★★★★

The Rumour is Lesley Kara’s debut novel, a gripping book about what people are capable of doing when they feel threatened and exposed. A thriller about paranoia, fear and suspense unlike anything you have read before.

When Joanna moved into a small town, all she wants to do is be happy, with her son Alfie and her mother being beside her. Her son Alfie had troubles with bullies in the big city, and all his mum wants for him right now is for him to be happy and fit in the crowd.

And when a rumour starts hovering around that a woman that has killed a child a long time ago is living in the town, under a new identity, Joanna decides to share this rumour around with her friends, in hope that this will hopefully result in Alfie making some friends.

But what happens when a simple comment goes all wrong, and starts spreading like a virus? And what if this rumour happens to be true? What if there is indeed a killer living undercover in this small town, and is very upset and wants to punish those who share this rumour around? Starting with Alfie…

The Rumour was a thrilling read for me, as I haven’t read anything similar before. We see the story from Joanne’s point of view, but mostly, we see the story from a perspective of a mother.

We see a woman who is overthinking everything regarding her child, always asking herself twice whether she has made the right choice, and always wondering whether her child is safe.

And I am not a parent, but I can imagine that every parent over-worries about their children. Even at some point all of us would wonder whether this is normal, or we are just being paranoid again? And this initial moment has lead Joanne to become anxious and insecure, and feeling like something is wrong constantly.

I loved the plot around the child-killer, and how it slowly was developing throw a lot of characters.

I certainly did not expect that twist a few chapters before the end, and the final twist in the last chapters. This gave the story a whole new ‘’wow’’ factor, and I was really pleased.

I wouldn’t put it on my shelf of 5-star books, as I couldn’t get the biting nails moment. However, this books keeps you reading through, and I can’t wait to read more from Lesley. She is a great author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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