I am delighted to be sharing my review to day on The Rumour by Lesley Kara. I bought a hardback copy of this book and it is a fabulous read that had me shocked and stunned on more than one occasion.

When single mum Joanna hears a rumour at the school gates, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another and now there’s no going back . . .

Rumour has it that a notorious child killer is living under a new identity, in their sleepy little town of Flinstead-on-Sea.

Sally McGowan was just ten years old when she stabbed little Robbie Harris to death forty-eight years ago – no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.

So who is the supposedly reformed killer who now lives among them? How dangerous can one rumour become? And how far will Joanna go to protect her loved ones from harm, when she realizes what it is she’s unleashed? 

Whenever I finish reading a book I grab a pen and my notepad and make a rough draft of a review. It will have initial thoughts, basic reactions, characters or plot that I liked. Well my rough draft took three attempts, it contained my reactions after reading the last page ” Holy Shit Bags!” “Bloody Hell!” and “Wow” appear a few times. I suppose I should mention that I absolutely adored this book.

So, a rumour about a child killer, Sally McGowan, starts to circulate. It goes that Sally had been re-homed, given a new ID and is living in the neighbourhood. I have to say I think I would be uneasy and I know several other parents would be as well. It definitely made Joanna, the main protagonist, feel uneasy. She and her son Alfie had recently moved back to the area to be closer to her mum.

Jo is finding it quite difficult to fit in with the close knit group of mums, though she does start to make friendships of sorts. I say of sorts because the friendships have a tentative edge to them that play very well into the plot.

Rumours, gossip and general bits of chit chat is part of daily life and is something that most people hear on a daily basis, be in person, via social media or on the news. When Jo decides to add her tuppence worth into the mix, well let’s just say I bet she wished she had kept schtum!

This is a story that had so many moments that caught me by surprise. I wasn’t sure who the child killer could be. Through the story was an underlying series of emotions from various characters that range from anger, grief, revenge, mistrust and guilt.

If you are after a real page-turner psychological, mystery, thriller that drops some great bombshells then this is one I would definitely recommend.

Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx