Whisper Cottage, by Anne Wyn Clark

🎧 Audiobook review 🎧

When Stina and Jack move to an old rural cottage, they’re hoping for a fresh start. Their new home is run-down compared to their neighbour’s, but generous Mrs Barley quickly becomes a friend.  
 
Until Stina sees a mysterious figure in the widow’s garden, and her happy new life begins to unravel. And when she hears strange noises in the night, she is forced to question if Mrs Barley is what she seems. 
 
Why do the other villagers whisper about her? Why is she so eager to help the couple? And what is she hiding in her picture-perfect home? 

Whisper Cottage is a slow burn of a book, but it’s anything but dull. Set in a quiet, sleepy village just outside of Warwickshire, it begins with the story of Stina and her husband, Jack, who have just moved into an old semi-detached cottage next door to the elderly mrs Barley. The couple who are expecting their first baby, cannot understand the strange rumours amongst the locals about the elderly widow, who so far has been so kind and generous to them…but then things start to happen. Who is the mysterious figure lurking around the property that only Stina seems able to see? What are the weird noises she hears at night in the attic they share with their neighbour? Could there be any truth in the hushed gossip about the old lady practicing witchcraft? This book gave me the creeps and had me feeling so uneasy! I’ve been wanting to listen to a spooky psychological thriller and this was perfect. The twists at the end threw me completely, I just wasn’t expected that! I’m usually quite good at figuring out what’s happening in a story, but Whisper Cottage really kept me guessing. The narration was fantastic, Lauren Moakes did a great job with different voices and accents for each character.