who are very tight. In the course of this highly entertaining novel secrets from years ago are revealed and the fragile current situation is rocked. Very enjoyable.

How well do you really know your best friend?
Grace and Anna have been best friends since they were 5 years old then Grace emigrates to Australia with her parents leaving Anna behind.
Forward twenty years and Grace is back!
At first Anna is pleased to see her but then Grace starts to get jealous of Anna's friends seemingly taking Anna away from her.
One evening after a night out in the pub Anna disappears. Grace is frantic and tries to find her best friend. Things then turn nasty.
I thought the ending was very fitting.
Mental health is a very sensitive issue although we don't always see it in others.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC

Well paced psychological thriller.

The concept stands out because it centres around a toxic relationship where the characters are generally unlikable.

Well written and the ending is very good.

After a night out with her friends and way to many shots, Anna vanishes and leaves her husband, son and four bestfriends behind. Everybody is worried, but only her eldest friend Grace seems to be really searching for her and asking questions. Whom can you trust?

Heidi Perks latest domestic psychological thriller is highly captivating and beautifully written as usual. It may not be as fast-paced as her other thrillers, but that’s okay, because this way you feel the tension increasing to a point where you just can’t endure any longer.

If you enjoy reading thrillers about toxic friendships, jealousy and possessiveness you shouldn’t miss „The Whispers“ out.

Thank you NetGalley / Random House UK Cornerstone for providing me with this arc in exchange for a honest review.

Told from the POV of two main protagonists, childhood best friends Anna and Grace, alternating from past to present, this psychological thriller builds tension through an unreliable narrator and misdirection. From the beginning, I thought I knew where the story was headed but halfway through it was a full 180 degree turn and I realized how wrong I was. The misdirection kept me intrigued to see how it would all play out, but unfortunately I felt it all fell a bit flat in the end. The characters felt stereotypical and overdone. I liked the small village setting with gossip spreading on the school playground amongst the mums picking up their children. It reminded me of a chorus in a Greek tragedy and I wish the author would have played to this a bit more. Overall I think this book is better in concept than in reality.

After Grace returns home after emigrating with her family at 17 she left behind her best friend Anna but on returning she hopes to regain that friendship again but Anna has moved on and now has a different set of friends.
When Anna disappears after a night out its pretty clear that things between Grace and Anna aren't all they seem to be.
Heidi has worked her magic again with this novel and keeps you guessing to the very end.

A dark and gripping thriller. I could not put this down and stayed up far too late to finish it as I just had to know what happened. A must read!

Grace returns to Clearwater from Australia where she moved with her parents, fully expecting to pick up her friendship with Anna. Unfortunately life does not turn out as she had hoped and Anna goes missing. It turns out to be a gripping, page tuner of a novel- the ending of which takes you completely by surprise. .