The Rumour by Lesley Kara is a book about how quickly a rumour can spread and how much damage it can cause - even if the rumour turns out to not be true.

I had heard a lot of hype about this book and although I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't as gripping as I had hoped. It would fall into the vein of psychological thriller and even though I had surmised the ending fairly early on there was still a nice twist at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

How easy a rumour starts and all the twists that follow make this book a tense and interesting read. I recommend it

This was a very interesting exploration of the way that a "harmless" rumour impacts on a small area and the people within it. It was well developed and executed well - if I had one criticism it would be that I felt the final twist to be somewhat unnecessary and thrown in more for shock value than to add to the story

This is Lesley Kara's debut novel and is so intense, a well written and skilfully plotted psychological thriller.

Set in a small town, single mother, Joanna Critchley has recently moved here with her son. Trying to fit in the community, Joanna chats and shares gossip and tittle tattle she has heard. She had heard a rumour, that a child killer lives in the area and with no thought to the consequences, Joanna shares it and it just flies, spreading round the area, where everyone then sees the perpetrator everywhere they look, regardless of any possible facts or innocence.

There are many potential culprits, and Lesley Kara’s creative writing shows the power of unsubstantiated rumour and the awful damage they can cause.

This is a fast paced twisty tale, with high tension and a sheer atmosphere of foreboding throughout. A fascinating dark and chilling story.

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review

A very interesting and thrilling read. I enjoyed this book and all it’s twists and turns. A great reminder of the dangers of spreading rumours!

Amazing twist! A rumour which gradually spreads causing malicious and emotional imbalance with added family turmoil along the way.

Completely spell binding which captures you from the start and entices you not to leave it till you reach the end.

A must read for all psychological thrill seekers!

The Rumour is a debut novel about a young estate agent and mother who passes on a rumour about a child killer now living in her sleepy seaside town. It is a stark tale of paranoia and suspicion and the evils of small town gossip. A great read with a clever twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Found this book to be fairly decently paced and had a number of twists and I certainly didn't see the ending coming.
Decent read.

The Rumour by Lesley Kara tells us that age old story of how easily and quickly a rumour can spread and take on a life if its own and have the potential to destroy those in its path.

Jo has not long moved back to the sleepy seaside town where she spent many years growing up and is keen to make a new life for herself and her six year old son Alfie. She isn’t one for being part of the “Mums in the playground” crowd but Alfie is feeling lonely and she is keen to help him make friends and start getting invitations for play dates and parties. So she joins the Mummy in-crowd one day as they stand chatting and gossiping in the morning and hears the rumour that Sally McGowan, a notorious woman who killed a little boy when she herself was just ten years old, is living in their quiet town under a new identity. Initially scoffing at the idea she then finds herself repeating the rumour to a group of other women and from thereonin the rumour takes flight and starts to spread like wildfire.

Finding herself becoming slightly obsessed with who Sally McGowan might be, Jo finds herself questioning everyone around her and when the threats begin to appear she wishes dearly that she had never said a word to anyone.

I’ll stop there plot wise as I really don’t want to give anything further away and risk marring anyone’s enjoyment of this book as it is such a great read. I absorbed it easily in just a few tasty chunks and struggled to put it down. It is such a simple concept turned in to a brilliant and compelling story that delivers some banging twists along the way. My only criticism (if it can be seen as one) is that I found various characters’ ages a little tricky to get my head around but that is minor and didn’t stop this from being a cracking novel. I absolutely recommend you get your hands on a copy of this and give it a go!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #RandomHouseUK for providing me with a copy of #TheRumour in return for an honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
This was the author’s debut book, Lesley Kara that was a totally engrossing read. This was a really good psychological thriller and kept the reader enthralled until the end. The Rumour was a very clever, well written book and I look forward to reading more books by the author in future.
Highly recommended.

An excellent page turner full of suspense and well developed characters.. I had such fun reading this.

Once a rumour starts, it can all too easily take on a life of its own...and anything could happen!

This is a great debut, and i'd definitely look out for future works. The author keeps the plot unwinding very gradually throughout, only letting enough intrigue out to keep you reading. Consistently keeps you guessing.

This was an amazing book. Wow! It is interesting where a rumour can take you. I would never have predicted this story ending!!! I devoured this book in two days! Do yourself a favour and read this book!

An excellent first book from this author. A challenging storyline but one we’ve all heard about from one decade or another. The murder of a child by a child.
This book wove the story very well. Red herrings, twists and turns along the way. Our main character always concerned for the safety of her child but also that, in her small town, the wrong person wasn’t vilified for a crime she didn’t commit.
We’re introduced to various characters along the way - was it her; is she the killer; did she do it! All of them could be the child killer.
As the story unfolded I kept thinking I knew who it was but this story is so well written I was wrong every time.
The revelation when it came was a shock. Didn’t see that coming!
Then, right at the end, came the final twist and I was left thinking it all through again.
Excellent. Truly good read.

A classy and compelling debut thriller which focuses on the damage done by spreading rumours. Single mum Jo Critchley and her young son Alfie have relocated from London to the seaside town of Flintstead due to Alfie being bullied at his previous school and to be closer to her mother.
One day at the school gates Jo hears a rumour that a notorious child-killer has been re-housed in the town due to concerns over her protected identity. Initially Jo pays little attention and has no intention of passing the rumour on however a throwaway comment and the chance to make new mum-friends at the school and help Alfie settle into his new school lead to Jo repeating the rumour to a group of new friends.
What follows is a twisting and turning psychological book that kept me hooked until the very end. There were plenty of red herrings and shocks along the way and as many reviewers before me have said, I think this story would translate perfectly into a TV drama.
5 stars and many thanks to Netgalley UK and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great debut and yet another author to keep my eyes on and a British one too 🌝

As the blurb says, Joanna hears a rumour and ends up passing it on even though she knows it's probably not the best decision she has ever made however, she feels the need to fit in and make friends since moving to a small seaside town from London ... what harm can it do? Well as most of us know, rumours can be extremely damaging and this book is a pretty good example of that.

Well written with great characters and setting, a gripping and relevant story line written at a good pace and with excellent twists, this book is definitely one for lovers of books that draw you in, spin you around and spit you out leaving you feeling like you're on a rollercoaster but not wanting it to end and when it does, you want to go back and have another go.

I wish to express my thanks to Random House UK/Transworld Publishers for my copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review and for, once again, introducing me to another new author to follow.

Having just clicked on the publisher website, it appears Lesley Kara has a new book coming out called "Who Did You Tell?"; the blurb sounds great and I am so looking forward to reading it especially if it's as well written as "The Rumour".

Blurb taken from the publisher website:

"It’s been 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes since her last drink. Now Astrid is trying to turn her life around.

Having reluctantly moved back in with her mother, in a quiet seaside town away from the temptations and painful memories of her life before, Astrid is focusing on her recovery She's going to meetings. Confessing her misdeeds. Making amends to those she's wronged.

But someone knows exactly what Astrid is running from. And they won't stop until she learns that some mistakes can't be corrected.

Some mistakes, you have to pay for..."

BUT it's not out until December 2019!! Guess I'll just have to wait then 😠

This was another book that I received from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book, I completed this within a few days for a debut novel I was really impressed.


It all starts as a rumour dropped into conversation at the school gates amongst a group of Mums. (This to me sounds pretty realistic). But the rumour is that there is a convicted child killer living in Flinstead, a quiet seaside town on the East Coast. Is it true and if it is, then who is it?


The story follows single mum, Joanna who has recently moved back to Flinstead to be near her mum and give her little boy Alfie a fresh start after being bullied at school back in London. Joanna uses the rumour carelessly to find her way with other mums and also at her book club.

The Rumour is that Sally McGowan, convicted of killing 6 year old Robbie when she herself was just 10 is living in Flinstead under a new identity. Joanna becomes a little obsessed with this. The father of her child, Michael, a journalist, moves in with her, wanting to use this opportunity to try and write a book on the child killer. A series of events then lead to Joanna to think that someone is trying to send her a message and punish her for spreading the rumour.

I won’t go into any more depth than this as there as not wanting to reveal too much and there is a twist and key reveal 3/4 of the way through the book which I picked up just a little before which really does take the story up a notch. In a typical who done it style, there are some good red herrings to make you think you know what is going on, only for the rug to be pulled from under your feet. Also right at the end is quite a substantial twist to the whole story.

I really enjoyed this although I am not sure that I warmed to any of the characters, there was more emphasis on the story than building any rapport with any of the major characters. I give this book 4/5, it was close to 5, but something just held me back from giving it the full 5.

When Joanna hears a rumour that a notorious killer is living in her town, she does what many might do: she passes on the gossip, unaware that it threatens everything she holds dear. This twisty, addictive puzzle will keep you guessing until the very end, drip-feeding you clues that will leave you guessing until the very end.

It's so good! I have seen this book on social media and was intrigued and it's definitely worth the read- didn't see the twist coming at all!!

Be careful what you start! A mum wants to fit in and passes on some unsubstantiated gossip. This triggers a whole change of events. Loosely based on a famous child murderer. Is she living amongst them and if so are their children safe?
I gave this 4/5 on goodreads.