“ In this chilling tale of paranoia, suspicion and accusation, Lesley Kara keeps you guessing until the final page. ”
Paula Hawkins, No.1 bestselling author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN and INTO THE WATER
“ A great debut with a slyly clever premise and a rollercoaster ride to the very last sentence. ”
Fiona Barton, bestselling author of THE WIDOW and THE CHILD
“ An intriguing premise, a creeping sense of dread, and a twist you won't see coming! Everyone is going to be talking about The Rumour. ”
Shari Lapena, bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR
“ A brilliant premise with a killer twist. The Rumour depicts the prejudices and secrets that simmer in a small seaside town to devastating effect. ”
Colette McBeth, author of AN ACT OF SILENCE
“ Pssst, have you heard... #TheRumour is a cracking thriller about the damage that idle gossip can wreak in a small town. I thought I had the twist worked out. Boy was I wrong! ”
Tammy Cohen
“ A brilliantly addictive debut...with a reveal that caught me completely by surprise. ”
Good Housekeeping
“ Shocking and convincing. ”
Literary Review
“ Suspicion and lies, paranoia and anguish follow in this twisty psychological thriller. ”
Choice Magazine
“ Gripping...the evocation is beautifully done. ”
Observer
“ Whip-smart, every well-crafted page simmers with tension and menace. ”
Sunday Mirror
“ Tense and very twisty . . . will have you hooked. ”
Sun
“ Captivating . . . a subtle examination of the damage that gossip can do. ”
Daily Mail
“ This is one of those novels that sweeps you away and doesn't let go until the final killer blow. ”
Heat
Paperback
9780552175500
August 6, 2019
Corgi
368 pages
Hardback
9781787630048
January 15, 2019
Bantam Press
320 pages
Trade Paperback
9781787631007
January 2, 2019
Bantam Press
320 pages
EBook
9781473559448
December 10, 2018
Transworld Digital
320 pages
It’s happening again. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. I see it in the roll of the waves, the way they’re bearing in at a slant. Fast. Relentless.
I feel it in the nip of the air on my skin, smell it in the rotting leaves and damp earth, hear it in the silence of the watching crows. You’re coming for me again and there’s nothing I can do to stop you.
This is how it happens. One night I go to bed and everything’s fine. Everything’s under control. The story has ceased to be a story. It’s real. Solid. Unbreakable. Then I wake up and it’s changed. Cracks have appeared overnight and I realize that I’ve been fooling myself all this time, that I’ve only ever been the most fragile of constructions.
I’m the hunted. I’ll always be the hunted.
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I started writing this novel in August 2017, but the original idea came to me a few years before when someone I was working with passed on a rumour to me.
