This is my first book by author Shannon Hollinger and it won’t be my last. I really liked the flow of her writing.
Best Friends Forever was definitely a suspenseful and enthralling read. The only problem I had with the story was that it seemed dragged out at times. Plus, there is so much going on in the story! But, overall…..great book!
Best friends have something happen to them the last day of their senior year of High School. Kate just wants to get away from her small town and that is what she does. 10 years later she has to return home because her mother has fallen and broken her hip. She also finds out her best friend from High School has committed suicide. Coming home brings up memories Kate just doesn’t want to remember.
Each time I thought I had it figured out who the killer was…..I was wrong. Then when I found out who this person was, I was pretty shocked. You know how after you find the answer you then can see clearly? That’s what happened with this ending. But, I didn’t catch on until all was revealed.
I definitely recommend you read this book. Believe me, it will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and author, Shannon Hollinger, for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Secrets, deceit, and murder oh my! A list of suspects a mile long! This book covers it all: friendships, family, memories, relationships, love. There is the past/current view points, which I love in a story.
The author did a wonderful job sucking you in and getting you to question every little thing that happens in this book, every person, every conversation, every action.
The twists that occurred were utterly shocking to say the least. And there were plenty!
I swore I had it figured out. Although I ended up figuring out part of it about 3/4 in, I totally didn't expect the ending!

This really is a fantastic book, and glad I had the opportunity to read this as an ARC from Netgalley, Bookouture, and of course Shannon Hollinger.

Synopsis:
After graduation the kids always meet up in the woods for a bonfire and party. This year it's Kate and her friends' turn to celebrate. Kate has to bring her 12 yr old sister, Lily with her since her Mom wasn't going to be home.

While there, a murder happens of the homeless guy, that Kate had befriended at an earlier time. While looking for Emma and Lily, Kate sees Emma standing over the body with a bloody rock, and Lily is there looking on.

From there the story of the friends start to take a turn for the worse. Kate leaves town, leaving her sister Lily home and mute from the trauma of finding the body. The rest of the friends also split apart some also moving away.

Now, after 10 years, Kate
is heading home to help her Mom recover from a fall.

Two days later her friend Emma is dead. It's being called an accident but was it? This now opens another can of worms and brings all the friends back to town for the funeral and now the story really begins.

We have a friend found dead, a rapist running loose, and still trying to figure out who truly murdered the homeless guy and did they act alone?
So many questions, so little time.

Wow! I totally loved this book! Such a fabulous read! My first Shannon Hollinger book but definitely won’t be my last! The characters were just outstanding and kept me gripped from beginning to end. Great tension, twists and huge reveals! Can’t give this enough big stars.
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Kate and Emma were inseparable best friends since childhood. They did everything together and had a tight bond. That is, until one fateful night, when Kate witnessed Emma standing over a body holding a huge rock. Kate cannot believe that her best friend killed someone. Lily, Kate's younger sister was also there and has not spoken since that night. Now there is a secret between them and their bond breaks. Kate leaves town over what happened, which had me scratching my head. Hmm, if you friend did something bad, why did you leave? What happened to communicating and getting to the bottom of things?

Ten years later, Kate is back in town, Emma has been found dead, and Kate's mother needs help after being injured after a fall. Faced with the past, Kate begins to look back. Her former best friend's death doesn't sit right with her. Neither does that fact that there have been other murders in town. Feeling bad for not speaking to her friend in years, Kate begins to do her own detective work, she wants to know who killed her friend. Along the way, Kate begins to question what happened that fateful night when she saw her best friend standing over a dead man's body.

This was a book that looks at back and looks at memories, friendship, secrets, families, responsibility, and assumptions. How do we interpret what we see? How well do we know those in our lives? What really happened that night? How does the burden that we carry affect us?

This book is told in dual timelines giving readers a glimpse into the past and what happened that life changing night where a man was left dead and in the present as Kate tries to find out who killed her former best friend.

This was a solid 3 stars for me. I didn't really feel for any of the characters and often found myself questioning the decisions being made. But I was intrigued to learn what happened to Emma. I did guess one of the reveals early on, but it did not affect my enjoyment of the book. There were still a couple of twists that I did not see coming. Unfortunately, this book was missing that little bit of something which would have made my rating higher.

Although a little slow, I did not mind the pace and did enjoy it, although I wasn't wowed by it. Many are enjoying this more than I did, so please seek out their reviews as well.


Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Bookouture and Shannon Hollinger for the opportunity to read an advance coy of BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, to be published 12 January 2023. In this domestic thriller, everybody was suspected until the very end! Kate, after 10 years, returns home to solve a murder and discovers more murders with the same modi’s operandi have occurred. She feels guilty about having left her best friend and feels that she failed her younger sister. This is definitely a “who done it” kind of novel with multiple twists and turns. Readers of Shannon Hollinger are likely to enjoy this tale very much. #NetGalley #BestFriendsForever. #Bookouture. #ShannonHollinger

Ugh. That was too bad. It started off so strong. But then it begun not making sense and I just couldn't wait to give up on the whole thing. It became a generic thriller with no emotion and with its senseless twists.

Not for me. Sorry.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC, though.

A woman returns to her hometown to reveal the truth about a murder ten years early in Shannon Hollinger's latest suspense whodunit mystery—BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.

Kate returns to her childhood home in Florida after fleeing ten years earlier to Boston.

There was a murder near the orange groves, a bloody rock, a 30-something homeless man (Brad), two sisters (Kate and Lily), and a best friend, Emma Daley.

There were other friends, Becca, Mel, and a few guys.

We learn something terrible happened on graduation night. Appears Emma killed someone with a rock, and Kate cannot stand back and watch, so she leaves town. (makes no sense)

Her younger sister, Lily, was traumatized and became mute. Kate regrets bringing her little sister that night. Did she leave her behind with a serial killer?

Now there are multiple murders. A serial killer, or is it Emma?

She failed Brad and there were more victims, more deaths she could have prevented. All the new murders were discovered within days of the anniversary of Brad's death.

A different killer, a copycat, an accomplice?

Her baby sister is now a woman and Kate is there partly to take care of their mom, which has broken her hip.

Can Kate forgive herself for leaving?

However, was everything as it appeared after digging into the dark past?

When Emma dies, her best friend is gone forever. Was there something more sinister going on?

Did Emma end her life, or did someone murder her to keep quiet?

From past to present, we hear the events that unfolded that fatal night. Where nothing is as it appears.

Was Emma the killer or someone else, all along? Did Kate get it all wrong all these years?

Unfortunately, I could not get into this book, which seemed very disjointed. The author's background is impressive in her field; however, I was not invested in the story or any of the characters. The novel seemed unbelievable and more like a YA book with the girls and lots of drama—not a fan and steer away from these types of books.

I cannot recommend this one. Maybe it will appeal to an audience of YA. This book is NOT even in the same league and is nothing remotely similar to Karin Slaughter, Paula Hawkins, or Freida McFadden (I have read all their books) as referenced in the description. Very misleading, which is the only reason I took a chance on it.

I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Handford for an engaging performance.

📖 Book: 2.5 Stars
🔉 Audio: 4 Stars
💫Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Thank you to #Bookouture and #Netgalley for a gifted ALC and ARC.

Blog Review posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 12, 2023

If you are looking for a thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end, this is the book for you. Hollinger knows how to keep your attention and string you along while unbeknownst to the reader, keep hinting at who is the culprit and you honestly will not know until 90% through the book. Highly recommend.

This book started very slowly and it didnt live up to the description in my opinion. I did like the cover though . Sorry this book wasnt for me

The beginning was quite slow for me. It also overdramatized the event that transpired. I enjoyed the book, but I wasn’t super thrilled about it.

*Arc review*

Mystery thrillers of who done it always keep you on your toes. Bestfriend forever is one of those. After being gone from her small town Kate returns after an urgent call from her kid sister, only to find her mom has broken a hip and needs help. This forces Kate to be stuck in the whole she fears. As she begins settling in she discovers her very best friend, someone she fears has died. With Emma gone Kate is left feeling like something is wrong and suspicious with her death. Making Kate question if Emma was a murderer.

I enjoyed this book a lot and it had a different writing style with being 3rd POV, and sometimes 1st, which could be distracting at times. The flashbacks were an element used to establish what occurred in the past which made me constantly want to skip the present to figure out the past.

The beginning of the book was slow as it was creating the setting, but things really start picking up around the 40% mark and then you cannot put the book down. I read way later than I should have that night. It was fast paced and with so much going on you had so many questions.

Overall, I gave this book a 3.5/5 because although it’s well written. The POV switch’s from 1st to 3rd, was difficult to follow at times, even though it was done to establish different times. It was continue forward.

The answer Kate was looking for was something I guessed closer to 75% but even then I wasn’t 100% sure. With this not being obvious on who the killer is, lead to it being more enjoyable since it wasn’t a give away, there was still twists, where I couldn’t figure out the why to the character motives until it was revealed to the audience.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

** 3.7 stars rounded up**. Best Friends Forever is a fast-paced, twisty thriller. It's nothing hugely different to what is an already fairly saturated market but it's on the higher end of the scale. Well written with realistic and at times relatable characters, this story throws a few curve balls here and there. Many won't see the huge reveal towards the end coming but I'm proud to say I did predict most of the twists, probably proof that I need to cut down on my reading 😅 All in all, this one is worth a read. Would be a perfect beach read for mystery thriller fans! Huge thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

The story starts with Kate returning back to her childhood home after running away from a traumatic event that happened. When she returns back, she finds out that her best friend Emma had died...or murdered. The story goes back and forth with Kate reminiscing the events on what happened on that fateful night and trying to find the reason as why Emma was dead. In the past, Kate witnessed an event, leaving her younger sister Lily traumatized and witnessing Emma murderding someone.

Initially, to me this started a bit slow burn but in the middle of the book, it got interesting with the twists and turns and soon hard to put down the book. The story is mainly told from Kate's POV and the past event is described in the third person's narrative. I simply couldn't put the book afterwards, wanting to know what is going to happen next. The ending...now that was what made me rate this book higher. The ending was completely highly unexpected and twisted that I literally was like OMG. Nevertheless, I cannot believe that this was the author's debut book and is looking forward to read more of her books in future.

If you are looking for a twisted and unputdownable thriller that will keep you at the edge, then this book is one for you, worth four and a half stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based om my honest opinion only.

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.
Great pace. The ending was predictable with Lily being the killer but I still enjoyed it. I didn’t see the Becca accomplice twist coming until towards the end.
One thing that made we a little crazy was the author using “uh uh” when she meant an affirmative “uh huh” Silly I know, but it happened at least three places in the book.

Best Friends Forever by Shannon Hollinger review. Kate is just a teenager when her life turns upside down by the death of a friend. She flees her hometown for a decade and only comes back home bevaise of the death of her former best friend. Kate starts to believe her best friends death is murder, but who is the suspect? Kate can trust no one, not even her closest friends and family. Nor should you. As Kate puts the pieces together, more and more things don’t make sense at the same time. This book is a slow burn, with all of the answers given at the very end, similar to Freida McFaddens writing. Overall it was good, and I never definitively guessed the killer, but had my suspicions. This is a Netgalley ARC and is not available to the public as of yet. Overall I’ll given 3.5 🍫 #bestfriendsforever #shannonhollinger #arc #netgalley #thriller #slownburn #kindle #3.5chocolatebars #kate #killer #twistyturny

Let me start by saying the book cover caught my attention immediately. I couldn't wait to jump in. I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest from start to finish. I really thought I knew how it was going to end...I was so wrong! Good book

If you enjoy a mystery that will have you glued to the pages, then this is it. We have Kate, a woman who has to go back to the town she’s avoided for years, until her mother needs her. I loved how the tentacles of doom she left behind easily sucked her back in as the mystery kicked off with a bang.

What really gave depth were the ‘then’ chapters, taking the reader on a journey to the night in question. I enjoyed getting to meet the group of friends as I read on, each of them creating theories in my mind.

If you enjoy playing investigator as you go along and trying to decipher the clues, you need this mystery on your bookshelf. Throughout, I didn’t know who to trust and the ending is a whopper. A person can’t run from the truth forever!

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

Kate returns home after ten years to assist her mom after an accident. Her memories of the reason behind her leaving and recent events cause her to question what actually happened on graduation night. This book made me question how accurately I can figure out the guilty party. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author threw another angle at me. This kept me guessing. This was a real look into small-town life.: The people who never leave or those who chose to come back. The secrets that we don't talk about in polite company. The respectable person who does not so respectable things.
I had some questions about how everything played out, but I was pleased with the book overall. I would recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc.

Kate leaves her home after graduating, filled with guilt for her sister's affliction, after witnessing her best friend, Emma, killing a man.
She returns home after a decade, when her mother breaks a hip, and knows she has to return home to assist, as her sister is still mute.
Kate has scarcely set foot in her mother's house, when the news breaks that Emma has committed suicide.
The police are on the hunt for a serial rapist, and Kate hears of the deaths of homeless men, all in the same place and on the same date of the murder Emma committed. She suspects that Emma was a serial murderer, until evidence is unearthed, and she knows her friend was innocent all along.
She investigates these murders, in the small town, where the police have not connected the murders to each other, and solves the case as well as the serial rapist case.

I did enjoy this book, it did drag on a little, and I just saw the flaws eventually, the gaping clues, so I was rarely on the edge of my seat.
The police not being able to connect the murders of the homeless men to each other, in my mine made the police look like bumbling idiots.
There is a lot I would have change, if I were to rewrite this book, to make it more of a thriller and keep the reader guessing. I would leave red herrings throughout the book, and reveal all in a fantastic finale!!

Yes, I enjoyed the book for some entertainment, but cannot say it was a thrilling ride.
3/5 stars from me

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.