Whispers and lies by Joy Fielding - surprising twist, but too much unnecessary talk.

 My Rate: ☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠ (4/10 Skulls)

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Original Title: Whispers and lies

Norwegian Title: Løgner fra fortiden

Written by: Joy Fielding

Genre: thriller, suspense

Written for: Adult

Pages: 294
Publisher: ?
Published: 2002

Published in Norway: 

My copy: 2011 (Paperback)
Norwegian Publisher: Cappelen Damm

I read it: June 30 - July 4, 2011
Source: From my own personal "library"

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(Goodreads)

Terry Painter lives a quiet life in picturesque Delray, Florida. Forty, single, and a nurse at a home for the elderly and disabled, she enjoys a solitary existence in the cozy house she inherited from her mother five years ago.

Terry's tranquil life takes a turn, however, when young, vibrant Alison Simms rents the cottage behind her home. Upon their First meeting, Alison blows into Terry's life like a tropical storm, bringing with her friendship and excitement. Together they dine out, shop in the village square, and indulge in luxurious at-home makeovers. Alison even helps Terry charm the handsome son of one of her dear, ailing patients. For Terry, life couldn't be more perfect.

But after the initial euphoric wave has settled, Terry slowly begins to learn more about her wondrous companion. She becomes acquainted with the small but peculiar circle of friends Alison has accumulated since her arrival in Delray and meets her brother, who unwittingly reveals bits and pieces of Alison's closely guarded past. Terry soon finds that the friendship that once brightened her life has now crashed down upon her, leaving her trapped in Alison's mysterious world and the whispers and lies that fuel it.

Diving deeply into the psyches of her most captivating characters to date, Joy Fielding has emerged with a riveting tale that challenges our most basic assumptions regarding love, friendship, and obsession. Filled with the suspense and intimacy readers have grown to love in her previous bestselling novels, Whispers and Lies is an unforgettable drama of one woman's fight to reclaim her life. 

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Who can you trust?

Nurse Terry is a middel aged woman who lives by herself after her mom died. After her mom has been sick a while, her life eventually takes an end and Terry is on her own. Since then she has had a tenant living in the cottage by the house, in that way Terry is less lonely. After Eric, the tenant one night escaped without paying the rent the past few months, Terry has been very sceptical about seeking after another tenant. She doesn't want to do the same mistake. She wants a tenant that she can trust. So she takes the chance to seek after a another tenant. She gets contacted by Alison Simms and Terry thinks she is a young and nice woman, and the two of them becomes friends immediately. They do things together all the time. But Terry gets worried when friends of Alison suddenly shows up. She hasn't even heard of some of them, and why did Alison move to Florida? Can Terry trust her?

I don't actually know for sure what I expected from this book before I read it. It seemed interesting and the cover was tempting and creepy. It made me curious about the book. Everytime I come across books that says on the cover that it's a page-turner and has a surprising ending, I have to admit that I always get suspicious 'cause that's not always true. But I still thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Something about this story got me really interested and even though there were dialogues that didn't really belong in the book in some way I really did like the main character, Terry a lot. Terry was exciting and fascinating to read about. And when it comes to twists and turns in most books I am not easily fooled, I see that sort of things happen before we get to know the whole story I was really fooled this time! I didn't see that coming! And it happens very, very rarely! Believe me! Instead of being mad for not having it right this time I was pleased. 'Cause it's boring to know what already is going on way before we get to know how it all will turn out. I mean, it's good to have right too but it's fun to get fooled as well!

Even though the book had a very surprising twist, the book didn't live up to my expectations. I wish the story was a little tighter and that I got to know few of the persons better who always popped up but most of them was sort of flat and it was a bit hard to imagine them.

But ... all in all Whispers and lies was very interesting and entertaining and it was fun as long as it lasted. Reading it was like watching a TV-produced movie (by Lifetime/Hallmark, but that's not a bad thing). I like those kind of movies too. The book gave me several entertaining hours, no more, no less ...

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