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.

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

What a brilliant read. This held me captive from beginning to end! Its a dark tale of friendship, loyalty and hidden lies. Thoroughly engaging. The characters are strong and believable. Will definitely be looking at Lucinda Berry's other books. Absolutely deserves the 5 stars and highly recommended.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley.

Three best friends, two gun shots and a whole lot of lies.

Dani, Kendra and Lindsey have been best friends for years. Sadly they become a part of every parents worst nightmare and a tragic accident leaves one their teenage boys dead, another in a coma and one that is so traumatised he cannot speak.

Their boys Sawyer, Jacob and Caleb are all best friends and have been since birth. They took turns at sleepover and grew up together. How did they happen?

Three mothers, each broken in different ways want to find answers, but uncovering the truth unravels a series of lies and has them questioning their friendships.

Lies, secret relationships, domestic violence and jealousy all lead to uncovering the truth. The perfect family isn’t always happy on the inside.

Thank you NetGalley for this gem. I really enjoyed the twists and turns. The last part really got me!

Such a great book! This is the first I am reading from the author. This book is a sad and intense story of three families that are best friends and a tragedy when their sons have a horrible accident. One lives, one is in a coma and one dies.

Slowly secrets from the families come out. Overall, it was very easy for me to follow as each chapter switched to one of the mothers. I did not see the ending coming, though some of my hunches were correct.

When three best friends have three sons, of course the boys grow up to become best friends. Until one night a terrible accident occurs leaving one boy dead, one comatose and one too traumatized to speak. The three mothers dig deep to discover what happened that night, and how well do the ones closest to them.

This book was WOW! From the beginning, I felt like I was peeking in the curtains of three families houses and learning their deepest secrets. I felt so invested in these characters and truly did not know how this book was going to end. Each chapter was seeped in emotion and suspense that made it difficult to put down. I’d highly suggest this book to anyone looking for a good psychological thiller.

2 stars DNF. I couldn’t finish this one. The basis of the storyline was good but there was just too much going on all at once with too many characters thrown in right from the start. I also
felt the characters were unlikable. I felt bad for not finishing but this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Other reviews I’ve made can be found on Goodreads and Instagram under the following user names:
*Goodreads - Cherihy808
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808