Member Reviews

Who is guilty? Who is innocent? Who’s telling the truth? Who’s lying? Will we ever know? Do we ever know? That’s what this book asks the reader. Do we know the people we love?

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aren, Alex and Misty were inseparable during their university days. Years later, when a terror attack hits London, Karen is watching the news when she sees her old friend Alex in among the chaos. But the strange thing is Karen believed Alex died years ago. She soon becomes obsessed and secrets long forgotten come back to haunt them.

This held my attention and was a good read.

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Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book was a struggle to get through. I debated several times about just DNF it. It’s marked as a thriller but I wouldn’t say it is, it’s more in the area of chick lit. Felt like the blurb painted a different story than the actual story did.
If you want a more traditional thriller I would seriously recommend skipping this book

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This book kept my attention the entire time which is a marvelous feat because I tend to drift off or get distracted sometimes when reading. I'm not sure in which genre I would place this book, but I don't feel strongly about it being a psychological thriller or suspense. One thing that bothered me was the overemphasis on anorexia. I think it was important to include, but maybe not so much emphasis was needed.

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I wanted to read this new novel by this author after really enjoying her debut and I was not disappointed.

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing me this advanced digital copy.

Very good book. Definitely a page turner..Highly recommend.

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Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author to allow me to get a free copy of this book for review. This story of 3 friends and their secrets and revelations was very entertaining. I like a book that shocks me. My favorite part of this story was the epilogue. Super shocking, unexpected twist. I enjoyed it.

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Sadly I’m a little disappointed. I thought this was a thriller and while it has a little mystery it focuses more on eating disorder, Maybe I would have enjoyed it more knowing this going in, Still well written and researched. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

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I’m afraid I didn’t like this book at all. I hate doing bad reviews but, this one just didn’t grab me as I thought it would.
The reviews on it were mixed and a lot of reviewers found it concentrated too much on the anorexia of one of the girls in the story. Although, these issues are out there I do agree that at times it was a little bit too much and spoiled the story.
Also, the ebook version that I was sent had some many typo mistakes in the text that it actually spoiled my reading of it.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers Avon books for sending me this ebook in return for an honest review.

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The book isn't what I expected but it was an excellent read. How long does a true friendship last. For an author I have never read before I am surprised that I finished book as quick as I did once I started it. Kudos for tackling a subject that isn't talked about much.

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This book had me hooked from the very beginning. It’s an emotionally complex story about family relationships and triggering.
Whilst watching a breaking news story of a suspected terror attack where a bomb has gone off on a tube train, Karen can’t believe her eyes when she sees a woman on the screen that bears the most remarkable resemblance to her best friend Alex. But Alex has been dead for 30 years, so there’s something really wrong about it.
We go back and forth with present and past and collide in such a twisted mystery and grief. The characters are developed nicely and the story is a ride!

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This book was a great read. with characters you could really connect to. The writing just flowed. A lot of drama has been thrown into it. It was a very engaging story. I will definitely be looking for more books of Joannes to read. Having a friend go through anorexia nervosa , I could really relate to the storyline.

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The Guilty Friend by Joanne Sefton was not what I was expecting and I found it hard to get into in the beginning as slow paced but it eventually hooked me into wanting to know how it ends. I have given it 3 stars only because I thought it was going to be more thriller, and it is more chic lit and what anorexia can do to a family etc., but it did end up being an interesting read.

One of them is dead. One of them is lying.
Alex, Karen and Misty were an inseparable trio at university. But when Alex died suddenly, the remaining two friends could no longer look each other in the eye, knowing they both had a part to play in her death.

Thirty years later, Misty and Karen have long since moved on with their lives. But when Karen thinks she sees her former friend alive, she soon becomes obsessed with a past she thought she’d left behind.

Before long, the perfect life she’s built for herself starts to unravel, and it seems as though history might just be repeating itself…

Can Karen keep her secrets hidden whilst her guilt threatens to tear her innocent family apart?

The story is told in three points of view that of Karen, Misty and Karen's daughter Tasha. The characters are relatable, with family relationships, friends and secrets intertwined. I found it to be emotionally gripping, especially the elements related to Karen's daughter's eating disorder and how it affected her in all aspects of her life.

The main villain of this story seems to be anorexia itself, after Karen already saw Alex succumb to this disorder and now it seems like her daughter may be following the same path. The author handles the subject with compassion and must of done lots of research into the disease. With that said the epilogue has left me ...

I requested and received an Advance Readers Copy from Avon Books UK and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

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This book wasn’t at all what I expected.

Centred around 3 friends who were inseparable at Uni, told in the present day & during their time at Cambridge.
Alex died suddenly from complications of a eating disorder but when Karen spots what looks like Alex running from a failed terror attack she questions everything.

This gives the impression that people aren’t what they seem, and since neither of them actually saw a body you question wether she really died, and why if she is alive you would fake your own death.

The characters are relatable, this is a twisty suspense novel, with family relationships, friends & Secrets intertwined.

The main villain of this is anorexia, after Karen already saw Alex succumb to this disorder & now it seems like her daughter may be following the same path.

Thank you to Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

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I really enjoyed this book. Once I got into it, I had a hard time setting it down. Full of chills, thrills, suspense, and shocks! A must read for my fellow psychological thriller fans!
I’ll make sure to recommend in the pub.

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This book was utterly compelling; I couldn't put it down. I kept finding excuses to sneak off and read it whenever I could! Joanne's writing is superb; her characters nuanced and real, the illness terrorising her characters as terrifying as any flesh and blood villain. I can't wait to read more from Joanne. Five stars!

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I enjoyed reading 'The Guilty Friend' despite it being a different type of book than I had imagined.

Misty, Karen and Alex are thrown together at university and build an incredibly close bond but heartache, eating disorders and affairs throw this world into disarray. Years later Karen and Misty find that their worlds are thrown upside down again when history seems to be repeating itself and anorexia nervosa has Karen's daughter well and truly in its grips.

I loved being able to read between the different points of view but I absolutely despised Karen! Misty was a much more likeable character.

The book was gripping, particularly the elements related to Karen's daughter's eating disorder and how it affected her in all aspects of her life.

What really got me was the ending of the book! Oh my word! A complete shocker. A book that can shock me at the very end truly is something special.

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Well written, well researched novel. I was expecting more of a thriller, but it was still interesting enough to keep me turning the pages.

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I was very intrigued and enjoyed the story throughout the whole book. However, I felt that the description of the book suggested that it was a thriller. While there was mystery involved, it focused primarily on eating disorders. I appreciated that author’s note at the end but felt that a disclaimer/trigger warning should have been included at the beginning of the book since there were very descriptive passages relating to eating disorders.

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This book is filled with great characters.
This book is extremely well written and it’s obvious that the author has done a lot of research.
Not what I was expecting but this book hooked me from the beginning
A great book

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