Synopsis:
Rose McFarland is a trained killer–a Memphis S.W.A.T. sniper with a secret. Her team knows about the burn scars that lurk under her clothes, a legacy of the house fire that killed her father and brother sixteen years before. Her supervisors know that she spent two years in a rehabilitative facility, healing and learning to cope with the emotional trauma of the fire. But no one knows about the visions that drove her there, angry spirits that consumed her childhood, alienated her from her family and made her doubt her own sanity–the Whispers.
When Charlie Akers, a half-brother she never knew, ends up on the wrong side of Rose’s rifle, she unwittingly sets off a chain of events that puts her family in the middle of increasingly dangerous paranormal visitations. Charlie won’t stay dead, and soon ghosts from Rose’s past are creeping back into her life. People she’s killed in the line of duty, family she thought long buried, every one of them under the influence of Rose’s greatest fear, the Whispers themselves.
As the walls between our world and the world of the dead grow thin, Rose will have to face her old nightmares to stop the Whispers from breaking free. If she can’t, it won’t just be Memphis that falls to the dead–there will be no safe place left on earth for the living.
Edition:
Paperback
My Thoughts:
Whispers in the Dark was something I picked up because people on Book Twitter weren’t shutting up about it. I kept seeing folks tweeting about it, and how incredibly good it was. And I have followed Hightower on that platform for quite some time, and she’s really very nice. Those two things combined caused me to order it right away. But then there was a mix up with my order, and it took nearly a year for me actually get the damned thing. But boy am I glad I stuck it out – this one is definitely worth waiting however long you need to. Although I hope for your sake it isn’t as long as I did. For the record, I did also order the e-book, but…it’s the principle of the thing. And I can never keep track of my e-books anyway.
Although normally a book about a sniper would be of absolutely zero interest to me, there’s so much to this story that hooked me. Rose’s career becomes the catalyst for solving the biggest mystery of her life. What are the Whispers, and what do they want from her? And naturally, figuring that out is going to be neither easy nor pleasant. In fact, almost immediately after she kills her previously unknown half brother in the line of duty her entire family finds themselves in the middle of immense and quickly escalating danger.
“Bring her home, Cora…”
I think the thing that really sets Whispers apart is that almost equal weight is given to character and story development. You end up with a good mix of nuanced characters and rich atmosphere. And all of the characters we’re supposed to like are likeable. Not because they’re perfect (BORING), but because they’re flawed. I think that Rose’s relationship with Sam was probably my absolute favorite detail. They’re so sweet together, but also a little salty in order to remind us there’s history. And that not all of it is good. But they also hold it together for the kid, and they definitely don’t hate each other. Even if sometimes they kind of think they might. I just live for that sort of believability. Humans are complex. Our emotions are complex. It’s lovely to see that so perfectly illustrated in a story. Nothing sucks me out of a book quite so fast as shallow characters. I don’t want to have to reach too far to buy their behavior. I don’t necessarily need to understand their response, but I do need to believe it.
Whispers in the Dark is Laurel Hightower’s debut novel. You’d probably never know it though. The story feels fully fleshed out and polished, and the writing is tight. The characters are well developed, and the way they relate to one another makes total sense. Their interactions are sometimes messy, and I love that. Rose is a wonderful, relatable protagonist.
About the Author:
Laurel Hightower grew up in Kentucky, attending college in California and Tennessee
before returning home to horse country, where she lives with her husband, son and two rescue animals, Yattering the cat (named for the Clive Barker short story) and Ladybug the adorable mutt. She definitely wants to see a picture of your dog, and often bonds with complete strangers over animal stories. A lifetime reader, she would raid her parents’ bookshelves from an early age, resulting in a number of awkward conversations about things like, “what does getting laid mean?” She loves discovering new favorite authors, and supporting the writing and reading community.
Laurel works as a paralegal in a mid-size firm, wrangling litigators by day and writing at night. A bourbon and beer girl, she’s a fan of horror movies and true life ghost stories. Whispers in the Dark is her first novel, though there are always more in the pipeline, and she loves researching anything horror related. She can usually be found working on the next project into the wee hours, sometimes as late as ten at night, as long as her toddler allows. Follow her on social media, even though she’s really bad at it, and she’ll follow you back. Plus you’ll be rewarded by pictures of cute dogs and kids.
(from the author’s website)
Other Reviews from this Author:
Rating:
This is a seriously good book. I promise you won’t regret picking it up.
Whispers in the Dark Laurel Hightower Journalstone Published: December 7, 2018 ISBN: 9781947654617 Format: Paperback, E-book 318 Pages Author's Website
