Mary finally makes a friend, tells her EVERYTHING and then is ghosted. Mary's husband ends up dead. Willa is seen in a different town but doesn't answer to "Willa" when Mary calls her name. Henry is an alcoholic that was married to Cass, who was Mary's bestie for a long time--but Mary lost that friendship. There are so many plot twists in this story and I did not see them coming. I would give this book 5 stars but Mary annoyed me with her repetitiveness. If I had to read one more page of how she was so happy to have a friend, how hard it was to make friends and how superficial the other women at the playground were...... so, 4 stars.
I received a complimentary digital ARC from NetGalley and the publishers. This review is my own words.

I’ve read many, many books and Leah Konen’s novels always stand out for her ability to have the most insane pacing. I love and hate the books she writes because I am beyond anxious the whole time I’m reading. Keep Your Friends Close is her newest, let me tell you- it does not disappoint!

Synopsis:

Isolated and embroiled in a custody battle, Mary is desperate for a friend. So when she meets the charming and enigmatic Willa at a Brooklyn playground, their connection feels fated. But during a margarita-fueled moms’ night out, Mary shares her darkest secret about her ex, George, and the next morning Willa simply disappears. No calls, no texts, nothing.

Two months later, Mary’s divorce is almost finalized, and she’s trying to build a new life for her son in upstate New York. On her first day in town, she runs into Willa . . . only Willa’s name is now Annie, and she’s got an entirely new family in tow. When George turns up dead and Mary becomes the prime suspect, she has no choice but to turn to her only friend in town: Willa.

As coincidences—and evidence—pile up, Mary begins to wonder whether Willa had something to do with George’s death. Is the woman a friend or a foe, a confidante or just a con? Mary must uncover the truth before she loses everything.

Out on Feb 20th!

Mary has left her wealthy and controlling husband and is now fighting to keep custody of their 2 year old son, Alex. Her husband, George, comes from a wealthy family and is used to always getting what he wants. She's convinced that he'll win the fight and that her son will be lost to her forever.

One day at the neighborhood playground Mary meets, Willa. Willa, so cool and confident. Mary can't believe that a woman as fascinating as Willa would ever want to be her friend but the two hit it off and soon they are spending their days together at the park with the kids and sipping margarita's in the evening all while spilling secrets to one another.

Then one day, after a drunken night, Willa stops responding. She won't answer her phone or respond to texts. Mary's been ghosted and she's absolutely devastated. Was it something she said?

Sad Mary decides it's time to leave Brooklyn behind and she makes her way further upstate. While she's drinking away her feelings at the bar she spots Willa. Her hair is brown now and shorter than before but without a doubt it's her. Yet, when Mary confronts her she claims she's never met her before and that her name is Annie and she now has a daughter. What happened to her son?

All these questions will be answered but will these answers be satisfying? Unfortunately not for me.

To start, Mary was too pathetic to ever root for. If she wasn't whining and crying about the unfairness of her life then she was whining and crying over the loss of Willa. A woman she only knew for two months. Heck, she didn't even know her last name. How can you be best friends with someone and not know there last name? As far as the unfairness of her life goes, yes, she was once married to a wealthy man and draped herself in designer this or that and now that she's left him she can no longer afford those luxuries. Don't worry though because there will be many bottles of wine for her to wallow in her self-pity with. Are we all feeling sorry for her yet? I'm certainly not.

Be prepared to have every designer label dropped in this book which I always find irksome.

Willa is a typical cliche. Gorgeous, confident, smart, funny, wealthy - but she isn't who we think she is. Are you shocked? I wasn't.

I admit that I read 75% of this book yesterday so Konen did keep me interested enough to continue. I did want to see how this story played out. It was upon finishing this today that I realized all the things that bothered me.

I get that Konen was trying to get us to sympathize with these ladies but it completely failed. Poor pretty girls meet rich white men and then can't believe their life isn't perfect because the men are assholes. Surprise, surprise. Been there, done that in about a million other books.

And what is with the detective in high heels? In a profession in which you are on your feet all day, often at crime scenes, one would think they'd don more practical footwear. Take my advice and ditch the Louboutin's for some Skechers and you'll thank me for it.

Nothing about this story is surprising, nothing about it feels fresh, and the ending was beyond ridiculous so unless these kinds of stories are totally your thing then I'd say save your time and skip this. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group - Putnam for my complimentary copy.

First read by Leah Konen showed me what I've been missing! Twisty domestic suspense can be a hard order these days, but this is successful, with interesting characters that make great suspects, a quick pace, and a setting that shows some of the darker bits of the wealthy alongside the "perks".

If you’re in the mood for broody, Keep Your Friends Close is definitely murdery with a bunch of suspense. Twisty, easy and a fast read, it was a memorable book.

Mary is in the middle of a divorce and custody battle, and while trying to navigate her new life she befriends Willa. It seems like Willa and her little one are just what Mary and her 2-yr old son need. But is it? Mary will soon find that not everything is what it seems. So many lies and no one to trust.

Lots of twists and turns will keep you engaged and entertained. A few things seemed a little hard to believe, but overall a good story.

Oh this book!!! This is one of those bingeable, fun, fast paced thrillers! I absolutely devoured this book and loved every second! I completely resonated with the MC as a mom, especially a boy mom. Mary is strong willed and determined to be there for her young son and isn’t willing to let her husband treat her poorly, setting a precedent for their impressionable son. So when she decides to leave him and all his money, he makes it nearly impossible. Then she meets Willa at the park. Their friendship helps Mary get through her tough separation, but she could have no idea how much it will impact her future! I love reading about how the wealthy use money to manipulate and get what they want. The power of females and their impenetrable friendships is a strong theme and runs through this book. What women do to protect one another and what they’re willing to risk for friendship is truly fascinating. This book was so addicting! I read it in one day and avoided all responsibilities until I unearthed all the dirty secrets! I had a couple suspicions, but could never have predicted the full outcome!! Truly a great, fun thriller!

Mary is in the middle of a divorce from her husband George and friendless, when she meets Willa at a park.
Mary has her son with her and Willa has a young child as well. They talk and find all that they have in common and a deep friendship blossoms,
When Willa, all of a sudden, stops responding to texts and calls, Mary has no idea what happened but does not linger as her life begins to implode around her.
the plot twists and turns very unexpectedly and quite chillingly at times.
when Willa shows up again, in Mary's town and pretends to not know who Mary is, everything takes off in a wild
ride of intrigue, suspicions and murder,
The characters were a little less than strong for me and the plot was not pulling.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this. This one had a bunch of drama and I really thought I knew what was going on, but I truly did not!! 4 stars!

The plot in this book was so GOOD! We get into the story and I feel so damn bad for Mary, a woman battling an up and coming divorce with her husband who is hella rich and also making sure she gets custody of her child. In this tough time she meets Willa and Jack Jr. at the park, and Mary confides in this woman and she finally has a friend. She has been feeling alone since her sister in law Cassandra left the family after a bad divorce too. But we end finding out that Willa isn't who she seems, and she's actually close to someone who Mary really loved as a best friend, her only ally in this horrible family who is trying to make her life miserable.

Mary is visiting a town she really likes for her new beginning with her son, but her soon to be ex follows her to try to reconcile, but BOOM he ends up dead instead, who killed him??? Already its pretty obvious, but this book has so many layers, its a huge "who done it" type of suspense. And all of these characters have WILD secrets, the end was like always in these situations, rushed. I felt the book dragged a little and I wanted it to get to the point already, who killed Mary's husband!!!!!!!!

Anyway we get out answers, the ending is pretty bad ass, the least favored character in this book ended up being my favorite, lol

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review!

Title: Keep Your Friends Close

Author: Leah Konen


Rating: 3.5

Brief Summary: Follows a woman who befriends a woman who suddenly dissapears and turns up as a different woman:

Pub Date: February 20, 2024

What I Enjoyed: This book was very dramatic and kept me guessing. I had multiple ideas for how it would end.

What I Disliked: I thought the book was a little long



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3.5 stars. The novel centers on Mary, who is going through a divorce from super rich and powerful George, who is not letting her go easily. During this time, she makes a good friend named Willa but it turns out Willa has secrets of her own and disappears on Mary. Mary sees Willa again 2 months later, but Willa is now going by Annie. When George ends up dead and Mary is the prime suspect, she has no one else to turn to except Willa/Annie.

*Special thanks to NetGalley adn G.P. Putnam's Sons for this e-arc.*

This was an addicting, easy to read, quick little murder mystery-type thriller. I crushed it in just over a day. I will say, it got to be a *bit* much with all the plot twists near the end, and all of the seriously morally grey and unlikeable characters...but I still found this to be an enjoyable escape of a read.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access.

Keep your Friends Close
5 stars!

This is an action packed thriller filled with intrigue and murder!

Mary and Willa meet at a playground in Brooklyn, while their young kids play.
They strike up a fast friendship. Both women have wealthy spouses, but Mary has recently separated from her bossy husband.

While the story alternates between “Then” and “Now”, we ultimately learn that not all is what it appears to be!
We find both sincere female friendship along with deception and lies.

This was a fast reading book that I couldn’t put down, right up until the
epilogue!
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC, in return for my honest review!

Thank you to netgalley and Putnam publisher for allowing me to read this book. I have read another of her books and was happy to read another from this author. This book was captivating me and kept me eager to read. The characters were ones that kept you guessing can you believe them or not. If you like a mystery book then this is the book for you.

I honestly thought I had this book figured out and I am happy I did not. The story had me hooked from the beginning. It was a quick and easy read. I am not a huge thriller reader but sometimes I dabble in it and this one was a good one to read!

This was such a fun, engaging thriller! I flew through it and really enjoyed the twists!
*
Quick synopsis: Mary is going through an ugly divorce and setting up a new life in upstate NY. She runs into a friend, Willa, who is now going by a new name and acts as though she doesn't know Mary. And then her soon-to-be ex-husband is murdered, and Mary is a suspect. But is Willa somehow connected to this?
*
This a great, solid thriller - I loved the alternating timelines, the alternating POVs. This kept me guessing and mixed things up right when I thought I knew where it was going. I loved Mary as a main character, I also really liked the theme of friendship, and how important that was (even when that went sideways.) The other thing that surprised me that I liked was that her mother-in-law was portrayed as a real person, and not a caricature, despite the divorce.
*
I think the only thing I didn't love was how this small group of people was so closely tied together, that felt a bit unrealistic. But that's only obvious at the end, and a minor thing.
*
@Leahkonen is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine, and this book was just what I hoped it would be ! Definitely recommend checking out!

If you're looking for a book that'll keep you guessing until the very end, then this is your book.

We start with Mary, who has chosen to leave her very wealthy husband due to the way he treats her in the home. Being a powerful man, he wants her back, and is set on making her life miserable until she comes back with her tail between her legs.

But then Mary meets Willa. The become fast friends, and Willa gives Mary the strength to push forward, no matter what her ex, George, threatens.

And then Willa disappears into thin air. The next time Mary sees her, she goes by Annie. And then next thing Mary knows, George is dead.

This book is TWISTY. I loved getting perspective not just into Mary's head, but also into Willa's. I thought I knew what was going to happen, and for a second I thought I was actually right. But then the twists hit again and I found myself every so slightly stunned.

I enjoyed this book so much, it was a really fun read that seemed to fly by. I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

The premise of the story feels familiar to me somehow, like I might have read something similar before but can't put my finger on it

Regardless, it was a fun and twisty thriller that I very much enjoyed!

This book kept me hooked throughout, but it wasn’t the thriller I was expecting it to be. I’m always a fan of whodunnits and the ending did take me by surprise but I did feel like it was missing that big OMG moment. The characters were well written in the sense that you flip-flop so much on whether you’re rooting for them or wanting to shake them to their core. I absolutely love when characters are written that way in a thriller as I feel like it added to the drama and angst of trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. I did find that the three-part, dual timeline, dual POV got to be slightly confusing at times but not enough that I ever truly felt lost while reading. I enjoyed the short chapters since they really helped keep the book moving! Overall, a solid read that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of domestic, psychological thrillers.