Best Friends Forever written by Shannon Hollinger was an insane mystery-thriller. It took me a bit longer than expected to read this book due to moving and unpacking, but i'm glad I finally got to finish. This book was so so good, it kept me hooked from the very first page, Best Friends Forever was unputdownable. When I thought I had the answers, I was completely wrong and knocked on my ass with all the twists and turns coming at me. I love a good book that can keep me guessing. This book is a dual pov, now, and ten years ago. This book gave me goosebumps, I just remember sitting there holding my breath waiting for the truth to come out, but when it did, I was completely shocked. Ladies and gentlemen this is how you write a good mystery-thriller that will instantly have readers hooked. I went into this book blind, let me tell you, that was the best thing to do for this book because it made you feel like you were right there witnessing everything. There were pedophilia comments in this book, so if that makes you feel uncomfortable, skip over those parts. When you look at the cover, it doesn't give thriller vibes, but once you read this book, you will be completely shocked. In my opinion there was nothing I would change about this book, I loved every minute of it.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND BOOKOUTURE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

Kate and Emma were inseparable, they were best friends that were so close they considered themselves sisters. On the night of their high school graduation, Emma and Kate and their group of friends went to a bonfire party, when their whole friend group decided to split up for a little bit and do their own thing at the bonfire. Kate comes into the clearing of woods to find her friend and protector, a homeless man named Brad, bloodied and dead, Kate finds Emma standing over Brad with a blood splattered rock. Kate decided to take her little sister, Lily to the party with her because their mom was running late from her work meetings or whatever little shenanigans she was doing, no one ever really knew what she was doing, Kate didn't want to leave Lily home alone, so she decided to take her with. Kate tried to always be there for her little sister, and be her protector, but once Lily witnesses what's going on, she's completely traumatized, she won't talk to anyone, she won't even speak anymore. Kate feels like she failed her little sister in so many ways. Emma whispers, "it was accident", but Kate doesn't listen, she turns and grabs for Lily and decides to run away never looking back.

Kate decided to run away with Lily and leave Emma behind not knowing why Emma did what she did to Brad, but as you read the book you will find all the truths. Kate decided not to tell anyone the truth of what she saw, knowing she could never betray her best friend. After that night, Kate decides to pack her bags and land herself in Boston, with a job as a server. Kate couldn't watch Emma pick herself back up and live a normal life as if the murder never happened, another reason Kate decides to leave. After ten years of being gone, Kate receives a silent phone call from her little sister, Lily, and Kate knows that phone call means she must return to Florida immediately. Kate arrives back in Florida just in time to help her mom because she has a broken hip "due to a fall". Kate also learned that Emma has died as well and Kate is in time for Emma's funeral. Kate sees all her old friends at Emma's funeral from ten years ago. And Lily still won't talk. Lily has been to a numerous amount of doctors and therapists trying to help her speak again, but she won't, she's too traumatized after that night she saw everything.

It appears that Emma has committed suicide or died accidentally, without her always present EpiPen. The official cause of death for Emma was a shock from her peanut allergy. Kate doesn't believe Emma would have committed suicide, but concluding that Emma was murdered, because Emma never went anywhere without her EpiPen. Kate starts during research to find the truth of Emma's murder, Kate comes up empty handed, but what she does find is so shocking, a homeless man has been killed every year in June, the anniversary of Brad's death. Kate believes Emma had an accomplice out there helping her, "Someone else is out there. Someone who was close to both of us, someone who knew the smallest details of what had happened that night ten years ago. Who from our small town could have murdered not once, but twice? And whose next?". Once you read this book and all the answers start unraveling, it will leave you completely shocked. Best Friends Forever was totally an engrossing thriller. Some parts of this book does get a bit too wordy, so you may want to skip over those parts as well. The ending of the book had all of my answers that I needed. This book definitely didn't disappoint at all.

Kate returns to her childhood home when her mother breaks her hip. Her former best friend dies the next day but Kate has been haunted for a decade by the death of their friendship after a murder in the woods on graduation night. She becomes convinced that Emma was also murdered but does it link to the events of 10 years ago...?
Best Friends Forever is a psychological thriller and murder mystery set in America. Most of the book is written in the present day from Kate's first person perspective but these are interspersed with chapters showing the night of the graduation party in the third person.
Kate ran away from her friends and family after the death on graduation night. She believes her best friend to be responsible for the murder and feels guilty about hiding the truth to protect everyone involved. Now she is forced to confront the past when she returns home to care for her mother. Her sister has been mute since that night but she hopes that their reunion can heal both their pain.
I think I suspected most of the characters of some nefarious dealings, lying and even murder. The tension builds over the course of the book as Kate deals with her recollections of the past and concerns abouts events in the present. There were lots of twists and I did guess most of them but this didn't spoil my enjoyment as I worked through the clues alongside Kate.
Best Friends Forever has interesting and intriguing mysteries to explore in the past and present.

First thriller read of the year and it did not disappoint! I was hooked from the beginning. The author kept the suspense throughout the book and the ending…shocker!! Thank you net galley for this advanced reader copy! Would definitely recommend this book to others.

The first 2/3 of the book were pretty slow. The last third was crazy, in the best way possible. I loved the twists and how the book ended. I never suspected who the villain was. So for the ending… I would give this book 5 stars!

Some issues I had with the book:
-it kept going back and forth between 1st person and 3rd person. I think this made it very difficult for me to keep track of what was going on.
-I couldn’t remember/keep track of all of the characters. There were some people in this story that I just I couldn’t keep them all straight. What their names where, what they did for a living, who they were to the main character, etc.
-there was a lot of time spent trying describe what was going on or how the main character felt that it made me jump ahead a lot to get to parts that really mattered in the story line.
-“eyebrows furrowed”…. This was used way too many times.

Overall, it wasn’t the worst book I have ever read. But not one I would recommend.

I would like to thank Bookouture and Shannon Hollinger and NetGalley for the ADC of Best Friends Forever by Shari

It’s so true how well do you think you know your best friends/ friends? We really don’t everyone has secrets, pasts they want to protect and at what lengths will they go to to keep them hidden..
Best Friends by Shannon Hollinger, was a fast paced read that was full of suspense and chills that pulled me in from the beginning. I couldn’t put the book down until it came to the dark and twisted shocking ending that I didn’t see coming.
It literally took my breath away…. This was my first bookI read by Shannon Hollinger and it certainly won’t be my last.
#BestFriends #ShannonHollinger #BookCouture #NetGalley

This was a twisty story about 2 friends a little sister who is left mute. Kate returns home for her friend Emma;s funeral, she wonders what happened. They have not spoken in years. When Kate returns home she starts to uncover secrets on what lead to the death of Emma and her sisters condition. This was an amazing book for a debut! I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book.

I was super excited to read this novel by author Shannon Hollinger and it was a thrilling read.

We meet main character Kate who I thought was a very interesting and slightly complex character. We learn of what mystery surrounds a night many years ago with regards to herself and her best friend Emma. Kate and Emma were literally what they thought would be Best Friends Forever but a night years ago changed their course of destiny. Kate has to leave town as she is physiologically scarred from this event.

Kate returns to town only to found out that Emma is found dead and Kate wants and needs to investigate how and why Emma has died.

If you love a really good phycological read that keeps you on the edge of your seat and you can not put a book down then give this novel a go.

Thanks to Netgalley, Shannon Hollinger and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel. 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

While attending a graduation party in the woods with her friends and 12 yr old sister Lily, Kate's world is turned upside down. A grisly murder rocks the group, rendering Lily mute and causing Kate to run away from what she'd seen. Ten years later, after her mother breaks her hip, Kate returns home to face her demons.

This book...what can I say? The story is told in the present time and in flashbacks. I found most of the flashbacks to be unnecessary and they dragged the book down. There wasn't a lot of new information given and I feel they could have been used more judiciously or not at all.

the tone of this book also threw me. It's written as an adult general fiction/thriller but it read like a YA book. No knocks against YA, as it's one of my favorite dramas. It's just that the protagonist of this book is a 28-year-old woman who still acts like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old. It didn't fit the story being told. I constantly forgot that the characters weren't still kids and that the traumatic event that ended her friendship with Emma was ten years before.

My biggest problem other than tone was that I feel the author had too many ideas and used too many tropes to add twists. The ex-boyfriend turned out to be a complete jerk (honestly, saw that coming from the jump). The best friend not being who she seemed. The sister drama. It's mutism. The friends/foes storyline. Everyone is a suspect, it seems, but it falls flat when you realize the author is just painting a weak picture of each person until the big reveal (which wasn't really surprising to me." Also the big twist at the end? Made no sense at all. None.

You have to suspend a lot of disbelief at the outset of this novel to get through it. The cops in this book are jokes, for one. Two,, the number of secrets in this small town that all seem to bubble up to be solved by a traumatized woman doing her own research. It was a lot to digest and none of it quite worked out. It all read false and unbelievable in a bad way to me. There isn't enough substance to make me want to suspend disbelief to go full in on this novel, so for me, I rated it at 2.5. It's just too out there and slapdash.

Best Friends Forever had me gripped from the first page. It was a very twisty story that kept me turning the pages and it kept me guessing throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Kate is leaving Boston and returning to her childhood home after fleeing ten years ago, following a traumatic event that happened. Her mum has had an accident and broken her hip. When she gets back, she finds out that her best friend, Emma died... and might have been murdered. The story goes back and forth with Kate ruminating on the events that happened years ago and trying to find out why Emma is now dead. This is a slow burner but towards the 50% mark the tale really hots up. Mainly told from Kate's viewpoint, past events are described in the third person's narrative. The ending was completely unexpected. A tremendous début, I hope to read more from the pen of Shannon Hollinger going forward.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This book definitely had me questioning everyone and everything until the very end! I was intrigued by the book cover and description, and I think this is worth a read. With that being said, I absolutely could not stand the protagonist Kate. I found myself rolling my eyes at her overly negative self-talk. The part that irked me the most was when she went out of her way to help a complete stranger out of a situation, yet as soon as she sees her BEST FRIEND FOREVER in a bind she just leaves. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the twists at the end! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Wow,what a thrilling tale full of twists..I was gripped from the first page and just could not stop reading. Addictive. Compelling. Just amazing. Do read this one.

This was a little predictable but an enjoyable read nevertheless! Thank you to Netgalley & the author for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review!

Loved that this book was based on a younger crowd that grew up together. Was fun to see how their dynamics played out when they were back together. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Read it in one setting. Every time I thought I had it figured out, bam, I was wrong. I have never loved characters so quick and then hated them so quickly. It's a definite must read!!

BOOKWORMS REVIEW: When young Kate is a witness to something her eyes can't believe,she leaves town. Her best friend Emma had been standing over a body declaring "it was an accident". 10 years later back again,another murder occurs and Kate wonders if someone else is a murderer too...or was Emma even responsible for the first one. Things aren't what they appear as is sometimes the case. Told in dual timelines,which is done really well..this is a thriller with a great ending and lots to like in the middle. A good read.
With thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley and Shannon Hollinger for an arc to read and review.

Who can you trust?

After witnessing the murder of a homeless man as a 12 year old Kate sister Lily is mute, refusing to speak at all. Kate travels back to Florida to assist her mother after she broke her hip. And all hell starts to break loose.
A day after arriving her childhood best friend is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Was it suicide, an accident or murder?
Then when another homeless man is found dead Kate checks back and finds a trail of murders all on the same date every year!
With some family secrets, and crime running rampant in the Florida town Kate doesn't know who she can trust, who to believe and she doesn't feel safe!

I never would have guessed who the guilty party's were, there were a few huge twists I never saw coming. This was the most unpredictable book I have read in a while.
Told in two time lines this jaw dropping novel kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat with it's unexpected twists and turns.
This was an excellent debut novel and I'm excited to see what else Shannon Hollinger writes!

Hollinger was a 'new to me' author, so I couldn't wait to get stuck in to see what her work was like...

Best Friends Forever is a moderately paced thriller that's well written. It's dark, disturbing and was definitely one for me.

The characters are solid, unreliable marmitey (is that even a word?) characters. Which got me thinking as to what my best friend would do in this situation...hands down, I know for a fact she'd throw me under the bus without hesitation!

By the last third of the book, when things started going batshit crazy I'd
worked out who the killer was, but this didn't distract from that jaw dropper ending!

Many thanks to Bookouture for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Best Friend's Forever' by Shannon Hollinger.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Shannon Hollinger, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 12th January 2023.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its stunning eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is An utterly gripping and compelling psychological thriller with twists and turns to die for. If you love Karin Slaughter, Paula Hawkins and Freida McFadden, you’ll love Best Friends Forever.' I am a huge fan of 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 74 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in the USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists is Kate. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.


LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS BOOK!! THIS MAY BE THE FIRST BOOK I HAVE READ BY SHANNON BUT IT MOST CERTAINLY WON'T BE MY LAST!!!

OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!!!! I DID NOT EXPECT THAT!!! MIND BLOWN MUCH!!!

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense, lies, loss, family, secrets, friendship, secrets and omg the twists!!! I DID NOT see any of them coming!!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Shannon!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over and over!!! What an ending!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read!!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! The storyline is filled with crime, twists, shocks, suspense, tension, deceit and murder. There was not one, not two but at least 3 explosive bombshells I did not see coming!!! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! Practically every chapter ended on a cliff hanger so no way could I put it down!! Absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!! I am looking forward to reading more of Shannon's books as of this is anything to go by they are guaranteed to be page turner's!!

I read approximately half of this book on kindle and listened to approximately half on audio book. I must also give a huge congratulations to the narrator Kate Handford who not only brought the storyline to life by really portraying the emotions through his voice but by doing absolutely fantastic impressions of males and females so a HUGE congratulations Kate!! I cannot imagine that this was anywhere near an easy feat!!! I am looking forward to discovering more books read by yourself as you definitely have a perfect "book" voice!! I sometimes struggle to absorb the storyline through an audio book but if you are the same as me I can promise you will not have that problem with this amazing narrator!! Kate also narrates 'Local Girl Missing' which I also listened to via audiobook. She did a fantastic job on that book too and I would highly recommend it.

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

The characters were all strong, well developed and realistic and I was completely invested in both the storyline and the characters. Each of the characters had their own unique personalities and I felt differently about each of them. I really liked Kate and felt so sorry on her throughout the book. Kate refuses to believe that her best friend would have killed herself or that it was an accident so she goes hunting for the truth. Will she find it and will she regret looking in the first place? You'll just have to pick up a copy yourself to find out!! I am not going to say anything about any of the other characters as it isn't worth the risk of dropping any hints but there was major shocks to be had!! If you want to know more you will just have to click the link below to get a copy!! All in all a great mix of characters that worked well with this storyline.


Welcome to my favourite author Club Shannon! Bring on the next one!!! I cannot wait!!! Here's to the next success 🥂

Overall an absolutely heart racing, never wracking, unputdownable addictive psychological thriller!!!


Genres covered in this book include Women's Psychological Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Women's Popular Fiction, Crime, Thriller & Mystery Adventures, Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction and Psychological Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Gone Girl', Shari Lapena, Karin Slaughter, Paula Hawkins, Freida McFadden, Rachel Abbot and anyone who loves an explosive ending!!!


352 pages/10 hours 56 minutes

This book is just £1.99 to purchase, £8.99 in paperback and £20.03 for the audiobook via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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3 stars for being better than what I imagined!

Synopsis
After a mysterious traumatic event that led her leave her hometown for ten years, Kate returns back because her mom broke her hip and her sister needs her. Dealing with guilt and absence, Kate tries to right the wrong. If only it's that easy. Soon, she gets entangled in what looks like more than one murder.

What I like
Short chapters! It really helped my jumbled brain and busy week. Kate as the main character didn't annoy me too much that I still rooted for her to find the truth. The red herrings that Hollinger threw were great. And the plot twist! It wasn't an unpredictable one, but still quite shocking for me (especially the reasoning!).
The book also dealt with a lot of things and I'm pretty glad that they were resolved in the end. (unlike irl)

What I don't like
Except for the main antagonist, everyone were kinda black and white. The side character who did some horrible things was trash to the bone, it was easy not to give my sympathy for him. I just wish for a more fleshed out characters.

Final Thought
This one was a solid story, better than most ARCs I've read last year. Definitely checking her books more in the future!

Why did an 18 year old Kate flee town to parts unknown 10 years ago after a post graduation party incident? Maybe the fact she saw her best friend, Emma, murder someone and couldn’t face it? Or that her baby sister who also witnessed the incident and has since been mute from the trauma. That’s a big burden to carry so she left.
   Kate's now back in town because her mom is ill and needs help….grown sister is still mute……and this best friend is murdered while she is home. The guilt is everywhere.
   The story now includes the reuniting of her high school clique…all who have moved on to better lives and jobs except Kate. It’s while Kate is trying to find her place back in this town that she makes an interesting discovery about a series of murders that happen on the same night and the one that drove her away.
   It’s this avenue that starts the questions and discoveries that the reader did not expect to see.
   A driving storyline you can’t put down.