276°
Posted 20 hours ago

The Whispers: The new impossible-to-put-down thriller from the bestselling author

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

Simmering tensions and double crossings will have you racing to the dramatic finale '' SUNDAY MIRROR This is one of those books that you start to read and right from the outset it becomes completely addictive.' Grace knows that Anna would NEVER leave her son, Ethan behind but nobody else seems as concerned as she is-including the police-so she takes matters into her own hands, and begins the search for her friend. I’ve always loved reading and writing and for as long as I can remember I’ve been making up stories, poems and even magazines that I’d sell to unsuspecting family members for 20p. I fell in love with Enid Blyton and books like The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and somehow managed to get through GCSE’s and A-levels while spending most of the lessons staring out of the window and creating other worlds in my head.

Whispers is the first book I have read Heidi Perks but if the others are as outstanding as this, I expect more of the same. Her characterization tells a tale of broken psyches with a story to tell with deep and dark histories. I constantly had a feeling of a creeping shadow of desolation running through out the story, it had me hook, line and sinker. As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort. This was an enjoyable and entertaining story although it was a slow-burn up to a certain point and then the fun really starts! Some unpredictable twists came into play and they were well received. Anna and Grace were both complicated characters and I thought I understood them but I was delighted to realize I was wrong. When the book finally let loose the real history was told about both women and it was a doozy! Most of the characters are not likeable which was fine but I just didn't feel real emotions coming from them so I was a little disappointed with a lot of their dialogue and actions although it didn't keep me from enjoying the story. I really enjoy reading books by Heidi Perks and hope to read more in the future. I enjoyed Heidi Perks last book, “Three Perfect Liars” so despite the thriller trope of a current case, being linked to buried secrets from childhood, growing a bit STALE- I decided to give this a go. Unfortunately though, this book didn’t quite deliver for me. After a strong start, the story STALLED-nothing seemed to be happening-and when something finally did-it was underwhelming. I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The Whispers by Heidi PerksI loved this multi-layered novel which was full of unreliable characters and misplaced assumptions. The story is told using a narrative split between past and present so that the reader is able to view Grace and Anna's relationship from then and now. I revelled in this dark, ominous tale of toxic friendship. Well plotted with some great twists, I will definitely be reading more from Heidi Perks. I really loved it. The Whispers is a big-hearted psychological thriller about the dark corners that lurk in even the closest of friendships. Heidi Perks reads like Liane Moriarty at her Big Little Lies best as she brilliantly mines the jealously, spite and rage that lurk behind the polite smiles at every school gates. Highly recommend' TONY PARSONS Read more Details After fifteen years of marketing and thrown into the new world of motherhood I decided to make some changes to my life. I left my job in 2012 to look after my family and finally took pen to paper to start writing a novel I’d been thinking about since a holiday six months earlier. Reading is a personal and subjective experience, and what appeals to one may not please another. So if you enjoyed the excerpt from The Whispers, and the plot outline appeals, please do go ahead and read it. Just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean that you won't enjoy this.

The women are also heavy drinkers which doesn't help and as the night progresses arguments and angry whispers stir within the group leaving Grace clueless and feeling unwanted as Anna has pretty much avoided Grace throughout the entire evening. When Grace feeling relief finally goes home while leaving the group behind notices that heated discussions continued to crop up around the table. Twenty Two years ago, Anna and Grace were the BEST of friends-more like sisters- until Grace and her family relocated from the UK to Australia.I went into this blind and for me, it’s the best way for a thriller. I don’t want to know much at all, I want to go on a journey unknown.

I found it difficult to like any of the ‘friends’, I found them to be self-centred, overbearing, controlling and immature, not my favourite traits in anyone let alone a friend! But this isn’t a negative because I actually enjoyed the book more for not liking the characters. It was fascinating to see the dynamics within the group change once Grace joined the group, and witness the complexities of Grace and Anna’s relationship unfold.There are also random chapters from the ‘playground mums’ which I thought was a genius ploy on the authors part, as the reader you feel part of their conversations, you jump to conclusions and form opinions based on half truths, and second or third hand information.This is, by no means, an anti-feminist book but Perks also does not invest any time in political correctness. She bravely explores the plight of those who choose to give up their sense of self once they become mothers. The women in the story are so plagued by perpetually temporizing husbands that they develop co-dependent friendships. One’s husband is a pervert who forces himself on her friend, another’s lives thousands of miles away in Singapore, leaving her to manage home and their eight-year-old, and yet another shares her life’s biggest regret only for her husband to claim the higher moral ground and chastise her. I really loved it. The Whispers is a big-hearted psychological thriller about the dark corners that lurk in even the closest of friendships. Heidi Perks reads like Liane Moriarty at her Big Little Lies best as she brilliantly mines the jealously, spite and rage that lurk behind the polite smiles at every school gates. Highly recommended' TONY PARSONS

Thirty-something mother of one Grace Goodwin has recently returned to her (fictional) childhood hometown of Clearwater, on the UK's south coast, having lived in Australia since late adolesence. Her husband has a high-flying job based in Singapore, so she's effectively a single mother of 8-year-old Matilda much of the time. She's looking forward to re-establishing a close friendship with Anna Fallow (now Robinson), with whom she enjoyed a childhood and teenage friendship akin to sisterhood. One night, all the friends decide to have a girls night out except, she didn’t go home with the others. She didn’t return. Laila thinks she knows the truth of what happened. But in telling Em what she's seen, she stands to lose everything she holds dear.A very original, clever and gripping thriller about toxic female friendships with a killer twist. Highly recommended'' CLAIRE DOUGLAS The story of Anna and Grace's friendship and Anna's disappearance is compelling in its own right, but the real triumph emerges from Perks' skill as seeing some women for exactly who they are and what they are capable of.' DAILY MAIL

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment