Told from 2 points of view, 2 “best friends” each with their own secrets.

This one really had me guessing! From afar it looked pretty obvious, but then I kept thinking “But there’s no way, becaaaauuuuse...”

I was both right AND wrong on how I thought it would end! Honestly there really wasn’t any likable characters, and I usually hate that, but in this book I didn’t mind it so much. I thought one of the friends hidden secret past was going to turn into a lot more, but ended up really being nothing too dramatic and was easily taken care of in the end. But I really enjoyed the main story line, and a big twist ending!

This book had a great premise! And I loved the POVs of the storytelling. So it seems everyone has something to hide. Maybe a deep personal secret. Interesting how the layers peel back and reveal the inner demons for the women.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Wow!! This book was absolutely brilliant !! I was completely blown away! This is a new to me author and I can’t wait to read more by them

The Best of Friends refers to Charlotte and Susannah, who become quick friends when Susannah moves into the small town. Both woman are hiding secrets, but things begin to unravel. This is a slow-burn psychological thriller, uncomplicated but suspenseful, told in alternating POV from the two friends, which works well. The story creeps along, building the suspense, but stay with it for the explosions that come. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is not a thriller it’s a domestic suspense/drama at best. It’s about two women who are completely different in every way coming together in an ultimate betrayal. Not my favorite.

Susannah and Charlotte are an unlikely pair of friends. Susannah has everything money can buy, and Charlotte has moved to Susannah’s village to live cheaply after becoming a single mother under crushing debt of her ex husband’s. Both women have secrets, and as their lives cross in an ultimate and irrevocable betrayal, how far will each woman go to exact revenge?

This was a fun, very basic read. For any reader familiar with domestic/psychological thrillers, the plot is quite predictable — albeit with a fresh take on a very traditional story. I anticipated the ending twist and was unsurprised. This would be a fun read if you were in search of a simple, quick book to pass time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

I was quite expecting a thriller that can make me jump but this is more like a domestic drama and suspense in one. It somewhat reminds me of Days of Our Lives or any other tv soap operas. It was quite dragging but in between I still find okay... by that the emotion i felt while reading this was "Well, I am almost half, might as well finish".
Maybe this one isn't for me but some other readers may like it. I am also open to the author's other works because if this one did not work for me then the author's other works could.

Susannah and her two boys have moved from London after a messy divorce and are hoping to start a new life.

Charlotte is married to Dan and has four boys, they appear to have the perfect life. Gorgeous, glamorous and have a luxury home. The golden couple that people cannot help but envy!!

The two women are poles apart, but have something major in common. They are both running away from a secret but some secrets will not stay buried!!

Susannah and Charlotte become friends, Susannah enjoys spending time with both Charlotte and Dan, and is not blind to Dan’s good looks and charm!!

The story is told from Susannah and Charlotte’s perspectives as we delve into their pasts and find out what has made them both so secretive.

The slow build up of tension leads to a more than satisfying ending with twists along the way that kept me gripped until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This book was more of a domestic suspense than a mystery/thriller, but it was a quick read that did give us a mystery to solve in the latter part. It centers on Susannah, who moves out to the country with her 2 kids after her divorce; and Charlotte, who is the queen bee of the new neighborhood and desperate for some female companionship. The 2 become fast friends, and the chapters alternate between them in a way that reveals both to be unreliable narrators (which is a writing style that I enjoy).

Not a lot happens through most of the book, but there is a sense that something is going to happen soon, which makes it a quick read. When it does happen, the pace quickens and the reader has to decide who is telling the truth. I found Susannah to be ridiculously naïve and was shaking my head around some of the decisions that she made- perhaps being married so long altered her ability to make decisions as a single woman. Charlotte was also unlikeable but made better decisions.

The language itself in this book was delightful- I had to look up a few words, as the author wrote beautiful prose and seemed to find just the right words to explain various situations throughout the book.

All in all, this was a decent read for me- there is a bit of a mystery towards the end, but it reads overall more like a soap opera for the better part of the book. That being said, I liked the overall writing style and the fact that I had to figure out whether each woman just had a different perception of events that occurred, or was deliberately misleading the reader. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little disappointed in this story line. The Best of Friends by Alex Day has a lot of potential as the two main protagonists are both quite complex (and a little crazy in my opinion) but the story line just dragged for way too long. It took us about three-quarters through the book before anything really happened-before that we get both Susannah and Charlottes view points as to what is happening in their life currently and what happened in their pasts. They are both unlikeable and the story is very predictable. I would give the book a chance as you may like it more than I did and it has gotten quite favorable reviews from others.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Divorced Susannah with two young sons starts a new life in a village where the VIP is Charlotte's rich family. They slowly become friends. Or is it just pretence?
There are many secrets in women's past and present lives, even some suspicious events that can disturb superficial existence of both of them and their families.

Written from two different perspectives, with all twists and turns, the book keeps the reader really interested and I enjoyed it very much.

Overall very good read.

This a very well written and structured read. Told from two perspectives, it tells the tale of two friendships. One from a divorce "normal" background and one from the super rich.

Like anything looks can be deceiving. One wants what the other has. However a big secret stands in the way with gripping consequences.

It's an interesting one and is enjoyable. It's language is a formal feel and written from a very educated writer - it's clear Day is a teacher. It flows nicely but drags in parts. There's a blurred like as to where the story actually goes and as to whether it's more a love story than a physiological one,. This changes, bluntly, closer to the gripping and albeit slightly twisted ending.

Told through two different perspective and two sets of secrets. It proves that money doesn't buy happiness and that the images we protect can be deceptive and not a true reflection of ourselves. It also states how hell has no fury than a woman scorned.

Moderate pace but nothing that packs a punch. Chapters vary in size and pace making it not a edge of the seat ride where you want to fully read in one sitting.

Great character development and creation where you really feel them and what there going through. The difference in perspective is clearly and cleverly defined in writing style.

Realistic and not overly dramatic it presents a nice read. Nothing overly excited to write home about but overall a good read.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Just could not get into this book and could not enjoy these women. Dragged on like a tedious soap opera, hardly a thriller. Pass

Charlotte and Susannah become best friends who, on paper, shouldn't work. Both have secrets, both lie and are manipulative.

Told from both women's perspective the story flits from one to the other. I like this style of writing because you get to see what each one is thinking throughout the story. Great twists in the book. It turns into quite the page turner.

I wouldn't say this is a Mystery/Thriller. It's more like a "women's drama". A bit predictable, but a fun read overall. Plus I learned a lot of new words reading this book - the author either has a tremendous vocabulary, or is very good with a thesaurus!

A brilliant depiction of friendship on the verge of obsession, post a traumatic divorce. An excellent storyline and fascinating characters!

I enjoyed the quick, easy read nature of this book. I felt it was a little predictable, however, liked the to and fro between the two protagonist point of views - the "mystery" throughout was pretty light but the ending could go either way building on some tension, I liked the writing style and digested it in a single sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book as I love a novel with different viewpoints. Susannah has just moved to the small London village with her two young sons after a rather bitter divorce. Charlotte, who has four sons--two the same age as Susannah's--sees this as an opportunity to make a new friend with whom to share secrets and impress with her lavish lifestyle and handsome husband. The two do become fast friends but of course nothing is as it seems, and Susannah appears to be getting a little too close to Charlotte's charismatic husband Dan. We also get a glimpse of Susannah's past where she took drastic measures to eliminate her boyfriend's new woman. Neither of the two women are incredibly likable but that doesn't bother me in the least. It's a fast-paced read and I will definitely read more of Day's novels in the future!

In The Best Of Friends Susannah and her two boys are rebuilding their lives in the small village of Biglow. Newly divorced and harbouring resentment towards her ex for finding herself alone and financially constrained, Susannah is keen that her and the boys settle into this new, if less than luxurious way of life. The possibility of friendship comes in the form of Charlotte Hegarty, lady of the manor, married to the ridiculously handsome and super rich Dan. Charlotte wants for nothing in her life although unfortunately Dan’s wealth can’t buy them a more harmonious relationship. These two women couldn’t be more opposite with Susannah timid and self effacing and the glamorous Charlotte lauding her fabulous lifestyle over the rest of the village inhabitants yet they quickly become the best of friends. With their lives rapidly entwining, hints of troubled pasts that beset both women come floating to the surface reminding the reader that first impressions can be deceptive. What are the secrets this pair are so desperate to keep hidden and should you place your faith and trust in someone you’ve only just met?

The story of Susannah and Charlotte’s whirlwind friendship is told simply with chapters devoted to one or the other, allowing the reader a different perspective on their current and past lives. Almost immediately the storyline suggests one woman’s past could undermine the future of this friendship and/or that there may be more sinister motives behind insinuating themselves into each other’s lives.
Every range of emotion you’d expect to encounter in any psychological thriller can be found within this storyline with jealousy betrayal, secrets, lies and the desire for revenge complicating this so called friendship. It really is a simple case of keep your friends close and your enemies even closer as these two perfidious women dance around each other like opponents in a boxing ring. Three quarters of the way through when the author finally decides to increase the pace, the battle between Susannah and Charlotte truly commences. In keeping with the tennis theme present in these pages, my mind conjured forth an image of an umpire taking turns to call “advantage Ms Hegarty” or “advantage Ms Carr.” Who will reign victorious? This question leads to yet another; will you even care? With both women extremely unlikeable they both become fair game!

Annoyingly whilst this is a nice easy read to curl up with there really are few, if any surprises to knock the reader off balance. The various clues scattered throughout this storyline are not as well hidden as I’d have liked and I found it way too easy to guess the secret Charlotte is desperately trying to hide from her husband Dan. As for Susannah, details of her background and past relationship history allows the reader to jump straight to the correct conclusions which is such a shame as I wanted the author to confuse, mislead and surprise me with a knockout ending. Instead it’s predictable, lacking in the requisite tension and thrill elements so reluctantly I can only rate this as disappointingly mediocre. On a slightly more positive note despite the lack of ambiguity and obfuscation I still found myself racing through the pages, unwilling to give up on the storyline until I’d read the final words, even if only to confirm my original suspicions. Ok, these thoughts may not amount to a ringing endorsement of this thriller ( think more along the lines of psychological drama) but there are far worse books you could spend your time reading, in my opinion. As this is also the first book I’ve read by this author, I feel I wouldn’t be averse to investigating her back catalogue on the basis I found the writing style easy and undemanding. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

Unfortunately this book didn't stand out to me in any way. I was able to finish it just says something but it wasn't an OMG book. I still recommend reading it.