The Rumour by Lesley Kara
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?
About Author
Lesley Kara is the Sunday Times Top 10 author of psychological thrillers. Her first book, THE RUMOUR, was the highest selling print crime fiction debut of 2019, has sold in over 18 countries and is soon to be a major TV series on Channel 5! Subsequent books are: WHO DID YOU TELL, THE DARE, THE APARTMENT UPSTAIRS, and THE OTHER TENANT.
Recap
Joanna Critchley, a single mom, lives in Flintstead with her mother and her son Alfie. She has an on-again-off-again relationship with Alfie’s father Michael.
During a book club meeting, Joanna casually repeats a rumour she heard about a notorious child killer who may be living under a new identity in her town, she expects little more than local gossip. Instead, the rumour spreads like wildfire, turning neighbours suspicious, friendships strained, and lives upside down. As fear and paranoia take hold, Joanna finds herself caught in the chaos she helped create.
Main Characters
- Joanna Critchley – A single mother who unknowingly starts the rumour that drives the entire story.
- Alfie – Joanna’s young son.
- Michael – Alfie’s father and Joanna’s on-again, off-again partner.
- Sally McGowan – The infamous child killer at the centre of the rumour, now believed to be living under a new identity.
- Dave – Joanna’s boss
- Tasha – Joanna’s friend
- The Rumour Mill – Debbie, Liz, Teri, Kay, Fatima, Sonia Martins, Karen, women in the book club and in Flintstead residents.
Lines I liked
P111
They want a monster, I’ll give them a monster.
P156
I’m so jealous of their ordinary lives I could scream. I could pick up this lose brick here and hurl it through a window. Shatter their peace and tranquillity. Make them as scared as me. Just for a little while, so they now what it’s like.
They’ll never know what it’s like.
At her house, a faint orangey glow is just visible at the bedroom window.
P195
‘Remember Nietzsche?’ Liz says. ‘”He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”‘
P208
Sorry, I didn’t know I was being terse, she said. Tersely.
Review
The Rumour is a slow-burning mystery about gossip, suspicion, and the damage rumours can cause. The premise is strong and the mystery kept me curious, though the emotional scenes occasionally overstayed their welcome.
Second of all, the narrator is so unlikable. I instinctly disliked her for starting the rumour, for fuelling it, for not doing anything, and for making things worse for a harmless person who had nothing to do with ANYTHING and was just living her life. One thing this novel teaches us is to not freaking gossip, I guess.
First of all, I saw the twist coming from miles away. I suppose that means the author did a decent job of leaving enough breadcrumbs for readers to piece things together before the reveal.
What didn’t work as well for me were the confrontations. There were a lot of them, and most felt longer and more emotional than necessary. There was also an impressive amount of crying. That might have worked perfectly on screen, where expressions and performances carry the weight, but reading page after page of tears became exhausting. Needless to say, I skipped a few paragraphs. Fine, a few pages.
The novel is generally slow-paced, but I can’t entirely blame the pacing for the fact that it took me months to finish. The book mostly lived under one of my five pillows, quietly waiting to be remembered. I’d come to my room well past midnight and have no desire to switch on the lights for a physical book. Instead, I’d drift toward digital distractions: a round of Candy Crush on my iPad, a few YouTube videos on my Android phone, then a quick check of office messages and emails on my iPhone because that’s where all the work apps are installed.
Crazy? That doesn’t even begin to describe who I am.
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Until next time, happy reading!
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Shabana Mukhtar