A great read with lots of twists!

When Rose’s old friend, Elise, turns up on her doorstep, asking for help, Rose quickly realises she can’t say no. Elise is devastated at how she has been treated by her husband and his family. They have told her five year old daughter, Daisy, that her mother is dead and are refusing to let Elise see her.

When Rose is hired as Daisy’s tutor, she vows to get Daisy out and back to her mother, but as she gets to know the family, things are said that don’t add up and Rose questions whether Elise’s intentions are as honourable as she claims.

I really liked Rose as a character and she was very relatable. There were some cracking twists and the pace didn’t let up until the very end.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Karen Clarke and HQ for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Rose Carpenter opens her door one day to find her friend Elise on her doorstep, disheveled and dirty. Rose has not seen Elise in several years since their falling out after graduation from Uni. Elise tracks down Rose and informs her that she has fled her marriage and needs help. She needs to get her five-year old daughter away from her husband so that they can start over with a new life. Elise convinces Rose to try to get into the house via becoming the daughters home-school teacher and abduct her to bring to Elise in a week. However, as Rose spends time with the family, she realizes that there is more than meets the eye.

There are so many twists/turns/and WHAT?? in this book. I really enjoyed it.

Enjoyed this twisty read very much. Kept me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't work for me because of the lack of speed when necessary, especially if you like compulsive reading when it comes to thrillers. Also, maybe the twists were a little too much...

However, I think it could be an amazing starter for people who want to start reading thrillers or books with mysterious details. 

Thank you, NetGalley, for the arc copy!

This is a great twisty thriller set over the span of a week, and what a week it was! I raced through it, loving all the twists and turns! Definitely recommend this one!

This book was set in the span of a week and wow what a crazy week that was! I loved the details that were carefully placed throughout and how well Karen was able to have you still guessing all along the way. This is definietly a recommended read!

Suspenseful drama that will keep you on your toes and ready for the twists at any time. I was entertained the whole book and the ending is smashing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. There were so many twists and turns. Felt like i had whiplash. :) Very good read that I couldn't put down.!

I know her...but can I trust her...?

Rose and Elise haven't seen each other in years. Not after something happened to drive them apart. But now Elise is back, having just arrived on Rose's doorstep after escaping her marriage to a controlling man and his equally controlling family, and Rose offers her a place to stay. But Elise wants more than a roof over her head. She wants Rose to help her get her daughter back and away from her controlling husband...after all, Rose owes her.

So Rose approaches Isaac outside the school one afternoon and before long, she's been offered the job of home schooling five year old Daisy. Her mission is simple. Return Daisy to her mother. While she sympathises with Elise's distressing story, evoking some equally emotional memories of her own past, the more Rose spends at Isaac's house with Daisy the more she begins to question the validity of Elise's story. Added to that, Elise's behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic. Is she really being a honest as she made out? Or is there more to the story than Elise is saying?

This tale is filled with secrets, lies and a load of deceit. Who is really lying? The deception is next level. Nothing and no one is as innocent as they seem and everyone is suspect. And the holes in Elise's tale that Rose began to unravel create even more misconception. A twisty narrative, this made for uncomfortable reading much of the time. I didn't know who to trust. Everyone had their own version of Daisy's mother - but which of them is the truth? And yet in the middle of this nightmare is Daisy who is blissfully (and thankfully) unaware of all these events happening around her.

With so many layers to this tale, the author keeps readers guessing right up to the end as she peels back each layer to reveal a little more. This is my first read by Clarke on her own, having read a few she has penned alongside Amanda Brittany. A well-plotted psychological thriller.

I would like to thank #KarenClarke, #Netgalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #MyBestFriendsSecret in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This was my first read by this author, and it wont be my last. It is full of twists, the characters were unlikeable and it was a rollercoaster with the pace.

Rose promises her old friend that she’ll help her get her daughter back. The plan is set into place when Rose becomes Daisy’s personal in-home teacher. But once Rose is in the house, she realizes things are really what they seem. This kept me interested but it ended weak.

"My Best Friend's Secret" was such an exciting read! I loved the storyline, the characters, the perfect amount of twists, and the ending! I recently finished reading this book and have already told so many people about it.

Rose Carpenter has recently moved to a new town after she got out of a toxic relationship. A trained teacher, she will soon need to get a job. One day, she opens her door to find an old friend from university, Elise. The woman looks down-trodden and says she needs Rose’s help. She says her husband is manipulative and may want her dead. So, she ran away from him. He wants the money that her father left her and had her committed. She just wants to get her little girl, Daisy, back.

The plan Elise and Rose come up with is for Rose to meet Elise’s husband at the school gate as he waits to pick up Daisy from school. She tells him she is a teacher and wants to know if the school is a good one. He then tells her that Daisy is not settling into the school well and he wants her home-schooled. He invites her to come to meet Daisy and see what they both think. All goes well and she accepts the job and the offer to live-in.

Rose invites Elise to stay at her place. Elise wants her to get Daisy’s passport and bring her to Elise so they can escape together.

The story had me skeptical from the start as I felt Rose was above doing something this deceitful. This thought followed me all the way through the book which is why I am glad that the ending wasn’t a “slam dunk.” I liked how it all played out and the ending was as it should be. Well done. Interesting characters and I really liked Rose and Daisy.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am “shooketh!”. My Best Friend’s Secret had me straight-up addicted. I can't remember the last time I read a book in just one or two sittings. The book has massive page-turner vibes and is the definition of being impossible to put down. And the feeling of "I absolutely need to know what's gonna happen next" is what makes this story so great.

Let me get this straight: I seriously believed I had this figured out. The plot, however, has decided to backhand me with some unexpected twists, and my best guesses have led me nowhere. Lol. This book messes with your head, making you side-eye every character. And just like Rose, our main character, she's in an awful state of mind, being unsure of who to trust and frequently wondering on what’s the best thing to do for Daisy.

Definitely not the last time I will read something from this author. There was no hesitation on my part while giving "My Best Friend's Secret" a perfect score of five stars. It has genuine tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Highly recommended to readers who appreciate psychological thrillers, mysteries, and narratives that explore trust issues and the blurred lines between truth and deception.

My Best Friend’s Secret by Karen Clarke was an engrossing thriller that will keep any reader on the edge of their seat from start to finish.
Clarkes writing skills are truly remarkable. The author's gripping plot that immediately grabbed my attention and kept me engaged throughout.
The author did a nice job of crafting an entertaining and compelling thriller.
She did a good job of describing the scenes and making them come to life, as if you are experiencing them yourself. The characters are so realistic and believable.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and HQ Digital for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book just wasn't for me. I just lost interest about 1/3rd way through and DNF. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC

A gripping thriller that has you thinking everyone did it! There are secrets and twists that make this book impossible to put down. The pace was fast and I love the style of writing. I loved how everything was tied up in a nice bow at the end.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc for my honest review.

My Best Friend's Secret is a. family suspense drama. where we meet Rose who suddenly has her old best friend Elise show up and beg her to kidnap her daughter. She agrees to do this way too fast in my opinion which set the stage for me that everything was unbelievable. Rose plants herself inside the home, getting Issac, the dad, to want to hire her as a homeschool teacher. There is a lot of who can you really believe and it all never really came together for me. It was a page turner and entertaining but not much depth after that. Thank. you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion. My Best Friend's Secret will be available on 9/28/23.

The plot is twisted that you suspect everyone. The story is slow however it does grip you that you just keep turning the pages.

Slow but gripping read. Plot is twisted,. I suspected Everyone. I knew from the start that Elsie is manipulative and a wicked person. Rose is too trusting and out of guilt she is helping her friend. I loved Daisy. Twist at the was shocking and unexpected about Ann and Jonah. Nice time pass thriller.