This is an enjoyable mystery. It is one that will keep you guessing to the very end. Who is really behind the "friend request"?? What actually happened to Maria? So many questions, with shocking answers. I never saw the end coming.

This one is a debut novel that had promise for me from the book description, as it has dual timelines which I always enjoy, but it just didn’t deliver for me. Louise just wasn’t likeable and she went full in on this friend request from Maria Weston, who may or may not actually be dead. She basically dropped everything and started living in the past. A past that involves peer pressure and bullying to an extreme. Friend Request shows how the past can haunt you years later with the decisions you made.

There is also a 25th high school class reunion, which brings her full on in the past as well. The twists and turns just did not work for me and I was curious enough to see how it was going to end. It also shows how social media can be a detriment to us all, but we are still taking part in it.

I did enjoy Elaine Claxton’s narration of the novel.

I would look into another of Marshall’s novels to see if it works for me more than Friend Re-quest did.

Friend Request is a dual time period story where secrets of the past don’t stay hidden.

Back in 1989 Mean Girls was thriving and the repercussions roll over to 2016 just in time for the 25th Class Reunion.

This book had so much going for it, mysterious past, ghosts of the past and when those ghosts show up years later what follows is a twisted thriller with an unexpected ending.

For Louise it’s a question of protecting not just her son but her mind. As she confronts the past and who this mystery person is (could it actually be Maria?) she also needs to reconcile to what happened and the role she played. This book had me questioning everyone Louise came in contact with, the time switches were nice and smooth, the mystery slowly unravelled to an fitting conclusion. It was a great ride.

This is Laura Marshall’s debut, looking forward to more of her books.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for a digital copy in exchange for a honest review

Marshall's intriguing psychological suspense novel will keep readers guessing throughout. The plot is fresh and timely with the current focus on social media, and this novel shows both the good and sinister uses of that medium. Louise isn't particularly likable as a character, especially as she is quite a follower in her younger years. However, she does show growth and a bit more of a backbone as an adult, and by the end becomes more sympathetic. Fast-paced plotting and a gripping conclusion make this one of the better offerings in this genre.
Louise Williams is a middle-aged, divorced mother of a young son, Henry. One day she receives a Facebook friend request from Maria Weston. The problem is Maria died when they were in high school, under mysterious circumstances. Louise begins to contact other friends from school — their 25th reunion is coming soon. All the while, she flashes back to their school days, when Louise and her popular friends weren't as kind to Maria as they could have been. Louise is worried that long-buried secrets will come out now that Maria has seemingly resurfaced, ones that Louise is desperate to keep covered.

Gosh, I cant believe that I didn’t give feedback on this book! Apologies.
Wow - I am not a big fan of this genre as I got spooked really easy. But I found it chilling but I did read all of it and despite being on the edge of my seat... I did enjoy it.

I've been very interested in books with topics like this since I saw the movie Unfriended. More and more often, you see social media showing up in books and movies because it has become such a huge part of our lives. This was a fast and enjoyable read.

Good combo of sci fi with the social media world with thriller! A chilling look at how we interact with one another and how glib we can often be about sharing our lives online.

FRIEND REQUEST is the gripping debut psychological thriller by Laura Marshall. For me, this novel ticks all the boxes for being a great psychological thriller, with its twists and turns and I predict will reach a wide audience. It tackles issues in the forefront of today’s society; dealing with social media on Facebook and cyber-bullying.

MARIA WESTON WANTS TO BE FRIENDS. BUT MARIA WESTON'S DEAD. ISN'T SHE?

In 1989 Louise becomes friends with Maria in their senior year. They hit it off immediately and within a few days, they are on their way to becoming fast friends.

In 2016 Louise receives a heart-stopping email: Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Memories come flooding to the surface of dark secrets kept; the night that would change all their lives forever.

Louise has always known that if the truth ever came out, she could stand to lose everything. Her job. Her son. Her freedom. Maria's sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she'd severed ties with to escape the past. But as she tries to piece together exactly what happened that night, Louise discovers there's more to the story than she ever knew. To keep her secret, Louise must first uncover the whole truth, before what's known to Maria--or whoever's pretending to be her--is known to all.

I kept flipping the pages to find out who was behind the friend request…and the messages.

A must read for all thriller fans…a well-written debut novel with an important message to all.

Be careful what you post on social media online forums. The message still runs true!

Many thanks to the author, and Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley for my digital copy.

This is a great debut thriller from Laura Marshall, which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end! Lots of red herrings! I really enjoyed this book and will be looking out for more from this author.

This wasn’t my favorite so I won’t be reviewing on my blog as I’m starting to only share reviews of the books I really like there. I felt like it dragged on way too long, especially in the middle and then the conclusion wasn’t enough for me to be impressed.

Louise has secrets from high school that still haunt her and they will come to impact her current life years later and she may have to be honest with what happens so she can maybe finally live with some peace. There are two time periods in this book. 1989 in the middle of the high school years when the original drama happened and Louise's story comes out in bits and pieces. The other time period is 2016 and Louise is currently a single mom with an ex husband who has created a family and a life with another woman and she must balance work, home life and all while still milling on the moments of the past.

I love when a book makes me question things I do in my real life. With Facebook at the center of this book, I immediately thought of what I put online and make sure that it keeps me and my family safe. There were many things that Louise put online that endangered her family and she wasn't even aware of who was looking at all of the clues in every post.

There are interesting chapters included in italics and for the first few the reader doesn't know who is narrating those chapters, once the secrets came out, I went back and read them through a different set of eyes and was amazed at how they fit into the story.

What I critique about a mystery mostly is who in the end is the culprit and if I am satisfied with who the author has picked and how it is divulged to the reader. I was completely happy with who dun it in this book and how it all unfolded. It did give me the creeps because I wasn't expecting all of the things that they did, but I was satisfied with how it was all explained in the end.

I have now read both of Laura Marshall's books and am a fan. I hope that continues to write stories of mystery that keep me guessing about characters until the end.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision when I finished not to review it on my site because it didn't fit into my editorial schedule. I am planning on posting a review for this when I post about the new book by the author in September.

I read this book because I watched the movie of the same name, but as it turned out they both were not the same. Anyway, it was a good read, but the ending felt unclimatic. It wasn't exactly predictable, just more like out of the blue ending and that was really a low for an otherwise well-narrated story.

This was a really good story - well written and twists I wasn't expecting. I really enjoyed this one and was hooked from the start. Highly recommend!

Thrilling, suspenseful read. A story with a twist.
A friend request to Louise from Maria Weston brings all the memories back of guilt.
Read in one sitting.

A fun and quick read that made for the perfect companion on a rainy day. Then again, who doesn't love to read a mystery/suspense thriller when they are sick with the flu, right? I know I enjoyed reading about Louise and her latest friend request on FB. Turns out the "friend" is someone who died when Louise was in high school. And Louise may or may not have had a hand in the friend's death. Crazy! Seems that Louise was not a nice teenager - she was a teen bully! She wanted to fit in with her friends, so she bullied the new girl and played an awful prank on her at the school dance - the same school dance that the girl died at. Ack!! Fast forward to present day, Louise is now getting messages regarding that "friend" - the horror, the horror! Someone is torturing her about the past and she is starting to freak out! And that is all I will say. The story is predictable, but a total treat to read. Its fast-paced, filled with twists and turns, and has some pretty surprising elements. All in all, I liked Friend Request.

RATING: 1 STAR
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

Louise receives a friend request from a former schoolmate...only problem, that friend died decades ago. Louise and Maria became friends, but soon Louise abandons her when the popular girls gang up on Maria. With the school reunion coming up, Louise attends hoping to find out who is being Maria...she will need to uncover secrets from the past.

Predictable...therefore no suspense. The characterization is also absent - you neither like or dislike Louise. I don't know it was pretty meh.

A book that you pick up and immediately realize you won't be able to put down until you finish. Friend Request is a very clever and shocking psychological thriller that splits between 1989 and current day. Loved the social media aspect - the book begins with what to most would seem like a normal act, a friend request on facebook. In this case, it's from someone who has been dead for 25 years! Highly recommend this book and it doesn't read as a debut novel!

Louise Williams is a divorced mother who works from home as a freelance interior designer. She doesn’t have a lot of friends and devotes much of her life to 4-year old son Henry, living vicariously through the pictures and posts of her Facebook friends. Life’s fairly uneventful until she receives a friend request from Maria Weston, a girl from her high school days...she’s also been presumed dead for over 25 years. And, Louise has lived with the guilt of her role in what may have happened to Maria that fateful night she disappeared.

The story transitions between present day and 1989, that pivotal year when Louise’s life changed radically. Things lead to an upcoming high school reunion as the events of the past are slowly revealed. It was interesting how the challenges of teens two decades ago pretty much are the same today though the bullying methods are different with the introduction of social media. I struggled to have empathy for Louise because the choices she made at 16 years old seem to somewhat continue in the adult woman as she tries to figure out why she’s received a friend request from the dead teen. However, as the story progressed, I developed more understanding for her as she wasn’t a bad person, just someone who got caught up in her desire for acceptance.

The story is thought provoking in its attempt to contrast the human condition of teenagers and their adult selves and how those early behaviors shaped their life choices. Underlying all of that is the mystery of what happened to Maria, who’s behind the friend request and subsequent taunts. I had so many theories in play but none of them came close to the outcome, which was pretty chilling. The storytelling approach was effective, even though the pacing was a little slow. However, this was really very good for a debut novel. 3.5 stars

3.5 stars
This psychological thriller had an intriguing premise, and it lived up to it, for the most part.

Louise is shocked to receive a Facebook “friend request” from a former classmate, Maria. Why? Maria died twenty-five years ago. Louise decides to accept the request, though it may be something she comes to regret. Will her actions, past and present, begin to haunt her?

This book is told in dual timelines: 1989 and 2016. Marshall does a good job of crafting realistic characters and emotions, as well as the psychological fear angle. Some characters were a bit hard to connect with, however, though the overall story line held my attention. The ending is plausible, though it was a bit of a surprise.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.