I enjoyed this read, but it was just a little too slow for the bulk of the novel than I personally prefer. I understand the set up was necessary, but I think my biggest issue was that I just didn't like any of the characters and it was difficult to wholly root for any of them. I found myself speed reading through some just to get to the plot twist that I knew would come, which I will say is very unexpected and totally genius!

Loved this thriller/mystery. The ending is intense and something that comes out of the blue. It was a story that kept its pace over the whole book.

This book started out really slow for me but picked up at about 30%…. I love a good unreliable character and as always all the female MC’s had dirty secrets. I did not expect the twist at the end but building up to it things started to really click and then BOOM everything makes sense. Really good writing and enjoyable story.

Jade is a trainer in a gym who suddenly disappears without trace. Natalie is a lonely, damaged librarian who was befriended by Jade. she considers Jade as her best friend, and vows to find who is responsible for Jade's disappearance.
There are multiple suspects, Susan, a rich selfish wife of a successful lawyer, Grace, a busy wife and mother, both who are members of the gym, and of course the staff at the gym as well.

The books is told by multiple POV's, and the reader is kept in total suspense throughout the book.

I enjoyed the story, but found the long chapters, where the author wrote a lot of 'waffle' which was not necessary, in my opinion.

The twists in the book were unexpected, especially the twists revealed in the end.

The title was the reason why I wanted to read this book. I would have to admit, it was really slow at first.
It turned out to be worth it at the end.
Thank you Netgalley.

Toxic friendships, relationships and family fill this psychological thriller. Natalie, Grace and Susan attend a yoga class taught by the vivacious and beautiful Jade who keep secrets about and from the women in her class. Interesting premise was well executed and I could t wait to see how it all played out.

This book is about four women connected by a fitness class. The title is a little misleading, it's not really a "loyal friend" who goes missing with her friend group rallying around to find her. Anyway, the class instructor goes missing. We slowly learn about the secrets the four women are hiding. The first half of the book moves a bit slowly but the pace picks up eventually and there are some surprising twists and turns.

Jade, the fitness instructor, disappears. All her clients in the gym class are under suspicion. All have secrets to hide.
We delve further into the secrets, led by her closest friend Natalie, to discover what happened to Jade.
Great story telling and I had no idea who was behind it all, becoming very sympathetic with each character.
Definitely a book to keep you up reading late, as so many twists and turns. Excellent book!

I was a big fan of AA Chaudhuri's previous book 'She's Mine' . 'The Loyal Friend' is a strong follow up with as many twists and turns as its predecessor. I was slightly concerned I may have overdosed on novels about interconnected women each with their own secrets which slowly emerge - four of the last five books I've read have used the premise - albeit each with enough difference to make them very different.
This one is more of a slow burn than 'She's Mine' - more of a character and relationship development - primarily from the point of view of Natalie and her relationship with her fitness instructor and friend Jade, but increasingly from wealthy, narcissist Susan and apparently stressed wife and mum Grace - so that it's exactly half way through the book before the first of the secrets is revealed. If you're put off by the idea of slow teases then you may find this challenging, but if you're into a creeping 'something definitely isn't right here...' vibe, then this could well be the book for you.
Chaudhuri does a good job of bringing a lot of apparently disparate threads together to a very twist turny climax that's sure to please those who enjoyed the last novel or, indeed, new readers.
Thank you to Hera and Netgalley for my advanced copy of the book in return for an honest review.

A twist and turn packed thriller. Very suspenseful with well-drawn and loathsome but believable characters! An entertaining read with a very surprising ending you won't see coming!

**ARC provided through Netgalley thanks to Hera Books for an honest review**

**3 STARS**

This is a psychological thriller about secrets, lies and the disappearance of one Woman and the search for her that untangles and reveals it it all. The blurb alluded to them being friends but they are not. Except for one friendship between two of the women, the rest is just that they are simply connected by Jade, the Woman who goes missing and who runs the fitness class they all attend. There is no even pretense they are friends, not for me anyway.

This book is split down the middle for me. Some things didn't work for me and others did.

The writing & the pacing:
This is quite a slow build up. Through the different Points of Views we get given the information slowly. The second half is definitely the more exciting half of the book. It made me sit up and pay attention for sure. Also in the beginning the writing is very descriptive focused. Genuinely reminded me of English class in school with emphasis on describing random things or movements. The dialogue was often stilted especially in Natalie's POV. At the beginning there was also a weird emphasis on describing the weather?!


The Characters:
Our Main Characters are Jade, Susan, Natalie and Grace.
Natalie has had an incredibly traumatic life. My heart hurt for her but she was also pretty intense and lots of repressed feelings. There's also the whole ugly duckling syndrome that surrounds her. Even in the beginning she's described as wearing an ankle length skirt and a turtle neck until Jade saved her and she joins the fitness classes.

Jade is more of a mystery throughout the book but her own secrets unravel too.

Susan is the bitter one. She looks out for number one and done some seriously horrendous things in making sure to land the luxurious life she wanted. She is the clichéd mean girl type. She is repulsive but there is one stage where I actually felt sorry for her in a weird way. So kudos to the author for getting them feelings from me.

Grace is meticulous. She has carefully crafted what others see so that they don't look too close to unravel her past.

None of the characters are particularly likeable but some are worse than others for sure.

The Secrets and Mystery:
Naturally with this genre with each secret unravelled, the more directions the reader gets pulled in. There were some twists I seen coming. Others I absolutely didn't. One of Grace's definitely threw me off. Halfway through I thought I had the ending figured out, and was so confident in my theory and I couldn't have been more wrong lol.

Fatphobia and Misogyny:
First of all, almost all the characters here are terrible. This book is centred around women and they all do some horrendous things or questionable things at the very least.
However, there is some weird strains of misogyny running through this book. Some I think added to the overall story, other parts seemed weirdly placed.

The club at which the fitness classes take place is an integral part of the story. But omg the obsession with fatness and thinness. It's dressed up as fitness but it's all a facade that's not hard to see through. It's so exhausting reading about it. At one point I wanted to give up because of it. Then I thought perhaps it's inline with the plot and will be challenged or have some sort of commentary to it. But no. It was this obsession with particularly Natalie's fatness. Now I couldn't tell you what size she is just that she's not as thin as the others but throughout the whole book it's commented on. I was already struggling with whether it was part of the storyline or just personal opinions coming through. Then in the end there's a note from the author which talks about what the book meant to her, about how she wanted to include mental health and mental illness into the story and she definitely did that in many different ways. She also touches on the importance of fitness for her own mental health. This cemented the feeling that the fatphobia that came up in many ways in this book didn't really add to the plot nor did it feel like commentary on the way people are treated.

Whether the fatphobia bothers people or not is one thing but I think in general, the absolute obsession with commenting on weight made reading this story exhausting and frustrating at times.

First of all, thanks to netgally and Hera books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The book follows four woman who all have their secrets. When Jade disappears without a trace, some of the secrets are about to be exposed.

This book was definitely a thriller that kept your attention. In the beginning I found some of the dialogues a bit long and wondered why the author used so much space for discussions I didn’t see the relevance of, but later in the book I realized that we needed the details to be led in different directions and possibilities. I found Susan the least convincing character, she was just so shallow. I liked Grace and Natalie though. Natalie also grew on me when she decided to investigate what might have happened by herself.

I must say the book kept me guessing. I was tossed back and forth, between one crazy theory after another. When the suspense really increased, I was gobsmacked! Didn’t see THAT coming! I also loved the last chapter, it was a fun addition to the story.

The author included a lot of cliffhangers that kept me turning the pages.

Well done!

A great thriller centred on three women with differing personalities and lifestyles. All members of the same gym they all have secrets which are well hidden until Jade, the Gym Instructor goes missing.
This is a fast paced novel with a few twists in the story and an ending I didn't see coming. A great read which I thoroughly enjoyed
Many thanks to Netgalley, and Hera books for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, I am under no obligation to leave my review

An utter page turner that left me whizzing through pages and on the edge of my seat the whole time.. Susoenseful, mysterious, twisty and unpredictable, I was left guessing right until the end, I loved it

This book was fantastic! I the plot twist was incredible. I was able to feel for each of the characters so well. Just a great read that I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was definitely a slow burn but worth the read. Once the pace picked up I could not put it down. The book explores female friendships, and the dark side of thay. The twists were interesting and kept me on my toes.

I did dislike the character at times and felt they were a little underdeveloped. But it's a love a hate kind of thing in thriller books like this.

What I did love:
- exploring of female friendships. The dynamic between all the characters was interesting and well written. A lot of it I did not expect!
- Slow burn because I am a sucker for that
- The plot twists were definitely unexpected


Overall I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun thriller that has real housewife vibes to it! Fun read and one I couldn't put down. 4 stars out of 5.

Once I started I could not stop well written and filled with twists and turns to keep you reading til the very end! Thank you Netgalley and publishers!!

This has the essence of "Real Housewives" on paper. The characters are shallows and not developed. The storyline was boring and underwhelming. I had to push through hoping for an amazing ending. That was not the case.

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

Thank you NetGalley and Hera Books for an early copy of The Loyal Friend. Wow this had soooooo many twists at the END of the book, my head is spinning! It was a good read, different type of plot that you couldn’t guess what was happening even if you tried. The ending was a definite shocker, very sick minds in this book. A real Psychological!!!

I loved this book! Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down.
It’s well written and intriguing with plenty of twists. The ending was truly outstanding.
This book is definitely worthy of 5 stars!