For Laura and Sandy, one tragic event changed the course of their lives forever. Now they are the only ones who understand each another, drawn together by the night that changed everything. But one of them is keeping a secret that could destroy their fragile friendship. Only she knows just how closely their lives are linked. When the secret is revealed, will their friendship survive? Or will the truth tear them apart?

WOW! This is one of the most incredible books I have read in a long time and I was not expecting it. I do not want to be specific as the blurb is purposefully vague and you deserve the chance to discover it the same way I did it, but trust me this is a book absolutely worth reading.

I will say Jeffrey writes about extremely sensitive, triggering subjects so this may not be the book for you but Jeffrey writes about it sensitively and in a way that enhances the book, it is not included for shock value. Reading this, I went through every emotion possible. Jeffrey throws in twist after twist and I could barely catch my breath. I could not bear to tear myself away from this, a statement that is said a lot but I truly mean it, I was completely immersed and thought about it constantly when I was not reading it. This is a very special, unique read.

My one gripe is the cover does not match the plot at all and made me believe the book was going to have a completely different vibe to it. This aside, I adored everything about this from the plot to the characters and the portrayal of human emotion.

'The Silent Friend' is an astonishing read and one I highly recommend. I cannot remember the last time I was this excited about a book. Read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

What a powerful drama.

I'm really glad that I went into this book with out really knowing what it was about because If I knew it was about a shooting I would not have picked it up (the shooting won't be in my public review)
I enjoyed hearing from both prospectives of the mother, and the survivor. Really well done.

A really dark novel of friendships and betrayal. The characters were real and very written. Highly recommended x

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review. I expected this book to be a typical psychological thriller, it was not. The Silent Friend is a very well written novel but it is not an easy read. The author deals with several very serious topics including the aftermath of a mass shooting, survivor's guilt and PTSD. The characters are well developed and multi-dimensional. Author Diane Jeffrey is unafraid to handle some very troubling and timely subject matters in an authentic way and I appreciate that.

If you are looking for a traditional mystery this book probably isn't for you, but if you want to delve deeper into the aftermath of tragedy and trauma, then dive in.

4.5 stars.

The Silent Friend is not what I expected at all but I have no complaints , it was so good.

You are quickly drawn in to Laura's life and as she leaves for vacation with her friends you don't expect anything bad to happen.

But it does.

Laura is a survivor , so is Sandy.

You learn how easy it is to say, why me, why did I survive. How easy it is to say, what did I do wrong raising my kids? You feel just as bad and as guilty if not more so.

I don't want to say much more because its better to go in blind to the book and follow the author's trail. What a trail it is.

The Silent Friend will stay with me for a long time , it is such a thought provoking read and I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley, HQ HQ Digital for an awesome inspiring read. It was my privilege to read The Silent Friend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy. Laura goes to Lyon with three of her work friends to see a band. Sandy's son is also there. After a terrorist attack that left two of her friends dead and one in a wheelchair Laura is left traumatised. Sandy also lost her son that night and decides to start a website for people who have lost loved ones. Laura and Sandy begin to send each other emails talking about their emotions and feelings around the attack. But Sandy is hiding something. Will the truth come out and will they still be friends.

Wow, this book was kinda intense in parts. We follow two women as they come to terms with the aftermath and fallout of a tragic event. Laura travels with her friend to a concert in France. To see, ironically enough, a band from her home town. She's scared of flying and has reservations about going but she really wants to see the band and also does not want to let her friends down. But during the concert, the worst happens, a mass shooting with many fatalities. Laura survives but is ever changed by what happened. Grabbing onto what she can to get through the days following, once she returns home, she meets Sandy on an online support forum and the two of them become friends. Connected by the tragedy that connects the two. But one of them is lying about things. Fundamental things. Important things. Things that could threaten what they have together...
It's better going in blind to this book. To discover things as they author intends. To connect with the characters without any preconception. To follow the action as it evolves organically. It's hard hitting and all the emotions and is very character driven. The characters - main and bit part - all step up to ably play their parts in the story as it unfolds. Obviously the focus is firmly on Laura and Sandy, and in them, the author has crafted two wholly credible and believable characters, but there are so many others whose parts are equally important to drive the story forward.
And the story, harrowing as it is, important and poignant too. And with what we know about the word at the moment and recent events, all too credible and that's what makes it all the more emotional a scary. Stuff like this happens. Not always for the same reasons as here but all the same.
It's billed as a thriller - well, thrilling though it may be, it's not what you would expect given that description. Not that that's a bad thing - it's a cracking read in itself, but I fear that it might just disappoint those who are looking for a thrilling mystery.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

One night changed everything.
For Laura and Sandy, one tragic event changed the course of their lives forever.

This was a great thriller. The beginning will hook you and you will find yourself not being able to put this down.
I really enjoyed the character's, the plot. and that ending though!!! Amazing!

i found this book really worth a read! from the first page there was a lot of build-up to the night where it all went wrong! loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I have loved books by her in the past, but couldn't get into this one. The back and forth was actually confusing in this case and i lost interest very quickly.

I wanted something else from this book. Maybe twin sisters or a mother daughter thing. The violent act is...almost too much to take - to be honest. It's not so much of "too soon" as... "too much".

But instead this is a book about survivor's guilt and PTSD. The twist is GOOD but I just...expected or wanted more.

I DO read a ton of thriller though and it takes a lot to get me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I read the title and saw the intriguing cover I surmised this will be a crazy, dark psychological thriller.
Could I be more further from the truth?

This book alternates between two female characters over a course of one LONG YEAR. It talks about
SURVIVOR GUILT,
BEREAVEMENT, GRIEF,
MASS MASSACRES/SHOOTING and carnage.
MOTHERHOOD
RADICALISATION/RELIGION effects on people

It tells us how after being victim to a MASS MASSACRE EVEN IF YOU ARE SPARED YOUR LIFE and might heal physically the psychological and mental wounds are INDELIBLE.

THIS IS A POIGNANT, MAUDLIN , RAW STORY OF TWO VERY DIFFERENT KINDS OF VICTIMS.

We read about LAURA from Northern Ireland, a young, docile, introvert who is one of the victims of a horrific mass shooting and terrorist activity. She takes an all girls trip to Lyon with her three girlfriends. She has flying anxiety and gets a bad feeling about this trip but she decides to take this trip as her favourite local band is playing there and also because she had constantly been nixing all the plans earlier and gives in this time.
This trip turns out to be a NIGHTMARE FOR LIFE for the soft hearted Laura. She KEEPS A SECRET AND IT IS KILLING HER EVERY MOMENT.

SANDRINE, our next character is a doting mother of two boys and a dutiful wife. She loves her family and her children to bits. The incident affects her in a deep, gnawed manner where she questions her upbringing and is left with a PERMANENT QUESTION MARK.

LAURA makes SANDRINE (a pen friend who she has never met) privy to her tight KEPT SECRET, they develop an uncanny but miraculous bond.

LIKED:

- Easy storytelling
- page turner

DISLIKED:

- Long winded drivel
- Repetitive

Its a decent fictional read but not a thriller.

#TheSilentFriend #NetGalley

One if the most complex hard hitting books I have ever read and explores issues, that sadly occur too often.

How do you carry on when you son is a terrorist?
How do you carry on when you survive a terror attack but your friend didnt?

I live near Manchester and have vivid memories of what happened there, and I can totally give a full warning about reading this book if you have been involved directly with any terror attack or suicide bomber. However, this book crosses boundaries to explore the things we don't talk about. A terrorist is scum, because they choose life and death for innocent people.

Terrorists do all leave behind innocent people who don't know about anything but have to rebuild after loosing a child, and realising that child killed people. Sandrine and Sam, parents.

For survival in terror attacks many can only imagine, Diane's book has a very disturbing and graphic description of Laura's experience during the attack and how she survived, then how she had to learn to live with the survival. Its not always a given to be thankful to be alive, when you have hard choices to make in those situations.

A brilliant book, written in a way that makes it gripping and thought provoking about a very difficult subject I don't think we know enough about. We all think we can imagine, this story shows how it might look to be in the middle of a terror attack.

#NetGalley #TheSilentFriend #DianeJefferrery #hardhitting #bookreview #2020books

The themes of this book were friendship, parenthood, overcoming trauma and fear of the unknown. This book was well written and intelligent, it drew me in from the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. The prose is subtle and beautiful without getting too far away from the reality of the world---and that reality is what's so special about this book. The plot is quietly terrifying, but not in a way that make me scared to read it, nor was it too much to handle considering everything else that's going on in the world right now. I was desperate to find out what happened in the end. You will be too when you read this book, and you should.

Folks who are looking for a traditional thriller or an easily solved mystery won't get that here; this is much richer and more challenging than the average read. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time and that means it is something special.

This book is not what I expected, and that's not a bad thing. In fact, it kept me up at night and couldn't wait to read it the next day. I'll try my best to review without giving too much away, because the unknown was part of the excitement.

Sandy and Laura experience a horrific evening, but experience from different perspectives. They become friends without one of them knowing the other's true identity. If found out, would they still be friends? Is this deception forgivable? Is she truly a friend or is she only interested because of her own desperation?

The storyline is cleverly different and the characters are well-defined. This book will have triggers for some - let's just say social anxiety to avoid spoilers! It was disturbing for me without any personal experience, but what a wild and shocking ride! I would recommend for thriller fans.

At 26, Laura is quite unworldly. A non-adventurer, she finally agrees to travel with 3 friends from Dublin to Lyon, France. The bus ride, the airplane ride, and even a crowd of people places Laura in great fear. Her best friend - cousin Declan - had talked her into going on the trip. This, aside from Laura's mother's consistently negative comments.

Antoine, a few years younger than Laura, lives in Lyon. They briefly meet...

A very exciting suspense story that keeps the reader guessing until the very end!

HIGHLY Recommend.

Many Thanks to HQ/HarperCollins and NetGalley for the pleasure to read and review this gem.

Unfortunately this isn't the best book I have read, found it hard to get into the story line and didn't like the past and present which doesn't normally bother me and I found it hard to gel with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Laura and Sandy are as different as two women can be. Sandy is married with two teenage sons. Laura is single and works in a Library with three of her friends.
There lives would come crashing together. Both of them at a loss of words for the circumstances that befall them.
A great story. Plenty of drama. A somewhat controversial topic, written with sensitivity and heart
Recommended!!

Underwhelmed and boring. The story was drastically overly descriptive without a need to. It seems like just words filling a page to meet quota. The characters aren't relatable and did not pull me into the story. The toggle back and forth between present and past did not help the back story. It was a really hard book to get through.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed Diane Jeffrey's previous thriller very much. I was expecting another. The blurb talks about two friends, Laura and Sandy, with one having a secret which could tear the friendship apart. While I guess that premise could be true, this is not your typical domestic noir where two good friends are dating the same man in New York. It’s a story about international terrorism, radicalism, grief and guilt and the columnative effect on these two women. If I knew that in advance I would have skipped this book and that would have been a shame, it’s heartbreaking and relevant, a story crossing various boundaries and timelines, inherent beliefs on both sides. Well written, character driven novel.