The Best of Friends
Lucinda Berry
8-18-20
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a tragic and emotionally gripping story.  This story pulled at my heart strings and l found myself in tears throughout this book. Three families - facing a parents worst nightmare. A Saturday night that ends in tragedy with a gun. The character development was wonderful and I could see how these families have grown close through the years- they are the ones you rely on for parenting advice and an ear to listen but how well do you really know your closest friends? This riveting story is filled with secrets, and as time passes these best of friends will be turning on one another... who is to blame? There were times I had to step back, as I was filled with raw emotion at times and at times it was heart wrenching. I mourned the losses these families were facing while hoping they could find a way to persevere and be there for one another.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Lucinda Berry for sending me an electronic Advanced Readers’ Copy for an exchange of an honest review.

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Wow! This book was a great read. Something unique that kept me wanting to read more. The characters were flawed but you felt for them, being a mom is hard and doesn’t come with a manual. Being a teenage boy is also complicated and confiding in your family isn’t something most teens do. Highly recommend this one and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

The first chapter of this book immediately sucked me in. It begins on the night of a tragic accident when two teenage boys are shot. Of the two, one of them dies on the scene and the other ends up with a traumatic brain injury and is placed on life support. A third surviving boy is so traumatized by the event that he is unable to speak. To add more depth to the story, the mothers of the three boys are long-time best friends with various secrets of their own. The author managed to pack a whole lot of sensitive topics into this book, including gun control, domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse, sexuality, and marital affairs. Although it’s a heart-wrenching story, I had trouble connecting with the characters so it didn’t emotionally affect me to the extent that I felt it should have. Despite this, I still thought it was a very well written and highly engaging book.

Thank you to net galley for sending me a copy of this book for review. I was at the edge of my seat this entire book and couldn’t wait to find out what next. I wish I could have a whole series of this. I will definitely be reading more by this same author.

Lindsay, Kendra and Dani have been best friends since high school. They remained close and now are neighbors and have loved that their boys also became best friends. Until one night Kendra is relaxing at home with her husband Paul and they hear a noise which at first they thought was fireworks but another blast convinced them it’s gunfire and while Pail runs to check on their other son, Kendra runs out check on her son Sawyer who is staying at Calebs’ house for the night. Her worst fears are realized when she sees emergency vehicles blocking the entrance.
One of the boys has been killed, the other is in a coma and the other hasn’t spoken since that night.
As one of the mothers sinks into substance abuse and obsessively searching for answers, another is struggling to hold on to a son who may no longer be there. One is trying to protect her children while hiding the fact of her abusive marriage.
As they answer the detectives questions they also learn how many secrets have been kept not only by their children but from their spouses and each other.
This is a story that could happen in any neighborhood in this country and for me Lucinda Berry’s best work yet. As always she leaves a little bit unanswered at the end but not in a way that had me as frustrated as the ending of a previous book.
I very much enjoyed this book despite guessing some of the “ why it happened”.
Thank you to # netgalley and #thomas&mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. This is due for release in August.

Great story. I found this book hard to follow, with all the husbands and children. I kept having to think who belongs to who. The author even got this mixed up once. In all, I enjoyed this advanced reading copy.

First off, I love Lucinda Berry and have read every one of her earlier books, so I was thrilled to receive and advanced copy! Like all of her books, The Best Of Friends sucked me in and I pulled an all-nighter to finish reading. I love the way the story is told from different perspectives, all moms questioning how well they know their sons after a tragedy strikes. The characters were detailed, the story moved quickly, & the ending was surprising. I will be telling everyone about it!

This was my first Lucinda Berry read, and it was a captivating one. What happens when best friends who also raise their kids to be best friends go through an unspeakable and tragic event that changes the rest of their lives forever? Read this book to find out. I don't want to spoil anything, but this book had me hooked from the beginning as I saw the plot unfold and the characters lives and emotions were falling apart. I definitely recommend!! Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This was my first read from Lucinda Berry. I was initially drawn to the book plot, as well as the gorgeous cover. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped. While the narrative arc was strong, the characters and execution fell flat for me. I wished for more vivid scenes to pull me in and make this heartwrenching story feel like a reality. There was a bit too much telling for this suburbian world to feel believable.

While it wasn't my taste, I have no doubt this book will do very well for the right audience, as it is a fast-paced and suspenseful read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

This was my first book by Lucinda Berry and now I want to read more!
I felt bad liking this story so much because of its content, if you know what I mean. But I really liked it because it was so well written and so deep. The characters had such depth and I could feel their emotions.
As a parent of a son, this was heartbreaking to read and pulled on all my heartstrings, but it was also unputtdownable. It touched on so many different subjects, behaviors and emotions from the viewpoints of teenagers, parents and long time best of friends.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for me honest review.

Do you ever wonder if you really know your kids? I mean really know them... Your answer is going to be no because we all know that they still lie and hid things from us so that they get to do the things that they really want. The things that we as parents wont let the do. To the point that one of them is killed.
Dani, Lindsey, and Kendra have been the best of friends since forever. Even their children become best friends like them, Caleb, Jacob, and Sawyer. They have been through everything it seems like but now they have to face the scariest one. The one that killed their child, left one in a coma, and the other too scared to talk about what happened. Can they survive this?
This book has a lot of twist and turns. Don't miss the clues that are given to you...

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to review this book.

As a long-time Berry fan, I was thrilled to receive the ARC of <i>The Best of Friends</i> and I was not disappointed- I finished it in one sitting.

Three best friends since grade school - Dani, Lindsay & Kendra, are raising their families, including their 3 teenage sons who are also best friends, in the same town they grew up in.

One night, everyone’s life is changed forever. Someone’s son dies, another is clinging for his life and the other has lost his ability to speak or function due to the horror of that night. Secrets come rolling out, faster and faster and everyone’s perfect lives are shattered.

Berry’s knack for storytelling and always keeping the reader guessing is spot on, per usual. This novel was great! It did, however, feel a bit like a Jodi Picoult novel to me in some portions, which is why i left off a star. I felt like I read this story before or had whispers of it.

This was one of those reads that absolutely hooked me from page one. It was heart wrenching to read as a mother, but unputdownable! Well written, chilling, realistic, and brutal; but also captivating! I highly recommend, unless as a parent you have triggers to stuff happening to children, as this is not your book! Overall, I do think it could be a very important read, as parents, because I think even the best parents are not perfect and all knowing, which this book shows in chilling and heart wrenching words!
I will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

Wow where do I even start. This book was so emotional. Three families have three children who are best friends. Their mothers have all been friends since elementary school. One night while the 3 teenagers are together, a terrible accident happens. Sawyer is dead..Jacob is in a coma and caleb is so distraught over what he witnessed he is in a psychiatric hospital unable to sleep..talk...or eat. What happened that night. ? Was this an accident or on purpose. How did 2 kids end up dead..one in a coma and one completely uninjured??.. this was a devastating and sad story but I love this book and I love this author as I read many books by Her before.

Wow! This is an incredible book! Read it in a day. This is probably the most real, honest and human book I have ever read.

Best friends since grade school Lindsey, Dani and Kendra have stayed close into adulthood and were so happy that their older children, all boys, became best friends too.

When an unthinkable accident happens, leaving one boy dead, one in a vegetative state and one so traumatized he cannot speak, the three women try to figure out how and why the incident happened, and realize that they did not know their sons as well as they thought.

There is so much more to the story, as it delves deep into the women's lives and marriages and relationships with their other children. I cannot say enough good things about this book. If you are in doubt, just buy it!

**5 Stars**

Three close friends who go way back to primary school in Southern California suffer an unthinkable tragedy. Their three high-school-aged sons who all play on the soccer team are involved in a gun-related incident, one that has claimed one of the boy's lives, put one in a coma, and left one traumatized to the point they cannot speak about what happened that night. Lucinda Berry's The Best of Friends is a twisty who-done-it thriller that looks at what caused one, possibly two, and maybe even three best of friends to harm each other.

This was my first Berry thriller and I was very impressed with her ability to build and sustain suspense. The book is told from the perspectives of the three women whose lives have been irrevocably altered. Each mother is in search of answers as to what happened that terrible night. The three women - Dani, Kendra, and Lindsey - are well off and assumed that their boys, were the best of friends. But the bonds between mothers slowly unravel as they discover the truths about themselves, their husbands, their other children, and their sons. 

One mother has developed close friendships with the teenage boys that the other two mothers don't know about. Another mother has been secretly slipping Adderall to her son without telling her husband and friends. And the third mother is in an abusive relationship with her husband that she hides well, one that may have contributed to what happened that dreadful night. 

What caused two boys to be shot? Are the parents somehow involved or responsible for this horrific incident? Could it have been prevented? 

I found the parts about the mothers' extraordinary grief really gripping and heartbreaking - it is exactly how I imagine feeling if, God forbid, something happened to one of my children. 

This was a solid thriller that kept me turning the pages. It was one of those books I looked forward to reading and had a hard time putting down. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, Lucinda Berry, and Thomas & Mercer for an advance reader copy of The Best of Friends!

Rating: 5 page-turning stars
Format: Ebook*, pub. 8/18/20
Synopsis: A trio of grownup childhood best friends try to figure out what happened the tragic night that left one of their teenage sons dead, one in a coma, and another too traumatized to speak.
POV: This is the first Lucinda Berry novel I’ve read, and it won’t be my last. It’s been a long time since I got sucked into a story that made me want to stay up late to finish it. There was something about the structure that reminded me of a Liane Moriarty book. The chapters jump between the three well-drawn female characters, and it’s compelling to be the insider getting to know the secrets they don’t even share with their friends. The subject matter could be very difficult for some, with teenage children suffering major trauma (including death), but people who love the type of books where a central “what really happened???” question drives the plot will get more than their money’s worth. Oh, and that epilogue!
Recommended for: Thriller readers looking for a page turner who aren’t triggered by stories about children (teenagers) suffering through a tragic event.
*I received an Advanced Readers Copy from #NetGalley & #ThomasandMercer in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lucinda berrys books and this is no exception. The best of friends is a great novel that explores grief, trust, friendship and family. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it’s many POVs. Highly recommend.

I didn't get very far with this one before setting it aside. It felt very cliched, very tired. I wanted to like it, but it didn't hold my attention.

The Best of Friends was brilliant. It is a heavy book to me. Lucinda Berry wrote a beautiful story about love and hate, loss and heartbreak and friendship.

This book tells a story about 3 teenage boys Sawyer, Jacob and Caleb grown up and become best friends and their mothers who also grown up as childhood best friends. The Best of Friends talked about many things and the focus is more on to test the friendship between 3 mothers Kendra, Dani and Lindsey after the incident that happened to their children.

As the story started with the tragedy happened which gun shots have been fired at a sleepover and left one of the boys dead, one of them is in coma and the other was in trauma and he so traumatized to even speak up about what had actually happened that night. Detective Locke tried to investigate and solve the case and piece by piece they learned new things about their children and husbands but they are hiding about it with their best friends. What are they hiding? Why would they hide? They started questioning their marriages as well as their friendship.

All the characters felt real to me and it was like watching a god thriller film and it really was amazing I couldn’t put the book down. The surprises will shock you and you couldn’t expect what’s coming. This book contains a strong message and it really was an amazing read for e. Such a powerful book.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be available on August 18th, 2020.