Whisper Network (2019) - Book Review

MY REVIEW

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Flatiron Books (July 2, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1250319471

ISBN-13: 978-1250319470

Click the purchase information

“Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked at Truviv, Inc. for years. The sudden death of Truviv’s CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company. Each of the women has a different relationship with Ames, who has always been surrounded by whispers about how he treats women.

Those whispers have been ignored, swept under the rug, hidden away by those in charge.

But the world has changed, and the women are watching this promotion differently. This time, when they find out Ames is making an inappropriate move on a colleague, they aren’t willing to let it go. This time, they’ve decided enough is enough.

Sloane and her colleagues’ decision to take a stand sets in motion a catastrophic shift in the office. Lies will be uncovered. Secrets will be exposed. And not everyone will survive. All of their lives―as women, colleagues, mothers, wives, friends, even adversaries―will change dramatically as a result.

"If only you had listened to us,” they tell us on page one of Chandler Baker's Whisper Network, “none of this would have happened.”

Thank you to Flatiron Books for an ARC to review. This review is not influenced in anyway by the publisher or writer. All words are my own.

[Multiple ARC copies to share with "my" network]

This book is one of the first in the post #MeToo and #TimesUp era. It is told through a first-person plural (“we”) point of view.

A “whisper network” is an informal chain of conversations among women about men who need to be watched because of rumors, allegations or known incidents of sexual misconduct, harassment or assault. It's a way for women to protect themselves, and to do so under the radar. (Meza, 2017, Newsweek). This is what Sloane Glover, Grace Stanton, and Ardie (Adriana) Valdez have. They are not just co-workers, but are their own support system at Truviv, a Dallas based sportswear company. The three have supported each other through life’s challenges: marriage, divorce, motherhood, and office politics. Sloane is battling with her daughter being bullied, Grace is having issues adapting to motherhood, and Ardie is a single mom.

After the sudden death of their CEO (Desmond Bankole), their replacement is ready to climb to the top. But, as they’ve all had dealings with Ames Garrett, they bide their time – that is until he starts moving in on a younger employee, Katherine Bell. They know what has happened to them and don’t want to see her be the next victim and decide it is time to tackle the situation. They want to stop him before he becomes CEO. A BAD (Beware Asshole Dallas) men list begins circulating with Ames’ name on it, put there by one of the workers.

Once Katherine rebuffs Ames’ advances, she tells the women what has happened. There is only one thing to do – file a harassment suit.

That suit is called into question when Ames falls from the 18th floor shortly after the filing. Truviv then wants to sue Sloane, Grace, and Ardie for wrongful death using Katherine against them (she claims nothing happened). The company claims that the three women bullied Ames to his death using the “BADMen” list as well as the lawsuit. This is in addition to the police investigating Ames’ death as more of a homicide than suicide and suspecting Sloane, Grace, and Ardie.

The saving grace? Rosalita (the cleaning lady), who has witnessed something that threatens one of the lawsuits, and has her own shocking story to tell about Ames.

Even more shocking – those final moments for Ames Garrett on the 18th floor. Was it really suicide or homicide?

For those thinking this is a modern day “9 to 5” story (the one with Parton, Tomlin, and Fonda); it isn’t. While this book was advertised as “furiously funny”, I found no humor in it. As some reviewers have noted – the female characters were almost indistinguishable. I personally didn’t relate to any of them, and see that I wasn’t alone with that feeling.

For a debut novel it had a great premise – the death of the CEO leads to another coming up, a man with problems, who then ends up dead as well with a nagging suicide or homicide thriller. I am trying to figure out if this intended to be a murder mystery, thriller, or what. It does delve, albeit slightly, into the politics of sexual harassment, without the “in your face” presentation or preaching tone. The delivery wasn’t really stellar.

I found it a struggle as it seemed to slug along and was, to me, more of a diatribe from the women. The more interesting parts were the depositions and interviews which did prompt me to find out what was going on. I was glad that I did stick it out to the end instead of opting to DNF. 

Around chapter 25, the pace picked up and became more interesting with the police interview transcript. I would’ve also liked to know what Katherine’s ultimate fate was – did the company really allow her to stay or was she fired.

I believe this story might have worked better with a murder mystery front and the sexual harassment slowly being revealed to add to the investigation – perhaps even used as a motive and dig in further on that aspect.

2 ⭐⭐/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chandler Baker lives in Austin with her husband and toddler, where she also works as a corporate attorney. She is the author of five young adult novels. Whisper Network is her adult debut.

* Post contains affiliate links