The Rumour

by Lesley Kara

[Leah]

The Rumour is one of those books that sucks you in and doesn’t let go, until you’ve finished. I thought the whole premise was so intriguing and it’s kind of scary that people who have committed despicable crimes could be living in your very own town. It’s like those rumours from way back that Maxine Carr was living in County Durham, where I’m from. Do I think someone like Maxine Carr should get a new identity after what she did? Be set up for life, with a new name and able to move on? Hell to the no, and not in my bloody town anyway, but that’s another story for another day.

Witness protection is something of a rarity in the UK – it’s certainly more prevalent in the USA and I suppose it goes on here, of course, it just isn’t something I suppose you’re aware of. What gets me most about The Rumour is the whole concept of the novel is literally based on a game of Chinese whispers, started by our narrator Joanna. And if you took a shot of alcohol every time Joanna uses the word “rumour” you would be drunk after 10 pages, because boy, does she like to bring it up a lot. It’s so fascinating how one little rumour can do so much damage – and not just to the person they’ve cast as the villain, but to innocent people too and this novel really shines a light on that.

I really liked Joanna, actually. She was a fantastic narrator and the unfolding of who the real Sally was, was done so cleverly. Slowly, but surely, as Joanna investigated and uncovered a bit more about what was going on in her small town, the picture became clearer. Actually, that’s a lie. I had no idea until it was actually revealed what was going on. Because the suspicion is thrown on so many people, I saw it going a different way and I was gobsmacked when the whole thing came out. So bravo Lesley Kara, you amazing writer you – you fooled me! It’s amazing that you can’t really know who you live close to or who is in your town, amazing and terrifying, and the novel was quite claustrophobic as Joanna is very isolated initially – her boy, Alfie, is struggling to make friends at school, Joanna is reluctant to make friends with the other mums and it’s easy to see why the spreading of this rumour helped her social standing and why she allowed it.

I genuinely loved this book from start to finish. The whole thing was perfection – the plot, the writing, the pacing, it was all done so incredibly well that I knew I was going to love this book pretty much from the off. This is going to be one of the big thrillers when it’s released for sure. It ticks all of the boxes of a successful crime novel and then some and I’m so glad I spotted the cover on Twitter and remembered I had a copy to read early. Proof that a good cover and a good tag line can make you pick up a book in double-quick time. I’m very excited to see Lesley Kara’s career progress because The Rumour was a magnificent read from start to finish and I loved it.