Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer Publishing for the review copy of this book. Three boys get together, but the night ends in tragedy. Their mothers, (Kendra, Dani, and Lindsey) who have been best friends since their high school days, are left reeling in the aftermath that left one dead, one in a coma, and one in silent shock. Together, the mothers deal with the police investigation into the worst night of their lives, and insane secrets begin to emerge.

The premise of this book was very intriguing. It was very suspenseful, and I wanted to keep reading the whole time. The chapters, switching point of view between Kendra, Dani, and Lindsey, are short and usually end on a cliffhanger. Each family involved has two or three children, and it was a bit difficult to keep it straight at first. However, as I continued, it was easier to keep track of the families and secrets. Overall, I enjoyed my reading experience. If you are someone that needs to have likable characters, you may have trouble with this book. Most of the characters have secrets and I found it very difficult to root for any of them to be happy. This includes the husbands and other children in each family.

This was a hard book to read due to the subject matter. Three friends grew up together, married and are now raising their kids together. The sons of these friends are now best friends themselves. After a terrible incident involving all three boys these families lives are turned upside down. The author does a fabulous job making the reader feel the pain and horrible suffering these parents endure. Lucinda Berry brings her words to life in evening she writes.. It's get five stars from me!

4.5 ⭐️‘S
Kendra, Dani and Lindsey have been best friends since childhood. They have since grown up, married and had children. They live in the same neighborhood and now their sons are best friends. When tragedy strikes, their friendship is stretched to its maximum capacity, but will it survive? Relationships and marriages are threatened and nothing will ever be the same again. With heartbreaking circumstances that no parent should ever have to go through, this book was emotionally driven and extremely hard to put down. A story of friendship, motherhood and grief, this book was told in three voices as each women tries to come to grips with what happened that night. While it was a heart wrenching story, Berry’s writing has us utterly glued to the pages.

The book begins with a life altering tragedy with the three lifelong friends plunged deep into grief. With each of them grappling with their own grief we see them slowly limp back into each other’s arm. The circumstances pitt them against each other, makes them doubt each other.

As they resolve to keep their friendship intact and come out of the tragedy, old complaints come to the fore. The book has an underlying mystery that runs through the entire book, and might keep you glued to finish.

However, the story has more elements of a drama that explores the strengths and weakness of friendship, marriage, handling teenage kids, and the impact of grief.

For a die hard Mystery & Thriller fan, this can be a slow read with very little thrill. Although the mystery unravels and keeps surfacing with new clues, the drama overwhelms that aspect and the slow pace will discourage readers who like to get their pulse racing.

Overall, if you like a slow, simmering mystery that explores human emotions that bind and tear apart families, The Best of Friends by Dr. Licinda Berry captures those emotions very well.

When I initially heard of this one, it reminded me of the book, When We Were Worthy, which is a book I loved. This book wastes no time getting right into the story, which I always appreciate, but I did have a hard time keeping the main characters names straight for the first half of the book. I was able to follow the story, even without fully knowing their names, as their viewpoints and stories are all very different. This book was dramatic and intense, and reminds the reader that even the most perfect lives can be forever changed in the blink of an eye. For the majority of the book the characters are trying to unravel what happened to cause the tragic incident involving their sons. I did like the direction that the story went with the sons, and it is not something that I had guessed.

This book will be available on Kindle Unlimited on 08/18/20. I would recommend this one to mystery lovers, drama lovers, and Lucinda Berry fans. This is my first from her, but I will be reading more of her books in the future.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was an excellent, even if hard to read at times due to subject matter. It's a story of three women whose friendship has been unbreakable since they were young girls. They're all married with children and they each have a son in high school who seem to be just as close as the women were. Everything is perfect. Until it's not. The book grabs you from the start when tragedy strikes and then slowly weaves its way through each woman's perspective of the tragedy and reveals secrets some long held, some new and shocking about each of them. I think this book is an important one for sure for anyone to read. We can't shy from reading about subjects that "upset" us and pretend like they don't happen. That said, if it's something you personally have lived through and know more than needed about their are a few trigger warnings here, namely domestic abuse, death of a child, end of life care, and gun violence (though the last in actual description is very minimal). I would recommend this book to anyone. It's a great story, and it's real. I appreciate the author doesn't ever shy away from the real details of difficult topics.

I was hooked the moment I started reading The Best of Friends. The book begins on a quiet evening that quickly turns into a nightmare for three families. The families have been close friends forever, but the events of this evening quickly threaten that as the families begin to navigate some unimaginable and unexpected events. Secrets are brought to light and people make choices that they might never have if the events didn't occur.

The book moved very quickly and I was hooked by each of the women's stories. Though they have been friends since they were children, the women all harbor secrets, and I enjoyed seeing how each character dealt with their own individual situations. I cared about the characters. I wanted things to end well for all of them.

There were a few plots twists. Some I guessed as I read, but one major one at the end I did not see coming!

I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Best of Friends, eh? With friends like the three women in this novel, who needs enemies?

This was a tough one for me to rate. While I enjoyed the premise and was kept mostly entertained, the overall feel of the book was a little sloppy.

I agree with some other reviewers who mentioned the voices of the three main characters, Kendra, Lindsay, and Dani, were virtually indistinguishable. Though the women grew up together and claimed to be lifelong best friends, their relationships remained very superficial. They were, in fact, often cruel, catty, and vindictive...one of the many reasons I didn't particularly enjoy, or root for, any of them.

My biggest gripe, however, were story lines, brought in for shock value, which went absolutely nowhere. We were led to believe one of the women had a substance abuse problem, another an eating disorder, and apparently, there was some big life-altering crisis their junior year of high school...yet none of these issues were ever developed or explained. And why was the cop made out to be some sneaky dude with an agenda? Yet another story line which seemed to just up and disappear.

The conclusion? Underwhelming and predictable.
The epilogue? Dorky.

My overall feeling about The Best of Friends is one of disappointment, as the writing felt somewhat elementary. It's odd, because I know and love Lucinda Berry's work, and this simply didn't live up to the sheer talent I've read in her other stories. However, if you're looking for something quick and entertaining...and you don't mind gaping plot holes or limited character depth, this is a good choice.

Available for purchase August 18, 2020.

My sincere appreciation to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my review copy.

This book centers around three women, Kedra, Dani, and Lindsey, who have been friends since childhood and their three teenage boys. One night, a tragic accident leaves one boy dead, another in a coma, and one too traumatized to speak.

Told from the point of view of the three grieving mothers, this story had me hooked from the beginning, wanting to figure out what happened that night. However, there are many characters who are introduced early on that I had a hard time keeping straight. It may just be me, but I kept having to go back and check which son belong with which mother, and which siblings belong to which family which took me out of the story. Furthermore the voices of the three mothers were not very distinct, so when reading each chapter it wasn't always clear which voice was narrating. Overall, this was a compelling story that was good, just not great.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

•I’ve received this ARC from NetGalley. In this review all thoughts and opinions are my own. •

As soon as I read the plot I knew that I had to request the book!
It’s a nice thriller with a unique concept and well written. On the negative side, the characters were quite unrealistic and I couldn’t connect with them.

In a popular kids movie from a few years ago, the main character referred to himself as having layers, "like an onion." His companion stated that parfaits have layers and "everyone loves parfaits!" This story has lots and lots of layers. If you want to compare them to the layers of a parfait, imagine it with no sugar. While they aren't onion layers (you might tear up a bit), they are at least bittersweet! Every layer makes you cringe a bit, shake your head, and emit a little "ooh" sound. But, because it is a freakin' parfait, you keep eating it! Slowly but surely all those layers are revealed leaving relationships bare, exposing secrets, and surprising people who thought they knew each other best. Just a darn good book!

Dani, Lindsey and Kendra had been best friends since childhood and continued to carry on with their friendship through adulthood and even after they got married. Their teenage sons, Caleb, Jacob and Sawyer also continued with this tradition of friendship as well. However one traumatic night changes the entire lives of those mothers--one was shot dead, one fell into comatose and one was too traumatized to talk about what really happened that night. Each of them are struggling with this traumatic event, how they are dealing with the situation and eventually, secrets of what happened that night soon comes into the light...

I really like the pace of the story. The writing style was great and the author did a good job keeping the reader into the story. The situation at which these characters in the book are facing is really realistic--the emotions that a mother is going through when her son is dead, or worse being in coma for weeks seems real to me. The drugs, sex and all the things that teenagers nowadays do are realistic so the author did a good job outlining them in a realistic way. The story is told from the perspectives of the three mothers--Kendra, Lindsey and Dani so we know what each of them are going through with this terrible event, the emotions and sufferings they are faced with, the thought of their sons keeping a secret, the anger, the shame, all those feelings that each of the characters are feeling so the reader would get to know about each of the characters. It was also heartbreaking to read as well and how this event could also lead to a catastrophe in both their married life as well.

This is the first book I have read from this author so I was not disappointed at all. This book is a roller coaster ride, filled with emotions, friendships, trust issues and a heartbreaking story that will keep you hooked into the story.

The lives of three high school boys, best friends since preschool, are forever changed in one night. One is dead, one is in a coma, and one is too traumatized to talk about what happened. Their mothers, who have also been best friends since childhood, are left to pick up the pieces and deal with the aftermath together and with their respective families. As the truth of what happened slowly emerges, the three women are forced to confront ugly secrets they and their families have been keeping.

This is the second Lucinda Berry book I've read (Phantom Limb was the first) and once again I was blown away by her writing and masterful storytelling. Her background as a trauma psychologist lends itself well to her work and helps her create characters that feel like real people. Each character is well developed to the point that I actually care about what is happening to him or her. As with Phantom Limb, I was completely immersed in the story and probably could have finished it even more quickly than I did if I had been able to read it without any interruptions.

While I wouldn't consider this a "thriller" as described in publicity -- I consider it more of a domestic drama/mystery -- The Best of Friends is certainly difficult to put down.

The Best of Friends follows the aftermath of a shooting that connects three women who have been best friends forever and their three teenage boys who have grown up together.

This book didn't grip me because I wasn't that invested in the characters. However what I did appreciate is the exploration of how far friendships will go during the most testing of times, boundaries that can be crossed and the history that binds people to each other.

Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

Many Thanks to Net Galley, Thomas and Mercer and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

#TheBestOfFriends#NetGalley

An absolutely absorbing, emotional and gut-wrenching story of friendship and jealousy and human psyche, The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry has two pairs of friendship that is being explored. Dani, Lindsay and Kendra have been friends from elementary school, have continued to live close together, marry and have children and luckily for them, their eldest 3 sons, Caleb, Jacob and Sawyer also share the same deep abiding friendship.

Football heroes, they tend to party hard and a night of gaming sleepover ends with a gun fired twice, one of them dead, another with a traumatic brain injury and the third going mute suffering from the shock of it all. The aftermath of this incident drive forth the cracks in the lives of the 3 women as truths begin to emerge out of hidden crevices. Marital abuse, emotional affair, drinks and drugs, heart-breaking grief, motherhood; so much gets discussed as the reader is taken on an emotional journey thru’ the POV’s of Kendra, Lindsay and Dani.

The author has the exemplary ability in providing the different facets of human life and bringing to the focus that no one is perfect and that there are secrets hidden in each individual that no matter how much one believes in knowing the other, there could still be things that you may never know. The 3 women, their husbands, all the children, even Detective Locke; is fleshed out so well that all these characters become real in a reader’s mind. The scenes in the hospital, the unbearable torment as a mother, the subtle abuse being borne, there’s no 2 ways about it, this book does make your heart bleed.

The Best Of Friends is definitely not a pulse pounding thriller; but the final twist in the tale left me open-mouthed, WOW, never expected a whiff of that anywhere in the book.

Poignant!

This review will be published in my blog, https://rainnbooks.com/ ; Amazon India, Goodreads and Twitter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of The Best of Friends by Lucinda Berry.

Lindsey, Dani, and Kendra are best friends. Their sons Caleb, Jacob and Sawyer are also best friends. Everyone is hiding a secret. When the boys get into an argument after a night out and find a gun, one will die, one is left in a coma and the other will have severe PTSD and be unable to speak. What happened that tragic night? Who pulled the trigger? All of their lives will be turned upside down and changed forever in an instant.

I enjoyed the fast pace of this book and easily read it in three days. However, I had a difficult time distinguishing the characters from each other and think they could have been further developed. I had to write down who belonged to who in order to figure it out. I enjoyed the secrets and twists and turns that were taken throughout the plot, but some were obvious and others just ridiculous. I appreciate that tough subject matters are raised such as teen homosexuality, domestic abuse, and gun safety. Unfortunately, the ending winds up somewhat contrived and loose ends are tied up too neatly.

3.5/5 stars

Oh my goodness. This book kicked me in ALL of the feels. I can't even begin to imagine what I would do in this situation. Each character broke my heart just a little bit more. This is my first book by Lucinda Berry and I really enjoyed it. I sat and read the entire thing in one sitting.

An accidental shooting brings down 3 families at once. 3 teen boys, best of friends... one ends up dead, one is in a coma and the other spent time in the psych ward and hasn't said a word since the shooting. Their moms are all best friends too. And they're all reeling, trying to figure out what happened that night.

By the time they figure out the truth, all of their own secrets have been uncovered and they don't know how to move forward. No matter which way it happened, can they still remain friends?

This story about three friends and their parents which are also friends is an amazing story. The tragedy that occurs threatens to tear each of them apart as they try to find the answers of how everything could have gone so wrong. I could not put this book down. Each chapter is written from each of the mom's point of view. It gives insight and depth to the story. Great story.

This story was so crushing, I can't imagine being any one of the parents in this book. This is a fairly short read, with short chapters, and I loved that about it and I was hooked from page one. Lucinda Berry's writing is crisp and the story is compelling. I started reading this after dinner and was done before bed. The characters are relatable and the plot twists keep you guessing.

What a hidden gem. A friend I trust referred me to this book and I’m so glad she did, it was exactly what I needed to escape the quarantine blues. The suspense keeps building and there are so many twists and turns, and Ms. Berry has crafted complex and fascinating characters here.

The Best of Friends has everything you want from a domestic, psychological thriller: complicated and believable protagonists; interesting and slightly macho high-school sports stars; a fantastic cast of surrounding characters you’re instantly drawn to but weary of; a story-line which keeps you turning pages and a series of twists which I didn’t see coming.

And finally, my very favorite thing about the book is that while on the surface this is a super compelling domestic and psychological thriller, the author also deals with some serious societal issues in a very sensitive way.

An addictive and emotional tale of secrets, lies, grief and loss

3 best friends are plunged into a nightmare scenario after their teenaged sons' sleepover goes wrong,
1 son is dead,
1 son is in a coma,
1 son won't speak.

3 families turn against each other, as they try to find out what an earth happened that night?!

The premise for this was great, it sounded right up my street, and I requested it as soon as I saw it! The prologue was excellent, drawing me in, and hooking me quickly! I could feel the emotion, and was so tense reading it!

Then it all went a bit wrong! The story was told from the three best friends' POV (Lindsey, Kendra and Dani), and it should have been a great way for me to see all of their thoughts and emotions, should have been! the problem was, that the three characters were so similar, that I couldn't tell them or their families apart! Their voices didn't differ at all, and I had to write down the name of each woman, their husband, and their children, and keep referring to it for about the first 30% of the book! That wasn't fun! It was actually really frustrating! Each woman felt like the same character, and none of them felt fully developed. They were also, all fairly unlikeable. They were cruel to each other, and their families, and despite being in such a shit situation, I just couldn't really connect with any of them. I mean, as a parent, this story should have been devastating to me, but it wasn't?! I was invested after it got going, but it wasn't gut wrenching like I thought it would be, and that is 100% down to the way that the characters were written.

Once I got to about 50%, then I admit that the plot became more interesting, the pace did pick up, and the book became a real page turner for me. I wanted to know what happened, and why! There were a few twists, and lots of secrets. I liked the way that Lucinda Berry showed the effect that tragedy had on the three women and their families, how the grief and loss effected all of their relationships! As the story progressed, old rivalries, jealousies and insecurities all came out. These so called perfect families were not all that they seemed, and they were all hiding things!

I was finally enjoying the book, and then came that anticlimactic and unrealistic ending...*sighs* And don't even get me started on that epilogue, I mean come on!!

The Best of Friends was a tragic, heavy and emotional family drama with a bit of a mystery, but it was more about the family dramas. I find it hard to explain my feelings about it, because not much happened, the characters were unlikeable, and yet I couldn't stop turning the pages?! I think, that, had the characters been more developed, and distinctive, then this could've been a really good book, instead of a fairly good book.