The Rumor Audiobook By Elin Hilderbrand cover art

The Rumor

A Novel

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The Rumor

By: Elin Hilderbrand
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
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Buy for $25.19

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A friendship is tested in this "thrilling" page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand (Us Weekly).

Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Saturday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something's changed, and if there's anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it's a good rumor.

And rumor has it... that Madeline, a novelist, is battling writer's block, with a deadline looming, bills piling up, and blank pages driving her to desperation — and a desperately bad decision; and that Grace, hard at work to transform her backyard into a garden paradise, has been collaborating a bit more closely than necessary with her ruggedly handsome landscape architect.

As the gossip escalates, and they have the possible loss of the happy lives they've worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try mightily to set the record straight — but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.

Please enjoy a sneak peek of Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand and read by Erin Bennett at the end of this program. Family Life Women's Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Contemporary

Critic reviews

Praise for BEAUTIFUL DAY:

"A perfect summer read."—Ladies Home Journal
"A wedding readers won't be able to resist crashing."—Kirkus Reviews
"Hilderbrand's latest is the perfect beach read....[her] straightforward style pulls the reader into the minds of her characters, and all the secrets and sorrows that create the universal messiness of major family events."—Publishers Weekly
PRAISE FOR SUMMERLAND:

"Summerland is as readable as any beach book, but with a much bigger heart."—Boston Globe
"The Queen of the Summer Novel...Hilderbrand blends real-life issues - depression, teen alcoholism, bullying - with her signature soapy twists and illicit romances."—Joanna Powell, People
"Hilderbrand has once again written an engaging story wonderfully illustrating the often complex lives of young people struggling toward adulthood."—Booklist
"A sensitive glimpse into the lives of damaged people groping their way toward healing."—Kirkus Reviews
Engaging Plot • Interwoven Storylines • Excellent Narration • Vivid Setting • Captivating Drama • Pleasant Voice Quality

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The heart of the story: “A woman with writer’s block secretly uses her best friend’s extra marital affair as fodder for a new blockbuster novel”, was a good one… why did the rest of the book need to be cluttered up with other storylines? OK, the husband’s storyline was not so bad, and it did relate back to the wife who was cheating on him, but I would have left out all the kid’s stuff and the “we live in such a gossipy town” parts… although then the book could not have been called “The Rumor”, I guess it could have been called “The Affair”.

Stuffing the book with what were in my opinion superfluous storylines, took time away from the good ones. Had they been left out, the Affair storyline could have been further developed, the tension would have had more time to build up and I would have liked more meat for how they got caught and how it all ends, I would have liked to know if they ended up together in the end and does it work out and how does that impact the family etc etc … Really, I think I wanted a totally different book!

As it was, the husband gets involved in some shady dealings that eventually blow up in his face and that sucked all the energy out of the Affair storyline. It felt to me like the author was in a hurry to finish the book and just tossed a grenade into the plot.

Cluttered story with a hurried finish

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Whenever a book is released by Elin Hilderbrand, I buy it. She never disappoints, her books seem to be over in a flash.

Elin doesn't disappoint

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This is not my favorite Elin Hilderbtand novel but it is a good story read very well.The characters are interesting, especially Eddie Pancek and his daughter, Hope. As always Nantucket is a star.

Very enjoyable

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I liked the story, even though ending was pretty much as I expected. Worth listening to.

Enjoyable, but a predictable

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I loved every minute of this book. It kept me turning pages so to speak. The characters were well-developed real and honest. It was a great read! The i

Captivating!

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