There’s a killer among us.
The Rumour by Lesley Kara
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Published: 27th December, 2018
Goodreads
Series: N/A
Rating: 4
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?
Small town gossip is vicious. Nobody can escape the wagging tongues. Are you an introvert, keeping to yourself? Uh-oh… maybe you are a brutal killer, trying to blend in!
Joanna is new to Flinstead and doesn’t have many friends. When her son, Alfie complains about other kids not playing with him in school, Jo takes her mum’s advice and tries to make friends with other mothers. She fancies herself as someone who’s not into gossiping, and yet, she figures the best way to get in on with the mums is to jump on the bandwagon and speculate about a possible child murderer living among them under a new identity in their peaceful little town. Not just once, but on every possible occasion.
Jo’s sort-of-boyfriend, Michael (a.k.a. Alfie’s dad), a journalist, is not helping matters with his endless digging for the truth. He’s so dead set on writing a book about Sally McGowan, that he even broaches the subject of moving in with Jo and Alfie, even though up until now they weren’t even in a relationship.
Once the first accusation is cast, the story hurtles towards a big showdown with great speed. There’s always something to worry about. A dubious twitter account with cryptic messages, a neighbour who might not be as trustworthy as everyone thought, a book club meeting cancelled, or just strange, doctored photos showing up on Halloween. Take your pick.
There’s also the debate whether children who commit a heinous crime deserve a second chance, and if whether it’s even possible to rehabilitate them completely.
A thrilling, and absolutely entertaining story about the power of gossips, The Rumour will appeal to fans of small town mysteries and suspense.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for my opinion.
Lovely review… I agree to your points. I felt the same
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Thank you 🙂
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Well Norrie I never thought about iy but yes what happens to children who commited a crime? It seems a very interesting read indeed!
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I’m now looking for documentaries about the topic.
Most of the ones i found were about kids that were older, like 15-16, and most of them ended up tried as adults and are still in prison. So defo a fascinating topic
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This sounds interesting, Norrie. Well done!
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Thank you! It was pretty cool!
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Great review Norrie, I love the sound of The Rumour. I can not stand small time gossip and have a feeling that this book would pull me in straight away. 🙂
And I always appreciate when a book makes me think. The fact that the second chance question is asked is really cool, making a note to check this book out. 🙂
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Oh, i hope you’ll enjoy it if you decide to read it.
I’m now on a hunt for documentaries about kids who committed such crimes.
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If you do find something interesting, pretty pretty please, share it with us, will you? I would love to know some of those as well, purely because it presents a lot of questions and will probably bring a diversity of opinions. 🙂 Good luck with the hunt!
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Oh, for sure! 🙂
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This sounds really good! Ugh, why are there so many books out there? I can never read them all😐
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I know, right?
But it also makes it easier for me to DNF the ones i don’t like. Need to get to the nice stuff quicker 😀
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Wonderful review, Norrie! I read so many great reviews for this one I ordered it from Book Depository because it didn’t have a US release date yet. So happy to hear you enjoyed it too.
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Oh, yay! 🙂
Hope you’ll have fun reading it too!
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This book sounds really interesting! I’ve added it to my TBR. 📚
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Oh yay 🙂 Hope you’ll like it!
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An intriguing premise, though not sure it’s my kind of read. I’m not fond of novels centred on these kinds of characters … meaning the gossipers, nor, I supposed, child-killers either.
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Yea, it’s very gossip heavy so you’d probably wouldn’t enjoy it in that case 🙂
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Oh, okay, that sounds more my street. Not sure I want too read many details about a child killer before I go to bed at night! 😉
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Oh this is my kind of book! I am going to add this to my huge mountain of books I want to read!💕🏔
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Haha, nice 😀 I hope you’ll enjoy it too as much as i did!
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Sounds like this deals with some interesting concepts- great that this managed to be entertaining at the same time. Awesome review!
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Thank you 🙂
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You’re welcome!
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Oh dear, I’d be the introvert. It’s an interesting question what to do with children who commit heinous crimes. I don’t know if it can be answered generally, at least not for me. Case by case basis. Great review makes me want to go pick up the book!
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Agree, it’s really different from person to person.
I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it 🙂
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Another great review and yet another book added to my TBR! I love a small town mystery!
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Me too!
I hope you enjoy this when you get the chance to read it 🙂
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I’ve heard about this quite a few times now and it sounds intriguing. I might just have to pick myself up a copy.
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I can totally recommend it, if you like small town suspense 🙂
Hope you like it!
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