Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Whispers

This book was very well written. That being said, the chatacters were horrid people! This one is sleeping with that one’s husband, this one tried to kill her kid, this one is cheating on his wife, this one hates her husband… a group or horrible miserable people! But it was like watching a reality show and I couldn’t stop lol. Some of the things she wrote about made me wrinkle my nose in distaste, and think who does that?! Crazy people! But that’s what makes this so well written is that my imagination couldn’t have even come up with this stuff. I didn’t connect with or really like any of the characters but this book was a memorable one.

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oof. This was startling in its bluntness, Audrain daring to say what I think so many mothers/wives/women fear to state aloud. Admittedly. I lost interest in viewing it as a thriller so much as a character study in the domestic sphere. To view the last sentence in that vein is chilling (!).

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kaylameaux's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lauren_shilling's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this book a lot faster than I was expecting to. There was so much going on, and so much happening constantly throughout it that it just kept me completely hooked the entire time. There wasn't a dull moment or a character's point of view I liked less than the others. All four women had such compelling point of views and compelling storylines and the way they all weaved together as the story progressed was incredible. It was exactly what I was in the mood for and gave me everything I needed to read. The writing itself was really good too, and I loved the different portrayals of motherhood and marriage from all the different points of view. Overall, I would highly recommend this book, it was so good! As with most thrillers/darker books though make sure to check trigger warnings!

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princessxnicole's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I’m gonna rate this how I did “The Push”, as I loved it just as much as her debut. The only thing keeping me from 5 stars is the both of them having very quick endings.

WOW!!! An incredibly fascinating second novel from Ashley Audrain. I was immediately invested in the deep tangle of suburban domesticity between the three families at the helm of this story, and even the fourth family’s insights sprinkled throughout. Audrain commands your attention with every page, every insane detail that feels hot in your hands, like juicy but disturbing neighborhood gossip you’re only so lucky to be privy too. Like you are one of the periphery moms, whispering about only the surface of the twisted, mangled iceberg.

This is as much a novel about marriages and parent-child relationships under pressure as it is a novel of suspense. Which is to say, this isn’t exactly a thriller, but very much so an intense domestic drama that leaves you clutching at your pearls, as they say, as the characters’ lives unravel. A child in a coma, due to mysterious circumstances. His parents, his neighbors, none of them quite who they seem. Rumors everywhere. Lies as abundant as a cup full of sugar.

I throughly enjoyed this one. I loved the intensity, the explicitness, the shock, every character interwoven into another in the most unexpected ways. This is a deliciously spiraling novel that makes you think a whole lot about the lives of those acquaintances around you that may be entirely different from what you only see from the end of the driveway. Or overheard from an open window…

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