The Whisper Network - Chandler Baker

I bought this book last year hoping we could fit it into our reading list in 2021. But it didn't make it. We had so many great books last year that this one kept getting pushed to the side. Finally this year we were able to read it and I'm so glad we did!

The Whisper Network is a timely commentary on the working lives of women and all the struggles they face in a corporate world. As a professional myself, though an accountant, not a lawyer, it was interesting to see how my experiences compared to the character's. Similar to the world of lawyers, the accounting world is still very much an old boys club, though it is slowly changing as the number of women studying accounting continues to outpace the number of men. But when women have children, they are often left behind because they are the ones off on maternity leave (I'm speaking as a Canadian, and while the maternity leave and benefits are wonderful here, it can often be to the detriment of your career), and the ones generally doing the primary parenting, always running to get home to the second job at home.

Jen and I both had our own experiences with men in the workplace and while neither of us experienced sexual harassment, we both saw men behaving badly and getting away with it. Jen isn't afraid to call them out on their actions, while I take more of a watchful manner. I would like to be more like her and call it like I see it sometimes! We both also experienced being the only women in the room at times, and men treating us differently because of it. While we both acknowledge that great strides have been made for women in the workforce, there is still a long way to go, and I hope for my daughters that they will have a more respectful and equal workforce to enter.

The Whisper Network follows three women working in the legal department of a fitness company. The story is written using flashes between the past and present, teasing us with a mystery right from the start. It kept us interested and was used to keep the story suspenseful.

The story opens with a hint that someone has died, either by suicide, or by murder. Then we jump back in time to three weeks earlier. This is where we meet our three main characters, Ardie, Sloane, and Grace. Ardie is no-nonsense and the only one in the office who seems to not care about her appearance. She has recently gone through a divorce and is learning how to be a single parent. Sloane has a ten-year old daughter, Abigail, who is being bullied at school. Sloane, as any mother would be, is quick to jump to her daughter's defense, and isn't afraid to use her skills as a lawyer to help her, even if it means crossing the line now and then. Grace has just returned to work after maternity leave, her baby around five months old (let's not get into my thoughts on maternity leave in the US...that's for another day). The company provides a room for pumping, but to Grace it feels like a closet she has to sit in multiple times a day. Grace is trying to adjust to being a working mother, all while being exhausted and overwhelmed.

The CEO of their company has suddenly died and it seems that the General Counsel, Ames Garrett will get the job. The three women are worried about what will happen if he gets it. The first conflict starts when Ames hires another lawyer, Katherine, to Sloane's department without discussing it with her. Sloane worries about how close Ames is keeping Katherine. We soon find out that Sloane and Ames have history. Before Sloane got married, but after she got engaged, she and Ames had an affair, one that he didn't appreciate her ending. And since then she has been on guard. One important note about Ames, he had a genetic condition that cause a loss of pigmentation in his hair, leaving him with a white streak.

Around this time we also learn there is a list of men going around the city known as the B.A.D. Men (Beware of Assholes). It listed men in powers of position and the things they had allegedly done. It was supposed to be a warning to women so they could watch out for themselves, but could it have pushed someone to suicide? Sloane is determined to add Ames to the list, even as the others think she should leave it alone.

The three women try to bring Katherine into their group, but she always stays a bit at arm's length, until one day they learn why she left her old firm. One of the partners put the blame on her for a mistake and she was fired. She was afraid to make waves at this job and so she took a backseat while the three others took a stand.

Sloane decided to file a lawsuit against Ames alleging sexual assault in a bid to keep him from the CEO job. Ardie and Grace soon joined her. They thought Katherine would be an ally and instead she became a witness for Ames. The lawsuit quickly seemed to get out of control and it looked like the three would lose everything, their jobs, their homes, their savings, and possibly marriages and children. It took the help of another of Ames's victims to make the win possible.

That other victim was an office cleaner named Rosalita. Rosalita's son Saloman is a gifted student. Ardie has been helping Rosalita get him into a private school, applying for grants, and helping him study. One night when Ardie thought all was lost with their case, Rosalita needed her help with the application forms. Ardie went to her house to help, and while filling in the income section, she couldn't understand why Rosalita's salary had suddenly decreased. Then Saloman's constantly present hat fell off....he had the same white streak as Ames. The pieces clicked together, Ames had assaulted Rosalita and gotten her pregnant, then paid her extra so she would keep quiet. After he died...oh did I mention that Ames was the one to fall from the building....she made significantly less money. But with Rosalita's help, the women won their lawsuit.

A side story that played out almost in parallel was with Sloane's daughter Abigail. Boys at school were sending her horrible text messages, bullying her in school, and in one horrible instance, pulled at her underwear. Sloane and her husband, Derek, had numerous meetings at the school to get the bullying to stop and nothing seemed to work. Eventually Sloane threatened a lawsuit, using Ardie's name on the letter, which nearly backfired. When Sloane and Derek get called in the last time, Sloane takes over and rips the principal and teacher a new one as she points out Abigail did everything she was supposed to, she told the boys to stop, she went to a teacher, who told her to ignore it, until she finally snapped and punched the boy in the face. Then she was the one facing punishment. The teacher and principal blamed it on boys being boys, when really the boys needed to be taught respect and boundaries.

At the end, after winning the lawsuit, the three women leave the company to start their own firm. Grace realizes she has post partum depression and needs to take some time off to get herself better and the other two support her. We do learn how Ames actually died, but I'll leave that cliffhanger for you to read!

We both really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of great characters, lots of suspense, and some great twists. I didn't want to put this one down!

Until next time, have a cocktail, read a book, and be happy!