‘Rumoured’ by Kelly Mancaruso and Kristina Mancaruso

Published by Head of Zeus,
3 July 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-03591031-1(PB)

Naomi Barnes has worked as a journalist for C*Leb News for seven years and writes stories about the entertainment industry and those who work in it.  Her first five years were spent at the New York office where she honed her skills and was making a name for herself.  Then two events changed her life; the first was the death of her sister Faye and the second was when she split from her fiancée.  Her boss, Joel, aware that one of his best journalists was struggling with grief, suggested a transfer to the LA branch.  Naomi accepted the offer and the past two years away from her old patch has helped her begin rebuilding her life.  

All this is about to change, however, when Harlow Hayes, a world famous pop star, is arrested for murder.  Naomi is surprised when Joel asks her to cover the sensational story.  It’s the opportunity to do some real investigative journalism, and despite some initial reservations she can’t resist!  Before the police have even revealed who has been murdered, Naomi has boarded an overnight flight and is on her way to the city she knows so well.  Her dogged pursuit of the story, though, will take her on a personal as well as a professional journey that will be as dangerous as it is distressing.  The reporter, by trying to discover the truth about the victims at the heart of the story soon finds herself lured into a convoluted spiral of lies and rumours. 

This fast moving, terrifyingly feasible thriller is a mix of celebrity glitz and conspiracy.  The characters are surgically attached to their mobile phones and in thrall to new technology in all its forms.  Yet the technological advances that should be enjoyed by these thoroughly modern people instead seem to mislead and deceive them.  Ruthless online trolling weaves violently through the narrative and anything goes in the online pseudo-world as it spins a vicious web of destruction and misinformation. 

The sense of discomfiting confusion is augmented by the book’s structure which reflects an increasingly frenetic world in which magazine articles and social media announcements prompt a torrent of kneejerk online responses in the same way that the prose narrative is punctuated by terse news bulletins or enigmatic song lyrics.  Similarly, the present tense third person which is used for much of the novel, suddenly launches into a first person past tense narrative voice.  This echoes the theme of a contemporary world out of kilter and is very effective. 

Rumoured is the debut novel by sisters Kelly and Kristina Mancaruso.  It disturbs, thrills, intrigues and entertains.  Throughout the story clues have been playfully inserted for those eagle-eyed readers who like to solve the mystery as they progress through the book.  I failed miserably in this endeavour which mattered not a jot as I made my way through this fascinating, unusual and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent 

Kelly and Kristina Mancaruso have been crafting stories together since they were children in upstate New York. Now, they collaborate on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Kristina resides in Florida with her husband, daughter, and two German Shepherds. Kelly lives in Nottingham, England, with her firefighter husband and beloved dog. Rumoured, their debut thriller, published in 2025. Scandal is their second thriller. Find out more by visiting their website or following them on social media. 

themancarusosisters.com 

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.