So many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for sharing ARC in exchange my honest review and true feelings.

Starting off reading this book, I was intrigued by the plot, and buckled my belt for a nice thriller ride. The plot seemed worthy and I even liked the author's writing style. What got me was that there were SO many characters. We have 3 families with about 4 children each and 1 son from each family are the ones involved in a crisis. I hate to say that as much as I wanted to like this book, I just didn't because with every chapter, I had to force myself to remember who was who, who was married to who, whose son was whose. This got very old very quickly. I almost felt like I had to write it all down and reference back to it with each new chapter, but reading for enjoyment should not be that way. Sadly, I was not able to finish this book because of this one flaw. Otherwise, I was pretty engrossed in the story, but just could not continue due to the confusion with the characters.

Wow. This book was heavy and tedious and absolutely 100% readable. So, while many things are going on in this novel, I felt the main focus on the friendship between 3 mothers: Kendra, Dani and Lindsey after an incident that happened to their children. They are each mothers of high school seniors and we get the perspective of each of them in short chapters throughout the book. I am not a big fan of chapters this short and I would have liked more details in each section, but it did all work out in the long run. The author did an excellent job of unraveling the secrets in a timely manner and also building suspense throughout. I enjoyed how we really got the sense of how we never truly know anyone- not our friends, spouses, children- no one. I enjoyed this and I would read this author again. Thank you for the approval in exchange for my honest review.

Oh! Oh, I was not expecting this. What a tour de force! What a sensation. I stayed up until the middle of the night reading. What a story! This might be the best book I’ve read this year by far. Tragic and beautiful and heartbreaking and completely unputdownable. Each of the characters felt unique and their strengths and weaknesses were oh so human. I was really not expecting a book this good when I ‘picked it up.’ Sensational, simply sensational.

This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well written characters. I would recommend this story to all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucinda Berry, and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Three best friends, who have raised their three boys together from toddlers to teens, have their friendships challenged after a tragic accident involving the boys. Everyone is in shock, but when the shock wears off, questions about who is to blame begin to arise. The parents begin their journey towards healing, but along the way, discover there are things they never knew about their boys, their friends, and even about themselves. This is a tragic story that was a long time coming. Could it have been averted? Could the parents have been more aware and stopped the tragedy? Or, does life just happen? These are questions we would all ask ourselves in this same situation. This story will open the eyes of parents, coaches, and best friends; and maybe another tragedy like this one will not have to happen.

What a dark, mesmerizing book this was.
I read this in one sit down.
Great thriller!
Worth the read Guys

Thank You NetGalley & Publisher for this ARC!

First of all, Lucinda Berry is one of my favorite authors. She always has a way to captivate you right from the start and she’s always super twisted. This is my fifth read from her and it wasn’t my favorite, but that’s okay! I was starting to think this woman was freakishly perfect 😂♥️ I had a hard time keeping the characters straight with who their husbands and kids were. My friend @misty had the same issue and was helpful and sent me a little chart she made! The story was tragic and heartbreaking. I couldn’t imagine going through this as a parent and I’m grateful I don’t have kids 😅 The little twist at the end wasn’t super surprising and I actually guessed that before it was revealed. I really wanted to see it all blow up, but that’s okay 🤣 I would recommend any of her books and she’s great 💕

Oh. My. Gosh. This could easily be one of my top favorite reads of 2020. Three best friends. One is dead. One is in the hospital with an alleged "self-inflicted" gun shot wound but he can't talk because he's comatose. The surviving best friend is too distraught to talk, traumatized by whatever he witnessed. Oh and the mom's of these boys are all best friends as well. Cheating, domestic abuse, and love beyond boundary is rampant. I am going to need a book two after that epilogue cliff hanger.

This book was beautifully written and a heart wrenching story that I loved!!

The story starts with a tragedy, three teenage boys drinking and one gets shot and killed, one looks like he tried to kill himself with a shot in the head, and the last boy is alive but goes mute. The story then goes on with the mother’s view points of the events that will unfold. The whole time you are trying to figure out what really happened that night with their sons but also the lies and secrets of the moms who have been best of friends for years. Pain, grief, anger, all start to set in and make for a beautifully tragic storyline. I figured out quickly what happened that night with the boys but the author threw in another little tidbit that you find out about later within the mother’s storyline that almost brought me to tears. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend anyone and everyone to read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this wonderful arc.

As a mama of a boy, this book absolutely TERRIFIED ME. I want to just keep my little boy tucked tightly under my wing! The roller coaster ride these three moms go through in this book is heart-wrenching, and will truly shatter you. Lucinda Berry does an IMMACULATE job of developing her characters and pulling you in on each and every page!

Wow! Secrets destroy lives! Three best friends have three sons that grow up together as best friends. One night tragedy strikes the group as the one boy is killed, one is gravely injured and the other suffers from a psychotic break. Can Kendra, Dani and Lindsay unravel all the secrets to find out what happened that night? Can the friendships handle the secrets and truth that will be revealed?
I loved this book. It took me longer to read it than I would normally finished the book because I was so affected by the anguish the families were going through. A tough read based on subject matter but a gripping story!

Three lifelong friends suffer through a tragedy which involves their three teenage sons with an open-ended mystery. We've discovered the end result, but we're not sure what happened or wh, if anyone is truly at fault. The only surviving teenager is so shell shocked that he can't even speak about it. We see each family attempting to deal with the shocking turn of events to their lives, and at the center of the story are the various relationships - between friends, husbands and wives, sons and daughters and family members.

I found myself really caught up in this book and it read fast and flowed quite easily for me. Lucinda Berry did an excellent job with her character development and it was a good solid plot. This was my first book that I've read by her but it will not be my last. I definitely recommend this book.

I would like to thank Lucinda Berry, Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I felt for all the characters and what they were going through. The ending had me completely blown away. I'm going to be telling all my friends about this one. Great job, Lucinda Berry! I can't wait for the next one.

One night changes everything for three teenage boys and their families. What is thought to be a tragic accident leaves one boy dead, one in a coma clinging to life and another mute, refusing to speak. The mothers band together and dig in to try and piece together the events of that night and what happened. Secrets upon secrets surface and shake the families to their cores. There were points in the book where there was palpable disbelief that their sons had done what they discovered. It was a heart wrenching story from beginning to end. The revelation revealed at the end was unexpected and sad.

I did have difficulty keeping the names of the couples and their kiddos straight, but eventually got the hang of who belonged to who. The plot moved along at a nice pace and I definitely got sucked in and wanted to find out what happened.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. This was my first book by this author, and it definitely wont be my last.

This book for me was pretty good, lots of secrets, lots of lies, but so many characters and there wasn't one that really grabbed me and made the book real for me, so felt more like an observer rather than fully invested in the story. maybe there was just too much crammed in beside the main story.so while it was worth reading. it also left me a bit cold 3.5

Lindsey, Kendra and Dani were childhood friends who married around the same time and settled down in the same neighborhood. The families had 7 children between them with each having teen-age boys who were best friends and were on the high school soccer team. One night after crashing a sorority party and getting drunk, when back home a gun is fired and one boy is dead, another one is in a coma and the third one is in a catatonic state and cannot speak. The story is focused on trying to find out what exactly happened that night that destroyed these three families. This was a very good story line although sad one. I did not like any of the characters as the women all seemed rather shallow and somewhat catty and the men were not much better.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of this very interesting but sad book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! I was hooked from a few pages in and I struggled to put it down. Heart breaking and intriguing, I couldn't wait to delve deeper into the story. The twists and turns at the end had me shedding a few tears but I would recommend this book to anyone.

Lucinda Berry is fast becoming one of my favourite authors to turn to when I’m looking for a quick read. She writes the most amazing stories about everyday people thrust into the most awful situations. Her career as a leading researcher in childhood trauma allows her to create disturbing psychological thrillers that blur the line between fiction and non-fiction. The author’s latest offering The Best Of Friends is heart wrenching, poignant, and tragic read that will have you reaching for a box of tissues.

Three childhood best friends Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani endure every parent’s worse nightmare when a tragic accident shatters their life’s into a million pieces. Three teenage boys, one dead, another in a coma, and a third too traumatised to speak. As each woman struggles with their own loss, they face a whirlpool of emotions, guilt, anger, and heartbreak, which make for an intense and disquieting read. The realistic and sometimes upsetting portrayal of three women in crisis make this book such an emotional roller coaster of a read, I felt overwhelmed by the tragic circumstances and the emotions that radiate from the pages. As the story progresses old jealousies, rivalries and insecurities bubble away below the surface, which threaten to shatter their families, and their friendships.

The story is told from the POV of Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani, and to begin with I found I had a hard time keeping up with whom was who, even though the chapters are clearly labelled, but that’s the only slightly negative thing I have to say about this book. One thing I loved about this book is the way the author presents each of the three women with moral dilemmas. You may not agree with their choices, you may end up disliking some or all of the characters, but ultimately it makes you think “what would I do?” if faced with a similar situation. There were so many threads to this story, but the author tied them together perfectly, holding my attention throughout. What a gripping tale!

Solid 3.5
I went back and forth on a 4 because the ending made me sob like a baby but 3.5 is most accurate.

The Best of Friends follows two sets of best friends. The first generation: 3 women who grew up together, got pregnant at the same time, and gave birth to the next generation of best friends in their sons. One night, the unthinkable happens when one son is killed, one is in a coma, and another is silent in his trauma. The three mothers are forced to dig through their lives to try to figure out what really happened that night. The more they dig, the more they have to question exactly how much they want to know- and can their lifelong friendship survive it?

I went into this thinking it was going to be a thriller but it’s definitely more of a mystery drama. Think Big Little Liar vibes. I loved my reading experience but if you’re a thriller lover, it’s important to know that going in. This book was definitely a slow burn because the story is about people seeking truth so we don’t get the perspective of victims. I took about a week reading this book which is a long time for me but it wasn’t because I disliked the book. I really enjoyed the slow burn and I loved reading a few chapters at a time to uncover just a bit more truth with each reading. The last 25% of the book gripped my heart hard. The ending made me sob and the epilogue made me wonder if there could be a follow up to this book down the road!


This was my first Lucinda Berry book but I purchased another in the middle of reading this one because I enjoyed her writing style so much!

Thank you Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
**
I devoured this book!! Lucinda Berry could not have grasped my attention more if she tried.
*
Every girls grows up with their best friend talking about how they will marry men who will be friends; how their kids will grow up to be best friends. I know I've had this dream with many of my childhood friends growing up.
For Kendra, Dani, and Lindsey those childhood dreams were made reality. Each of their husbands were great friends; and even better their three oldest children : Sawyer, Caleb, and Jacob were each other's best friends. Everyone's life was picture perfect it seemed until one night left 1 boy dead, another in a coma, and the third so traumatized he stopped speaking.

Lucinda takes her readers on a journey of the three mothers trying to figure out what's happened. If they thought their lives couldn't get any more twisted they were wrong. Secrets come out and truths are told.
This is one book you don't want to skip on reading!