Gosh the fear factor begins with the ultimate issue of being a mum...the school playground and interacting with other mums. This story begins there developing into a complex web of female friendships that can become
Unhealthy. A great read that juxtaposes between modern day and 2 school mums in their early years when they grew up very closely together. A whodunnit in a sense but a great read

I really wanted to like this title but just found it too slow. I'm sorry! I can definitely see that it would appeal to other people but wasn't one for me.

Anna and Grace were childhood friends, always together until Grace's family went to live abroad but now Grace has returned to Clear water with her daughter, a seaside town on the south coast. She looking forward to seeing Anna and rekindling their friendship.
But Anna has moved on and has new friends.and they don't like Grace.
Told alternatively by Grace and Anna and the other mums at the school gate, this is a good page turner with the inevitable twists as the story unfolds.

An enjoyable thriller which kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended by me. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you’re looking for a gossipy light read then this is the book for you. Grace returns to her home town from Australia and initially finds it difficult to re-establish the close relationship with her childhood best friend. Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the unpleasantness of the Mums at the school gate. How a grown adult would put up with such nasty low level bullying is beyond me,

The Whispers by Heidi Perks

Grace and Anna were best friends until Grace moves to Australia with her family. The story begins with Grace returning to Clearwater many years later and expecting her friendship with Anna to return to how it was when they were teenagers. Anna, who has a family and new group of friends, disappears one night. The story follows Grace piecing together what happens.

The first half of this was a slow burner but the tone and pace changed half was through and I finished the second half quickly as I didn't want to put it down. I always enjoy a surprise tone change in a book that I haven't anticipated.

There isn't a massive twist in the story but it is one to keep you reading. It portrays a scarily accurate representation of the intricacies of intense friendships. It's hard to review much more without giving away spoilers.

A good thriller. Not the author's best in my opinion, but still worth a read. Found it a little slow at first and there were a lot of characters to get used to but it did then up the pace towards the end.

Advance copy from Netgalley

This book really intrigued me from the start.

Grace returns to her hometown of Clearwater after living away in Australia. She reconnects with her childhood best friend Anna. Their children attend the same school. But their friendship isn’t how Grace expected it to be, Anna seems distant.

One night, after a girls night out with Nancy Caitlyn Rachel and Grace,Anna fails to return home after a night out.

Grace is frantic with worry and contacts the police.

I enjoyed this but the ending spoilt it for me. I wont reveal any spoilers, but it was still a good read.

This is a good book overall with twists throughout but the ending left me a little deflated. It felt a bit too familiar to other books and did not stand out enough to ge memorable for me.

The story revolves around Grace Goodwin and Anna Robinson both are in their early thirties.. Grace has recently returned from Australia to Clearwater a small town near Weymouth. Grace and her parents had emigrated to Australia when Grace was 17. At that time Grace was best friends with Anna Robinson, they both met at school in Clearwater when they were five years of age and had become close friends, more like sisters according to Grace. Anna remained in Clearwater after Grace emigrated, she subsequently married and had a young son. Anna had also made friends with three women, Nancy, Rachel and Caitlyn. Grace enrols her daughter Matilda in the local school and on her first day taking her Grace sees Anna with her three friends at the school gates, they are a close tight knit group of four. Grace wants to infiltrate this group, take up her friendship with Anna again even though they have not kept in touch in the intervening years. Anna seems less than keen to rekindle their friendship. When Anna disappears after a night out it appears that Grace is the only one concerned.
The book is cleverly written from both Grace and Anna’s perception of friendship, a past with secrets and lies. The principal characters are well depicted, you can feel the tensions exploding between them as the story unfolds. The story development is especially good, very skilfully written. The book is full of twists and turns with a surprising end I didn’t foresee, A fantastic read, I finished it in a couple of days. Highly recommend . My thanks to NetGalley, RandomHouse Uk and Cornerstone for this ARC in return for my honest review

When Grace and her daughter return from Australia to her childhood town of Clearwater in England she thinks she can take up where she left off with her childhood friend Anna, but Anna has moved on and has new friends.

When Anna goes missing, Grace is frantic, and feels like she is the only one looking for her.

This is a very intriguing novel. Just when you think you have it all worked out, you see something from another point of view entirely which shed a different light on the whole scenario. A very cleverly written book, which will keep you intrigued until the end.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54532070-the-whispers

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC copy. I was excited to read this as I have enjoyed Heidi's books before.

Anna and Grace were childhood best friend's, more like sisters than friends. After Grace moved to Australian Anna made new friends and settled down with a husband she adores and her son Ethan, the light of her life. Now Grace is back to reclaim their life together and is not happy that Anna has forged a life without her. When Anna goes missing after a night out the past starts emerge. What did happen all those years ago that made the girls have such a bond? And who is holding the secrets and lies over the other one?

I loved this book. The build up was really tense and I changed my mind several times as to what happened and what was going to happen next. Told from past to present until the gripping end. I was still asking my self questions after it had ended. A gripping 5 star page turner.

As children, Anna and Grace were more like sisters than friends. But they were forced apart when Grace, aged seventeen, had to move with her family to Australia. Now, twenty years later, Grace has returned with her young daughter to the small south coast town of Clearwater, looking forward to resuming her friendship with Anna. But Anna has a tightly knit group of friends and seems less keen to pick up where they left off...

When Anna disappears after a night out, it seems like Grace is the only person who’s really worried.

The town, with its cliffs and its one road in and out, makes for an atmospheric setting. We know from the beginning that a body will be found, but it’s not till the end that we learn what has happened and who has died.

We see events from both Grace and Anna’s perspectives, and it’s fair to say that they don’t necessarily have the same take on what’s happening.

The Whispers was an entertaining and well written story and the shifts in the narrative are well done. The “secret in the past” which seems compulsory in this type of story isn’t especially original, but it’s well done and the theme of friendships - past and present - is well realised.

I’m not sure the sections where other school mums speculate about Grace, Anna et al really add anything to the story. Presumably these are “the whispers” of the title, but it doesn’t really go anywhere - these women and their speculation and gossip have no impact on the plot, and none of them have personalities or even names.

Not my favourite Heidi Perks book, I don’t think, but certainly worth a read.

Grace and Anna met and became friends at five years old. They did everything together and had sleepovers together. Their people said that they were more like sisters as they were always together. But a few years later Grace and her parents emigrated to Australia and wanted to take Anna with them, but Anna’s father wouldn’t allow it.
Years later Grace returns with a daughter while her husband is still working overseas. To be honest their relationship is strained and doesn’t think that it will last with each other living in separate countries. But Grace hopes that she can rekindle the relationship with Anna. But Anna has moved on an has a group of friends of her own and seeing Grace only brings back memories that she would rather forget. So, when Anna meets Grace, she tells her that she has moved on with her life and doesn’t need her as a friend. But when Anna goes missing Grace is the only one worried for her safety. Anna friends thinks that she will be back. Grace senses that there is something that they are not telling her.
This is another great novel by Heidi Perks, A bit slower burning than her usual books. This is a story of friendship but also jealousy and manipulation between friends. It is cleverly written and had a great plot. Four stars from me.

Did they jump, did they fall, were they pushed? A question not answered from start to finish, a very complicated and difficult storyline not helped by the story jumping from one person’s view to another’s. An interesting storyline but for me not a great read.

Learn the truth about best friends and what they will do for one another. The difficulty comes when one of them is a control freak who does not like it when she doesn't get her own way. Is Grace all she seems and what is the real reason for her moving back to the small town where she grew up? Are cliques a good thing or not? Intriguing and thought provoking.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

This was quite a slow burner, which at times made it drag for me. There was a lot of chatting and speculation about Anna amongst her friends and this carried on in the same vein all through the book. I expected this to be more exciting so a little disappointed. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

3.5

I got through this one quickly. I enjoyed how all wasn’t what it seemed. One of the main characters wasn’t what you expected and it shows how easy it is to put on a front and manipulate others into thinking you’re doing something for the good when Infact it’s quite the opposite. A good mix of characters and a fair few twists and turns. Very easy to read and I kept wanting to turn the pages however, I did prefer the first three quarters of the book.

Grace and Anna had grown up together, inseparable, and often described as close as sisters. Anna's mum had left her at an early age and was smothered by graces mum as if she were her own.
Having emigrated to Australia, Grace began a new life whilst Anna continued to build her own at home, getting married and having a precious son. She becomes close to a group of school mum's who enjoy each other's company socially.

Out of the by a, Grace returns to England with her daughter who is going to the same school as Anna's son. She is desperate to pick up her friendship with Anna where they left off but Anna is very unkeen.

Following a girls night out Anna suddenly disappears and Grace starts her hunt to try and find her.

This book is very clevererly written from both Anna and graces perception and highlights the jealousy felt from new friendships.. It is clear there are some hidden secrets from the past and the reader is left wondering who is telling the truth.

A fab book which is fast paced with many twists and an ending I didn't predict. Highly recommend.

I was very caught up in this book, and found it hard to put down. The story is a good one, and the characters interesting, although I sometimes found it hard to follow which friend was which. The ending was slightly predictable, but it was still a very enjoyable book.