Oh how I love Lexie Elliot. I love the juxtaposition of a murder set against a setting of 'paradise'. This one was eerie, unsettling and will leave the reader second guessing everything.

I love Lexie Elliott's books and this one did not disappoint. This was a pretty tense read. The dysfunction present. Very interesting approach.

The characters in this aren't wholly unlikeable, but they're not really likeable either. That's not always a bad thing, but I feel like they're not fleshed out enough to give me an opinion on them. I also didn't love the alternating narrators between Georgie and Bron, I often couldn't remember which one was narrating at the time. I didn't quite figure out the twists, especially the one revealed at the very end, which bumped it up one star.

I am having to go through and do some reviews on books from months, if not years ago, as my old phone with the reviews was lost.... I found this book incredibly interesting, although I figured out the first twist quite early on. There were times when the book was almost.... disjointed, maybe? It probably was from having two first person female narratives, however. Definitely have recommended this book multiple times as an easy, fb beach read and intend to continue to do so.

This is a well-written mystery-thriller about the death of one of a group of friends. Cleverly inserted throughout the book are various methods of potentially killing one's best friend. Whose ideas are these and why are they included? Who wants someone dead and why?

I figured out really quickly where this was going and there was nothing very surprising for me. The cast of characters is rather large, and we alternate between two points of view--that of Bronwyn and that of Georgie. Both women have things they are hiding--some things from each other and some things the two of them are hiding from the rest of the group.

When all is said and done I didn't really love the twists or the motives behind the various actions. I heard this is being made into a movie or series for HBO, and I think that might actually be a much better venue for this story. I spent so much of the time trying to figure out the connections between the various characters that seeing faces would really help to make things flow better. It's a very slow paced book, because from start to finish it only covers a couple of days and overall not much happens until the end. The slow set-up does make the book rather plodding for a while, it certainly would have benefitted from a "And Then There Were None" scenario or more clues and surprises unearthed along the way to keep it from being so predictable.

Not a terrible book, but nothing captivating either. It's a decent, well-written summer mystery if you're looking for something to pass the time.

I was able to guess the first twist but I did not see the second one coming. This was a fun and twisty mystery following a group of friends, mourning the loss of their friends. I look forward to reading more of Lexie Elliott's books in the future.

I’m hoping that no one reading this has ever thought about killing their best friend, but if you have… well this is the book to give you some ideas! Cleverly starting each chapter with a method you could kill someone (only if you really needed to), Lexie Elliott’s How to Kill Your Best Friend is a slowly escalating suspense novel that will definitely have you questioning those you think you know best!

Told in both the present and flashing back to college and the years after, How to Kill Your Best Friend follows a group of friends from university as they come together for the memorial for one of their own, Lissa. Lissa, Georgie, and Bron were college swimmers and best friends, though Georgie and Lissa shared a special bond that no one else in their friend group could crack. It seems strange, then, that Lissa seems to have drowned while swimming in Kanu Cove, just off the resort she and her husband own and operate.

The story alternates between Georgie and Bron’s perspective, and I have to say they couldn’t be more different as characters. Georgie is secretive, closed off, and beautiful in a reserved way. Bron is shorter, curvy, transparent, and desperate to be included. I liked both in a way, and I also disliked both women in other ways. Lissa was a mysterious and somewhat toxic figure in the past. Georgie and Lissa have a special bond, almost like sisters. At the same time, it seems clear that they haven’t spoken or seen each other for awhile. In fact, Georgie has taken a job in the US and hasn’t really been in touch with any of their friends until now.

Did Lissa actually drown? Or did something more sinister happen? Everyone in this book has secrets and there are plenty of suspects to go around as secrets reveal themselves.

This book has a slow, steady pace. Much of what happens through the first 75% is slow reveals about the characters, their backstories, and small clues about what may be going on. The pace picks up towards the end. I find this pace is common for British thrillers—many Americans refer to them as “slow-burns” because compared to American thrillers, they do have a different rhythm to them.

I enjoyed it overall and thought the structure was clever. I don’t mind a slow pace but this one felt a bit too slow through the first half. The ending made it worth it.

A fun thriller, I was so distracted by the main twist, that I was caught completely unaware by the second one. Very well done. Rec for fans of Gone Girl, Ruth Ware, or other twisty thrillers.

A suspenseful thriller with plenty of twists and turns in a tropical setting, making it a perfect beach read!

For some reason this novel did not grab my attention. I was only able to make it about halfway through before I felt my interest wane. I jumped to the end to see how things resolved and while I do think the writing was good and the overall story decent, for whatever reason it wasn't something that grabbed me enough.

Could not get in to this one! The writing was slow and just didn’t hold my attention at all. Had to DNF at 20%

Georgie and Lissa have been best friends forever. When Lissa turns up dead, Georgie meets up with all of their old swim friends for her memorial and to grieve. Lissa and her husband Gem, own a resort which is now deserted after the public found out about Lisa’s death. This is where everything takes place. Soon Georgie is getting menacing notes and is attacked on her way back to the resort. Their other friend Bronwyn also seems to be getting similar threats. As secrets start to unfold, Georgie starts to unravel the mystery of what happened to her friend. The thing is, everyone has their own secrets and it’s up to the group to make their own assumptions on who is the threat.
I enjoyed this locked room whodunit. There were a few twists I saw coming and a few that I didn’t. Overall, I thought it was a well written story and is worth the read. Thank you Netgalley and Berkeley Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It feels like I have been trying to knock off books on my unread NG shelf for years now. This is one of them.

How to Kill Your Best Friend has an interesting premise to it, and I think it would make for a good summer read when you want something to read while you are relaxing in the sun.

With a title like How to Kill Your Best Friend, I went in this with high expectations! This is a new author for me and I was very much looking forward to a suspense-filled ride. It was a little disappointing but overall I thought it was a decent read. I thought at times things were confusing or just too rambling. And what was this whole serpent thing? That was weird. It held my attention for the most part and was a little predictable.

How To Kill Your Best Friend is a super-slow burn towards a crazy ending of a novel. I am not always a huge fan of the slow burn, but this book did it really well. I loved the way the chapters were set up and the back and forth between characters as you try to figure out who did what to who and why. This is the first book I've read by Lexie Elliott and it definitely won't be my last!

Lexie Elliott has writing chops! She can write! I didn't want this one to end. I flew through the pages, constantly saying to myself "just one more page." That is the indication that you know you have a winner. This book was incredible and I'm a Lexie Elliott fan for life.

I was super intrigued to get my hands on this book with the title being super blunt and it seemed as though it would be a pretty intense read. It took me a while to read it because it didn't exactly catch my attention or really suck me in. It ultimately reminded me of The Guest List by Lucy Foley, but with a more obvious storyline of "whodunit." By halfway through the book, I already knew how the book was going to unfold, so I wasn't excited to finish the ending, but I did. It was a decent read, but wish it was a little more unsuspecting!

When I first saw this book pop-up on my NetGalley I thought: "Yes! I need to read this book." And I don't regret picking it up but it was not what I was expecting. A lot of the book focused on swimming, and I think that took away form the murder mystery. I also felt like we got caught up in the main characters thoughts a ton, which wasn't a bad thing but I wanted more about the mystery part. Apart from that, each chapter started with research with how to kill someone methods that were entertaining (that might make me morbid!). The mystery itself was solid and I think if the right person walked into my library I would tell them about it - thank goodness for library sharing so I could order it for them! This book was a good 3.5/4 stars for me!

A group of three ladies have been best friends since they were on their college swim team. One of them has just died, by drowning. They are shocked because she was the strongest swimmer of all of them.
They fly to attend her memorial and while there, begin to realize something is not right.
Are they in danger too?

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">