This made my stomach churn from start to finish (complimentary!!). Ashley Audrain has done it again - she’s created a compelling, unsavory psychological drama that zeroes in on the most painful aspects of motherhood.

The Whispers centers around a group of women who neighbor each other in suburbia. Their lives are altered when a young boy falls from his bedroom window in the middle of the night and ends up fighting for his life in the hospital. Each narrator hides their own secrets & desires & uncomfortable truths - and they eventually have to confront their own roles leading up to the events of that tragic night. 

It’s about the transformational power of motherhood, sacrifices made for partners and children, uncontrollable envy, and those intuitive ‘whispers’ that we often try to silence. 

I would call the story both slow burn and character-driven, but I was reading FRENETICALLY. I couldn’t part from the book, even when it made me nauseated or horrified or furious. Audrain writes these perspectives so intimately, carefully, and compassionately that it’s hard not to place yourself in their shoes (and cross your fingers that you would make different choices). 

None of these women can have it all - career-wise, love-wise, child-wise - and it breaks them one by one. 

It’s messy and terrible and you may want to climb into the book and shake some of these women (Whitney, I’m looking you dead in the eyes). I felt raw after reading the final words. 

CW: child death, child abuse, graphic miscarriages, pregnancy, infertility, infidelity, ableism, medical trauma, suicidal thoughts, grief, toxic friendship, bullying, sexual content

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

oooooo boy! this neighborhood has endless secrets, betrayals, and mysteries - and I was here for EVERY single second of it!

following four different ladies of the neighborhood after one of their sons falls out a window, everyone is on edge with their own opinions 😅 and it’s exactly the messy drama I signed up for!!!

I have to preface by saying that there are a TON of trigger warnings for this one (which I’ll post at the end of this review), and while I’m all about petty drama, this one was definitely heavy. if you’re looking for a happy ending, you’ve come to the wrong place. 

while it took me a minute to get everyone’s names down, I did appreciate how they all felt different from each other with similar demographics and lifestyles. I would have liked to see more BIPOC characters instead of the standard white rich neighborhood always featured in these type of novels - I feel like, in addition to the welcome diversity, it would have added more layers to the plot itself. 

ashley’s writing style is so beautiful, and I feel so enthralled every time I pick up one of her novels. the dialogue is at a minimal, which normally isn’t my cup of tea, but it was written so similar to prose that it flowed so well!!!!

thank you to penguin random house and ashley audrain for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: stags leap cabernet sauvignon