Unfortunately I could not get into this book - other readers may enjoy it more. I did not finish it in the end

Great thriller that keeps you on the edge of you seat. I loved the main characters and how the story progressed.

A very clever read with some fantastic twists that really took me by surprise. I'm really looking forward to reading more from the author based on this. Great plot and characters and a writing style that makes you want to keep reading.

What a great story! Finally an original and different plot to the usual mystery and thriller books!
The plot twist towards the end did leave me a little confused, but I still thought it was a great way for the story to get to its conclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for letting me review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My name is Isabel Butterworth.
Your name is Isabel Butterworth. We're around the same age. We live in the same town.

But your life is more exciting than mine, isn't it? Richer, dramatic, more fulfilling. Imagine if I'd never found out about you... But I have.

Because someone mistook me for you. And now I can't stop thinking about you because I know you're in trouble. You need my help, and I need a way to get to know you. To save you. To be you!!

This is a great intense read that is full of twists and secrets that kept me engrossed throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a character-driven mystery full of twists that kept me engaged. The premise instantly captivated me. two women with the same name, living in the same town are drawn together in an intriguing set of circumstances. Are one of them in peril, or are both lives in danger? Could becoming another person be the solution to this puzzle? Entertaining, suspenseful, and original describe this mystery thriller. Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

This was an addictive & suspenseful domestic noir read that had me staying up late to continue reading! Isabella (Izzy) Butterworth lives in Lincoln, working from home as a virtual assistant & becoming increasingly estranged from her own life. Occasionally she receives emails intended for another Isabella Butterworth, but thinking how strange it is, she ignores them. Then she is confronted outside her home by a man who demands to know where Isabella Butterworth is. It quickly becomes clear to Izzy that this man is dangerous and looking for her name twin!
Using the emails she has she decides to track down Bella to warn her and Izzy hatches a plan to meet and then befriend Bella, using a fake identity - what could possibly go wrong! I won't give anything else away, but this was a book packed with several unexpected twists, plenty of red herrings, lies and a huge amount of deception! You'll be questioning just how well do you know your friends!

This a book that will have your head spinning. Just when you think you have it figured out another unexpected twist will come out of nowhere. This is a very quick read. Thank you to netgalley for complimentary copy.

I eventually started to enjoy this- it took me a while to get into and I did get slightly confused at one point and thought I’d missed something when there was a plot twist. But in the end I did like it and the kind of cliffhanger at the end.

This was a great read, had me hooked from the start.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

A solid suspense / thriller read that kept me entertained and definitely guessing throughout.

When Isabella is confronted by a frightening stranger outside her apartment one evening she soon realises he's after another Isabella. The one with the exact same first and last name as her. The one whose emails sometimes accidently end up in her inbox instead of the other Isabella.

This then starts her down a rabbit warren to try and find her name twin. Is she in danger, why was this stranger after her? It's a bit ridiculous when you actually sit down and think about it rationally and there are definitely times when I found the story line a little slow but more frustratingly it was also quite confusing at times.

I couldn't understand who was who in the end and found myself having to flick back through previous chapters to re-clarify things.

I really enjoyed the twist at the end, and even though it was all wrapped up in confusion for me, the actual story-line of the last quarter of the book was really good.

Although not the best thriller I've ever read this was still a solid read that held my interest for most of the book.

A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one.

My first book by Nell Pattison and I enjoyed it a lot! I loved the way the story unfolded through dual points of view. The storyline and characters had me hooked from the beginning. There are a couple of storylines, with some twists and turns bringing everything together perfectly with a nice twist at the end! I would highly recommend this one, it left me wanting more from Nell Pattison!

I do love a book by Nell and this certainly lived up to expectations.
Great story, well written and twists and turns as usual
Recommended

I was really enjoying this read until a major plot twist that left me quite confused and scratching my head. Even as I write this review, I still don’t think I have quite untangled the web that Pattison has weaved, which meant I was a bit disappointed with my overall experience of this book.

The novel switches between Izzy and Bella, two women that coincidentally share exactly the same name and happen to live in the same city. Their lives start to overlap with Izzy receiving emails from Bella, leading to Izzy becoming increasingly curiouser about her name-twin. Personally, I thought this element a bit far-fetched and that Bella had never followed this up to rectify the incorrect emails, but it is the catalyst that starts the story. As Izzy becomes more interested in Bella’s life, events cause her to need to make contact with this woman. The two appear to lead contrasting lives and I felt sorry for Izzy with her isolation, loneliness and reliance on takeaway dinners. She does not have the life of contentment.

Large chunks of the story focus on either Bella or Izzy. I liked that there were several consequential chapters on each character because it meant that I could really settle into their narrative. It made it less confusing and I enjoyed how Pattison makes the events follow directly on from the other character, adding continuity to the story. Ambiguities increase as the story develops and I was really intrigued about what revelations would come to the novel. However, a major plot development really threw me and I had to actually pause my reading to understand what direction the story was now taking – this is completely unlike me. Reading on, I had hoped some further explanations were going to be provided – it’s what I anticipate when characters start explaining their actions to one another – but this still didn’t help with my confusion.

As the novel reached its conclusion, I felt like some of my questions had been answered – but not all of them. Furthermore, the final twists at the end felt quite far-fetched and I was disbelieving about the mistaken identities. I thought it clever what Pattison was doing with the story, but some of the ideas were pushing what was believable and it made me feel a bit dissatisfied by the ending.

Don’t get me wrong: I think this is a very clever story and had huge potential. I really enjoyed my previous read from Pattison and this was largely on the same scale as that one. But, the execution in the last quarter did not match the building intensity of the read and the complexities of the story was a just a step too far for my head.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Between the Wines book review #17/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Friends Don't Lie
Author: Nell Pattison
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
AVAILABLE NOW!!

Sipping thoughts: Nell Pattison is magician. She definitely pulled a magic trick in this book much like a magicians slight of hand. There was one quick reveal that had me rereading multiple chapters because I thought I had missed something but it was just part of the magic trick. After that part, the rest of the story seemed to fall in place. It wad a good read.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @AvonBooksUK for an advanced copy of @FriendsDontLie.

#FriendsDontLie #NellPattison #AvonBooksUK #Avon #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #NewAdult

Nell Pattison is one of my favourite authors, I’ve read all of her books so I was really happy to get access to the advance copy of this one. It did not disappoint. The twist at the end took me completely by surprise. Highly recommend.

Thank you Avon Books UK, Avon and Netgalley for this oppprtunity. I felt to live inside the story of lies nd secrets. It was a greeping and curious reading with a twist I have not seen coming. So A little confusion but not too much make me like the discovery who is the liar.

"Friends don't lie" is a psychological thriller that keeps the reader invested in order to find out who is lying and why..
A 3 star read for me due to some bumpy patches throughout the book. The beginning was a bit slow for me but there are moments of wonderful dialogue that kept me reading. One bit of information shared with the reader,which seemed important to the character is glossed over and forgotten about all together.
However,there are a few twists along the way but the big reveal took me by complete surprise. A clever writing technique by Pattison in which readers naturally take the "bait" only to realize much later that they interpreted things completely wrong- brilliant move on Pattison's part.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Friends Don't Lie by Nell Pattison from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. WOW WOW WOW - this book kept me on the edge of my seat as I was dying to find out what path this would take. SO good! I thought I had it figured out but boy was I wrong! You will absolutely love this...read it ASAP.

I

Loved this one!

Was face passed and a real page turner. The characters development was great and I didn’t see the ending coming.

I didn’t like the characters but I feel like that was the whole point and it didn’t effect the enjoyment of reading this one at all.

Excited to read more of this author!!