Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

I received a copy for free from @netgalley in exchange for an honest review, which I am delighted to provide. The copy I received is an audiobook, so I’ll briefly comment on that as well.

Four women work together in high powered jobs at the Dallas company TruViv. When their CEO passes away, it triggers a series of events centring around their shared experiences of sexual harassment from the person next in line for the job. The story flips back and forth between the transcripts of the trial for an event that happens and the instances leading up to that event.

Overall I felt interested and compelled by the storyline as it was well crafted and quickly paced. However I felt that the characters mainly existed to highlight the social issues they experience. Their inner monologues read more like essays on social justice, feminism, and the Me Too movement - all incredibly important issues but not especially well integrated into how people really think and talk. I think if you read this book more like a fable rather than as fiction it sits a little better. I would be interested for Baker to produce a collection of non-fiction on these topics as the issues are very well thought out and presented, it is just a little awkwardly situated in the story.

The audio presentation of this work is excellent, especially as parts of book are court transcripts and work very well orally. Almarie Guerra does a wonderful job differentiating the voices of the various characters, dropping into many tones and accents so there is no doubt at any time who is speaking. I absolutely enjoyed giving it a listen.

I think this book does a good job of giving voice to workplace issues that many people experience but don’t have an outlet for. I did feel like the plot was well done and though I would prefer a non-fiction format, it works well for those who prefer fiction and are interested in issues of social justice.