Portobello Book Blog

The Corner Shop of Whispers is a light and entertaining story following the exploits of three friends who live in a cul-de-sac in the small village of Lower Amblegate. It may be small but it’s a hotbed of secrets and extra-marital goings-on! And in the corner shop, shopkeeper Mrs Thompson is making sure with her whispers that everyone knows what everyone else is up to, although she’s not always got it quite right.

At the heart of the story was the friendship between three women. Florrie is a romantic at heart, looking for the perfect relationship with her husband Marcus and saddened that they can’t have children. Her friend Daisy does have children and seems to spend every day in old PJs, covered in stains from her children’s food, and sitting in front of Jeremy Kyle. Alison thinks herself a cut above the other two and is definitely a pushy mum with her daughter at private school and always pushed to take language or music lessons. The friendship seemed unlikely and there were times that if it were me, they would be ex-friends! And yet, for the three women, though there were ups and downs in their friendship, they were a great source of strength and support for each other.

Florrie’s lovelife was also a feature of the story. Despite appearances, her marriage was not a happy one and I couldn’t help feel desperately sorry for her when the extent of her problems were revealed. She was such a lovely person who only wanted to be happy and certainly didn’t deserve what was going on. She has rather a big secret she is keeping too but one which could lead to her happiness and I was certainly cheering her on and hoping this would happen.

The Corner Shop of Whispers is a bright and breezy read with lots of funny moments. It is a quick entertaining read and has a perfect ending to make you smile.

My thanks to the author for my copy of this book. It was published as an e-book and paperback by Gingersnap Books  and you can order a copy online here: The Corner Shop of Whispers

From the back of the book

Romantic Florrie, scatty Daisy and snobby Alison are neighbours, living their married lives in the tiny English village of Lower Amblegate where everyone knows everybody. Together the three friends share laughter, tears, and things they wouldn’t want anybody else knowing. But unbeknownst to them, a scandal is brewing.

As rumours circulate, the gossips go into overdrive, rocking marriages and revealing the women have much more in common than just neighbourly bonds…