Louise meets Darcy when their boys are in school together. Darcy is beautiful, rich and appears to have everything. Quickly she becomes Louise’s best friend. Their lives, their husbands, and their kids become intermeshed. But something about Darcy is off. Though she purports to be Louise’s friend she keeps doing things to slight Louise and her son. Boland has done a great job of filling in the backstory of one of the characters with flashback chapters but which character is this? I was kept on edge throughout the book. The narrator did a great job with all of the characters. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

A quick read that kept me interested until the end. I did guess what would happen, towards the end, but it did keep me wondering for the most part. More likeable characters than previous books I’ve read by the author. Fast paced and an interesting storyline. Recommend if you like this genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This one sucked me in pretty fast, as I really enjoy it’s the narrator. This one you’ll think you have figured out a few times, but it definitely managed to surprise me. I had a bit of mixed feelings on the book overall, but definitely a a decent read/listen.

The Best Friend by Shalini Boland
4.5 ⭐️
𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

———
Louisa sends her son to a new private school and meets one of the school mum’s Darcy. Louisa is envious of Darcy, she has it all - the fancy house, cars and money. They build a relationship, until Louisa starts noticing Darcy trying to sabotage her. When she tries to tell people nobody believes her, not even her husband. The frustration she goes through is felt by the reader completely. But is Louisa right, is Darcy really trying to ruin her life?

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 . . . 𝘞𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.

Gone girl meets a simple favour. I loved this book. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I felt the beginning of the book was a bit drawn out and it took a bit long to get to the good stuff. But once the story got going it didn’t stop.
I listened to this as an audiobook and found myself not wanting to turn it off. I did guess the twist, but I think that comes with having read so many psychological thrillers and mysteries in my time so I won’t hold that against the author.
The characters did fall a little flat for me, but it didn’t take away from the book at all.

Excellent plot line. Excellent writing style. I loved it and I loved the ending so much. This is the first book by this Author that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it.

Originally published in written format in 2018, this story makes an excellent audio book. I can't say I was completely surprised by some of the twists in the story, but nonetheless this is a rivetingly, suspenseful, thrilling read. I can see why this was chosen for an audio format and I really liked the Narrator too - overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Many thanks to NetGallery and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to get a copy of the new audio format.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.
Synopsis
Toxic school mums, money worries, paranoia, and murder... The Best Friend is a chilling psychological thriller from the Bestselling Author of The Girl from the Sea.

They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer ... Wrong.

Louisa's new best friend has it all - the house, the status, the money. But she's also hiding a dark secret. And as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend's life, events take a chilling turn . . .

"Sit on the edge of your seat and prepare for the ride!"

Well, I must admit I jumped at the chance to listen to this brilliant psychological thriller for a second time with the opportunity to review. Second time around did not disappoint at all, I was thoroughly gripped throughout again. When a new friend appears on the scene, maybe it’s wise to hold them in slight suspicion. Darcy the new friend is a masterclass in all things you don’t want in a friend. Loved it, fast paced, gripping, and stomach churningly believable plot, well rounded relatable characters and beautiful narration. An all round winner!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Very well written story with plenty of manipulation and paranoia! The narrator was perfect for this. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.

This book made me want to love it and hate it at the same time. Why does an author think it is okay to write a fast-paced book and then end with an unbelievable climax? I have always heard good reviews about Shalini Boland and a couple of her books are on my TBR too. One of the main reasons I picked this book up was because I wanted to see how she writes. Well...

<b>The Story:</b>
Louisa has moved to a new town with her husband, Jared, and son, Joe. She is worried about the move but when a local woman named Darcy welcomes her warmly, Louisa's fears are allayed. She finds that Darcy's son, Tyler, studies in the same class as Joe and they are good friends too. Mike, Darcy's husband, also befriends Jared and helps him with his business venture.

Darcy has everything - a big house, an amazing family, a doting husband, talent, money - and yet, after the first rush of meeting new people subsides, Louisa senses something darker in Darcy. Is the woman who she claims she is? She won't harm her family, will she?

<b>The Positives:</b>

1. The writing
I was impressed by the writing. At no point does the narrative sag or become boring. We are kept on our toes as Louisa and Darcy go on a crazy dance around each other.

2. The characters
I liked Louisa. She is frustrated with Darcy slowly impinging on her life but is unable to do anything. Darcy was cool too. I wasn't too happy with Jared but Beth was a pillar.

3. The narrator
I listened to the audiobook read by Katie Villa and loved her narration. She brings the characters to life.

<b>The Negatives:</b>

1. The ending
I mean, what was up with the ending? It was so ludicrous that resulted in some major eye rolls. I may or may not have seen the back of my head. There is a thing called coincidence and authors do use it in stories but it can be pulled only so far. The reason for Darcy's behaviour felt too unbelievable to me as well.

I won't hesitate to recommend Shalini Boland to others though I wouldn't want them to read this book first. I am not sure this book does justice to her work.

3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the Audio ARC.

I found this listen similar to another book I’ve read recently but I still enjoyed it. Told in a past and present timeline that keeps you guessing. It flowed well and the narration was perfect. Likeable characters that you could get on board with. I would have liked if there had of been some more twists and turns along the way as it was a little predictable at times. and the I found the outcome a little rushed and underwhelming as it could have gone so many ways. Enjoyable enough read.

3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to #TheBestFriend

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read The Best Friend by Shalini Boland in exchange for my honest feedback.
Louisa pretty much has it all.. the husband, a son, and a great job what could really be missing? She makes a new best friend once her son starts his new school and then she’s suspicious of her new BFF’s actions. 
This book brings a whole new meaning to keep your friends close and your enemies closer but how close is too close?

SPOILERS INCLUDED. I really wished I liked this book more. I am always confounded when women are made to feel their instincts are wrong. Too much, too soon and Louisa's hackles were up. Everyone told her she was crazy, but she knew. I think that is what I liked least about this book. It was there, it was obvious, and the woman was made to question her own instincts. The twist was not shocking, but the Louisa's family lack of faith was. Also if my husband took someone he had only known for a couple weeks word over mine there is no coming back...

The Best Friend by Shalini Boland Narrated by: Katie Villa was Superb audio psychological thriller . I was hooked from the beginning till the end. This audiobook had me sitting on the edge of my seat several times throughout.
Shalini Boland has away of writing that will have you hooked and everything you had planned for that day gets thrown out the window. All her books and audiobook I have listened to have been a 5 star read and this was just the same. A 5 star audiobook.

I highly recommend this new audiobook - "The Best Friend" by Shalini Boland. The Narrator Katie Villa was excellent 5 stars for her as well x

Big Thank you to Bookouture Audio, Netgalley and the author Shalini Boland for a copy of the audiobook in exchange of a review.

I have loved all of Shalini Boland's work and this one was no exception. As always, the character development is top tier and makes you fall for the characters pretty quickly. Per usual, this was filled with mind bending twists and turns that keep you guessing at every turn. What a brilliant ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Name of Book: The Best Friends
Author: Shalini Boland
Narrator: Katie Villa
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: May 31, 2022
My Rating: 4


This is my sixth novel by [author: Shalini Boland|4727364]. I recently read two [book: The Family Holiday|60643671] about six weeks ago and loved it ~ and an older one [book: The Girl from the Sea].
Ms. Boland keeps me curious. Love the twists and turns!
This story starts when Louisa and Jared Sullivan move into a new area and enroll their seven year old son Joe in a private school ~ (which they really cannot afford).
Darcy and Michael Lance also have a young son Tyler attend the same school. The young boys hit it off. When Louisa meets Darcy; she is sure they are going to be best friends.
Darcy seems to have everything – she is beautiful, has a dream house, is rich and her husband Michael is successful and powerful.
When the husbands meet, Mike is willing to help Jared with his new adventure by offering free office space. (Jared seems to always have some great idea and falls through.)
Soon Darcy shows her true self; which is certain more psycho than the sweet generous friend we recently saw. We readers certainly see this but Louisa is so clueless, I wanted to shake her
There are 30 year old flashbacks here and there ~seven year old Nicole and her five year old little brother are being abused by their nasty foul mouth alcoholic mother. I did not like these chapters but was sure there was a reason for this background info.
Hmmm not a big mystery as to who Nicole is. But I was sooo curious about the stalker as well as what is the reason why Darcy hates Louisa so much.

This was better than expected which was a bit strange as Ms. Boland does not disappoint and she didn't!!!
. This was a quick and great read for me.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Audiobook Publishing Date scheduled for today May 31, 2022.

Narrator 5 stars

Story 3 stars

So about a quarter of a way through this I felt like I'd read this before.... Turns out I had! In 2019 on Ebook form. Oops.

I always find that I have a little sick feeling in my stomach when I read Shalini Boland’s books, in the best possible way of course. Every innocent interaction might just be “the awful thing” so I am constantly on edge while reading! This book was no exception. This was very fast paced and kept my attention for the whole book.
Louisa has a great life, a beautiful boy, a husband that loves her and a part time job that she loves, what more could she want. Her husband has other ideas wanting to start out on his own in the advertising business, the thoughts of which sets Louisa on edge with their mortgage and hefty school fees for their sons’ prestigious school. Being the new Mum at the school gates is daunting and Louisa finds herself befriended by Darcy. They get along brilliantly, it’s just that little things keep happening and Louisa starts to wonder if Darcy is who she pretends to be. With everyone around her fooled by the charming American, Louisa feels that she might be losing her marbles. Add to all this the strange man that seems to be following her every move.
This was so well written and beautifully narrated, the tension in the story portrayed in the narrator’s voice to keep you on edge. The narrator kept a good pace and the change between characters was flawless. The little things built up until you wanted to reach into the pages and shake the character to make her see what was really going on. This book kept me guessing all the way to the end. Highly recommend!

Toxic school mums, money worries, paranoia and murder… The Best Friend is a chilling psychological thriller from the Bestselling Author of The Girl From The Sea that I read and reviewed earlier this month and was only released on the 13th of May! I originally thought that Shalini Boland was some kind of super writing machine (which she is of course) but it turns out this is a re-release from 2018, which I’m glad of as I missed out when this was first released ! As with the last book – this is another five star read! They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer… Wrong! Louisa’s new best friend has it all – the house, the status, the money. But, she’s also hiding a dark secret. As Louisa is drawn deeper into her friends’ life, events take a chilling turn…

Louisa starts to have doubts about her new friend, Darcy and as her concerns start to build about the little things that don’t seem to be adding up and the strange things that have been happening of late – Louisa’s fear and frustration grow as nobody seems to share her concerns! Is she being paranoid or is something not quite right about her ‘new friend’?

I found Louisa to be very relatable and felt sorry for her as the story unfolded. The tension and suspense in this story build to such a point that it was unreal. The pacing was steady and kept your interest throughout. The writing was great as usual and the plot twists were explosive! I loved that this book was also set local to me, in Sandbanks and Bournemouth like The Girl From The Sea was. The settings that Shalini Boland creates are always very visual and atmospheric.

I was lucky enough the be gifted the audiobook and the narrator, Katie Villa, did am excellent job!

My thanks to the author and Bookouture Audio for my advance copy to review via Netgalley.

Louisa's new best friend has everything Louisa doesn't - money, a huge house, lots of friends. Louisa soon comes to realize that maybe her new friend doesn't have it all. And it seems she needs to be careful because she wants something from her...

So this is another oldie that is new to audio, which I snagged off Netgalley. The narration was fantastic! The story was fast paced and interesting but it was a tad predictable. I do enjoy Shalini Boland's books though and look forward to catching up on her backlist titles.

3.5 stars

This one was fine. It was a quick, fun, easy read that included a fairly interesting plot and characters. Some bits of it were implausible, and in hindsight, I should’ve figured out the bigger twists well ahead of when I did; I clearly wasn’t playing as close attention as I’d thought. Either way, even if it wasn’t a fully unique or surprising suspense story/thriller, I did still enjoy it.