Title – The Rumour
Author – Lesley Kara
Published – Dec 2018
Genre – Psychological thriller
If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you’ll know that psychological thrillers can be a bit hit or miss for me. This book was a bit of a random read that I picked up via Netgalley so I didn’t have any particular expectations, but it turned out to be an unusual plot that kept me gripped to the end.
Joanna lives with her son in a small seaside town where she’s recently returned to be closer to her mother. At the school gates she picks up a piece of gossip – there is a rumour that a woman, a notorious child-killer who was only ten year’s old herself when she killed a little boy, is living in the town.
You know that moment where you’ve been told something in confidence but your mouth just runs away with you? The sinking feeling when you say something which you know you shouldn’t? Well Joanna has that. The father of her son, Michael, is a journalist whose interest is piqued by the idea of this killer being hidden away in the town and begins to investigate the background of the case. However, in an effort to help her son make friends Joanna shares some information she heard from Michael, she soon learns how a wrong word can lead to suspicion in a small town.
As the rumour spreads a local woman becomes the target of the suspicions, adding to Joanna’s feelings of guilt – and then she starts to suspect she and her son are being targeted by the murderer, which ramps up the tension.
This was an unusual premise and, unusually for this genre, the lead character was quite likeable, although she does have some flaws as well as an unbelievably perfect boyfriend. Towards the end it was best just to get carried along with the story and not examine the detail too much (you know that feeling where you want to go back to the beginning and see what you read?). Nevertheless it kept me reading and guessing until the end.
Many thanks to the publisher for the Netgalley.