“Keeps you guessing until the final page.”—Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train“A rollercoaster ride to the very last sentence.”—Fiona Barton, author of The Widow “Everyone will be talking about The Rumor.”—Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door When a single mother hears a shocking rumor outside her son’s school, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to … her son’s school, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another . . . and now there’s no going back.
Rumor has it that a notorious killer, who committed a brutal crime as a child, has been living a new life under an assumed identity in Joanna’s seaside town. So who is the criminal hidden in their midst? Suspicion falls on everyone.
As Joanna becomes obsessed with the case, her curiosity will expose her son and his father to the supposedly reformed murderer—who may be ready to kill again. She will learn how dangerous one rumor can become . . . and just how far she must go to protect those she loves. She is going to regret the day she ever said a word.
Praise for The Rumor
“A brilliant premise with a killer twist. The Rumor depicts the prejudices and secrets that simmer in a small seaside town to devastating effect.”—Colette McBeth, author of An Act of Silence
“This mystery has an unusual and resonant theme—how a single rumor can morph into a completely unmanageable, deadly force. . . . [There’s] psychological acuity throughout and [an] astonishing ending.”—Booklist
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Rumors and the laws of unintended consequences. Very good debut suspense thriller that revolves around single mom Joanna and a scary piece of gossip. Joanna lets it slip at the school gates trying to ingratiate herself into the local moms group. And then mentions it again and then it becomes a topic of conversation all over town. Just when you think you’ve figured out their identity, another one comes along to tempt you away.
I really enjoyed this book! In the beginning I thought I had it figured out and little did I know I was wrong! Every chapter left me wanting to stay up and read another so that I could finish the book. I definitely Gasped when the truth was revealed!
There is so much of this book to love, believable characters, compelling secrets & that nagging doubt that you know who the culprit is…but then you don’t. A very cleverly woven story that starts out as a malicious rumour but ends up as everyone’s worst nightmare. Kudos to the author, I was very close to the end before everything clicked into place, and when it did my jaw hit the floor. Excellent.
This was so good! Author Lesley Kara does an excellent job of masking the truth under the story. As the story went on, it started to feel like so many of the characters could be hiding their own secrets. The suspense and tension built more and more with each page. Joanna has helped along a rumor and now wishes she hadn’t. But it’s too late now to take it back. And now the whole town seems to be involved somehow.
It reminds you that we don’t always know what is going to happen
when you spread what may or may not be true and how that impacts those it affects.
I read this book last year and liked it so much that I recommended it to my book club. We just had it for our selection this month, and I read the whole thing again. It was still good even though I knew the outcome. Besides the fact that it is a good read, I also liked the message of how much damage can be done with one rumor that continues to spread. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery,
Single mom Jo has relocated to her hometown to be near her mother and raise her five year old son Alfie, while she considers making her relationship with Alfie’s dad Michael more permanent. Eager to build friendships and fit in, Jo shares the rumor she’s overhears that an infamous female convicted child killer has made the small beach town their home. Everyone’s fears get the best of them, tongues wag, and soon Jo becomes known as the one who brought grief onto an innocent woman falsely accused of being the killer. Michael arrives to research the killer, hopefully unmask them and write a book; with insights and information from him, Jo tries to figure out who of her female circle it might be, and starts to receive messages threatening her family. Lesley Kara does a good job of keeping the reader guessing as Jo’s words and actions build to a frightening showdown that could expose the real killer and cost her dearly.
Book source ~ Library
Joanna Critchley moved back to her hometown of Flintstead with her young son to be near her mother and to make a fresh start. But it’s slow going. When it looks like Alfie is going to be bullied again, she needs to think of something, anything, to break into the golden mommy circle so her son has access to playdates. So, she repeats a rumor she heard, about a child killer named Sally McGowan possibly living in Flintstead. In 1969 Sally McGowan was 10 when she accidentally killed five-yr-old Robbie Harris. She served her time then was given a new identity and disappeared. She was discovered once before disappearing again. Now, she may be in Joanna’s home town! Or is she?
I have to tell you, the characters in this book are pretty unlikeable. Especially Joanna. What a twat she is. No wonder she can’t make friends. Her poor son. The rumor is gripping and the mystery of whether Sally McGowan is, in fact, in Flintstead and if so, who it could be is what kept me reading the story. Otherwise I would have DNF’d and went to the next book in my TBR. All-in-all, a mediocre read.
Wonderful mystery/ drama, really well written and grabbed my interest from the very beginning, all the way to the surprising end. Shows no matter how innocent you mean a comment to be, it can blow up in your face! I loved the great mysterious characters! I have been so lucky lately with the unique plots in the storylines i have been reading! 4 stars!
Thank you Netgalley the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this story. All opinions are my own.
Full of twists and unexpected turns. I zoomed through this one because I was dying to get to the end, even as I hated to finish it.
This book was SO good!
Gossip and rumors can ruin people’s lives. When someone mentions that a famous child killer is rumored to be living in their small town, several people are shocked about it, but nevertheless, they gossip about the rumor. Jo hears the rumor and is unhappy about it, but when she goes to her neighborhood book club and someone is asking another member embarrassing questions, Jo repeats the rumor to draw attention away from the uncomfortable person. It then snowballs from there, people all over town start speculating who the child killer is, and if they know them.
Jo is a single mom, with a young son, Alfie, and a partner, Michael. Jo feels that Alfie is being singled out at school and Jo gets threatening tweets, which Jo believes is related to her repeating the rumor about a child killer.
Jo begins to suspect several of the older women in town. One day, the truth comes out, with frightening consequences for several people in the town. The final line of the book reveals a terrible secret (but one I was not surprised to read!).
This is a well crafted first novel. It was an easy read, and kept you guessing.
#TheRumor #LesleyKara
This is one of those books that you just have to say wow… what a crazy ride. The story just keeps you guessing until the end. I enjoyed it there were a lot of things that were left unanswered but still a great story.
Some times you just need a good thriller to change things up.
The Rumor is the first book I’ve read by this author and I loved it! Many years ago a young girl killed a little boy by stabbing him. Now the word is that she, who is now an older lady, was released from prison and is living in the small town of Flinstead. As the rumor spreads, as rumors do, everyone is wondering who she is, is the rumor true, are they in danger? People have their suspicions. This book is full of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end. I didn’t want to put it down! Highly recommend!
This was an amazing debut novel. Jo tries to figure out who the child killer is by analyzing each neighbor, book club member, and friend. Who is it? She is shocked when she finds out, and the final twist was very unexpected. I would recommend this book to thriller readers. I won this book (ARC) in a Goodreads giveaway.
I am guilty of judging a book by its blurb. When I read the blurb, I thought that it was going to be a run of the mill suspense/thriller/mystery. I thought that I would be able to figure out who the killer was by the middle of the book. Yeah, well, that didn’t happen. I was taken by surprise by The Rumor , and I loved it.
The murderer in The Rumor is based on a real crime. Mary Bell killed a four-year-old and a three-year-old in 1968. The author had Sally follow Mary’s path in life. I was chilled reading those parts of The Rumor. The question that burned in my mind as I was reading was, “What can drive a ten-year-old to kill?“
The plotline in The Rumor was fast paced. There were no slow interludes. Everything that occurred in the book, happened within a few weeks of Joanna repeating the rumor. There was no lag, and there were no dropped or missing storylines.
Joanna became a hot mess during the book. The minute she repeated that rumor, she was on a fast track to collide with the killer. There were times where I wanted to shake her, though. Mainly with her personal life. I did feel bad for her at the end of the book. What she learned shocked me as much as it shocked her.
I was surprised at who the child killer was. When it was revealed, my mouth dropped open, and I said, out loud, “No effing way.” I was not expecting it to be that person. The author did a fantastic job of throwing out red herrings and pointing fingers at various people in the book. I loved it!!
The end of The Rumor was intense. Everything was revealed in a showdown that I can only describe as epic. I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to know what was going to happen. What chilled me was the last chapter. I got chills up and down my spine when I read it.
It’s hard to believe The Rumor is a debut novel!
“One casual remark. One whispered secret. That’s all it takes to se the wheels in motion and change the course of a life.”
Set in Flinstead, a small coastal town in England, a rumor spoken outside the school yard as mothers wait to pick up their children spreads like wildfire and immediately begins to alter the actions, and interactions of the whole town. The rumor? A woman who murdered a little boy when she was ten years old is living among them under ! Suddenly everyone is looking at everyone else with suspicion, and suspicions lead to hateful acts.
Full of twists and turns, I thought I had the killer picked out numerous times, yet was still surprised at the end. I love that!!
Lesley Kara is an author I will be following. The Rumor gets 4 stars from me!!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.
The Rumor ended up being a middle of the road read for me. There were things I liked and others, well, not so much. I think part of my meh feeling can be chalked up to the fact that I went into this one expecting a thriller, and to say it fell short would be an understatement. It is a tension filled story, and I suppose if you don’t figure out who Sally is, there’s suspense. I did figure that part out, as well as what I assume is supposed to be a big twist at the end, and despite a few red herrings and way too many disposable characters, my ‘guess’ didn’t waver. I did enjoy the tense atmosphere of the story, and the idea behind this one is spectacular, which is what drew me to the book in the first place. So, while I wouldn’t consider this one a thriller, I think it fits nicely into the women’s fiction genre as well as small town drama. The author does have a compelling writing style, and I’ll be interested to see her growth in future books.
This was a pretty decent psychological thriller. I liked that the author threw enough red herrings into the story that I found myself second-guessing what I thought I knew. I did find parts to be a little implausible (beyond the usual suspension of disbelief) and it seemed to wrap up too neatly (although the jolt at the end was a great touch!) I also am getting tired of authors feeling like they need to throw insulting political references in when they have absolutely no bearing on the plot. If it fits a character politically, it makes sense. But having two or three references for no reason seems like pandering, and it takes me out of the book – always has, always will. Thank you to Ballentine Books/Random House (via NetGalley) for a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of this book.
Lies travel faster than the truth and once released can rarely be contained. Joanna Critchley learns how harmful unsubstantiated gossip can be in Lesley Kara’s debut novel, The Rumor. Jo returns to her old hometown of Flintstead to be closer to her mother, but she has been away long enough to feel like she is starting over since most of her old friends have moved away. As a Real Estate agent, she wants to make some new connections in town and wants to ensure that her young son Alfie is accepted by his peers at school. She fears that her unmarried status and casual relationship with Alfie’s father combined with their son’s mixed race may affect his acceptance in the small town. Her mother suggests she join a Book Club to meet some new people and gain friends. Jo overhears a woman talking about the possibility that a famous child murderer from 30 years ago might have moved to Flintstead under an assumed name. In order to diffuse an emerging conflict, Jo relates the news at a club meeting. Later, when she feels rebuffed by the other mothers at Alfie’s school, she repeats it again-attracting attention and receiving entry into the babysitting exchange and invitations to playdates and parties. Unfortunately, the rumor begins to take on a life of its own, and a local shop owner becomes the target of outraged locals who suspect her of being the released killer. Things become increasing complicated when Alfie’s father, a tenacious reporter, decides he wants to move to town to write about the story. Jo tries to remedy her mistake, but it is too late to reverse the damage. She also feels compelled to find out the truth, and in doing so comes to suspect various residents of being the real perpetrator. The reader is taken along many twists and turns as Jo works through her list of potential suspects. Interspersed are chapters narrated by the anonymous target as Jo gets closer and closer to discovering her identity. The novel has some too-convenient connections and stretches credulity when Jo occasionally seems more naïve than her character would indicate. Still, The Rumor has some wonderful characterizations and manages to also introduce some incisive topics like prejudice and vigilantism imbedded in its nicely paced plot. For her debut, Lesley Kara has provided a solid suspense thriller that will entertain summer readers and attract a fan base that will eagerly await her next effort.
For fans of Liane Moriarty, Nora Roberts and Laura Lippman.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an objective review.
When a groups of mums were waiting to take their kids into school, one of the mums mentioned that there may be a female child killer who killed a little boy living in their town under witness protection. Alfie’s mum, Joanna, picked up on this and then mentioned it at her Book Club get together. Joanna was worried because Alfie did not seem to have any friends so when meeting to take the kids into school again, she again brought up the rumor and added another fact to it that she had found out from her reporter boyfriend. From there, this story takes on a lot of twist and turns with a surprise ending. This book kept me captivated from the very first and it definitely is a page turner. I really enjoyed this quick, easy read and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this very enjoyable book.