What a scorcher again from Audrain!
From a mysterious “accident”, Audrain delves into the lives of 4 families, with their ways, secrets and pains, she portrays motherhood in an extraordinary fashion. She captures to perfection all the mixed feelings and emotions one might experience, the challenges of reconciling motherhood and womanhood the unconditional love that can never die.
4 different women, from different backgrounds and with opposite experiences of motherhood, yet having more in common than meets the eye.
Very clever and unputdownable!

I read Ashley Audrain’s debut, The Push, two years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ending left me eager to read more, such a cliffhanger. So I have patiently awaited her follow up, I can’t wait to dive in to The Whispers.

The story finds a group of neighbours, living in a moneyed area. An area that once housed a strong Portuguese community. That tight knit, strong community has now completely faded, as the older residents leave their beloved homes. Young, wealthy couples are ready to snap up the land, to build huge new gleaming homes.

The narrative mainly focuses on Whitney. Outwardly, an incredibly successful woman who has it all. A fulfilling, powerful career, an attentive husband, three children, and a beautiful home. So many are drawn towards her, like moths to a flame. Just like moths, when they get too close, they see the danger she can wield, the power she likes to hold.

The Whispers is an uncensored story of motherhood, jealousy, insecurities. Of never quite thinking you are, or what you have, is enough. The endless desire for more. So much hidden away beneath the veneers that are outwardly shown to the world.
There are so many elements covered, many versions of motherhood, many different experiences. So many emotions, positive and negative. The title itself, The Whispers, has so many meanings within the story too.

I read the second half of the book in a morning. Each page turned, increased the sense that soon we would understand Whitney’s guilt. What exactly she was hiding, what had happened that night. Though it’s fair to say she isn’t the only resident, hiding things away from other’s eyes. So much more of the history of those four households on Harlow Street, the four marriages, reveal themselves, as the story progresses.

Domestic thrillers aren’t my usual genre, but this author’s writing will always draw me in. The well written, raw, emotive words grip me, making me turn the pages quickly. Yet again, Ashley Audrain drops a bombshell on the last page, then turns and walks away, leaving you wondering what happened next. She cleverly leaves you with your thoughts, running through the possibilities. The fate of the character’s lives are within your own imagination.

This unflinching, brutally honest book is 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ without doubt or question. It also goes without saying that I will eagerly look forward to her next book.

There is a strong theme around late miscarriage, so please consider this before reading.

With many thanks to Netgalley, Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House for this free ARC - I am leaving this review voluntarily
The Push blew me away so Ashley Audrain has been on my radar and she has not disappointed me with this book. An intriguing multi layered story that comes together like a jigsaw puzzle - bits fitting in to complete the story piece by piece. Fantastic writing from the POV of the three women each detailing their experience and/or expectations of motherhood - so realistic that it’s hard to believe it’s just one writer. As with The Push it’s the killer ending that makes this author unique. Loved it

A really interesting and dynamic story from Audrain - off the back of The Push I expected this to be more of a thriller but in fact it's more of a suburban drama. Obviously at the centre of the story there was the tragedy of the hurt child, but the ripple effect of the whispering and gossip in the neighbourhood was so gripping and effective. It also had a heartbreaking yet sensitive depiction of different stages of motherhood (or lack thereof). And the ending!!!!

A toxic neighborhood ★★☆☆☆

After she loses her temper with her ten-year-old son at a garden party, Whitney Loverly’s suburban life is no longer perfect in the eyes of her claustrophobic neighbourhood. However, her neighbours Blair and Rebecca and their husbands have their own secrets and despairs.

Whitney seems to have everything but hates being a mother; Blair adores her daughter but suspects her husband of having an affair and envies Whitney’s glamour; and Rebecca is desperately trying to have a baby and has suffered multiple miscarriages.

After Whitney’s son has an accident, the neighbours’ grimy secrets and affairs are gradually exposed to the harsh light of day.

Apart from Rebecca and Whitney’s husband Jacob – and maybe Mara – I found it very hard to identify with and like the characters. However, it’s a brave exploration of what it means to struggle with motherhood.

A tough and sometimes depressing read which exposes the underside of motherhood – unwanted, enjoyed, and desperately desired – and the pain and loss of miscarriage.

I recommend the author’s previous novel The Push (2021) which is a disturbing psychological exploration of motherhood but has a more empathetic main character.

Telling the story of 4 women who live in the same street.

Their stories unravel throughout the book and of how their lives intertwine.

Lots of topics are dealt with throughout with motherhood being the main theme.

Definitely worth a read!

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

A group of women living in the same neighbourhood become friends but are very different. Whitney seems to have it all- she is beautiful, has a successful career and an aspirational lifestyle, but dislikes being a mother to her three children, preferring to sit in her car in the drive to interacting with them when she gets home early. Blair has devoted herself to being a full-time mother to her daughter, but is bored and unhappy in her marriage. Rebecca, a respected doctor, longs to have a child but her inability to sustain a pregnancy is putting a huge strain on her relationship. Elderly Mara, on the edge of the group, sees more than the others imagine, and carries her own sorrow. When Whitney’s 10-year-old son Xavier falls from a window and lies in an induced coma, the whispers begin- a few months earlier at a party, she was heard screaming at her son. Did she harm him, accidentally or otherwise? Secrets begin to leak out as rumours fly, and lives will be changed forever. This is an absorbing read, which examines the challenges modern women face, the nature of motherhood and the work/home balance. Audrain is perceptive about how women face the pressures of combining these things, while also being affected by their own childhoods and family backgrounds, and how hard it is to meet the needs of children and husbands without losing their own identities. It is also a riveting thriller as the truth slowly emerges about Xavier’s fall and we wait to see if he will survive. A good, juicy read with some interesting reflections on the demands of modern life.

Great story keeping you trying to work out what happened and by who. Some shockers thrown in there to keep it twisted up really well for you making it impossible to put down!

I had not read the authors previous book (which I have now bought!). So this was my first experience of her writing. Wow! The book focusses on the women in the street and their relationships with husbands and children and it is a rollercoaster of a ride. There is empathy for the flaws of the characters and the writing is tight and engaging. Thoroughly recommend! I am off to read the authors debut book!

Judgement just oozes off the pages of this book with the ideal vision of motherhood being held up for closer examination.
The book is fast paced, centered around an awful accident in a small community full of flawed individuals afraid to show their real selves.
Non of the characters are particularly likeable, with the exception of Maya, but nevertheless you find yourself pulled into their world of secrets and lies.
Prepare to be up late into the night as you will always want to read "just one more chapter"!

The Whispers is a gripping domestic thriller. Audrain dives deep into the psychology of four women who live on the same street, exploring themes of motherhood, identity and purpose.

It’s a tense read: guilt and anxiety bubble just below the surface of the narrative. As a reader you get caught up in the characters’ spiralling, their secrets and their shifting suspicions, never knowing quite what to believe until the final, devastating line.

A fitting follow-up to The Push, The Whispers is astute, compelling and heartbreaking.

Wholly Compelling..
Those whispers. Everyone wonders when exactly they began..but everyone knows full well when they were shouted out. When they became too impossible to ignore. The night of the appalling accident. For within this small community, within this group of women, there are secrets and lies and truths just screaming to be heard. Emotionally charged suspense, keenly and astutely observed with a stellar cast of supremely well crafted characters. Wholly compelling.

Wow. What an absolutely brilliant book. I was blown away by this one. Ashley Audrain weaves together a gripping story that kept me racing through the pages until that final, devastingly brilliant ending. This book is a searing portrayal of motherhood, and the unique challenges faced by women everywhere. I finished this book filled with a sense of righteous anger at just how difficult life can be!
I also loved - loved - the sensitive portrayal of Maya, the older female character in this book. As a woman in my mid-fifties, I am only too aware of the sudden way women become invisible - not just to men, but to other women too.
This book is fantastic and I will be encouraging all my female friends to read it. And as for that ending... ka-pow! An absolute gut-punch of an ending that was perfect and utterly unexpected. Bravo!

A young boy lies in a coma after a catastrophic fall from his open bedroom window. Moving between two time periods, events prior too, and after the fall are relayed in punishing detail. Several women all living on the same street struggle in different ways with the reality of juggling marriage, children and for some a busy career. The debate over choice, ability to balance demands, and how much a partner accepts equal share of responsibilities , are all subtly threaded into the repercussions of the assumed accident against potentially illicit interactions , secrets and lies by the residents. The claustrophobic atmosphere of jealousies, small mindedness, revenge and petty scoring of points all in their own way minor, build up to a day of reckoning and dramatic conclusion for everyone involved. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for this rewarding ARC.

#TheWhispers #NetGalley
Loved it.
Was it after the party when Whitney screamed blue murder at her son?
Or after neighbour Blair started prowling Whitney's house, uninvited? Or once Rebecca and Ben's childlessness began challenging their marriage? But on the terrible night of the accident, the whispers grow louder, more terrifyingly insistent. Drawing them all into darkness.
Because you can't hide the truth forever. Your secrets are never entirely your own. The lies you tell will catch up with you .
I really loved her first book and this book is better than that one. Don't miss it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

Sorry I just fidnt find the story original and seemed like alot of other books I've read. DNF for me, sorry cx

Woah, what a wild ride! This book kept me guessing from page one. The suspense was top-notch, and the twists were gasp-worthy. I loved reading the different points of view, I feel like it gave me more insight into who these women really were. This book felt very much like Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere and I kept hoping it would someday be made into a movie! The ending was absolutely perfect. I've read the Push as well and I think it's safe to say that Ashley Audrain never disappoints!

This is a brilliant book. Shocking and vivid - full of deliciously awful characters.

There is a lot here which could potentially be triggering, with particularly graphic descriptions of miscarriage, but these are well written, albeit hard hitting.

I will definitely be looking out for more by this author.

Another powerful novel from Ashley Audrain exploring the lives of 4 women and their families living in the same neighbourhood
One morning they wake up to the news that one woman's son has fallen out of his bedroom window and is seriously ill in hospital .
How did he fall ? What are the events leading up to this fall ? Who -if anyone -is to blame ?
And as seems to be Ms Audrain's signature -a brilliant last paragraph that makes you go WOW

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review