The Whispers: The explosive new novel from the bestselling author of The Push

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

There's no smoke without fire . . . the explosive, taut and unforgettable new novel from Ashley Audrain, author of Sunday Times bestseller The Push The whispers started long before the accident on Harlow Lane . . . There was the party, where Whitney screamed at her ten-year-old, Xavier. Afterwards, the silence was deafening. Then there's her neighbour and friend, Blair - who snoops round Whitney's house when she's not in. She'd be better off watching her own home, keeping her husband on a tighter leash... Rebecca treats sick kids. She loves them, everyone sees that. If only she and her partner had been blessed with their own. . . After the accident sends these neighbours rushing to a hospital bedside, the whispers grow into a cacophony - what really happened that night

Reviews

The Whispers is spellbinding, a shimmering, visceral ride through the dark side of family, of community, of womanhood and mothering. Nobody delves as deep into the guts of motherhood as Ashley Audrain, she really is in a league of her own -- Lisa Jewell, Sunday Times #1 Bestselling Author
Enticing, nuanced, and unflinching, The Whispers opens a secret portal into the private lives of women in suburbia. A narrative portrait of motherhood and marriage, of loneliness and longing, of loss and desire, this is a novel where the characters are so recognizable, it's nearly impossible to feel they are strangers. Rather, through the course of the deeply thrilling and provocative pages, one comes to feel they're as real as neighbours, colleagues and friends. A truly masterful novel -- Nita Prose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Maid
A chilling story and a beautifully observed exploration of what it means to be a woman, highlighting the sacrifices involved and the often frightening choices that have to be made. The knowledge that something awful is looming lends the narrative a compelling sense of unease that builds to a thickening dread as Audrain ratchets up the tension. A quietly revelatory and unnerving novel that works on so many levels - I couldn't put it down -- Sarah Pearse, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium
A beautifully written, twisty and thought-provoking novel about the demands of modern women, motherhood and how our own past shapes us. The Whispers is packed with suspense, tension and unforgettable characters and I couldn't read it fast enough. I adored it! -- Claire Douglas, number one bestselling author of The Couple at No.9
Ashley Audrain is the master of simmering resentment and paranoia, mental load and motherhood. This slow-burn thriller is gripping and horrifying and with a perfectly shocking ending. It's going to be huge, absolutely unmissable. -- Catherine Cooper, bestselling author of The Cruise
No one understands the secret lives of women like Ashley Audrain. In her electrifying new novel, The Whispers, the unspoken fears, desires, and shame of four neighbours threaten the lives they've so carefully constructed. It's a razor-sharp page-turner. Masterful! -- Carley Fortune, New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After
A masterwork: a page-turner, a searing emotional rollercoaster and a beautifully-written hymn to the pain, the love, the fury of motherhood. I could think about nothing but Ashley Audrain's perfectly-drawn characters in the three days it took me to tear through this novel, and I suspect they will live on in my mind for a long time to come. Sensational -- Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call
Driven by desire, jealousy and revenge, everyone is under suspicion and guilty of something in this powerful, edgy and addictive novel by the queen of psychological drama, Ashley Audrain. An honest, uncensored look at women and motherhood in the wake of a mysterious tragedy, The Whispers is a must-read -- Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Just the Nicest Couple
I couldn't put The Whispers down. It held me by my throat the entire way and left me in awe of Audrain's talent and her ability to put the female experience so ruthlessly, so painfully and so beautifully into words. She is exceptional at her craft, one of the best, and her work should be read religiously and consistently by all. I can't recommend this book enough -- Salma El-Wardany, BBC Radio London
Ashley Audrain writes about motherhood and how it feels to be a woman today with a fearlessness few can muster. Every time I turned a page, I thought: yes! This is why I read--to connect, to feel seen, to be confronted with my deepest fears, and, of course, to go on a breathtakingly suspenseful ride while doing it -- Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands
Ashley Audrain has a profound understanding of how thin the line between good and evil can be. THE WHISPERS leads readers past the carefully composed facade of Harlow Street to dig, unflinchingly, into themes of motherhood, fidelity, privilege and complicity, resulting in a novel that not only delivers on the promise of its taut, explosive and page-turning plot-but redefines the very idea of what a thriller is and can be. Daring, incisive, and exquisitely written, Audrain has proven herself a force like no other -- Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie
Praise for The Push * : *
Utterly addictive -- Paula Hawkins
The mother of all thrillers. Like The Girl on the Train - but better! * Daily Mail *
A gripping debut that explores and manipulates the fears and insecurities of mothers everywhere . . . well thought-out, vividly realised and gripping * Guardian *
An inventive twist on the psychological thriller formula . . . Audrain sustains the suspense expertly through assured handling of her unravelling protagonist's voice * Sunday Times *
A poetic, propulsive read that set my nerves jangling in both horror and recognition. I read it in one sitting and it stayed with me for days afterwards. Not to be missed -- Lisa Jewell
Dazzling and gloriously complete -- Daisy Buchanan
Powerful and immersive -- Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
So tense, so all-encompassing! It's a jet-black story of motherhood, inheritance and expectations, and I loved it -- Abigail Dean, author of Girl A
A provocative, compulsive novel about modern motherhood * Vogue *

Author Bio

ASHLEY AUDRAIN's debut novel THE PUSH was a New York Times, Sunday Times and #1 international bestseller, and a Good Morning America book club pick. It's been translated into 36 languages, and a limited television series is currently in development. She previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that, worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. THE WHISPERS is her second novel.