The Rumor - Paperback

by Lesley Kara (Author)

"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

Author Biography

Lesley Kara is an alumna of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. She completed an English degree and PGCE at Greenwich University in London, and has worked as a lecturer and manager in further education. She has now relocated to the small town of Frinton-on-Sea on the North Essex coast. The Rumor is her first novel.