Laura and Sandy survived a tragic event that has changed their lives forever, as well as the lives of many, many others.

Not the best of friends to begin with, this event has brought them together in a stronger way.

One of them is keeping a secret, a secret that, if revealed, will threaten their friendship.

This is a suspenseful read that starts at the very beginning and holds at a steady pace until its thought-provoking ending. The characters are solidly drawn and will not be soon forgotten.

Many thanks to the author/ HQ Ditgital / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Diane Jeffrey is one of my favourite psychological thriller author and I was looking forward to reading this. The Silent friend is written in a different style from her usual books And is a story about very current and devastating life events. It is a heart breaking poignant story of love loss and friendship and how one tragic and Devastating night can change people's lives forever this was a powerful and haunting read which will stay with me for a long time.

THE SILENT FRIEND is an intriguing and compassion look at how isolated acts of terrorism affect all involved. The story follows Laura and Sandy navigate the aftermath of a terrorist attack in a nightclub. Laura experienced the attack first-hand in all its horror and Sandy lost her son in the attack. Jeffrey draws the reader into the most intimate parts of each woman's life, leading to an unexpected reveal. Really good read.

Wow! If there is a book you should read this year this is it! I rarely give 5 star reviews but this book definitely warrants it.

There haven’t been many books that have moved me the way this story did. The subject matter is upsetting but shows the strength of character of human beings in devastating circumstances. I’ve often wondered what becomes of the family of a person that commits a heinous criminal act and this book captures the disbelief, sorrow, guilt and judgement from the world that they go through.

I’ve read A Guilty Mother by the same author and love how her writing is simplistic but heartwarming and gets the message of the book across to the reader without intricate and unnecessary detail.

Many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has been a rollercoaster of emotions. It is not a psychological thriller as such.Laura and Sandy are connected by a tragic event that changes their lives. How they reach out to each other to try and overcome their grief is what keeps the story going.

Its a very current topic and the author has bought out the reality that is sadly prevalent in today's society. I don't want to say much because its difficult to write something without giving the plot away. A brilliant story, well told.

Thanks to Netgalley, HQ books and Diane Jeffery for the ARC

I found this a difficult & uncomfortable novel to read ,and am not quite sure how to review it.


The subject matter is disturbing & could be upsetting for many people. In my own case I know people suffering from PTSD very well, and find it unsettling when included within a novel.


For me this was not a thriller, as I knew what was happening and there were no twists or surprises.


I can appreciate the issues the author is tackling- after the London Bridge attacks I read an article about one of the terrorist’s families handing out flowers & it breaks your heart for them- but unfortunately for Diane Jeffreys following the recent Paris & Vienna incidents plus heading into lockdown.2 this was not the right novel for me, at this time.


The book itself is obviously well researched & inspired, I feel, by the Ariana Grande & Bataclan Concerts. Characters are sensitively drawn, both Laura & Sandrine are likeable.


The majority of other reviews that I have read are very good; in spite of my comments above, it is compelling reading. The issue is perhaps more me than the novel- and it's not a bad thing to be challenged out of your comfort zone

🔆🔆🔆🐾 Pub Date Review🐾🔆🔆🔆

Hey Abby girl! You get to model today. Yayyy...look at that happy face. Mommy lives for that happy face 🤗
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The Silent Friend by Diane Jeffrey was completely different than any other book I have read. 📖 The story is told through the perspective of Laura and Sandra.
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Laura’s life is changed forever after a traumatic event that I can’t say much about. 💣 Sandra was not present for this event but her life is affected in a different way. These two women end up forming a friendship, one based on lies.
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Will this friendship last? Is the secret big enough to tear them a part? I really don’t know if I could continue the friendship if I was Laura. 😔 And I can’t really explain myself because I’ll give things away. I will tell you though, I had such anxiety reading this book. 🥴The author did a great job making you feel as if you were a part of the experience as well.
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Happy Pub Date to this ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ book!

What was the last book you read that gave you palpitations?

HOLY COW , does this book grab you by the hair and drag you down the hall. By chapter 3, you’re so dialed up , your eyes are burning just trying to take it in and read it as fast as you can. But you can’t really skim this book
Read each chapter slow
Take it in

So I must say if you’ve in anyway , had a terrorist attack effect your life. How sorry I am. And maybe this book may help or Hurt you....

This is book is anyone’s worst nightmare. A terrorist attack and losing someone in one. But it’s told from every point view.
It skips back and forth between:
Two days before
The day I died
5 months before
2 days after
5 days before
And each character getting their own chapter. And damn , for me. I kept wanting to hear from Sandrine. Each chapter is a diff time and a diff point of view

It’s brilliantly written. I loved it , the writing was real. I felt what I read. It also broke my heart in two. So much emotion from one book evoking all of this deserves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ➕ stars.

Just incredible. This was not what I was expecting at all. It was very well written and powerful. Sandy and Laura experience a tragic, violent event that alters their lives. But one of them has a secret. A thought provoking, difficult and heart wrenching read. This will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Well written and very powerful. I was hooked in the beginning but then I became bored as it wasn't what I expected it to be which was a mystery/thriller.
The author deserves much applause for such a well written book.
Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love it when a book that looks like it might be predictable turns out not to be what was expected after all
I was totally engrossed by this from the beginning and couldn't put this down

A fantastic read

This book was a solid 4 STARS! Well written and easily relatable which in my opinion is important in a book. Highly recommend

For Laura and Sandy, one tragic event changed the course of their lives forever. Now they are the only ones who understands each other, drawn together by a night that changed everything. But one of them has a secret that could destroy their fragile friendship. When the secret is revealed, will their friendship survive or willmthe truth tewr them apart?

This is definitely a book I don't want to say too much about as it reads better the less you know. Sandy and Laura experience a horrible event. But one of them holds a secret that could destroy their new found friendship. The plotline is complex. This is a heartwrenching and relevant story that crosses many boundaries and times. You'll be thinking about this story long after you have finished it.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HQ and the author #DianeJeffrey for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book flicks between the lives of the two main characters, Laura and Sandrine. It is a book that everyone can relate and has very in the now content as something similar happened some years ago.

Laura is in her twenties, works in Belfast where she lives and was brought up. She has a small group of friends which she is happy with and likes to keep people close. Her best friend Claire has twisted her arm to go on a holiday to Lyon to see a band perform.

Sandrine is married to Sam and has two teenage boys Antoine and Max. She worries constantly about her family, mostly her boys. They live in Lyon and have just returned home where Antoine announced he has a new job at a concert hall.

One night both of the women's lives change forever. As the pair converse over email, one of them harbours a secret that could blow their friendship apart.

I cant really say much more without spoiling it for other readers but it is one of the best books I've read this year.

The author is very descriptive when she writes about feelings and emotions and less about the actual incident. I felt like I was in the book, hearing, seeing and smelling everything that happened.
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Wow this book was not what I was expecting! In this book you will meet Laura and Sandrine 2 women who are affected by the same event but in different ways. You will see how these women deal with grief, loss, love and trauma. You will go on an emotional rollercoaster going forwards and backwards reliving the event which altered there lives. This book will stay with me for a longtime.

This book was quite the eye-opening surprise. From the cover and the blurb, you’d NEVER guess what this book is about, and I’m not going to tell you, because it’s one of the most shocking scenes I’ve read lately in a thriller. (Although I’m not sure I’d call this a traditional domestic thriller...it is one in a way, and it sure does bring the scares and emotion.)

The book begins with a group of friends taking a girls’ trip, continues with two strangers interlinked by a tragedy, and really raises a lot of important and scary emotional issues about the world we currently live in. Much deeper and packs much more of an emotional punch than many books in this genre.

I probably would not have chosen to read this book if I had known the subject matter ahead of time, but I’m so glad I did, because it’s so well done. The characters are so fully realized. You feel their pain, cringe at some of the things they do, and ultimately root for their happiness. A gripping, emotional, thoughtful and thrilling book - often sad but also full of hope. So worth reading.

Thanks to Harper Collins, NetGalley and Diane Jeffrey for the advance copy of this book. It really gripped me and hit me right in the heart.

If you are a blogger you must read this novel straight away and spread the love. If you only read one novel a year, this is the one to choose. This novel blew me away in so many different ways. It is uniquely different from anything I have read for a very long time and it will stay in my mind forever. For me, this is the standout book of 2020. I am a massive fan of Diane Jeffrey’s novels and her superb storytelling. She weaves her way into your heart with admirable literary tools, compassion and a copious amount of suspense, tension and twists. This is her best and most brilliant novel yet. It held me spellbound with an accelerating heartbeat and unable to predict what would happen next.
Laura and Sandy become supportive friends despite having never met each other. Laura lives in Ireland and Sandy lives in France. They are drawn together by an atrocity in which they both suffered tragic personal loss. Laura and her three friends had gone on holiday to Sandy’s home town of Lyon to attend a concert where the main attraction was to see the band from their hometown performing live. Luckily they even met the boy band before the concert and even socialised with them. How fabulous is that! But that is where their luck ran out.
Sandy’s beloved son had also attended the concert and even met Laura. After that fateful night Sandy set up a forum for survivors who were struggling to come to terms with their terrifying experience. She met Laura on her forum and the two ladies clicked straight away. In common with each other was the fact that they had both visited each other’s homeland and could speak their language. Laura offered to help Sandy translate her forum and gradually they became really close. They empathised with each other. Their trauma had uniquely bonded them.
These two ladies are the narrators of this story from the night of the concert from their point of view and as the friendship flourished they received great comfort from learning about each other’s lives. The story chapters follow the chronology of their very different journeys from their past to their present. Both stories are poignant and thought provoking. I admired them equally, although Sandy’s story resonated with me as the doting parent of a son myself. As the first anniversary of the event becomes imminent Laura suggested that they meet at long last, and attend the event together but Sandy declines. She will not be attending the concert. She knows that her half-truths will be revealed and cannot imagine her life without Laura’s friendship. But then she decides to meet Laura in a local park, intent on revealing her secret, wondering what will become of their close friendship.
This novel is powerful and exquisite, terrifying and immensely sad. The issues it raises are contemporary and involving: family, friendship, grief, parenthood, guilt, buried secrets, PTSD, counselling, survival and love. I received a complimentary copy of this excellent novel from publisher HQ Digital through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to read and review this fantastic novel. Diane Jeffrey has a huge talent and has used it to inform her impassioned writing. She shows the damage done in the blink of an eye will be far reaching and blight the life of the bereaved. She has a huge talent for this genre. I am so happy to share my review with you and class it as unmissable and very highly recommended. It’s a mighty but very well deserved 5* review from me.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley.

This is a compelling thought provoking story about a tragedy and the aftermath. Emotive and such a topical subject matter.

Psychologically disturbing in terms of the impact of one night and one event. Captures human trauma perfectly and how lives are impacted.

A fantastic and well written read that i highly recommend.

Published 18th March 2021

I really liked this book, though I think it's misclassified as a mystery/thriller- it's more of a story of friendship, family, and personal growth, though with some action and suspense; it reminded me of Maeve Binchy's writing. The synopsis doesn't give much away, so I won't either, but the book centers on both Laura and Sandrine, who both experience the same horrific event from different perspectives.

The author did an amazing job of communication the fear and confusion that Laura experienced during the scary event- I was able to put myself in her place easily and teared up a couple times thinking about how scary it must have been to experience that and also not fluently speak the language. I raced through that part of the book because it was so exciting.

The representation of Sandrine and her husband Sam and their family dynamics also elicited empathy. I didn't see the surprise coming with their storyline and I really felt for them as the book progressed.

I was satisfied with the ending of the book- both characters showed personal growth and understanding and I felt that their journeys were both realistic and hopeful.

I would definitely recommend this book, though be prepared for the fact that it's heavy. The fact that the author could make me walk away feeling pretty good about a storyline that has so many sad pieces to it is an amazing feat. I would be interested in reading more by this author for sure. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A good read which has been unexpected. I have read this author before, so I knew I’d like this book. This has definitely been interesting and filled with likeable characters.
Full review to follow on publication day.