Susannah is recently divorced with two boys. She decides to move to a small town and start over. That's exactly what she and the boys need.

Charlotte is a stay at home mom who has it all. She has two children and the perfect husband to go along with it.

Immediately, the two hit it off and start using the "best friends" term. This is where I knew the storyline . I believe you have to be friends for years before you use the term "BFF".

Even though it was predictable, I still enjoyed the read. Charlotte was your basic conniving female who would never have enough. I felt sorry for Susannah because in her vulnerable state, she was used.

Thank you Netgalley for the Advanced ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire
“The Best of Friends” is the story of two women, two friends, best friends even, told in alternating chapters by Susannah and Charlotte. They are devoted wives and moms living in a smallish town in the south of England. The story opens in the courtroom, so readers immediately know that somehow things do not go well for the participants. This review is brief because I will not reveal spoilers
Each woman describes events from her own point of view; as a result, readers know what each woman does not. The pace is slow yet purposeful. Susannah’s narrative unfolds in a first person present tense construction that immediately pulls readers into her story. “I put my arms over my face, shielding my eyes from the daylight that’s streaming in from behind the curtains.” She describes events, relates conversations, and reacts to things around her. Charlotte talks directly to the reader or perhaps to someone else. “I’ll tell you all about her.” She evaluates, comments, and plans. “As you talk, I study you intently.”
Happenings may not be exactly as they seem despite the narrative, and readers must discern what the truth really is. I received a review copy of “The Best of Friends” from Alex Day, One More Chapter, and Harper Collins Publishers. There are surprises up to the very end.

This was a suspenseful read and I enjoyed the alternating POV in the book. It is well written and I liked the story. It was however more a slower burn instead of a fast paced book. Overall I enjoyed it and want to read more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book although I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as a psychological thriller, more of a domestic women's drama.
Story is told from the points of view of the two main women protagonists, whom both have secrets that each can sort of use against the other to her advantage.
While at times this book went a little slow, it still had enough to keep me wanting to read more to get to the ending which was really good.
Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and the Author, Alex Day for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Best of Friends is an incredible thriller that kept me guessing until the very end...and what an ending it was! I had such a hard time putting this book down and had to force myself to stop reading so I could get some sleep. I liked that the story was told from two different perspectives, and I couldn't wait to find out what Charlotte's secret was and what would happen between Susannah and Dan. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for giving me the opportunity to read and review The Best of Friends....I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Alex Day's work. : )

This was a wonderful thriller. The storyline is gritty and twisted in the best way. The chorale so real they make you look at real people a second time. Great book.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Best of Friends is a story that is told from a dual perspective, that of Susannah and Charlotte. At the center of this tale is Dan, Charlotte’s husband, and the man who has captured Susannah’s interest.
This book started out slow, to be honest, the first half was a slog to get through. The end was unsatisfying and over all I felt it was pretty predictable. I really wanted to like this book but found it fell quite short.

Susannah moves into a new village after her recent divorce with her two sons.
There she meets Charlotte who has everything .
Or does she?
Looks can be deceiving .
Susannah and Charlotte both have secrets they are hiding.
There is plenty of deceit in this book.
A brilliant first book
Thanks NetGalley

What happens when two women become instant best friends, but both of them have secrets they want to keep hidden?
After their world has been turned upside down, Susannah moves to town, ready to rebuild her life with her two boys. Susannah, in her scarlet red coat, catches Charlotte's eye at their boys' game of paper chase. Right then, Charlotte knows they will become the best of friends, after all, she does have to keep an eye on her. Neither of them knows what the future holds for them, which lies are greater, and who will fall from it all.
This was an interesting read and overall I enjoyed it. I found this story difficult to read at times due to the extensive vocabulary and lack of context clues. I also found this book to be slow moving. It was interesting enough to keep my attention and made me want to see where everyone would end up, whose secrets were safe, and whose would be exposed. The last 25% of the book definitely picked up the pace and I just couldn't put it down. If you enjoy a slow burning thriller, grab this and get to reading!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It's almost everyone's worse nightmare coming true. Your mum gets arrested at your child's first birthday party and you find out the reason she was arrested is because she kidnapped you when you were a baby, Marion discovers that she's tbe famous baby Caroline who was kidnapped from her crib.

I just was hooked with this book from day dot. U wanted to find out why Eileen had kidnapped Marion and what the heck is going on .
All my questions were answered and more.

Written in the first person and flipping between time lines it really helped keep me engrossed. I had a theory and had to check if I was right and I was but I missed s few crucial points that made me gasp and sigh in excitement and anticipation. The writing is done so well I even felt for the (mother) it was just gr8!!!

The character development throughout the story was fantastic. The twists and turns as well kept me completely hooked. I even cried a few times.


Totally recommend if you fancy a slow paced psychological thriller which leaves you thinking even after. 5 stars given as I found it easy to connect with each character.

Thank you to netgalley, the author and bookature for the digital advanced copy.

*Thank you to Harper Collins, NetGalley and Alex Day for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-best-of-friends/

Susannah and Charlotte both have very large secrets and an amazing friendship built on enormous lies. In Alex Day’s new book, The Best Of Friends, he explores the idea of “frenemies”, taken to the extreme of adultery and attempted murder.

Susannah is going through a terrible divorce after her husband’s affair and bankruptcy. She has moved her and her two boys to Biglow. Not knowing anyone in the tiny village, she feels alone and broke. Enter Charlotte Hegarty, the richest woman in Biglow, married to handsome lothario Dan. Susannah quickly learns, after a meet and greet at the Hegarty Manor, that all is not well with Charlotte and Dan. While Susannah seeks a friendship with the beautiful Charlotte, it is Dan whom she has an instant connection with. These two women are completely opposite with the timid Susannah and the wealthy and beautiful Charlotte, yet for a period they are best friends. While we don’t find out what secrets they hold until later in the book, we can sense each woman’s desperation to keep their past behind them. Interestingly, they don’t tell each other these secrets.

Alex Day tells the story of Susannah and Charlotte’s whirlwind friendship from each other’s point of view, though when the reader hears from Charlotte, she is mostly speaking in private dialogue, which becomes somewhat eerie as the story unfolds. We witness the forming of a connection between Susannah and Dan, spending more and more time together playing tennis, their common passion. When Charlotte leaves for summer in Corsica for two months, things heat up and Charlotte and Dan’s friendship results in a one-night stand, though Susannah immediately wants more. When Charlotte returns from Corsica, the story immediately takes an unexpected turn.

This interesting and easy read has a plethora of emotion, ranging from jealousy, betrayal, anger, desire and confusion. When all of these emotions come together, vengeful becomes the foremost feeling. There are various red herrings throughout the book, but ultimately, we don’t learn what their secrets are until we are almost finished with the book, though Charlotte’s history is easier to figure out. While this is not a book that will blow the reader away, I found myself unable to put it down.

The last few pages don’t disappoint where everything is revealed and one of them will pay for their lies.

The Best of Friends is a slow burn but well worth the fire of the last moments. Alex Day does an amazing job of bringing us inside the heads of his characters and revealing their innermost thoughts.

This story was intense and unexpected. I went in blind, other than just loving the cover, and was so impressed. Well worth the read.

Have you ever trusted a friend so much that you revealed secrets better left in your past? If so, this book is for you!

When Susannah moves with her two boys to a quiet town in the country after her divorce, she believes it's for a fresh start. What she finds is a provincial town, with established friendships and a quick rumor mill. So when her boys make quick friends at school, and she's befriended by Charlotte, mom of boys her son's age, who turns out to be the owner of the biggest house in town and benefactor for many social events, she is thrilled! And when she meets Charlotte's handsome, rich husband, she promises to keep an eye on him "out of friendship". Well, you all know where that is going....

I loved how the author used alternating point of view with Charlotte's chapters written as though she were speaking directly to Susannah. Each character reveals just the right amount of themselves, and boy that ending is a gotcha!

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for an advanced reader's copy for review.

Thank you NetGalley and Alex Day and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read The Best of Friends
I really enjoyed this novel, it was a page turner and easy to follow the characters and the plot was well thought out. The story is told from two perspectives which is sometimes hard to follow, but not in this case
Susannah has recently moved to a cozy little town with her two sons after a divorce from her now ex husband. She is worried that it will be difficult to make new friends
Charlotte is married to Dan, they have 3 children, they are extremely well off, luckily Dan has a very good job, but this also means he is rarely around
Susannah and Charlotte both have secrets, once the two of them become acquainted we started to find out more about them and their pasts... Their relationship leads to the children becoming friends, but also some drama
I recommend this as a good book to read and will read more from Alex Day

With friendships like these, who needs enemies? Full of twists and turns and an unforseen storyline, I found this to be an intriguing and page turning plot. Susannah moves to a small village after the breakdown of her marriage and being left penniless by her husband. From knowing no one at all, she soon becomes close to the richest and most influential female in the village, Charlotte, and her husband Dan. Both females have secrets from their past which they are trying to hide, which are eluded to frequently. The unfolding story was not only of the current friendships, but also of both Susannah and Charlotte's past, which cleverly result in an intricate and quickly changing storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend for anyone who enjoys plot twists which they will not see coming!

I was interested in this story as it began, but the more I got to learn about the main protagonists, Susanna and Charlotte, I realized pretty quickly I couldn’t stand either one. There was always this promise that this was going to lead to some exciting head to head between these two very driven women, but it was an incredibly slow build. I am one of those people that doesn’t like to not finish a book, but I seriously considered not finishing this one. It got a little bit more interesting wants some secrets were revealed but nothing was very earth shattering and I guess you could call the twist at the end somewhat easy to see coming. I’d write this one a solid 3.5 stars.

Susannah is new to the village and desperate to make friends. On the outside Charlotte might seem like she has it all, but looks can be deceiving. Both of these women are keeping secrets from the world and manage to find friendship in one another - but can their friendship withstand their secrets?

Unfortunately, this one really fell flat for me. I felt like the story was very slow and dragged out and upon finding out Charlotte's secret, I was really let down as I was expecting it to be more exciting. I will say that there were some unexpected character developments that made me change my allegiances towards the end but otherwise I really had to force myself to read this book. Nothing in the story was captivating or all that exciting and the constant back and forth between past and present in the middle of the chapters sometimes made it hard to follow along.

**I always cringe when I have to give a poor review as I know the author spends massive amounts of time creating something for the world to see. As an avid reader, I have the utmost respect for authors and am grateful for the content they create for us.

The premise of this book was really intriguing but I really struggled with reading it. I felt like the verbiage was too intellectual and didn’t easily flow. It was more of a very slow burn drama rather than a fast paced thriller, which I typically prefer. I really appreciate receiving a widget from the publisher as I’ve discovered some of my very favorite books that way!

Started off a little slow, but once it got going it was worth the wait. This book had it all, friendship, lies, love, and deception. Full of twists and turns you won’t see coming..

I really enjoyed the style of writing where the relationship between the two main characters was almost diary like. The reader got an insight into what they were thinking rather than what they were saying to each other.

Unfortunately I did not like the characters (maybe we weren’t meant to) and did find it predictable. Having said that it was easy to read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review #TheBestOfFriends