The Rumor

A Novel

By: Lesley Kara

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Olivia Mackenzie-Smith

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

“Keeps you guessing until the final page.” (Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train)

“A rollercoaster ride to the very last sentence.” (Fiona Barton, author of The Widow)

“Everyone will be talking about The Rumor.” (Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door) 

When a single mother hears a shocking rumor outside her son’s school, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another...and now there’s no going back. Rumor has it that a notorious killer, who committed a brutal crime as a child, has been living a new life under an assumed identity in Joanna’s seaside town. So who is the criminal hidden in their midst? Suspicion falls on everyone.

As Joanna becomes obsessed with the case, her curiosity will expose her son and his father to the supposedly reformed murderer - who may be ready to kill again. She will learn how dangerous one rumor can become...and just how far she must go to protect those she loves. She is going to regret the day she ever said a word. 

Praise for The Rumor 

“A brilliant premise with a killer twist. The Rumor depicts the prejudices and secrets that simmer in a small seaside town to devastating effect.” (Colette McBeth, author of An Act of Silence)

“This mystery has an unusual and resonant theme - how a single rumor can morph into a completely unmanageable, deadly force.... [There’s] psychological acuity throughout and [an] astonishing ending.” (Booklist) 

©2019 Lesley Kara (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“Well-developed characters and a twisty plot will keep readers turning the pages. Those who stay to the very last sentence will be doubly surprised. Kara is off to a promising start.” (Publishers Weekly)

“In this chilling tale of paranoia, suspicion, and accusation, Lesley Kara keeps you guessing until the final page.” (Paula Hawkins, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Girl on the Train)

“A great debut with a slyly clever premise and a roller-coaster ride to the very last sentence.” (Fiona Barton, New York Times best-selling author of The Widow and The Child) 

Wow, solid mystery/thriller

This book was very good, the plot unfolded at an excellent pace and clues were perfectly scattered until they all came back into place again as the story wrapped up. So it wasn’t one of those books that just unraveled at the very end or with no clues throughout the book to allow the audience to make their own connections. My interest was held solidly throughout and though I tried to make guesses about how it would ultimately end, I was completely wrong. The book wrapped up a little earlier than normal to provide more backstory and points from the plot to become relevant with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.

writing style not for me

i’ve noticed that contemporary american literature like this book is very show-don’t-tell. the premise is interesting enough, and the narrator did wonderfully. but it’s the writing i can’t get into. the conversations seem contrived, the events are dictated in a straight forward and uninteresting manner. “This happened. Then this happened. Then I did this. Then she said this. My heart was beating. My palms were sweating. Then I realized. She was gone.” But I think this is a matter of personal preference, so don’t let it stop you from listening if you’re intrigued.

Good Story but really disliked the main character

I have never ever disliked the main character as much as I dislike Joana. You will know what I am talking about once you read the book.

The Rumor

Could have been a good story but the main character is so unlike able it’s hard to care about her! I usually finish an audiobook in about 4 days but this one took longer because I disliked the character of Jo so much that I barely cared how it ended!

Great story, even better ending!

This book kept my attention throughout the story and it was definitely worth the purchase. There were a few cheesy parts or somewhat predictable parts, but there were also a few good twists that kept my mind guessing. The very end is what made me rate this book so highly...Made it worth every second to listen to! Wonderful!

Enthralling

5 THRILLING STARS

Wow! Lesley Kara’s debut was a a home run, touchdown and every sports metaphor you can imagine rolled up into one. I’ve been let down by boring, predictable thrillers of late, but not by Kara. I couldn’t put THE RUMOR down and never anticipated most of the twists and turns.

Jo is such a great character. In the beginning, she uses social capital that a rumor that a child killer from half a century ago lives in their small New Jersey town. When she hears the responses of vengeance from other mothers, she immediately regrets her decision. Soon people in the town decide a shop owner is the former ten-year-old girl who killed the little boy 50 years ago. Michael, her son’s father and on and off lover, uses his journalistic resources to determine, yes, the former killer lives in town and no, she isn’t Sonia.

Kara does a wonderful job making so many people possible suspects, the overly friendly older woman, the prickly homeowner selling her house, the shopkeeper, a few of the book club members. I was positive I knew the answer and blown away by my wrong assumption.

I couldn’t put THE RUMOR down. The pace was fast and heart thumping over the last 25%. Kara doesn’t stop until the very last sentence.

Mystery, Thriller and Women’s lit lovers will enjoy THE RUMOR.

#TheRumor #LeslieKara

Way too overly dramatized! —difficult to listen to.

I’m not sure which was worse—the writing or the narrating. By the end, the main character’s extreme emotionalism was bordering on camp and was almost humorous. I had to speed up the narration to 1.25 just to get through to the end of the story. Really bad!
I don’t recommend this one. I’m returning it.

Makes you think

Makes you think about rumors….. great story, great narration. Did not see the twist coming Great till the very last sentence

Edge of your seat surprising

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓
𝙱𝚢: Lesley Kara / @lesleykarawriter
𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜: Karissa Vacker / @karissavacker AND Olivia Mackenzie-Smith / @livmacsmith
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @prhaudio
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: June 18th 2019
@goodreads 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.78
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 🤫🤫🤫🤫 / 5 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔

Please slide photo for @goodreads Synopsis.

I really enjoyed this suspicious read by Lesley Kara. It was fast paced and a quick listen. I was intrigued from the beginning and needed to know who this child killer really was? There were many crazy characters and though it was a bit hard to keep track of them all I still enjoyed trying to figure out who was good or bad. Any of these many characters could have been behind all the craziness that was happening to our protagonist in the story, maybe even someone she knew. Also, because this is an audiobook review, I must say both narrators did a fantastic job.

I thought the ending was amazing. When everything was coming to together and all the twists were being revealed it was awesome and shocking. And the last line of the story is jaw dropping. I'd definitely recommend this thrilling read.

“Rumors are like seeds, scattered on the wind. There’s no telling where they’ll land, but land they will. Settling in cracks and crevices, the roots take hold. The seeds sprout. It doesn’t matter if they’re true or false. The more times they’re spoken, the faster and stronger they grow. Like beanstalks, waving in the air.”
― Lesley Kara, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓

On the Edge of my Seat

Loved this book! It took me a few chapters to get into it. The reading was a little slower than I typically like so I set it to 1.25 speed and it was perfect. The story was great. I was on the edge of my seat and was truly shocked. I thought I had it all figured out but I knew nothing at all.