BOOK TOUR: The Whispers by Heidi Perks

“A missing wife. Four friends. Who is telling the truth?”

Set to be released in hardback on 15th April and now available in eBook, The Whispers by Heidi Perks follows the disappearance of Anna Robinson who hasn’t been seen since she went on a night out with her four closest friends. She has a loving husband and a son she adores. Surely she wouldn’t abandon them and her perfect life? But what has happened to her? At the school gates, it’s not long before the rumours start. Anna’s oldest friend Grace is beside herself with worry – desperately searching for answers, and certain that someone is hiding the truth. With each day that passes, Anna’s life is under increasing threat. And as the pressure mounts, it won’t be long before something cracks…

Rating:

Today is my stop on the tour for this book. Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Whispers is a complex and deceiving story of friendships, jealousy and growing up. A tense psychological thriller, you’ll soon find yourself caught in its web of manipulation and control.

From the very start, Perks establishes a strong connection to her characters and does a brilliant job of pulling you into their lives, both in the past and present. But as you are made to question both Anna and Grace, you feel reluctant to doubt them after Perks has already encouraged you to place your trust in them. So who are you going to believe?

Perks’ story building is fantastic as your mind constantly races around trying to figure everything out. You think you’re getting a biased look into these characters’ lives. But by the end, you realise that you have been deceived just as much as everybody else.

Instead of having one big twist at the end to throw you off guard, the twists and turns in The Whispers weave in and out throughout, just as the whispers spread around the playground. The title of the book relates to these whispers, which are told through a third narrative entwined with Anna and Grace’s narratives in italics.

I loved this outsider perspective as it’s difficult to know who to believe. So to have their actions assessed by nameless others who have no involvement in the conflict, it’s so effective to have this extra narration throw some shade onto their truths. I thought this was very clever, especially because of how quickly playground gossip can spread and how it can change your perspective of somebody that you wouldn’t normally have any reason to doubt.

There’s certainly a lot to unravel and The Whispers kept my interest until the very end. I loved the real-to-life characters that Perks has created and I can’t wait to read about more of her dysfunctional friendships after enjoying this one so much.

Details:

The Whispers by Heidi Perks
Ebook Release Date: 18th March 2021
Hardback Release Date: 15th April 2021
Print Length: 399 pages
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital / Penguin Random House

Buy on: Amazon

Synopsis:

A MISSING WIFE. FOUR FRIENDS. WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH?

Anna Robinson hasn’t been seen since she went on a night out with her four closest friends.
She has a loving husband and a son she adores. Surely she wouldn’t abandon them and her perfect life. . .

But what has happened to her?

At the school gates, it’s not long before the rumours start. Anna’s oldest friend Grace is beside herself with worry – desperately searching for answers, and certain that someone is hiding the truth.

With each day that passes, Anna’s life is under increasing threat. And as the pressure mounts, it won’t be long before something cracks…

‘The Whispers is a twisty, gripping page-turner, which explores the toxic underside of female friendships. It is a heart-thumping thriller that kept me up late into the night’ LUCY CLARKE

About The Author:

Heidi Perks lives by the sea in Bournemouth with her husband and two children.

Heidi graduated from Bournemouth University with a BA (Hons) in Retail Management, and then enjoyed a career in Marketing before leaving in 2012 to focus on both bringing up her family and writing.

Heidi successfully applied for a place on the inaugural Curtis Brown Creative online Novel Writing Course and after that dedicated her time to completing her first novel, Beneath The Surface.

She has a huge interest in what makes people tick and loves to write about family relationships, especially where some of the characters are slightly dysfunctional.

The Whispers is her fifth book.

Find out more at: https://www.heidiperksauthor.co.uk/