[ #MeToo is all too real. To better understand it, turn to fiction. ]

Although there’s “an invisible separation” between the men and the women of Truviv, the women in the workplace are by no means on the same side. Ardie, Grace and Sloane have empathy for their female colleagues on the “unicornlike search” for the perfect man, counting “every missed date, missed chance encounter, missed opportunity to meet someone with whom we might actually want to become a mother.” But the mom squad grapples with a childless Boston transplant, Katherine Bell, who’s single, pretty and hesitant to fight the Truvivian power. Then there’s the New York attorney Cosette Sharpe, who flies into Dallas to represent Truviv in the sexual harassment suit. Once upon a time, Sloane helped Cosette get her lucrative job. Now Cosette is flashing a Rolex and cross-examining Sloane about the affair she had with Ames 12 years ago. We know what Sloane thinks of these women — Cosette’s veins are “icy with freezer burn” and Katherine’s fingernails are “childishly short.” In a feminist novel where multiple women are chipping in to tell the story, it’s a little surprising that Baker hit the mute button on Katherine and Cosette.

The most compelling voice of all belongs to the insightful and pragmatic Rosalita Guillen, whose nocturnal cleaning schedule gives her a different window into the inner workings of Truviv and all its secrets. Rosalita’s life story is emotionally wrenching, and you long to know more about it. Her insights into the men and women of Truviv offer a reprieve from Paleo diets and office cake. You want to get back to the story, maybe even rewind the clock and see Rosalita cope with her nightmarish situation day in, day out. After all, every whisper network relies on people speaking up as individuals, sharing their experiences. The same applies to this “Whisper Network,” too.