Published 5th August by HQ.
From the cover of the book:
Some secrets aren’t meant to be kept…When Grace returns to Abi’s life, years after they fell out at university, Abi can’t help but feel uneasy. Years ago, Grace’s friendship was all-consuming and exhausting.
Now happily married, Abi’s built a new life for herself and put those days behind her. And yet as Grace slips back into her life with all the lethal charm she had before, Abi finds herself falling back under her spell…
Abi’s husband, Rohan, can’t help but be concerned as his wife’s behaviour changes. As their happy home threatens to fall apart, he realises that there’s something deeply unnerving about Grace. Just what influence does this woman have over his wife, and why has she come back now?
A chilling story of guilt and obsession from Anna Kent.
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Abi is an artist, living happily in the London house she and her loving husband Rohan are renovating to create a stylish family home for themselves and the children they (and Rohan's mother) hope will come in time.
Everything seems perfect in the life of this successful couple, but it's not long before we see cracks appearing. Rohan is off to work in New York on secondment and Abi does not want to leave the safety and security of their home to accompany him, especially since she is under pressure to produce new work for her upcoming exhibition. Things are tense between them and the added stress of the 'baby issue' is taking its toll, with the constant prying of Rohan's overbearing mother into whether or not Abi is pregnant making things worse. There is also something a bit off about their new home that it's hard to put your finger on.
When Abi is contacted by her old friend Grace, who is returning to the UK from Australia after many years, she is unsure whether to tell Rohan or not as she has never shared with him what went on between them. Their friendship was an unhealthy one that did not end well, but they were very close at one time and since Rohan is going to be away perhaps it would be a good thing for Grace to come and stay with her until she gets herself settled? She doesn't want to be on her own in the house and surely any issues they once had will be a thing of the past since they are now grown-ups?
With Rohan off in New York and Grace newly installed in the yet-to-be renovated spare bedroom, it's not long before things start to go seriously awry. Abi is consumed by her painting, suddenly struck with inspiration for a series of disturbing portraits based on the history her toxic relationship with Grace. Grace has not changed at all and her controlling presence is throwing up all sorts of bad memories for Abi that are having a very negative effect on her mental health. As Abi loses herself in her work she becomes confused about what is happening in her home, and her grip on reality begins to slip. Maybe letting Grace back into her life was not such a good idea?
The House of Whispers is a twisty psychological thriller that is stuffed to the gills with chilling themes. As events in this household unfold, the action is interspersed with extracts from an interview with Abi's husband Rohan, which indicate that something very bad has happened to his wife in his absence, so it's clear from the beginning that there is going to be trouble in paradise! What starts out as a picture of domestic delight soon starts to make you feel unsettled. Something about this house and its effect on Abi is troubling, which lends a delicious supernatural undercurrent to the whole piece, but it's not until the completely clueless Rohan is out of the picture and Grace appears on the scene that things start to get pretty disturbing in very short order.
I really enjoyed the way Anna Kent misdirects the reader from the outset here, pulling you along with sinister themes of toxic friendships, guilt, obsession and controlling behaviour, all the while dropping little hints about the true nature of the story that hit with force when all the pieces come together at the end and the full impact of Abi's relationship with Grace is revealed. I did not see that end coming! Very clever!
This is one of those books that pulls you in and compels you to read on through every gritty twist and turn. I promise you will be thinking about this one for quite some while after you turn the final page...
The House of Whispers is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to HQ and Midas PR for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Anna Kent has worked as a journalist, magazine editor and book editor as well as enjoying a stint as a radio producer. She’s written for numerous publications at home and abroad, including the Daily Telegraph, where she was a contributor for six years. Brought up in the South East, she loves to travel while maintaining a base in Gloucestershire. She’s married with two children.
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