From well-loved women’s fiction writer Kristyn Kusek Lewis comes a breakout novel about a woman moving to a small community and uncovering the many secrets that hide behind closed doors—perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Elin Hilderbrand.Greyhill, Virginia—refuge of old money, old mansions, and old-fashioned ideas about who belongs and who doesn’t—just got a few new residents. When Bess … Bess Warner arrives in town with her husband Cole and their kids, she thinks she knows what to expect. Sure, moving to Cole’s small hometown means she’ll have to live across the street from her mother-in-law, and yes, there’s going to be a lot to learn as they take over Cole’s family’s inn-keeping business, but Bess believes it will be the perfect escape from Washington. She needs it to be. After losing her White House job under a cloud of scandal, she hardly knows who she is anymore.
But Bess quickly discovers that fitting in is easier said than done. Instead of the simpler life she’d banked on, she finds herself preoccupied by barbed questions from gossipy locals and her own worries over how her twins are acclimating at the town’s elite private school. When the opportunity to write an article for the Washington Post’s lifestyle supplement falls into Bess’s lap, she thinks it might finally be her opportunity to find her footing here…even if the subject of the piece is Greyhill’s most notorious resident.
Susannah “Cricket” Lane, fruit of the town’s deepest-rooted family tree, is a special sort of outsider, having just returned to Greyhill from New York after a decades-long hiatus. The long absence has always been the subject of suspicion, not that the eccentric Susannah cares what anyone thinks; as a matter of fact, she seems bent on antagonizing as many people as possible. But is Susannah being sincere with Bess—or is she using their strangely intense interview sessions for her to further an agenda that includes peeling back the layers of Greyhill’s darkest secrets?
As Bess discovers unsettling truths about Susannah and Greyhill at large, ones that bring her into the secrets of prior generations, she begins to learn how difficult it is to start over in a town that runs on talk, and that sometimes, the best way to find yourself is to uncover what everyone around you is hiding….
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I love novels that leave me with big picture questions such as: Is gossip ever harmless? Can you outrun your past? What’s the line between needing to belong and refusing to compromise who you are? These are some of the questions that hunted me after reading HALF OF WHAT YOU HEAR, a page-turner about a strong woman facing a major turning point in her life, and the mercurial older woman who befriends her. Scandal swirls around both women when their cross paths in the seemingly idyllic town of Greyhill. But Greyhill has a dark underbelly, and town gossip is a competitive sport that treats these two as outsiders. Layers of family secrets and lies add many twists and turns to the fun ‘gossip’ chapters woven throughout the novel, and those twists keep coming to the last page. Bookclubs are going to love this one!
Fitting in is not easy in a small town no matter who you are. I went through the pain of moving to a small town after leaving Detroit, so this book spoke to me in many ways. My move wasn’t quite as dramatic as the move in the book but it WAS difficult.
Bess Warner, her husband Cole and their two children move from Washington DC to Greyhill, a small town in Virginia, after Bess’s very public firing from her job as social secretary to the First Lady in the White House. At first she thinks the move may not be too bad because it’s her husbands home town and she had visited there often. She quickly finds out that visiting in a small town and living in one are very different. Her problems are added to because they live across the road from her husband’s parents and her mother in law doesn’t approve of her. In a small town, there are no secrets and everyone knows everyone else’s business and what they don’t know for sure, they speculate about. When Bess makes the move, she finds out how difficult it is to fit in. Then when she is offered a chance to write an article about the notorious Susannah, one of the town’s oldest residents, she finds herself the center of even more gossip. Can she find a place in small town America where she and her husband and children are safe and can have a happy life?
Even though my transition to small town living was much less dramatic that Bess’s, her story still resonated with me. It is difficult to fit into a totally different life especially when every move you make is part of the local gossip grapevine. I thought this was a great book about small town life with some fantastic believable characters. I really liked Bess but had some problems with her husband who tended to side more with the town that with his wife. That said, the small town drama and some of the quirky characters in town along with Bess’s quest to be accepted will quickly draw you in to this great novel.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Moving to her husband’s small home town was something Bess always wanted to do because of the lovely homes, and because she thought it would be good for the twins.
The move wasn’t without problems. Two of a number of problems were that she would be across the street from her mother-in-law, and they would be taking over the inn that had been in the family for years.
Little did she know about the problems that would come up dealing with the residents. One of the residents who was quite famous because of an accident is Susannah Lake. Susannah is someone that Bess is asked to interview.
Susannah is a woman who moved back to this small town after many years, lives in a forty-room house, and is the talk of the town as well as a former girlfriend of Bess’s father-in-law.
Susannah is also a woman that you can’t really be sure if what she says is the truth.
The other residents were nosy, catty, and loved to gossip – the beauty of a small town, right? Everyone knows everyone’s secrets and pasts.
Poor Bess became the target of all the women….not what she expected when she moved to this quiet, small town. She thought everyone would be kind, but they all knew the history she and Cole shared and made sure they commented on it.
The problem with commenting on their history was that Cole seemed to side with the people from when he was growing up instead of Bess….not a good thing.
HALF OF WHAT YOU HEAR addressed social issues as well as personal issues of fitting in.
There are secrets that the residents of Greyhill have kept for many years, and as the mystery unravels, the book’s interest picks up and ends up with a few surprises.
There also are a few very unlikable residents. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Strong characters, a plot that includes both immediate and longer term developments, sizzling dialogue, fun to read.
Wonderful, unusual story. Highly recommend.
This engrossing novel has everything: a web of secrets, gossip and lies, and a heroine you’ll be cheering for. In other words, it’s delightful.
Bess and Cole Warner arrive in Greyhill, Virginia from Washington, DC. Ostensibly they’ve come to take over the local inn from Cole’s parents, Diane and Bradley, but they are also fleeing the city. Bess is leaving behind her job as a social secretary at the White House, which she left in disgrace. Greyhill, meanwhile, is a beautiful town, but also one of old money, tradition, and gossip. Bess literally lives across the stress from her in-laws, allowing Diane to pop in anytime, bringing with her her trademark mixture of judgement and condescension. Bess soon realizes that it’s not easy to assimilate into Greyhill if you’re deemed an “outsider.” Her husband seems happy among his old friends–many of whom are more than glad to spread gossip about Bess. Her twin children are figuring out their way at the local private school–a challenge that seems harder for her daughter than son. When she’s offered a chance to write an article on a local figure, Susannah Greyhill Lane, Bess jumps at the chance. She soon realizes Susannah is a bit of a kindred spirit: the town doesn’t seem to like her much either. Susannah also has a lot of secrets, some of which involve Bess’ in-laws. As Bess learns more about Greyhill’s past, she starts to wonder exactly what she’s gotten herself and her family into.
This was a really engaging, easy-to-read book that expertly captured the small town dynamic. Bess was a likeable character, struggling as an outsider in her husband’s town. She’s trying to put a mistake behind her at her former job, giving her even more trust issues. The novel is told mainly from Bess’ point of view, but we also get snippets of town gossip, too. Ugh, having lived in such a town, I can tell you that Lewis really gets it right. I was wrapped up in the story from the beginning and felt awfully sorry for Bess–moving away from all she knew and having to deal with those hateful small town busybodies (sometimes there’s nothing worse, really).
“It’s like living in Stars Hollow, the charming small town on Gilmore Girls… Although honestly, so far, Greyhill feels a little more Desperate Housewives. The star character being me.”
I was initially drawn to reading this book because the fake town of Greyhill, as written, is practically in my backyard. It frequently mentions my hometown of Madison (which, believe me, *never* shows up in books – it’s not that big), as well as where I currently live. Even better, Lewis captures both quite well, as well as the moneyed, snobby atmosphere of Greyhill that will be intimately familiar to anyone who lives in Virginia. There’s always something fun about reading about a place (or places) you know. My favorite sports team even gets a mention!
Bess is also a very realistic mother. The book does an excellent job of capturing how hard it is being a mom when your kid is going through a hard time, for example. Honestly, it does a good job of portraying parenthood in general–it’s real and true throughout. I very much appreciated that. None of the sugarcoated parent/child relationships we get in some books.
This one was not completely what I expected. While it’s character-driven and portrays Bess’ struggle to fit in in Greyhill, it is almost a mystery at times. You can’t really trust what you read and it’s twisty, with some surprises thrown in. It makes for a fast, interesting read that delves into the history of Greyhill and Bess’ family.
Overall, this was a really captivating book. I enjoyed the characters and the story–and the setting was a real bonus. This is the first book I’ve read by Krusek Lewis, but I definitely would like to read more.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Harper Collins, via LibraryThing in return for an unbiased review – thank you!
Not a page turner. None of the characters made me want to root for them. Kind of a poor storyline
I couldn’t finish this book. Unbelievable actions by characters. The writer did come up with some interesting plot lines but the whole premise is just stupid.
I was drawn to this book because of it’s location in Virginia, but I couldn’t finish it. First of all, the main character seemed much too unsure of herself to have done the job from which she was fired (avoiding spoilers). Secondly, although she mentions getting fired often, I never found out what she did to get fired, at least in the part of the book that I read.
A juicy delight of a novel! … Fans of Liane Moriarty will adore the quirky cast of characters, gossip, and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it!