Whisper Creek

Allison Brennan is a seasoned author with a lot of books under her belt, but this was the first book of hers I've read. From the first chapter or so, I initially thought it would be similar to small-town suspense books I've enjoyed by Melinda Leigh, but this is a case of the blurb not matching the book. 

At the heart of the story is the McKenna family, with recent widow/farmer Ellen McKenna, her four kids and grandmother-in-law trying to make ends meet. There's also a trio of nefarious people working with a greedy corporation to get Ellen's land as a massive rainstorm hits the area. Sounds great but I disagree with the publisher's 'pulse-pounding thriller' description - it's more of a family drama with some suspenseful bits sprinkled in.

To be honest, I struggled to be pulled into this story, and I should have DNF'd it. For me, it was a long-winded, tedious kind of read that spent too much page time on descriptions of family, farmland and rising creek levels, introducing extraneous secondary and tertiary characters and a lot of inner monologuing by a few characters which muddled up an already weakly plotted story. 

It's atmospheric and I liked how the family pulled together, but there's so much family drama going on that I think Whisper Creek forgot it was supposed to be a thriller.  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Minotaur Books for the gifted advanced digital copy of this book that was given to me in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 2 stars

Author: Allison Brennan

Genre: Suspense, Mystery?

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Minotaur (SMP)

First Published: June 23, 2026

Read: June 19-26, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: Allison Brennan delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about one family fighting for their land against both human enemies and Mother Nature.

After the sudden death of her husband, Ellen McKenna is doing everything she can to keep her Texas farm afloat. She and her family hope to expand their operation, but times are tough and making ends meet is more expensive than she imagined, much less trying to grow. Many of their neighbors in Cooke County have thrown in the towel and agreed to sell their farms to a local businessman, but despite similar pressure, Ellen refuses to let her dreams die.

On top of the usual hardships, a series of recent storms has left the region partly flooded, and as the heavy rain begins again one morning, all the members of the McKenna family jump into action to protect their land and animals. Ellen’s oldest son discovers an injured dog—and the dog leads him to a man barely clinging to life, the apparent victim of a brutal home invasion. Then, Ellen’s younger kids go to check on a nearby neighbor and walk into a threat none of them saw coming.

Before anyone can figure out what’s really going on in their idyllic rural valley, the storm picks up again in intensity, and the McKenna kids find themselves in over their heads with no way to call for help. To protect her farm--and her family—Ellen must face down all the forces trying to tear them apart.

Allison Brennan's talent for twisty, tense pacing combines with a deeply drawn family drama and the unforgiving power of nature in this compelling standalone thriller.