The Rumour by Elin Hilderbrand

Published: June 18th 2015

Nantucket writer Madeline King has a new novel coming out and it’s got bestseller potential. But Madeline is terrified, because in her desperation to revive her career, she’s done something reckless: reveal the truth behind an actual affair involving her best friend, Grace.

And that’s not the only strain on Madeline and Grace’s friendship; one fateful night, the two women argue, voicing jealousies and resentments that have built for twenty years. Bereft of each other, they get caught in the snares of a mysterious and destructive stranger.

THE RUMOUR is an irresistible novel about the power of gossip to change the course of events, and the desire of people to find their way back to what really matters.

Rumours are a universal plague. Every single person on this planet has heard a rumour and most likely, even found themselves as the subject of a rumour. The premise of this stand-alone was intriguing, and the queen of summer-reads, Elin Hilderbrand didn’t disappoint.

Elements of this story were very ‘Real Housewives/Desperate Houswives’ ish and I think that is why it was such a juicy read. As the not so great Kanye West said, ‘the prettiest people do the ugliest things,’ and Hilderbrand sure knows how to deliver that message in a believable story.

The Rumour is a story driven by deceit and drama, yet somehow it still manages to be a light summer read.

I always love reading Hilderbrand’s Nantucket based contemporaries. Nantucket is the Hollywood of East Coast beach towns, and it is the perfect setting for summer scandals.

Great read. One to pack in your beach bag alongside your sunscreen.

Thanks, Raincoast Canada for the review copy.