I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Three lifelong friends raise their children together. One night, when their high school aged sons were together, a tragedy occurs. Secrets are exposed, lives are turned upside down, and each woman faces a permanent change and loss.

I finished this book in two days because I couldn't put it down. The mystery was baffling enough that it kept me going to the end. The book has a few issues. Namely, the three narrators have very similar voices, so it took me forever to get all the names and families straight. What distinguishes them isn't their voice but their relationships and family dynamics, which I think is a low point in the writing. The book is easy-to-read but not poorly written, so it was enjoyable to get through.

The author's biggest strength is in using her knowledge of childhood trauma to create young characters that have realistic reactions and behave in realistic ways. The family dynamics, too, don't feel made up, they feel like they were drawn from real life. The adult reactions to traumatic life events also felt believable. Nothing seemed overdramatic or wildly made up.

The Best of Friends could simply have done with a bit of tweaking to make each narrator's voice distinct. Unfortunately, we get a series of chapters where one character is hardly indistinguishable from the other. It doesn't ruin the story entirely, though. It just would have made for a richer narrative if each of the women was a distinct person. We are told that they are different, but I wanted more showing than telling.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, regardless!

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE BEST OF FRIENDS by Lucinda Berry in exchange for my honest review.***

Three lifelong best friends grow up, move to the same neighborhood and have teenage sons who become the best of friends. Then one night two shots change everything. One boy dies. Another lays brain dead in a coma. The other, unharmed but cannot speak.

THE BEST OF FRIENDS grabbed me in the prologue and still hasn’t let go. Lucinda Berry is a favorite of mine. Her storytelling is filled with heart, compelling characters and intriguing plots.

Told from the points of view of the women, Kendra, Dani and Lindsey, each harbors secrets. Each lies. Each loves fiercely. Each marriage is troubled. Each mother doesn’t see her son as clearly as she thinks.

THE BEST OF FRIENDS is part mystery, part women’s fiction and all worthwhile reading.

Three childhood friends find themselves at a crossroads when their three teenage sons are involved in a shooting. One son is dead, one son is on life support, and one son isn't talking. Was it an accident? Murder? Revenge? What happened that fateful night? And will the events of that night and the consequences from it ruin the bonds of friendship forever?

The story of The Best of Friends is a good one. I liked how the author had the story progress, and I liked the ending. The writing however needs a lot more development. The author never really advances the characters and I never really felt a connection with any of them. The writing describing the parents of the son who died is strange and the tragedy of losing a child isn't really felt while reading this book. Overall, while the story is a good one, more time needs to be spent on reworking a lot of the writing before this book goes to print.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucinda Berry, and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

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

Also thank you to Lucinda Berry for writing yet another gripping novel.

The Best of Friends follows the story of three female friends who have grown up, and whose sons are tight-knit friends. However, tragedy strikes, leaving one boy dead, another comatose, and a third traumatized. While it seems like a teenage accident, signs suggest that there may be more to the story than that. The Best of Friends has you flying through the pages trying to find answers, just like the characters in the novel.

This story is gripping and a page turner from beginning to end. Overall, this book was a fast read with unique characters that kept me intrigued the whole way. Lucinda Berry does it yet again!

I recommend this book for anyone looking for a fast-paced read!
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this book. I was continuously engaged and curious about the incident. Throughout the story bits of information came to light that kept me interested. I did feel that the last twist in the epilogue was more exciting than finding out what happened during the actual incident.

The Best of Friends is about crisis and trauma. Three friends have their lives shattered when shots ringing out one night. All three have sons involved in the incident. It takes days for the truth to emerge. In the interrrum accusations fly, marriages are tested and ugly facts emerge. I didn't foresee some of the twists the plot had and it enriched the story. After you read this one you won't be able to not ask yourself, how Well do you know people, especially when. Adversity visits.

An open ended mystery that involves three lifelong best friends and mothers of three boys involved in the tragedy. I will not spoil the plot or the ending. This book did hold my attention and I believe the author made a very real try to explore the parent /parent and parent and child relationship.

I did feel like the 3 points of view that the book was told from contributed to the disjointed and sometimes perplexing story. I had to reread to remember the character of the POV author. I also felt like there were small tidbits of past information, eating disorder, conflict of main characters, drinking problems and others that were never explained or resolved.

Overall, this book did hold my attention and I stayed with it until the end to find out the actual events. I would read another book by this author but did one was not my favorite.

Thanks to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

A really fast paced novel about 3 women and their children. A tragedy starts the book off and it keeps up the pace. I like the women. I like the story and I like the writing style. 5/5. Absolutely brilliant book.

The best of friends, wow! One of the best reads in along time. I think I found a new author with Lucinda Berry, I went back and found some of her earlier books that are so far amazing. Lucinda Berry is a Dr of Childhood Trauma Psychology so she gets great real life experiences and puts it to good use.

The best of friends has great story between three best friends who had boys that were best friends.. This is a great book to read in a few settings. I unfortunately don’t have a lot of time in the day to just read. I found it best to write a card with each families members so I could remind myself who is who as the book jumps around the three families. It’s one of those books you can’t wait to get to the end for the answers but sad when you do cause it’s done,

This is a hard one to review and not because it wasn't great - because it WAS. But rather because it is a heavy read full of sadness and heartache. The subject matter could be very difficult for some readers, especially those with teenage children suffering major trauma (including death). An overall great read and one I would recommend.

First, let me thank netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for an early release of this book. All reviews of my netgalley books can be found on goodreads and youtube. Please be sure to check out the links attached.

This is a fantastic book! It was so intriguing, suspenseful and heartbreaking. It has several perspectives which really tells the story in-depth. It was impossible to put down!

Lucinda Berry is an absolute winner, again! I have read her other books and always wait for the next one.

This read grabs you from the first page. Three teenage boys. Three very different families....

A loud BOOM - surely not fireworks - is heard by Kendra and Paul. This, as they sit lounging - watching TV.

After that, three families lives will never be the same...

To avoid spoilers, I don't want to elaborate any further.

This is a MUST READ!!! A thriller with lots of suspense....

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Many Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a delight of a story!

#TheBestofFriends #NetGalley
A heartbreaking intense story, it's like every worst case scenario a parent could imagine bundled in the one horrible night the accident happened.
As a mother it was utterly difficult for me to keep reading, reflecting on each one of the mothers' own hell of pain. You can't even imagine which one of them has lost more. And you absolutely don't want to put yourself in their place to figure it out. But you can't help it, can you? Can we keep our kids in a safe bubble and make sure nothing ever harms them? Frighteningly and probably we couldn't. Faced with the unimaginable decision Lindsey had to make, what would any of us God forbid do?! Keep hanging on false hope or releasing your loved one?!
The book discusses a vital issue, living with a narcissist and that the damage caused by emotional abuse is never less serious than physical abuse. Wouldn't a kid like Caleb who was raised by a narcissist violent parent grow up to be violent and hot headed himself?
There are some story lines that was scattered along but didn't really have proper follow up, maybe less significant compared to the heaviness of the accident.
A page turner engaging story, but in my opinion the build up and the story itself was way much stronger than the ending. And I will fetch her other work indeed.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and Lucinda Berry for providing a free copy to review.

As it’s my first book by the author I didn’t know what to expect but the blurb surely got my full attention and needs to read this story asap.
It’s heartbreaking and really edgy, it touches so many topics from friendship to families to how we perceive life and how some people actually live theirs.
Grief and the need for justice and truth have three mothers trying to find out what really happened in that tragical night when one of them lost her son and the others aren’t going to have a normal life either.
I must admit that I was hooked from the beginning and it felt real to the point of bringing tears in my eyes and making me more aware that I have a teenage son and what’s to come in his life.
Unknown secrets are unveiled and although I felt like parts of this story were predictable, some were very unexpected and I can’t recommend it enough.

4.5 stars

THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A THRILLER. I knew Lucinda Berry wouldn't disappoint. I love that she has a background in psychology - this serves her very well with plot and character development. I loved everything about this. I made the mistake of starting it way too late at night, thinking I'd just read the first chapter. Nope.... I had to devour it ALL. Lucinda Berry is the Stephen King of this generation... only better. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

This book is just as promised. I was hooked from the beginning. I read this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. This is the first book I have read from this author and I loved it. If you have kids you will start wondering if there are things about them that you don't know.

"THE BEST OF FRIENDS" by Lucinda Berry, 3 / 5 ⭐

Content warning (ie: possible spoilers): gun violence, drug and alcohol abuse, infidelity, suicide, emotional/physical/mental abuse, same-sex relationships.

This book surprised me, honestly, by managing to capture my attention amidst a personal reading rut.
It hit me right in the feels as a mom to three boys. I was gut-punched multiple times and I identified with the big emotions that were happening throughout the story. Within these pages is one of a parent's worst nightmares played out in gritty detail. But it was also a quick and mostly enjoyable read if your expectations aren't set very high.

"The Best of Friends" starts out strong with a prologue and first chapter that draws you in and feeds your curiosity while simultaneously filling your head with more questions. But be warned: this book is a slow burn within this somehow quick little read. I wouldn't catagorize it as a thriller like I've seen it called a couple of different times now. It's definitely more of a foggy mystery (you're given most of the information, you're just following along to fill in the pieces) or attempted suspense. The style reminded me a lot of Lianne Moriarty (Big Little Lies, Husbands Secret, etc.) and had the same "every character is highly unlikable but interesting enough to keep reading" feel to it. But unlike Moriarty, Berry's writing is simplistic and I felt like it lacked a lot of nuance and polishing in the storyline, characters and (albeit minor) details within.

While narrated in the alternating points of view of the three women, Lindsey, Dani and Kendra, I found myself increasingly disappointed in the lack of character distinction. It was frustratingly confusing to follow the non-differentiation of the character's voices, chapter after chapter. It was too much work on my part trying to figure out which mom had which kid and was married to what husband throughout the entirety of the book.

I think with a little more character development and voice distinction, and an overall tighter narrative, it would have been an easier and more enjoyable read.

It was ultimately a strong start to a quick read that fell kind of flat at the end. But it really is worth picking up if you're a Lucinda Berry fan or if mystery/suspense is your poison of choice!

**Thank you to Netgalley for the digital ARC of this novel in exchange of my honest review.

Gripping. Tragic. Heartbreaking. A wrenching novel about sudden tragedy and how it affects three families. The strength of the women in this novel compels you to turn each page to find out how they will conquer the unspeakable. This story encompasses every mother’s worst nightmare and serves us all as a reminder of how instantly life can change. A beautiful glimpse into the love of a mother and the depth and strength of true friendship. Definite strong 4 1/2 stars. I expect that this book will remain one of my favorites of the year