This was my first Sarah Wray book.

I have mixed feelings about the book, for me it read very slow and I am usually a fast reader. This book just did not speak to me as books that I have previously read. To me the characters did not do the story justice. I enjoyed the story line but not reading the story. I loved the cover!!!

3.5 satisfied stars rounded up🌟

How hard would it be to go back home after 20 years of being away? Add in the fact that you left right after your best friend was murdered and your father died.... you had little to no contact with your mother after leaving home and now you are returning home after her death.... and on top of all this someone has now decided to make a documentary revolving around the murder of your best friend.....

Welcome to Sylvie‘s life!

This book was good, but I did have a few problems with it... The pacing was a little slow, and I‘m really not one to complain about this usually.... I really was not completely drawn into the story until probably about 60% and that’s about the point when I started caring about Sylvie....

Sylvie was hard to get a handle on... I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like her or not and in the beginning this just lead to complete indifference for me.... but then something happened and I began to like her or at least understand her.... Victoria on the other hand( the best friend who was murdered) was not very likable from the flashback scenes.... so really at some point I didn’t care who murdered her to be completely honest.....

The end was satisfying if not a little predictable.... I really did want the very best for Sylvie and her baby.... Best of all the very end of this book was much appreciated!

*** thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

This was disappointing. I found it quite boring and dragged out. Absolutely hated reading the podcast parts. For me they did not enhance the book. The ending was atrocious.

I’m usually a fan of this type of novel but, this one just didn’t do it for me. The plotline had potential but the characters just fell flat. There were good points in the book but nothing phenomenal.

Wow, great great read twists and turns and never ever did I see the ending

This book starts with a big bang and ends with an absolute explosion. Sylvie's 15 year old best friend Victoria disappears after a party and is discovered dead in the lake. There are no leads and when Sylvie returns to the place of her childhood with her baby Victoria to clear her mother's house 20 years later you begin to wonder why she fell out with her mother all those years ago. As time shifts back to 1995 there's a countdown to the day Victoria died when you discover that Victoria is a tearaway teenager - underage drinking, smoking and sex as well as drugs and a spot of stealing. Sylvie is a secondary figure at this time but not as bad news as her friend. I couldn't take to Victoria especially the nasty way she behaved towards Michelle. Sylvie was part of it but at least felt remorse. Michelle is the first to welcome Sylvie back but is so attentive you wonder if she's a stalker-type or a tag. I think Michelle is damaged - a lonely, deadly existence with no friends or family so finally I felt some compassion for her and that she was the nicer friend. Sam arrives in Conley to make a film to get to the bottom of the murder and enhance his dwindling career. It's a slow burner which gives us time to assess the well drawn characters and their involvement and the plot but leaves us totally unprepared for the ending. My only problem with the story at the beginning is that I wasn't clear about the relationship of the characters towards each other until about the middle of the book. There are plenty of red herrings and twists to enjoy. It crossed my mind that recollections of that day like first impressions are not always reliable. A lot of the facts didn't seem to gel as those who were questioned were vague, scared of being involved or defensive. That's what must making policing such a difficult job and why many people are wrongly accused. The ending was truly DYNAMIC!!!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. it's a gem to post onto Amazon, FB and my blog.

Prepare to have your jaw hit the floor with Sarah Wray’s book, Her Best Friend!

Sylvie heads home (if that’s what she can call it) after leaving 20 years ago. So much hurt and bad memories surround her home village and you can tell that these memories have scared her for life. Facing it alone and head on I was worried that she would fall apart over the pages but she shocked me. Reliving those memories showed me an inside peek into her teenage years and what led to the death of her best friend, Victoria.

Having ‘met’ Victoria I took an instant dislike to her, especially her attitude to poor Michelle who only wanted someone to latch on to, even though she gave me the stalker vibe I kind of liked her. I felt like Victoria had this ‘everyone owes me’ attitude, even sometimes with Sylvie. I really feel for Sylvie in this book, she’s never really let go of the past and to be honest who can blame her?!

Now I’m usually one for fast paced books where all the action explodes from the get go but this book takes its time, setting scenes, introducing characters and adding detail and at times this annoyed me but I understand why Sarah did it this way, before I knew it I was sucked into the story and eager for the story to unfold….. which it does with a bang! That ending…. seriously?!! May jaw still hurts…. as I sat there chanting no….nooo…..nooooo…..really! I turned back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t misread what I had just read! Did I guess whodunit, yes and no, but it was still a GASP reaction all the same.

All in all this was an enjoyable read, I wouldn’t say I consumed the book in one sitting but when it was put down i felt like the book was still with me, my mind ticking over about what I had just read and had me rethinking what I felt about certain people in the book.

This is a brilliant thriller. I have been desperate recently for a book that truly captured me and made me want to read on, and this was it.

A compelling story. When Sylvie was a teen her best friend Victoria was found dead in a lake. Now, as an adult with a daughter of her own, Sylvie has returned to where the horror began, to sort out the home of her mother who has passed away. With shady characters at every turn and a twist you didn't see coming, this is a thriller you HAVE to read!

Her Best Friend by Sarah Wray is a pyschological thriller set in an English town. Twenty years before, Sylvie's teenage best friend was found dead by a lake. Present day and Sylvie returns with her baby daughter to deal with her late mother's estate and is drawn back into the mystery when she finds the dead girl's locket. At the same time a freelance documentary maker is also making a film about the tragedy. This is an intriguing thriller with an unexpected and clever twist.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Two childhood and teenage best friends. One found dead when they were fifteen in suspicious circumstances. The other is now grown up with a baby of her own living away from her childhood home. She has to return after her mother's death to clear out the house and face what happened all those years ago! Brilliant even though I found it hard going in places. I certainly didn't see the ending comu! Definitely recommend!

EXCERPT: As I step back inside, I see it on the mat and acidic saliva forces itself up my throat.

Another brown envelope.

This time I don't wait. I rip the envelope straight open and shove my hand inside. It's cold, metal; a thin chain. When I pull it out and hold it up, the room feels as if it spins like a fun house. It's the gold chain with the heart shaped locket, the one they said Victoria was missing that night, that never turned up.

My fingers are shaking but I am eventually able to turn it over - the 'VP' engraving is there like I knew it would be.

Before I wasn't sure. Now I am certain. Someone knows what happened to Victoria that night and this is a message.

THE BLURB: Two girls. A murder. And a secret that binds them forever.
As a teenager, Sylvie Armstrong’s life was shattered when her best friend, Victoria Bland, was murdered. The killer has never been caught – and Sylvie has never spoken about what happened that day.

Now, two decades have gone by and after the death of her mother, Sylvie is forced to return to her home town, along with her newborn daughter – only to be confronted by the secrets that she has been running from for twenty years.

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.

As 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. Someone who threatens not only Sylvie, but everything she loves...

MY THOUGHTS: 'Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't going away.'

Her Best Friend by Sarah Wray is deceptive. For around the first third of the book, I thought it was okay, but nothing really special. But what it actually is, is a cleverly crafted, slow burning read. Like one of those fireworks that appears to be fizzing, gives a couple of experimental spurts, then bursts into a beautiful technicolor display of pyrotechnics. The second third of the book had me reading avidly, and the final third? You couldn't have paid me to put the book down.

You may not like the characters, but they are well drawn and realistic. The story takes place over two timelines, now and twenty years previous. Sylvie, the pivotal character, is no more self assured now than she was then. She revolved in Victoria's orbit, followed her lead, was her acolyte.

Relationships between the characters are more complex than they first appear. I had several suspects in mind for the death of Victoria. I changed my mind several times throughout the read. I settled on two, but couldn't make my mind up which of them it was, and was wrong. Completely and utterly way off base. Which pleases me greatly.

4.5 sparkling stars for Her Best Friend by Sarah Wray which came to me in the form of a digital ARC from Bookouture via Netgalley, for which I thank them. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Sylvie is dragged back to her childhood home after her estranged mother dies leaving her the family home. Little does Sylvie know that the murder of her best friend Victoria 10 years previous is subject to a documentary in the making. Old wounds are being reopened but will Victoria’s murder finally be solved?

The story packed with suspense jumps between the present day and 1995 when Victoria disappeared. The long chapters drip fed me tit bits of clues of what happened that fateful night right to the end that gave me goosebumps! It possibly didn’t help I was sat against a cold window in November but I think I’d have felt them snuggled up in my bed with the electric blanket on full!!

Despite this book being packed with tension, it’s a dark slow burner. Don’t expect to hit the ground running or to feel like you have been on a rollercoaster but I think that is the beauty of Sarah Wray’s writing. Both in this novel and her debut “Reported Missing” you are taken on a journey but you don’t have the map and the path isn’t lit. You don’t see what’s coming round that next dark corner.

Sylvie and Victoria seem joined at the hip as children and then teenagers, until Victoria is murdered
Sylvie has returned to her mother's house years later after her mother whom she never spoke to after her dad died
It brings back memories and flashbacks of her life before Victoria had gone all the old haunts the same, same people yet still no one knows who murdered Victoria up at the lake that night or does someone know?

Gawd you could have blew me down with a feather, an intense thrill ride, produced from a slow burn, a purely explosive psychological thriller, sometimes a secret can’t stay hidden, can you uncover the secret before Sarah Wray calls time on Her Best Friend.

I was captivated by the whole premise of the plotline, but I can say I was a little nervous to begin with wondering can I really get my teeth in this book, but once I started turning the pages, I had nothing to fear but the end itself.

Well where to begin, Sylvie Armstrong has been in hiding, trying to escape her past, her best friend was murdered twenty years previously, now Sylvie has to return home, confront her past, the secrets and settle her mothers estate. Terror grips Sylvie when a locket Victoria wore on the night she died appears as a gift on her doorstep, who knows what happened, the secrets unravel as the truth becomes known.

Her Best friend fluctuates back and forth between 1995 when Victoria died and the present day, the insight into the friendship between Sylvie and Victoria helps set the scene but also starts to reveal the lies which hampered the original investigation. Following through to present day, Sam a journalist, uses his podcast to document the investigation, he interviewed various people uncovering more lies, it drove me batty thinking I knew who was the killer, only for my theory to blown out of the water.

I’m not completely sure if I connected with any of the characters but even so it didn’t do any damage to the plotline for me. They were all in my opinion unreliable, I mistrusted all of them, I never felt any of the characters were able speak the truth. The characters were carefully thought out and planned fitting well with the book but I didn’t really want to side with any of them, I think that’s part of the reason I was unsure about them. Overall the characterisation was spot on but not what I anticipated.

I thoroughly enjoyed Her Best Friend, the thrill of the ride, the slow building pace, creeping up to the rollercoaster high and throwing you deep into the secrets hoping to unravel the lies and find the killer. Wow what a psychological thriller!

Thank you to Bookouture and Noelle for allowing me the opportunity to be part of the Blog Blitz for Her Best Friend, thanks also to Sarah Wray for an advanced readers copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

It was very easy to become involved in the story, Sarah Wray wrote Her Best Friend in such a way that in no time at all I was wrapped up in Sylvie's life. It was pretty addictive reading and I couldn't wait to discover the truth mainly because I didn't know who to trust or what information to believe.

It's a deep and spiraling story that reveals itself slowly but surely with bits and pieces from the past surfacing as the reader learns more about Sylvie and Victoria. I loved the two timelines in the story as we get to see the present day when Sylvie returns home after quite some time away. Then we also get to see Sylvie and Victoria's friendship back in 1995. The story is shown from Sylvie's perspective and then on occasion we see Sam's view point. Even though I enjoyed hearing Sylvie's story it was also a good contrast to see Sam's point of view as he looks into the cold case of Victoria's murder. I thought it worked well as we have the emotional connection with Sylvie to the more analytical point of view with Sam.

The mystery is quite intense at times and you can feel the pressure that Sylvie is under being back home along with trying to deal with the memories that this stirs up.

Tense, dark and twisty.

It will grab hold of you until the very last page and what an ending it is!

With thanks to Noelle at Bookouture for the invite to join the tour and for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

This is the second book that I have read by Sarah and she has proven to be consistent in her writing style producing another excellent book!

I loved the front cover of this book, it drew me in and after reading the book blurb I wanted to get started straight away - well I wasn't disappointed - the main character was  superb and I really enjoyed their interaction in the book as the plot developed and the story unravelled itself! 

I was racing through the pages to find out the ending and also didn't want it to end - a really gripping story and I really enjoyed it - a solid four stars for me - highly recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.





Sylvie moved away not long after her best friend was found in the lake and her father died, but now her mother has died and she has to come home to sort things. Soon after she sees Judith, Victoria's mother and she is shocked to find out that Sylvie has had a baby and named her Victoria. Judith mentions that she is working with Sam to find out what happened to Victoria.


Soon Sylvie finds things spiraling out of control, and she feels like she is losing it. Her husband doesn't know where she is. She has run into another old mate Michelle, and is dodging Sam about the documentary. Sam is working to find out what happened to Victoria and soon finds out that she was walking alone that night. Plus she was supposed to meet up with her boyfriend.


As he digs deeper, Sylvie tries harder to avoid the past, and stop her fall into madness. She finally decides that she needs to head home, and answers Nathan's calls, but before she can get on the train. Victoria disappears, will Sylvie be able to find her before it is too late? Will the truth finally be revealed?


So much I want to say. Sylvie and Victoria were best friends, Victoria disappears one night and is found in the following days in the lake. No one has ever been able to find out who murdered Victoria and why. I devoured this book, but I will say I was little underwhelmed by the ending. Mostly the who done it, and how that played out. However, the cliffhanger drew me back in. Well it isn't quite a cliffhanger, you can mostly guess how that would all play out.


It was odd though, I found myself rooting for the wrong person even after everything was revealed. I just felt bad for that person. I was quite a bit happier with the ending though. That was what I wanted once the truth came out.

I wanted to like this book because the description of the book caught my eye. Unfortunately the book was slow and really didn't get into the story till almost the end. I almost stopped reading but I hung in there hoping for a great ending.. I love a book with lots of thrills and this just wasn't it for me.

This what I would call a suffocating read. Sylvie returns to her childhood home after her mother’s death to sort the house and escape a difficult situation back at home. She’s with her baby daughter who she has named Victoria after her best friend who died under mysterious circumstances when they were teenagers. Sylvie’s arrival seems to bring this terrible event back to the forefront of everybody’s mind and someone seems intent on tormenting Sylvie.

This book was oppressive and hard to read at times as I felt suffocated by the mystery of what happened to Victoria and who was ‘after’ Sylvie. All the characters were obsessed with Victoria and wanted to know what had happened to her. The setting in this book was fantastic and the small town mentally jumped off the page. I liked how the facts and speculation were used to cloud what really happened. The couch detectives were a fantastic addition to the book and added a lot of realism and depth to the story. Everyone likes to think they know what happened and who done it. So, you had these people who use things like this as entertainment juxtaposed with Sylvie who has been dealing with the real life ramifications of this trauma for most of her life.

It is hard to review this book without giving too much away. All I want to stress is this a fantastic read that will have you whizzing through the pages to a shocking ending. I loved the twist in this book and the ending is satisfying and brilliant. I look forward to more from this author.

What an intriguing storyline! 

Sylvie is trying her hardest to forget her past, especially considering the fact that her past contains memories of her best friend, Victoria's, death. Buried emotions are brought back to the surface when Victoria's parents put their daughter's death back into the media, hoping someone would finally own up for Victoria's death. Seeing as twenty years has passed and nobody has come forward, the community aren't holding out much hope for the killer to randomly come forward after all of this time...

The storyline of 'Her Best Friends' switches between the past and present. Whilst we do get to go back in time to the night of Victoria's death, we only really catch a glimpse of what happened that night. Predominantly the emotion, naturally. Reading those 'past' parts of the book, it probably sounds ignorant of me to say, but I didn't feel like there was anything untoward apart from the obvious. If you asked me to point a finger at one of the characters who I thought were responsible or knew something about Victoria's death, I honestly wouldn't have been able to. That said, when Victoria's parents brought in Sam to help put the murder back into the media, I only began to suspect a character because of other character's opinions and not because I managed to work it out. In all honesty, putting my faith into certain characters who decided to come out of the woodwork at the 'right' time, really was naive of me. However, due to the way in which the author had told the story, I was able to over think Victoria's death big time which meant that when the story concluded, the truth had my jaw dropping by at least 6 foot.

As horrible as this probably sounds, when I was reading the parts where Victoria was alive, I found myself disliking her almost straight away. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I thought Victoria deserved to die - that would be nasty, but there was something about her character which really, really bugged me. Not that it matters, obviously, as she only appeared in the book for a short amount of time!

'Her Best Friend' is such an addictive read. This isn't the sort of book where you can think 'just one more chapter then I'll go to bed'. Not at all. It's the type of book which is extremely likely to get under your skin, with an even higher chance of removing any sign of logical thinking when it comes to pausing the book. It would not surprise me if most of the readers who picked up Sarah Wray's novel, turned round and said that they finished it in one sitting. 

Even though most of my thoughts of this book are extremely positive, there were a couple of chapters where I felt like the storyline had slowed down far too much, which meant that I was left waiting for everything to pick back up again. Personally I feel that the storyline would have flowed a bit better if the pace was a bit faster. However, I still enjoyed the book nonetheless.

I began this book with no expectations, but I ended the book with my jaw on the floor and the words, 'what the f.....' spilling out of my mouth before I could even stop them. What a fantastic, unexpected conclusion which, in my eyes, was the star of the show tenfold.

Thanks Bookouture.