Review of The Whisper Network with Spoilers

I’m all about a female-forward summer thriller! Check out my review of The Whisper Network! (Do you have questions about the ending of Whisper Network? Want the ending explained? Find spoilers for The Whisper Network at the very end of this post!)

Jen’s Quick Take: The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

• A female-forward book set in a workplace
• Has the flash-forward, flash-back style of Big Little Lies
• Like Big Little Lies, it has a foursome of female main characters
• Published on July 2, 2019 by Flatiron Books
• Picked as a Reese’s Book Club selection

Review: The Whisper Network

If you loved Big Little Lies (the show but especially the book) then definitely check out The Whisper Network.

If I loved reading Big Little Lies, should I read The Whisper Network?

YES! The Whisper Network had a really similar (in a good way!) feel to me as Big Little Lies.This story was old in an identical flash-forward/flashback, part epistolary style as BLL. Set in a similarly upscale community, it also featured four women tied together through a violent death.

Big Little Lies focused on upper middle class competitive parenting and hinted at the death of one of the main characters to come. The Whisper Network took a slightly different slant, giving an insider’s look at being a woman in a male-dominated corporate culture. There’s also a murder, but we know pretty quickly who’s going to end up dead. What we don’t know: who did it?

Who were the murder suspects in The Whisper Network?

The murderer suspects are: Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita.

They all work at the same Dallas corporation (the first three in the legal department and the fourth as a night office cleaner) and all have reasons to hate the deceased.

Sloane works longer hours and makes more money than her school principal husband and struggles for recognition in her male-dominated work environment. Grace, a former beauty queen, is a sleep-deprived new mom trying to figure out how to balance work with motherhoood. Ardie is adjusting after a divorce. Rosalita, a single mother, pushes her cleaning cart through the office at night.

I thought the Big Little Lies narrative format, which is a flash forward, then flash back timeline with third person narrative interspersed with police interviews, worked well in this story.

The Whisper Network adds something I rarely like in a book: multiple first person present ( a “we” POV) from the point of all women struggling in a male-dominated workplace. I thought the technique was effective in highlighting the fact that many, many more women face similar struggles at work.

While BLL kept the reader in suspense about the identity of the murder victim until the very end, there’s really no mystery in The Whisper Network about who is going to die. That was okay, because the book did a good job of keeping me guessing about who the actual murderer was. (Yes, I promise I will tell you.)

What Was the Whisper Network?

The “whisper network” of the title is a secret list, circulated online by women, of Dallas men to avoid. Clearly, #MeToo themes of sexual harrassment and sexual assault are at the forefront of the story. But The Whisper Network also uses the “we” narration to point out that women are diminished in more subtle ways in male-dominated corporate environments.

Can You Explain the Ending of The Whisper Network?

Yes, but DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS FOR THE WHISPER NETWORK.

Still with me? Okay. Let’s discuss.

All along, Grace thought she was responsible for Ames’ death. Shortly before he fell off the balcony, she’d been out there with him and they’d argued. During the argument, she hit him. (Or, as she explains, her hand “spasmed” and “snagged his eyebrow,” leaving him bleeding. Whatever, Grace.) Then she suggested he “take a flying leap” and left. So she blamed herself for his death.

But that’s not the end of the story. Ardie reveals that after Grace stalked off, Ames also spoke to Katherine on the balcony, and they argued. When Katherine tried to leave, Ames blocked her and put his hands around her throat. Ardie, who had been raped by Ames previously (as was Rosalita – he was not a good guy!) went out on the balcony and shoved him off Katherine.

Then the book suggests that Katherine, who was now lying on the balcony, “helped” Ames over the railing by pushing his leg up.

So, technically, was Katherine the one responsible?? The police rule Ames’ death a suicide. Given that “we” point of view, maybe it was appropriate that all the women played a part in Ames’ untimely demise.

Okay, that’s my take. Yes, the ending is a bit like Big Little Lies, don’t you think?

Do you want other book recommendations? Check out my thriller reviews here, including reviews of The Silent Patient, The Turn of the Key and more!