4 stars! I was so excited and lucky to receive an advanced copy of The Rumour. A fantastic debut novel by Lesley Kara about the dangers of spreading rumours in a small town. The story follows Jo, a single mum, who accidentally mentions a rumour she overhears at the school gate. Jo casually lets it slip to a few ladies in her book club that an infamous reformed child killer could be living in their town. Not usually being the gossipy type, Jo instantly regrets saying anything and soon realises the can of worms she has opened. When she starts receiving threats against her son Jo believes the killer blames her for the rumour and the race begins to find out who the killer is before someone she loves gets hurt.

This book was highly engaging and if you are like me you will drive yourself insane trying to guess the killers identity. I must admit that I sorta-kinda guessed PART of the twist at the end but for the most part it was pretty shocking. Highly recommend and look forward to reading more by this talented author.

Thanks kindly to Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.