Little Whispers by K. L. Slater.

Janey Markham, her husband Isaac and their son Rowan move a short distance south from their home in Mansfield to a bigger and better house in West Bridgford, just south of the River Trent in Nottingham. Everything is going fine in their new home but then little whispers are spoken and nagging doubts surface.

Little Whispers is the eleventh novel from K. L. Slater but I have not read any of her books before. I believe that each of her books are psychological thrillers and they are all stand-alones. Very early on in Little Whispers the alarm bells are ringing that something is not right. Janey is excited about her new upmarket home but the reader is straight away on guard about her husband Isaac. Slowly Janey develops doubts about everyone in her new social circle plus frustration about the lack of free time Isaac’s new job gives him.

It made me chuckle when I read…

‘It’s just for the first week or so,’ he explains yet again before heading for the shower while I’m still fighting the grogginess of being woken by the evil 5.45 alarm he insists on setting each night before turning his bedside lamp off.

...Oh yes Janey, my wife Gail would love the alarm to go off at 05:45 rather than 02:30 when I am on an early duty! Later on Janey complains when Isaac gets back at 7pm which she considers late! Shift workers will shake their heads in disbelief.

I liked how Little Whispers was told from Janey’s point of view. The writing is of such good quality that men will have no trouble stepping into Janey’s shoes. Whilst Janey is rather trusting of everyone, the reader will have their doubts which makes this such a good psychological thriller. It is not just Janey who feels the tension but the reader too. What a shock both Janey and I got at the swimming pool.

I found the character development very good with each of the school gate mums very different yet extremely interesting. I enjoyed the dynamics and loved the dialogue between the school gate mums and how sharp they can be, especially the trip to the bistro for a coffee.

I found the inclusion of clothes, fashion and shopping amusing and entertaining - clothes that match, oh women - they can be so funny!

I liked the format of this book with it’s short chapters and linear time scale. I liked how this was a very British tale which explored class, cliques and snobbery. None of the characters ventured into Primark although mention was made!

I thought the plot was good and loved how doubts for the reader were thrown our way on every single short chapter. I am impressed and think Little Whispers is an OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

Little Whispers is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2020.