I very much enjoyed this book. The plot was great and it had me second guessing myself the whole time. Would definitely recommend this book to friends and family. Will be looking for more titles by this author

The Perfect Friend was definitely a good read. The story is intertwined between two characters; Alex a middle-aged anorexic sufferer and Carrie a young woman that has terminal cancer. They meet at a support group and become fast friends. The story started out a little slow for my liking. We learn about Alex via her past experiences as a child in an abusive home, and the present as a woman that is all alone after her Husband and children leave her. To help cope she takes a keen interest in Carrie, who has her own demons that she is working thru. The story picks up midway and you realize things aren't as they seem. I found myself rooting for each character for different reasons, as the author wants us to. Toward the end I felt confused or that I might have missed something because there were holes I couldn't fill. I may read it again to make sure that I grasp everything.
I can't say much more without giving away spoilers. Even with the slow start, I'd recommend this book!

I heard so many good things about this book that I was very keen to start it. Alex is an anorexic and meets Carrie at a local support group. Carrie is attending the group as she has a terminal illness. Alex is no longer with her Husband and their twin Son and Daughter now live with him. Carrie is very much Alex’s junior and they strike up a surrogate Daughter/Mother relationship. As the story unfolds, so do the lies upon which Alex and Carrie’s relationship was built. There are some dark elements to this book as well as many thought provoking ones too.
The underlying plot has been very well woven and this book has many ‘reveals’, some of which I found to be a little unbelievable, others were a real eye-opener. I found this book a little difficult to get into until I was nearly half way through it. At this point it did pick up pace and the ending certainly gave me something to think about.

3.5*
This book can be divided into three distinct parts. That’s exactly the impression I had reading this one.

The beginning: A slow start for me, not really feeling a connection, and unable to see any true direction.

We are introduced to Carrie, a young woman in a support group. Living in constant fear, forever looking over her shoulder. Also attending the support group is Alex, nearly old enough to be Carries’ mother. But somehow the stars align and these two lost souls meet up.

The middle: Alright, this is where it got really good! The story completely lit up, and I couldn’t read it fast enough. With so many lies and deceptions coming from every direction, I had no idea who was telling the truth or what new whopping lies were right around the corner! So naturally my expectation for the ending was off the charts!

The end: Lastly, I lost any hope I had of giving five ⭐️to this book. I anticipated being treated to the payoff of reading the shocking turns. Instead, it seemed as though someone felt obliged to explain how everything took place. Come on! I want to discover all the hidden gems on my own, not having it spelled-out for me. Sadly, my stars just started disappearing before my eyes.

Still, in the end, I will say the positives outweighed the negatives! I know a lot of people have been loving this one and I hope you will too!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Barbara Copperthwaite for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This story will stay with me for a while. This is a really well written story which is full of surprises right up to the end. Alex and Carrie both have secrets. The secrets and lies revealed are shocking. There is so much packed into this book. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Perfect Friend has two main characters, Alex who is a recovering anorexic, estranged from her husband and twin children and Carrie, who has terminal cancer. They meet at a support group and very quickly developed a connection and formed a close friendship and it is clear from the beginning that both characters are damaged and have secrets they are keeping from each other.

Without giving any of the story line away, this book had me turning those pages super fast eager to find out what was going on. It was very easy to become submerged in the characters feelings; Alex, the maternal older woman in need of someone to care and look out for since her twins left, Carrie the young and seemingly happy-go-lucky girl who needs a “mother figure” whilst dealing with her diagnosis.

However, being a psychological thriller we know all is NOT what it seems. Expect twists, turns, surprises and red-herrings. Expect to think you know exactly what’s happening only to realise by the next chapter you have been led merrily down the wrong road.

There is no doubt that Barbara Copperthwaite can write a twisty, twister of a thriller, in fact I think she could re-write my chinese takeaway menu and leave me thinking the butler did it. Another clever but dark psychological thriller – highly recommended.

A book of two halves for me. I found the first 40% to be quite slow and drawn out, well quite suspenseful it seemed to be quite drawn out. I wasn’t sure whether to continue, but I was intrigued to find out who was telling the truth.

The second half, wow. I didn’t see that coming! Thanks for arc.

The Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite is a psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the end. It is about Alex and Carrie who become the best of friends after meeting at a support group. Alex is anorexic and a liar which she admits. Carrie is suffering from terminal cancer. This book is full of secrets, lies and even more secrets. Very good!

Barbara Copperthwaite has done it again! She once again delivered a great tense novel full of twists and turns. I could not wait to continue reading it when I had to put it down.

The story flows very naturally and the characters are great and come alive!

This is a gripping, heart-breaking story of the life-changing consequences of physical, mental, and psychological abuse. Such manipulation leads the victim to constantly watch for any subtle tells and warning signs that oftentimes lead to sudden, violent outbursts and to adapt self-preservation tricks to calm the abuser. I highly recommend this very profound, unforgettable, thought-provoking read.

Read all my reviews at: https://brainfartsandbooks.wordpress.com

Oooh, lies, and deception. Who is telling the truth and who has secrets? EVERYONE!!! This book was told from the point of view of people who are so completely out of touch from reality that I felt like a crazy person just reading it. It was so, so good though! Alex belongs to a group that is meant to help with her anorexia. You see, ever since her husband Owen left her she tends to forget to eat. There is even a point in the book where she orders fried shrimp and thinks she at most of it only to look down and realize she's hardly touched it. What a nutter! Alex means well though (or does she?). She meets her friend, Carrie, in the group and although Alex is old enough to be Carrie's mother, she befriends her and takes care of her. There are some parts of the book that are confusing at first, however, everything comes together in the end. This book was fantastically written with careful details all throughout the storyline. One of those books that was hard to put down!

Thank you to Netgalley, Barbara Copperthwaite, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Regular readers of my little blog will know how much I like author Barbara Copperthwaite. I love how her books all feature such realistic characters, allowing the reader to get right into the story and feel it along with the characters. It keeps the reader emotionally invested in the story and desperate to find out what will happen.

Alex is a funny character, we know that she has anorexia and she sees a counsellor regularly, as well as having checks and weigh ins. We know that her husband divorced her and that her children barely speak to her, but we don’t know why. And we know that Alex goes to a support group, and that is where she meets Carrie.

Carrie is younger than Alex but they quickly become good friends, although Alex can’t help but feel maternal towards Carrie. When Carrie gets some bad news Alex is determined that she will be there to support Carrie and takes on a real responsibility, but will this prove to be too much for the fragile Alex.

And what is Alex hiding? We know that her counsellor wants her to talk about something, something that Alex refuses to discuss. What is she hiding? And is she the only one hiding something?

The Perfect Friend is a clever novel, even the twists have twists which I love in a book. It’s a clever concept and I really enjoyed reading The perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite. Now I will wait for her to write another book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. Thank you to the Author, the Publisher and to Netgalley. This is the first book from Barbara Copperthwaite that I have read, and I will definitely add her other books to my to read list. I really enjoyed this book, definitely fits in the category of a psychological thriller, there were so many twists, as soon as you think that you know what is going to happen, another twist. I would definitely recommend this book to friends. I would give this book a 4.5 rating.

Definitely a book that stays with you! Could not put it down!

Highly recommended if you enjoy suspense genre! Thank you for my review copy, which I received through Net Galley.

Just when you think she can't get any better, Barbara does it again!
The Perfect Friend kept me on the edge of my seat and I was amazed with the rollercoaster ride it took me on!
How well do we really know our friends?

I do love this author’s books so when I saw that she was releasing this new one I did a little happy dance and couldn’t wait to get stuck in to what I knew would be a thrilling read based on her previous books!

Well I can honestly say I was taken through such a wide range of emotions reading this one, at one point I sat with tears rolling down my cheeks and it is very rare for me to cry when reading a book!
Alex and Carrie are brilliant characters, each has a hidden muddy background that they are keeping secret and hidden away from their best friend. Their personalities work so well together it made the book a gripping read, I was turning the pages and trying to guess what was going to happen next – brilliant.

It was a well written, well planned out psychological thriller and it had some amazing twists that I certainly didn’t see coming!! Definitely 5 stars from me, just go out and grab or download a copy now – I loved it!! Simply superb

The Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite is a brilliant, twisty, well-written psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first to the last page. I love how the story began. At first, readers are introduced to Alex and Carrie, two women who meet in a support group. I kept wondering where the story was going. Having read Barbara’s previous title, I knew that a storm was brewing but I couldn’t guess what was going to happen.

Two close friends supporting each other, what could possibly go wrong?

The story is narrated through two main POVs and timelines. Through the chapters, readers get to know the two women and their secrets. There are chapters that cover past events, making it easier to understand the present occurrences and the MCs. Some of the chapters were dark and hard to read. Others were quite emotional.

This is a story about friendship, lies and secrets. The perfect concoction for an addictive, psychological thriller. I loved how the story unfolded, layer by layer. The twists were coming in faster that I could say, OMG! They were sprinkled in throughout the narrative, subtly thrown in, each one more surprising than the last one.What I enjoyed the most was the fact that the two women had so many secrets and were unreliable narrators. I had fun trying to guess where the story was going and who the baddie was.

This was certainly an enjoyable read. Definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

Oh my! What a great book. I definitely did not expect that twist at the end! I yelled out loud, "holy crap, no way!" (My husband was not amused.) A must read!

From the outside, Carrie and Alex's relationship seems healthy: two survivors who found each other at a support group for people suffering from all kinds of afflictions. Carrie, who is 24 years old, is in remission from a cancer that completely ravaged her body. Alex, who was abandoned by her twins and husband, is recovering from anorexia: a disease that started as a way to cope with the depression and sadness of being neglected by her family.

Both Alex and Carrie have more in common than they realize: they are both liars and are concealing secrets from each other and their support group. The secrets start to unravel as soon as Carrie's cancer comes back, which draws Alex into Carrie's life even further.

Threatening notes are left on Carrie's doorstep, which Alex intercepts thinking they are associated with the lies she has been telling Carrie about her past. Then Carrie's cat disappears and her car windows are smashed, suggesting that whoever is after either Alex or Carrie is intensifying their behavior. Alex begins to fear that whoever is targeting her or Carrie is going to harm them, so she starts digging deeper into Carrie's past. She finds that Carrie may have a darker past than herself, one that is coming back to haunt the both of them.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and how secrets were slowly unraveled chapter by chapter. This helps keep tension throughout the book, which made me want to keep turning the pages. I thought both of the characters were well-developed, and, as someone who has struggled with eating issues, I also felt that the representation of anorexia was accurate and absolutely heartbreaking. If you like a simmering, well-written mystery, this book should definitely be on your shelf!

Thank you to the author, Barbara Copperthwaite, the publisher, Bookouture, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Perfect Friend.

Barbara Copperthwaite is one of my go-to authors so I couldn't wait to start reading The Perfect Friend. Well once I started it I couldn't put it down, infact I don't think I read it, it was more like I inhaled it!!

Alex and Carrie meet at a support group and despite their age difference, they are drawn to each other. Both ladies have their problems, Alex's husband has left her, her children won't speak to her and as a result she's suffering from anorexia, while Carrie is battling cancer.

Alex soon takes Carrie under her wing and they quickly form a close relationship, so when Carrie starts to receive threatening notes and parcels Alex hides them from her to try and protect her while she tries to discover for herself who could possibly have a grudge against a woman who is clearly suffering enough having to try to come to terms with terminal cancer.

The thing is though, both of these women have dark secrets that they are hiding from each other!

The Perfect Friend is a fantastic example of a well constructed and wonderfully written psychological thriller. It was so full of twists and turns that on more than on occasion I was convinced I knew who was telling the truth and who to trust, only to turn a few pages to find that Ms Copperthwaite had slickly and successfully pulled the proverbial wool over my eyes!

Watching these two women try to outwit each other made for compelling reading in this character driven novel. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I liked Alex and Carrie and I was constantly switching loyalties between the pair but all that mattered was that I get to the end of the book to discover the truth.

This is another stunning book from Ms Copperthwaite and one that will definitely make you think twice about your friends!!