The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker is a pager turner that is part mystery part thought provoking look at corporate culture and women’s rights in the work place. I predict this will be one of the most talked about books in the Women’s Fiction genre this year.
The story revolves around four strong, and resilient women who work for the Fortune 500 company Truviv, Inc. Three of the women, Sloane, Grace, and Ardie, are attorneys and part of the inhouse legal team. The fourth, Rosalita is part of the night cleaning crew. They have one thing in common, they have all been sexual harassed by Ames Garrett another attorney on staff.
Each woman, for their own reasons, have remained silent about his behavior. Then when the CEO of the company dies unexpectedly and it appears that Ames is the shoe in for his job, they decide it has to end. What starts as just adding Ames to the “BAD Men’s” list circulating around Dallas turns into a law suit and much worse. The consequences will be far reaching and will affect the entirety of these women’s lives.
Baker did an excellent job of telling a story that is very relevant today. I was especially taken with how thoughtfully the characters were portrayed in the book. They were human and made mistakes… lots of them and despite being strong they doubted themselves. They struggled with work and family demands. They felt guilty for not being the perfect mother and wife, something most every woman has felt at some point in her life.
The pace of the story was a little slow at first, but once it got going it was a page turner. The story had some twists in that were predictable. Still, this story really grabs at you because despite being fiction it is so very real. The book will resonate with many.
I highly recommend this to any women working today. In addition, this would make an excellent book club read because the issues it addresses. I received a free ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.