This was a great premise and probably is a wonderful listen. Unfortunately I couldn’t follow the accents of the MCs and the audiobook fell flat for me. Since I am an avid audiobook reader, I was sad that I couldn’t finish it. So going with 2 ⭐️ for the premise and the background built up

The Whispering by Veronica Lando and Narrated by David Tredinnick was an excellent audiobook. I really enjoyed it.

Callum Haffenden swore he'd never return to Granite Creek. But, thirty years after a life-shattering accident, he's thrust back into the clutches of Far North Queensland and a local legend he worked hard to forget.

When a man goes missing in the rainforest, the past begins to resurface, breathing new life into memories of previous tragedies - two girls lost, seventeen years apart. In a town where it's easiest to turn a blind eye, the guilt runs deep and everyone in Granite Creek has something to hide.

In his search for answers, Callum fights to keep his feet firmly on the trail as he battles the deafening call of the rainforest burrowing into his ears. After all, everyone knows that the worst things in the rainforest are those unseen.

I highly recommend this book and the narrator was excellent.

The Whispering is an Australian novel set in the rainforest of northern Queensland. Callum Haffenden returns to the small town of Granite Creek 30 years after leaving as a teenager who suffered a life changing accident. There is a history of people going missing after hearing the whispering and when a local man disappears, Callum returns.
The storyline is quite complex with many related characters which kept me on my toes. I enjoyed the descriptions of the local environment and the relevant issues broached in the book. The narrator also added another level of enjoyment of the novel.

There are two story lines running through this book which starts with a missing girl how could she have got lost? The other story happened 30 years previous when a young girl goes missing. One of the investigators is a former resident of the area who had a false leg, almost a Cormoran Strike except its set in Australia.Quite a few twists and turns and final outcome reached at the end, which did keep me guessing. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Not really my kind of book to be honest it was OK with quite a few twists but I found it too drawn out and got confused with all the characters towards the end

I'm not sure why, if it was a matter of narration or the story itself, but I did not felt gripped to this book and found it hard to finish. Had to come back and re-read some bits again.
Nonetheless, thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this ARC.

If im honest, i wasnt a massive fan of the narrator but i absolutely loved the premise of this! It was a super chilling and tense in all the right moments! Absolutely loved it

Callum returns to Granite rock, a small community in Northern Queensland, after 30 years away, after hearing about the disappearance of Lachie Wyatt.

In the first half of the book, very little seems to happen, other than we are constantly reminded of Callum’s amputation, as he seems to struggle with his stump at every moment! I didn’t really find it realistic that after 30 years he still hasn’t learnt how to manage this. The timeline bounces back and forth randomly, which is confusing and there is a lot of repetition in terms of description. I nearly gave up on it several times as I found all of the characters unlikeable and there was nothing to draw me in, emotionally.

Thankfully, in the second half of the book the story definitely picks up with some excellent twists and some jawdropping revelations, as it becomes clear that there are bigger issues that drew Callum back to Granite Rock.

I felt this book had so much exciting potential, which wasn’t really explored. There is a suggestion of some supernatural goings on which really appealed to me, and although they were lightly touched on many times throughout the story, they were never developed.

The narration by David Tredinnick was good overall, with the exception of the female characters, who sounded just like pantomime dames! A female co-narrator would work much better, for me.

2.5/3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I felt the story was abit drawn out for me. Maybe it was the narrator, I feel this might be a book I would enjoy more to read. Never felt completely invested in the story.

The Whispering is a gripping and atmospheric crime thriller set in the tropical rainforest of far north Queensland. The author, Veronica Lando, won the 2021 Banjo Prize for this debut novel, and she delivers a compelling and complex story that explores the dark secrets and legends of a small town.

The protagonist, Callum Haffenden, is a journalist who returns to his hometown of Granite Creek after thirty years of absence. He left after a tragic accident that claimed the life of his best friend, and he has no intention of staying long. But when a local man goes missing in the rainforest, Callum is drawn into the investigation that uncovers the connection between two cases of missing girls, seventeen years apart.

The Whispering is a well-written and well-paced novel that keeps the reader hooked with twists and turns. The characters are realistic and flawed, each with their own motives and secrets. The setting is vividly described, creating a sense of claustrophobia and danger. The rainforest itself is almost a character, with its whispering sounds and unseen threats.

The Whispering is a highly recommended read for fans of Australian rural noir and mystery thrillers. It is a dark, absorbing and tangled mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.

This is one of those slow burning books that gets right under your skin. Set in Granite Creek, a small town in North Queensland, on the edge of the rainforest, this is a perfect small town mystery.. Right from the start there's a sense of menace lurking in the rainforest, and especially around the Boulders. Added to that is the story of children going missing after hearing 'the whispering'' which gave me goosebumps.. Because of this folklore tale, and the fact that the book is called The Whispering, I expected much more of a supernatural story and feel that the author didn't quite deliver. But I did enjoy the story, and I liked the character of Lachie,.and the Australian Rainforest setting.

David Tredinnick did a great job with the narration.

A great setting and some likeable characters. I was intrigued the whole way through, about many of the characters and events, and was hooked until the end. I listened to this very quickly and found myself reaching for this over the physical book I was also reading at the time. The narrator was good and made it an even more enjoyable and engaging listen. I had never heard of this author, before this book, so will definitely be looking to find any previous books and I will keep an eye out for future reads.

I believe this is a debut and it’s a powerful start. I listened to the audio version and found the narration superb. The delivery is well measured and the Australian accent adds to this atmospheric and often dark tale.

There’s a real sense of menace and mystery, right from the start. I almost had the feeling that the rainforest was going to reach out and suck me in. It’s very descriptive and there’s a strong sense of darkness and disorientation. It’s well plotted, slow in pace but that adds to the detail of the story. Callu, against his better judgement, returns to his hometown after 30 years and helps to search for a missing man. He’s literally disappeared, in much the same way as two little girls years earlier.. Those cases were unsolved but live on in the townsfolk’s memories and rumours that the forest is haunted and full of spirits.

I enjoyed this take. It’s a gripping mystery with enough twists to keep interest going. Callum and others are forced to face uncomfortable truths as the past is revisited. It’s very well written with a bunch of plausible characters and I’ll look forward to more from this author.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Aussie crime debut was a great start for this talented author. Lots of twists and turns with quite a few surprises. The writing was good. I chose to listen to this as an audiobook and thought David Tredinnic did a wonderful job and was perfect for this suspenseful tale. I do recommend it if you like mysteries.
Thanks Bolinda Audio via NetGalley.

Just wow! I loved this book. The numerous twists were all a surprise. Some so sad, others powerful. The characters are strong and well written. A very strong first novel with just a hint of the supernatural

The whispering wild will take your child if you dare to look away … Callum Haffendon knows the alluring call of the Australian rainforest and has spent thirty years running from it. His hometown of Granite Creek holds a past he's tried hard to forget, some of which he has. After a tragic rainforest accident that took his leg as a teen, Callum left town and vowed never to return. But when a man goes missing in the rainforest, Callum goes back to help find him. When the body of the missing man is found in the same area where two girls also went missing years before, things and events do not add up and Callum sticks around to find out why. Callum, however, is hiding his own secrets and the more he learns about his old stomping grounds, the past, and what he's been running from, the more he finds that things aren't at all what they seem.
I was able to enjoy this book through audiobook form and was intrigued from the very first note. The intro music is ominous, enticing, and had me immediately hooked. It did not take long to dive into the meat of the story and you were needing to pay attention right away, lest you miss a key plot point. I love a story that keeps me guessing and iterating throughout and this one definitely did. There are two storylines to follow that complement each other and keep you from putting it down or pressing pause. I really enjoyed the character development as well as how the ending brought everyone full circle. I love how it left things open for the possibility of another story but also could stay as just an ending right there. One thing I didn't enjoy was the narrator. His reading of the story itself was enjoyable but the female voices he did were all very similar to each other making it sometimes hard to distinguish between characters. He also made them all sound like crotchety old bitties with high pitched, squeaky voices.
Overall this is a great story and an unputdownable read. I would recommend this for those who enjoy a crime fiction novel that immediately pulls you in. The cover art is also fantastic and the author well deserving of the 2021 Banjo Award for this title.
>!<An enormous thank you to Veronica Lando, Bolinda Audio and NetGalley.com for allowing me the opportunity to consume this audiobook in exchange for my honest review>!<

Oh wow, this was such a twisty, tragic story of how secrets can ruin lives in a small town. Fantastically atmospheric, the rain forest and the coming cyclone are almost antagonists in their own right as Calum returns home for the first time in over a decade to face the truth about his past. I don't know what the Australian version of Nordic Noir is, but this finds a place perfectly in that genre, next books such as The Dry by Jane Harper. There's the tiniest hint of something more that might appeal to fans of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad books.

The audiobook was really well done. I very much enjoyed the narrators voice, and he did a great job keeping a large cast of characters distinct.

I received this audiobook for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.

An atmospheric mystery thriller set in rural Australia. A slow burn plot with plenty of interesting and surprising twists and turns.
I highly recommend the audio version narrated wonderfully by David Tredinnick

Audiobook available in the UK from the 31st March 2023.

Thanks to Veronica Lando, Bolinda audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

Many Thanks to Bolinda audio via NetGalley for the arc of this audio book.
Narrator ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A slow paced crime mystery with an atmospheric and eerie feel set in a small town in Queensland, Australia,
While the premise of this book was enticing, and I looked forward to the the supernatural element, I just didn’t enjoy this one as much as I had hoped.
I found it confusing to follow at times, and felt the storyline was all over the place.
The narrator however was pleasant to listen to, which really makes or breaks an audio book for me.

*A big thank-you to Veronica Lando, Bolinda Audio, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
I really enjoyed this slow-burn set in a small town in Queensland, Australia, with dramatic and mysterious rain forest and granite cliffs which are the scene of many a tragic event. A mature man, Calum, returns to his town because of yet another fatal accident and begins his own private investigation. Being offered flashbacks together with present time events, we learn about his teenage years and secrets he has been harbouring. It turns out he is not the only one.
Perfect narration by Mr Tredinnick adds to this atmospheric thriller and if you are looking for a book with twists and turns at a slow yet rewarding pace, this is the book for you. A promising debut and I hope to read Ms Lando's next book.