This was my first book by this author, but I have quickly downloaded 'reported missing', on the strength of this.

This book was a slow burner, but really kept my interest in the old 'just one more chapter' scenario. It was quite dark, but very vividly written so that I had a full picture in my mind of the village and lake. It takes a lot of talent for an author to be able to do that.

I look forward to seeing what else Sarah writes.

An Addictive,heart stopping Cracker of a book which will leave your asking 'yourself.....How well do we really know anyone"? I was hooked! From the cery first Chapter I just couldn't put this book down! It was perfect for these long cold evenings where i read it in 2 sittings. Watch out for this on the Bestseller list....It will be up there at the top!

Twists and turns. Sometimes I had to go back to reread what I had previous read. Interesting concept though.

This story was a bit of a slow start, but once it got going I really didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed it. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This was a really good read with great characters. The ending surprised me, it wasn't what I thought it would be.

I devoured this book! I read it in about 24 hours.

Fifteen year old Victoria goes missing overnight and is found dead in the local lake. Her best friend Sylvie's dad dies from cancer three weeks later. Sylvie's relationship with her mother becomes strained and she leaves town to live with her aunt.

Fast forward 20 years Sylvie returns home after her mother's death to clean out her house. She brings her baby with her and gets involved with an old friend her friend's parents and a wannabe true crime director who wants to make a documentary about Victoria's unsolved murder.

I though I figured out the mystery a couple times but wasn't 100% correct!

Good read that kept me guessing!

I found the book good as a stepping stone. The plot and the pacing of events were good. I just feel like the author is building up to do even better in the next one. 

There is a faint feeling of confusion in the events being described in the book. The story is of a woman who has come back to her childhood home after several years. The absence stretched out due to a falling out with her mother following her father's demise and her best friend being killed.The case has gained traction since an aspiring filmmaker is trying to make a documentary on it. None of the people in the book are those who one would back as a friend. The case swings between the past and present giving us fractured information of the occurrences. This lets us bounce suspicions and guesses around, therefore doing its job.

I would definitely read the next book by this author.

I’m going between 3 and 4 stars on this one. I’m going to settle on 3 because I did find it to be a bit slow.
I was, however, very impressed with the twist. Most of the time I am good at predicting these types of thrillers, but I was pleasantly surprised at this one!

A great psychological thriller that hooked me in from the first few pages with a fab twist.
The story is mainly told by Sylvie in the third person, when 15 years old her best friend Victoria disappears after a party and is later found dead in the lake. Who is responsible?

I didn't care for this at all. It felt drawn out and dark for as long as I read it. There didn't seem to be any let up. Unfortunately it lulled and there just wasn't something to hold my interest

There is always a price to pay for keeping a long dead secret buried. Will that price be too high for those involved?
Sylvie finds herself returning to the village she grew up in after the death of her mother. She hopes to sell the family home, make peace with the memories of her younger years and the secrets therein. Years ago her best friend Victoria was murdered and Sylvie now a young mother has named her baby after her dead friend.
The return unlocks more than just memories from her past and most of them connected to her friend’s tragic death. She reconnects with Victoria’s parents Peter and Judith who still live in the town. Dramatically affected by the death of their daughter their life has not been the same since and the passing of time has not eased their suffering.
Michelle is the creepy friend from the past who wasnt really a friend but thought and acted like she was. I really liked how she presented in the story even though she was so annoying. She even went as far as entering Sylvie’s house and treating it as her own. She seemed to disappear after a certain point in the story which I found puzzling and a bit odd.
I found Sylvie a little wishy washy and I suspect she would have lived in Victoria’s shadow if this was real life.
The ending really took me by surprise as I had someone else pegged for the murder. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep fans of psychological thrillers interested
Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy of the book via Netgalley and the opportunity to provide a review.

HER BEST FRIEND by Sarah Wray is a mystery/suspense thriller novel, that will appeal to a wide range of readers. This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I intend to read more.

Two teenagers-Sylvie and Victoria were best friends that spent all their time together sharing secrets, until Victoria was murdered. The killer has never been caught – and Sylvie has never spoken about what happened that day.

Sylvie escaped and went to live with her aunt, and never returned to her parent’s house, until 20 years later, after the death of her mother, Sylvie is forced to return to her home town, along with her newborn daughter. Now she must confront her past and the secrets, that she tried to put at bay.

But then Sylvie receives the locket Victoria was wearing on the night she died – and it becomes clear that somebody knows what really happened to Victoria.

Sylvie struggles to discover the truth behind the lies, she finds herself in increasing danger from those who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets.

The story is told in the third person point of view, with alternating chapters of Sylvie “Now” and Sylvie as a “teenager”, which makes it very easy to read and enjoy. Even though this isn't a fast- paced story, the tension continues to build in the latter half of the book.

Many thanks to Bookouture via Net Galley for my copy.

2.5/5 stars. It was a decent read, but predictable and slow. It was clear from the start that Sylvie had her own secrets as she seemed jumpy and closed off. It was also clear that there was more to Victoria's murder than met the eye. I am quite sceptical of "twenty years ago" type of books, especially when people remember minute details of what they did, said, ate and so on, but it was cleverly handled in this book, even though by the time it's explained, you've known forever what possibly happened.

The other thing was that there wasn't a single likeable character in the book. The story is told from the perspective of Sylvie, whose friend Victoria died when they were teenagers, and Sam, a laid-off journalist who wants to make a sensational documentary on Victoria's disappearance. Sam's only role in the story is to bring out details of what happened the night Victoria disappeared and you never feel any empathy with him. In fact, one isn't sure where he gets the idea that people are obligated to talk to him or answer his questions -- he's not the police, after all. Sylvie's back story has some suspense, ***SPOILER*** but it isn't hard to figure out that she knows or had something to do with Victoria's disappearance. ***SPOILER END*** I wasn't really sure what happened in the climax scene, but things got sorted out satisfactorily in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sylvie Armstrong's best friend Victoria dies when they are teenagers. She dies under mysterious conditions and no one knows what happened to her. Twenty years later, Sylvie's mother dies and Sylvie is forced to return to her hometown to sort out and sell her mother's house. She is forced to confront the past an

I really do not like leaving negative reviews, but this one was unfortunately not one of my favourites. It is by no means terrible, but it lacks the suspense and it is very slow-moving. I did enjoy the author's previous book so I will keep a lookout for her next book.

A really good well written engaging read. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of Sarah's books in the future

How well do you know your best friend? How well does your best friend know you?
Psychological twist and turns that leave you dizzy.
Very seldom do i read a book that I haven't figured out the ending. This was a sensational read that had me totally captivated till the end. Then the author did it.....took me by surprise!!
Loved it. Entertaining, titillating, suspensefu! Everything needed in a great novel.
5 Stars

Her Best Friend is a gripping psychological thriller. The plot had many twists and turns that kept me guessing and glued to this book. If you love a good thriller I recommend this book.

This is the second book by Sarah Wray. Her first book ‘Reported Missing’ was released in July 2017 and became a bestseller. I read and reviewed ‘Reported Missing’ and I really enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for ‘Her Best Friend’. I was not to be disappointed. In fact I think that ‘Her Best Friend’ is actually better than ‘Reported Missing’ but more about that in a bit.

It took me a little while to take to the character of Sylvie. I really felt for her at the start of the book when she finds out that a body has been found at the lake and she rushes to the lake to see who it is, only to discover that the body is that of her best friend. However, I did think that she was keeping something hidden and that she knew far more than she let on about the circumstances leading to her friend’s death. I also didn’t really understand why Sylvie immediately fled the town where she lived so soon after her friend’s death and why she stayed away for so long. I get that she wanted to escape bad memories but she could have gone on a holiday. Sylvie seems to have cut herself off from anything and everything from her previous life. In fact Sylvie seems to have created a new life for herself- a sort of reinvention if you like. I would have thought that if she thought so much about her friend, then wouldn’t she have wanted to stick around to help support her friend’s parents? I guess everybody reacts differently. Sylvie only returns to her home town following her mother’s death to sort out her estate. Like the rest of the characters in this book, Sylvie seems to have as many layers to her character as you would find on a parcel during a ‘Pass The Parcel’ game at a children’s party. Unwrap one layer and you find a dozen more. I really did feel for Victoria’s parents who have to come to terms with the death of their daughter. No parent should have to bury a child.

It took me a little while to get into the story but once I got into the book, I became addicted to reading it. I was so into the story that I didn’t notice how quickly the pages were turning and it was almost as if they were turning themselves. Before I knew what was happening, I had finished the book, which I was so disappointed about. Don’t get me wrong I was pleased to finish as I knew how the story ended but I was enjoying the writing style and the story so much that I just wanted it to continue. It’s true to say that this book is more of a slow burn and not a fast paced action thriller, but that isn’t such a bad thing. With a story as complex as this one, you need to take time to set the scene and introduce all the characters. Sarah Wray certainly knows how to set the scene, build up a tense atmosphere and then hit you with a whammy of a twist. Reading this was a bit like a rollercoaster ride with the twists, turns, unexpected drops and stomach churning moments. There were literally times when I had to hold my breath and almost read the book through my fingers as I genuinely feared what was going to happen next.

In short I absolutely loved this psychological thriller and it certainly messed with my head. The story will certainly stay with me for a long time to come. I would recommend this author to anybody and everybody. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved & easy 5* out of 5*.

This is Sarah Wray’s second book and what a fantastic read! Sylvie returns to her childhood home when her mother dies with her baby daughter. Her daughter, Victoria, was named after Sylvie’s best friend who was found murdered twenty years ago and the killer was never found. A journalist has decided to make a documentary about the murder to try to find the killer and then all new information and secrets are revealed. The book is told mostly from Sylvie’s point of. view and alternates between the past and present but links together perfectly. Her Best Friend is a compelling and engrossing read, with plenty of twists and turns and a surprise ending. A book you won’t be able to put down. Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy. 2.5 Stars

Sylvie returns to her hometown after the death of her mother. She is accompanied by her baby Victoria named after her teenage friend who was found dead when they were 15. No one was ever arrested for the murder of Victoria and the community are still looking for answers.

This book alternates between the past and the present. Sylvie in the present is dealing with the aftermath of her mother's death and a fractious baby. She is overwrought and emotional. A journalist is delving into the death of her friend and the past begins to unravel.

Unfortunately although this storyline is interesting this book is incredibly slow. I felt that nothing happened until about 65% in. By then I was losing interest and starting to skim read. I had little empathy for any of the characters and couldn't wait for it to finish. I really enjoyed her previous book so this was a big disappointment for me.