From the moment I heard of this title on Twitter, I HAD to read it.

Immediately pulling me in, Marshall has crafted a cunning psychological thriller involving a friend request from a dead schoolmate. Taut with suspense and cleverly placed insight on the superficiality of Facebook, this tale had me glued to my Kindle.

Told from Louise's point of view, we gain a front row seat into her angst over a 25-year old incident. Moreover, we learn of the immense impact of bullying on the parents.

Marshall is extremely talented and I am looking forward to more of her writing.

This book had such a great storyline. It was such a quick and easy read that I flew through. It definitely kept my interest from beginning to end, which always makes for a wonderful thriller. I think a thriller should always be a simple and quick read, that’s what I enjoy.
I found that I was questioning each character quite a bit which I like in a thriller. The only downside is I wish it had more action throughout the whole story instead of sporadically. I liked Louise (the main character) a lot, though I seemed to get super frustrated with a lot of her choices throughout. I liked that in a lot of ways, considering if a main character always did what I wanted them to do there wouldn’t be much of a story.
Overall I enjoyed this book a ton, and thought it was a unique thriller that I would highly recommend to anyone who like a good thriller. It’s such a different read, I’ve never read anything like it and I thought that was great. I can’t wait to see what this author has to come.

Despite the numerous types of social media available these days, the Facebook world is still abuzz with well-worded, staged snapshots of "friends'" daily lives. But what if someone whose death you played a part in sent you a friend request twenty-five years later? This is where Marshall begins Friend Request, which will immediately hook any lover of MTV's Catfish, anyone who's ever been bullied in the past or currently, and those teens who grew up having read Carol Plum-Ucci's The Body of Christopher Creed. This fast-paced novel will keep your brain hypothesizing until the middle of the night and you're rewarded with a shocking conclusion that ties up ninety-five percent of loose ends!

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Laura Marshall, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

FRIEND REQUEST is a thriller novel by Laura Marshall and follows the story of Louise, who receives a Facebook friend request from Maria, a former school friend. Louise assumes this request to be a joke, because Maria died 25 years ago. However, Louise is left wondering who would get enjoyment out of taunting her with her biggest mistake. After all, no one should know Louise's darkest secrets...

FRIEND REQUEST is told in dual timelines. This was a first for me, and I really enjoyed it. I didn't have any issues keeping up with the timeline, either, and I credit that to Marshall's superb writing. I quite enjoyed the modern story line, and I think it has a rather relatable aspect to it, even if our lives aren't as dark as Louise's past. Overall, I enjoyed the lightness to this modern tale of friend requesting gone wrong. (Ha!) FRIEND REQUEST is MEAN GIRLS on steroids. (Second ha!)

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers or social media thrillers.

When I first heard about this book....I wanted it. I knew I had to read it. Social media fascinates and terrifies me in equal measure. I will try to get my hands on any book that has social media at the heart of it, and "Friend Request" fit the bill perfectly.

The book opens in 2016. Louise Williams is a single mother to four-year-old, Henry. It's an ordinary day when Louise receives the email that will change her life. Henry is at her ex-husband, Sam's house and she has spent the day working. At first she was a glad to see she had an email waiting. However, after opening it, she'd give anything to go back to the boredom she was feeling just minutes before. She reads....

"Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook"

Instantly, Louise feels like she can't breathe, and her first instinct is to slam her laptop shut.

She feels that she must be mistaken, she MUST have read the email wrong or she's seeing things. But when she opens her laptop again....it's still there.

"Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook"

She has no idea who would play such a sick joke on her. She's tempted to delete the message and the friend request. But another part of her is morbidly curious....and wants to know. Curiosity wins out and she hits 'Confirm Request'.

It's been 25 years since she's seen the face staring at her from the Facebook profile picture.

She thinks of her comfortable life. Her little family.....just her and Henry. Is that comfortable life being threatened....because of a friend request? As she thinks of her life the same sentence keeps running through her head "Maria Weston wants to be friends with me".

"But Maria Weston has been dead for more than twenty-five years"

We know there's something that Louise feels guilty about, something to do with Maria that happened in High School in 1989.

"I've been a friend, a daughter, a wife, a mother. Yet all the time, in the back of my mind, this one unforgivable act has loomed - squashed, squeezed, parcelled, but always there".

Is someone playing a joke on her? But who? Somebody from the upcoming school reunion? Or is it something more sinister? Could Maria possibly be alive? And what secrets is Louise keeping that she's feeling so guilty about? What has she done?

Well.....I'm not going to tell you!

"Friend Request" was all that I was hoping for and more. Not just suspenseful, it also has great dialogue and the issues brought up are so relevant to what's happening in the world today. Not just social media but also friendships, bullying, marriage, sex and more.
The characters were very well-developed. I just loved little Henry. And I loved to hate bitchy Sophie Hannigan.

Social media really makes us all vulnerable. Sometimes just looking at someone's Facebook page can bring back teenage feelings, insecurities from a time when all you wanted was to be liked. The constant pressure to fit in. The rumors that would spiral out of control. Everyone just wanted to go the good parties, hang out with the popular crowd. Not realizing how so much of it wouldn't matter years later. I had a decent high school experience, though far from perfect. But I also saw things that I know must have really hurt people, and I can remember a few "Sophie Hannigan's".

The story alternates between past and present. Back and forth between 2016 and 1989.
Also interspersed throughout the novel are musings from an unknown source. This adds to the mystery. Leaving the reader to guess whose private thoughts they were. I wanted to know who it was. I had my guesses, but I wasn't even close.

"What would life have been like if she'd made a different choice then, not just for her, but for everyone around her?"

The author really knows how to pump up the suspense and tension until your head is spinning, trying to figure out who is telling the truth....who to trust. With excellent twist and turns, especially in the second half of the book. The last few chapters so tense that there was no way you could have pried the book out of my hands. I was desperate to know what happened.

Not everyone is who or what they seem. Can we ever REALLY know anyone?

This was a well-written and fast-paced exciting read. A fantastic debut novel full of mystery and suspense, real world issues, and relatable characters. I thought the ending was surprising and satisfying. I can't wait for more from Laura Marshall!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent debut novel.. kept me gripped from the very first page.

Louise, a divorcee with a 4 year old son Henry ,runs an independent business and is trying to get over her husband Sam who was also her high school sweetheart. Along with a high school reunion invitation she receives a friend request from Maria Weston who disappeared 25 years ago and was believed to be dead. Louise holds a lot of guilt about Maria and has been haunted about the part she might have played in her death . But was Maria really dead as her body was never found and is she back to take revenge on all those who wronged her in high school ?

A chilling psychological thriller going back and forth between the current and past timeline which helps build up the suspense. I just could not wait to turn the pages fast enough to know what was going to happen next . A great debut book which I would definitely recommend.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

Louise Williams has spent most of her adult life trying to forget the past and make up for the mistakes she made while in high school. However, when Louise gets a friend request on Facebook from Maria Weston her heart nearly stops as the past comes flooding back into her life and the memories that have haunted her for years are brought back to the surface.

Around twenty five years before Maria had disappeared one night and with a search turning up nothing it was assumed that she had died but the body was never found. Due to peer pressure Louise has blamed herself believing all these years that it was her fault that Maria had died that night…. but had she really? Is there a chance that Maria is really alive? Either way it’s now time for Louise to face the past that has haunted her since high school.

Just seeing the title of this book I knew that I needed to check it out seeing how today’s society is so focused on social media so I figured it would bring that creepy edge to it. I’m happy to say my instinct was correct as far as the use of social media in the story. Louise is like most people these days with being concerned with her Facebook and the friends she has and basically socializing through a computer instead of face to face.

Now the story in here takes a reader back and forth from the present time and the past high school days for Lousie. Adult Louise is dealing with what it means to have a dead girl that she felt responsible for popping back up in her life. Then the flashing back to the high school days shows the reader just what had happened to Maria that night to make Louise live her life full of guilt. I’m not even sure which side of the story had me more engrossed as they both certainly kept the pages turning looking for answers.

As for the ending to this one, I thought the author did a great job keeping it a believable outcome overall while adding in a few extra little twists to the story. Definitely one that I think most fans of thriller will enjoy quite a bit.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

“Friend Request” by Laura Marshall is a thriller with a social media twist. It is just an ordinary day for self-employed interior designer Louise Williams. She is working at home on her computer, and there it is; Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook, except that Maria Weston died when they were in high school. That dreaded “event,” the death of Maria, taints Louise’s past and contaminates her present.

We get to know Louise through her first person narrative; we learn about her failed marriage, her devotion to her four-year old son, her peculiarities, her impressions, and her nagging anxiety about that “event” in her past. Her story switches back and forth between 2016 and 1989 when she was in high school, and each chapter is marked to make it easy to track the timeline. We “hear” about her friends, close and casual, and their connections in high school and now.

Marshall’s writing style and construction pull the reader into Louise’s struggle and apprehension. As she becomes more and more nervous about her past, ordinary events seem to become conspiracies. Is it just guilt catching up with her after all these years, or is someone really out to get her? To add to the intrigue, every few chapters there is another voice, not Louise’s, which interrupts the narrative with unsettling comments. Who is this? Little by little, the past comes screaming into the present with a frightening twist that readers will not see coming.

I received a copy of “Friend Request” from Grand Central Publishing, Laura Marshall, and Net Galley, and I absolutely loved it. The characters were captivating and believable. Marshall’s writing style and character development kept me involved right up until the astonishing twist at the end. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This was a fun thriller.

I enjoyed trying to figure out exactly what had happened to Maria so long ago…and what exactly was happening now.

Our main character does seem to have survived her entire life without a brain – seriously, dumb as a post – but she sort of grows on you. I found myself worrying for her and definitely invested in whether or not she’d survive this particular friend request.

Not quite as twisty as I expected, but definitely a good popcorn read – suspenseful and fun.

Friend Request is a finely layered thriller that will give readers goosebumps. I was enthralled in this book. I knew I was going to like it based on the description but I didn't realize how much I was going to love it! I was captivated, chilled to the bone, and filled with the feelings of thrills and chills. This is the book to read this fall!

This book was just ok for me. I felt like it was really wordy - like a thesaurus was used a lot. The story was decent, I just wasn't as excited about it as I thought I would have been.

FRIEND REQUEST by Laura Marshall starts off strong with a dark and stormy night in the past, our protagonist upset and defeated after a horrible unknown event has changed her life forever

Fast forward to twenty-seven years later and Louise has a beautiful life and seemingly has it all together, that is until a classmate who died sends her a Facebook friend request, sending Louise into a downward spiral as a reunion approaches just in time. Is Maria really still alive? Is this a cruel joke? Does someone know what happened that night almost thirty years ago? Someone's about to.

With a plot like this one, it's hard to not have chills up your spine and hear a bump or two in the night. Marshall does a great job of building tension and giving the reader breadcrumbs of information from what really happened the night Maria Weston disappeared. While I did enjoy the back and forth from past to present, it seemed some details and characters were thrown into the mix with no purpose. Don't get me wrong, both storylines could have done well enough to each be standalone novels, but when a suspenseful or creepy scene happened, I felt as though the scenes in between kind of lacked something and I had a hard time keeping interest until the next scene of Louise thinking she's being followed or the next revelation occurred.

The characterization in this was well written, really helping you either love or hate the main characters. While there were plenty that were just simply...there, I did enjoy the fact that the female characters were what really stood out with this novel. Many male characters did serve a purpose, whether they be crucial to the plot or serving as a red herring; but, the female characters were really driven and well drawn out. What I found interesting enough was that they were written to either love or hate. Similar to real life, not everyone is perfect and people will change over time and others won't. I especially liked the dynamic between Louise and former Queen B, Sophie. It was nice seeing a character who had come such a long way start to falter when placed in a situation where you are face-to-face with someone from high school who really brought out your insecurities.

The key element of bullying and the repercussions it holds was a very interesting theme to have for a psychological thriller and suspense novel. I often found myself sympathizing with Maria and wondered if maybe Louise and Sophie got exactly what they deserved as they were losing sleep and being harassed. To have a thriller dealing with murder and mayhem have such a strong message was really unique and enjoyable with this read.

The twists and turns in the last quarter of this book really saved it for me and made up for the slower pace and length between suspenseful scenes. Not to brag, but I'm usually pretty good at guessing a plot twist here and there. This was not the case. The final pages were so taut and suspenseful that I couldn't get through them quick enough, leaving only one stone unturned that could leave this open for a sequel. The finale chapter, showing how Louise's life had not only changed, but how she's changed as a person was very strong and well thought out. A happy ending with a black cloud looming over it is how I would describe the ending to this one.

Facebook is certainly an interesting thing. Despite my frustrations with the social media site, I still use it quite often to keep up with friends and family, share in major life events, and of course occasionally creep on those long left in my past. We all do it. Naturally, when I read this book's premise I had to immediately request an advance reader's copy from Netgalley, and luckily I was accepted. The conceit — grown woman receives a Facebook friend request from a high school friend who has been dead for twenty-five years — is one that grabbed me from the start. Unfortunately, the story did not live up to the thrills and scared promised by this novel's synopsis.

It was steady going for the first twenty percent or so . . . and then I started making excuses for not returning to this story. Louise, the main character, is likable enough albeit not relatable to me. I could not really empathize with her, nor could I with any of the other characters. Honestly, these people just weren't fun to read about; I found them to be rather lifeless.

I was expecting a twisty, psychologically taxing and challenging story — instead I got a bit of a snooze fest. I figured everything out by the time I was a third of the way in. The ending is largely telegraphed, and I was largely able to predict a lot of the plot. Lame! This is supposed to be a thriller mystery, and it fails on that basic level — hence my low rating. This author can write well: her word choices are good and her prose flows. I would, theoretically, be interested in reading something else by her. Her skills as a writer kept me going until the end, even when I didn't want to. It is simply unfortunate the plot of this mystery about ghosts from the past and long-buried grievances wasn't more involving or challenging.

<b>Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC, which was given in exchange for an honest review.</b>

How far would you go, and what would you be willing to do to protect your biggest secrets?

Imagine checking your Facebook account and finding a friend request from someone you knew back in high school. A name that brought back a past that you thought you had successfully escaped. And it is especially jarring because that person is dead -- right?

Louise gets such a request from Maria Weston -- a girl she bullied in high school back in 1989. In addition, there's an invite to a reunion of their class. Newly divorced from Sam and taking care of her son while running a home-based business has been hard. Louise is scared and worried -- she has to find out if Maria is still alive and why Maria is sending messages. Her secrets have to stay buried.

This was a fast-paced drama focusing on the danger of secrets and the issue of bullying that gets out of hand. "I don't even know if there is such a thing as the truth when it comes to relationships, or only versions of it, shaped by love and fear and the way we lie to ourselves and others." The cast of characters was interesting and some more fully developed than others. I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review.

In Friend Request by Laura Marshall, the dead comes back to haunt Louise after she receives a Facebook request from a girl who died in High School. After she is taunted by this ghost from her past, Louise thinks everyone and everything is out to get her.

Flipping back and forth from 1989, to present day, we get a good glimpse as to what happened between Louise and the girl who died in high school, Maria. When Maria was the new girl at school, apparently Louise wasn’t so nice to her, and things ended pretty badly. But now that Louise received this friend request, she’s not so sure that Maria is dead after all.

Honestly, I hated this book. From the VERY beginning, I knew what was going to happen, and it was so generic that I didn’t even want to finish it. Underneath all of the snore worthy “plot twists” there is a good message, don’t be a bully, but honestly I fell asleep through half the book.

You will see the twists coming a mile away, there isn’t much that really stuck with me, and I am actually really sad that I didn’t enjoy this book more. It looks like exactly the type of book I would love. I give this book 1 out of 5 stars, don’t even bother.

Friend Request by Laura Marshall.

How would you react to a Facebook friend request from a person who died over two decades ago? Especially if you still felt guilty over some callous behavior involving that person?

Suspenseful, but no truly likable characters. Louise, a middle-aged mother who receives the request from the long-dead Maria Weston, is caught in a web largely of her own making. The strands originate in the past, but continue in the present as Louise tries to determine who really sent the request and why.

While understanding Louise's guilt over her role in the kind of meanness that often occurs in adolescence, she never comes across as admirable. In fact, while her behavior may be understandable in the realm of peer pressure and the search for acceptance, there is no way to condone her actions which certainly contributed to tragic results.

Several twists and turns, and the conclusion surprised me.

An interesting premise.

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing

Mystery/Suspense. Sept. 5, 2017; July 2017. Print length: 384 pages.

Friend Request
Laura Marshall
Available: September 5, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Do we really know who anyone really is on social media? With the flick of a finger a filter can be selected to erase the things we don’t want you to see. People, places and things can easily be cropped out along with the truth in our posts. And it seems that some people never really get over what happened in high school…
What I loved: Wham – what a twist! Well written and well thought out Ms. Marshall. I’m not saying anymore because I would slip and give away a major plot twist with one of my snarky side comments.
What I didn’t love: Louise is not a very sympathetic character in my eyes so its hard to warm to her. It’s not because of what she did when she was a teenager – Lord knows everyone is an a-hole to someone many times during those later years. She’s very hard to get to know,; there are so many walls that you have to wonder if getting to know her is worth the journey.
What I learned: Don’t accept friend requests from dead people, duh!
Overall Grade: B

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

Louise Williams, now a single Mum, receives a Facebook friend request from a friend from her schooldays called Maria Weston. The only problem is that Maria has been dead for over twenty-five years, since the night of the leavers’ party held at the school both girls attended. She was feared drowned in a terrible accident and Louise has been paying the price for what she believed had happened that fateful night. She is full of remorse and guilt, casting an unwelcome shadow over her life. It’s hardly surprising that she is way beyond shocked, but could Maria have survived that night and be looking to re-establish contact. Is it even feasible?
The messages continue to pour in and Louise is haunted by memories of her schooldays, her friendships and particularly of her relationship with Maria. She goes over and over what she remembers from that night. A recently created Facebook page also advertises a long due school reunion. Louise is scared out of her wits and visits friends to see whether they have also had a Facebook request, asking them if they are going to the party. She learns surprising facts about what happened from the points of view of her old school fiends. She decides that she must attend the reunion but as the cyber stalking picks up pace and the threats escalate, she feels more and more threatened and increasingly frightened. She simply has to get to the bottom of the mystery, so she plans ahead for attending the party.
"Friend Request" is Laura Marshall’s gripping debut novel full of suspense, thrills and spills and twists and turns. It oozes with tension until the very end. The themes of girl-power rivalry, being associated with the in-crowd, bullying and alpha friendship circles are very convincing. Their damaging after effects are scrupulously held up for examination, put right under the microscope. The characters and themes are modern and true to life. I liked the way Laura featured the concept of conscience, regret and the feeling of shame. It’s easy to be wise after the event and peer group pressures are keenly felt in the teenage years when young adults are finding their way and striving for acceptance. The main characters were skilfully crafted and well developed as the story continued and more information came to light. As the truth was finally revealed I felt a real jolt of shock as I had never expected the story to end with such a massive and twisted finale. I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Sphere for my copy of this novel sent out in return for an honest review. I enjoyed reading this story but thought the plot was very complicated. I look forward to reading Laura Marshall’s second novel. It’s a 7/10 review from me.

**4.5 Stars**

<b><I>What if your entire life hinged on an irresponsible decision you made as a teenager? And what if you spent your entire life pushing everyone away in the hope that you can keep one life-changing decision secret, hidden from everyone but a select few who know what happened?</I></b>

This is essentially the premise of <I>Friend Request</I>. The book follows the life of Louise, who, against her better instincts, desires to be part of the popular clique in high school as a teenager. To be part of this group, she is pressured to try drugs, drink alcohol, and change her looks. Sophie, beautiful and glamorous, is predictably the leader of the clique, and Louise wants nothing more than to be Sophie's best friend and confidant.

To gain Sophie's unfettered attention, Louise bullies girls who aren't in the clique. One fateful night Louise, Sophie, and their male sidekicks, Matt and Sam, take things <b>way too far</b>.

The book picks up nearly 20 years later with Louise living a safe, solid middle- to upper-class life. Louise has divorced from Sam, one of the male clique members. She has cut ties with the clique, and the poor choices she made as a member of it. She has an adorable preschool-age son who she loves and cannot imagine life without. She will do anything to keep her son safe from her past discretions, especially when they begin to rise to the surface.

Louise's tightly controlled world is upended when she receives a Facebook friend request from one of the girls she and her clique relentlessly teased: the friend who disappeared the night the clique's prank went awry and was never found or seen again. This missing friend, Maria, knew (or knows?!) everything about Louise's past sins, and threatens to unravel the quaint but comfortable life Louise enjoys with her 4 year old son.

I loved this book's heart pounding plot. I also loved that this book raised philosophical questions about the emotional and physical turmoil of youth, both of which can painfully linger long after high school has ended. Can we escape who we were as teenagers, or will that period of life forever define us? Should someone (Louise) suffer eternal guilt for a horrible decision she made as a teenager?

Throughout the book, I kept second guessing the characters surrounding Louise and asking questions about the event that left Maria missing. Is Maria alive? What exactly happened the night of her disappearance?

Thank you to the author, Laura Marshall, NetGalley, and the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for the advanced reader copy of this fantastic thriller!