Meh, this was fine. I honestly have very little to say about it. I liked the Brooklyn and Woodstock settings, and the light critique of the wealthy, but again, not much to say.

This book was very engaging with lots of twists and turns that eventually tied everything together. There would maybe too many connections and twists and turns in the book. It’s hard for me to believe the cops would believe everything. Overall, I really enjoyed this read

3.5⭐️ After being on a romance kick, it was so refreshing to jump into this domestic suspense. As the marriage between Mary and George starts to crumble, they decide to get separated until George realizes he wants her back.

Meanwhile, Mary begins a new friendship with a woman named Willa, and as they become fast friends, secrets are revealed which start to create tension. I loved the twists and thought the pacing was great.

*many thanks to Putnam, prh audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I think Keep Your Friends Close has been my favorite book by Leah Konen to date. The twists kept coming in this one and shocked me each time. I really liked that she slowly built the plot, bringing in different elements with each chapter, to the ultimate twist at the end.

Not only is this a great thriller, but this will also definitely make you think about female friendships. I liked that she took the premise of two adult women who become fast friends, and what happens when one ghosts the other. She did a great job writing from both women's perspectives and it brought this book to life.

I recommend checking Keep Your Friends Close for sure!

Thank you, Putnam Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The shifting POV left me feeling disengaged from this story. I did like that the chapters were short (this made it a quick read) and the twists and turns of the story left everything covered at the end with no lingering questions (which I appreciate because I cannot let things go!)

A suspenseful psychological thriller that explores the complexities of friendship, betrayal, and hidden agendas. There are plenty of unexpected twists.
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book gives a new meaning to the phrase, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I loved this so much. It blew my expectations out of the water. I was hooked in this book. I loved the characters and the story.

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen is about Mary, a woman who's in the midst of a divorce and custody battle with her extremely wealthy ex-husband, who found relief Willa, a woman with a toddler in the park one day. Feeling the strongest form of kinship than she has anyone else, with the exception of her ex-sister-law-in Cassandra, her time with Willa is a breath of fresh air. But after being ghosted by her for the past few months, Mary is busy with finding a new place to move and school for her son Alex to go. Only... the week she goes up there, she sees someone who looks suspiciously like Willa. Why had Willa ghosted her? And why isn't she answering to her now?

Without intending to, I spent far too long reading this. In this case that is not a compliment nor a complaint. It wasn't that I was savoring it but rather, I struggled to make my way through this with anxiety and a sense of dread (or occasionally, exhaustion) of what was to come.

Mary is sympathetic in how she is fighting for Alex and breaking away from her controlling husband, but sometimes it was hard to see who she was beyond those things. Although, I know Willa was supposed to help bring out the personhood outside of mother and wife in Mary, I still struggled to grasp onto that part of her.

As for Willa... she is a person all her own that I've still yet to formulate an opinion on. I, personally, didn't find her particularly enjoyable (due to how much she stressed me out as time went on) but I can see many who love jaded, "eat the rich" type characters adoring her. I was fascinated with the route she went in her role prior to us learning her full reveal.

I would read something from Leah Konen again. See what her other plots and characters are like since this was a pretty solid read.

Mary and Willa meet at the playground. I can relate to being a new mom and wanting to make other mom friends. Willa disappeared after Mary told her deepest secret. Mary was devastated.
Mary and her husband are splitting up. Let me tell you, he is a piece of work. (but he's supposed to be. It's a thriller). Mary is trying to find a place that is acceptable to her husband and his family that she can live with her son. She runs into Willa but she doesn't acknowledge Mary. Then, George ends up dead!
Y'all sign me up for family drama! I love family drama in books. As the book unfolded, there were many layers to Willa's character. I thought I had her figured out and then BAM something else would happen and I'd be taking another layer off the onion that is Willa.
I did not expect the characters would connect the way they connected. I really liked the ending! This book ends with the “bad guys" getting what they deserve.
The names were common and I had to jot down the names of the characters when I started the book.
Thank you to @leahkonen, & @putnambooks for a gifted copy of this book. I am so happy to keep this one on my shelf! It is out NOW!

Thank you Leah Konen and Putnam Books for the ARC!

In the middle of a nasty custody battle with her extremely wealthy husband, George Haywood, Mary finds herself isolated and aimless in Brooklyn. That is, until she meets Willa, a charming woman Mary instantly connects with. When Mary drunkenly confesses a dark secret, Willa cuts contact with her completely. Two months later, Mary is starting a new life in Woodstock with her son when Willa suddenly reappears with a new identity. After her husband is murdered in Woodstock and she becomes the prime suspect, Mary must decide whether to befriend the con-artist Willa/Annie or battle the police, press, and powerful Haywoods by herself. In this fast-paced mystery, Leah Konen not only keeps us on our toes but exposes the harsh intertwining of capitalism and patriarchy.

This book is such a page-turner. Konen expertly employs a dual narrative where the chapters alternate between Willa and Mary’s perspectives. This created great cliffhangers at the end of each chapter; Konen knew exactly where to end Willa and Mary’s perspectives so that I kept reading to get to their next story. I finished this book in three sittings because there were so many twists and turns. I’m also usually decent at guessing the killers, but this book really hoodwinked me!

Even if Willa is a con artist, her inner monologues inevitably make her relatable, and I was honestly rooting for her at the end of the book. I really liked Cassandra too; even though she got the least amount of pages, she seemed like a good balance between Mary and Willa.

Konen does a great job at highlighting the abuse and violence perpetrated by the men benefitting from the capitalist patriarchy. The inner monologues of the two mothers were great examples of how women are often hurt in those environments even when it seems like this dream life to have. It’s interesting how Willa and Mary led two different lifestyles, one a con artist and the other a responsible single mother, yet their fates were so intertwined, and they got burned in similar ways.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer… this is certainly the case here but who is friend and who is foe? Mary is going through a tough time and meets fellow mom Willa and they become fast friends. Not everything is as it seems in this fast paced thrill ride… there’s murder, mystery, and mayhem. Unreliable narrators and a lot of jumping to conclusions to lead your mind on the wrong path! Fun and quick read!

One margarita too many can change your entire trajectory of your future.

Mary is going through a divorce and is in much need of a friend. Thankfully Willa turns up at the park one day. The boys play. The moms hit it off.

One night Mary shares a deep dark secret with Willa and then Willa disappears.

Once the divorce is almost finalized, Willa shows back up. Mary's ex dies.

And the messes keep getting messier.

This is a twisty turny book with lots of options for your killer. I really liked the plot and it was different than anything I've read.

I give Keep Your Friends Close 4/5 stars and will definitely pick up more of Leah Konen's books in the future.

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

This was an interesting book told from the past leading up to the incident in the present. Mary is separated from her husband, who is very rich, and meets a friend Willa at the park who she confides in. What’s married to do when her husband wants to reconcile and eventually winds up dead? Who killed him and why? I enjoyed this book and was kept guessing Until the end

Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen was a great story with twists I did not see coming. Mary is in the midst of a separation from her husband, George, when she meets a much needed friend, Willa, at the park with her son. Their children played and they become instant friends. Willa was there for Mary until Mary shared her deepest secret feelings and Willa was gone without a word.

A few months later, Mary runs into Willa in a twon close by but Willa does not answer to Willa but Annie. Feeling betrayed, Mary does not want to see Willa again... until she needs her after George's murder.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley who provided me with an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was an entertaining read with a few twists & turns. I can’t say that I loved it, but it kept me intrigued.

I loved this book it has action and twist and I couldn’t put it down. I love the writing style and the story definitely will read more by her!

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. Loved everything about this book!! Kept me on the edge of my seat until the end and I had no idea what to expect at the end. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc of this book.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

If you enjoy thrillers this is definitely the book for you, imagine a crazy whodunnit keeping you guessing all the way to the end!

Coming from the girl who always guesses the ending, I certainly didn't see this one coming. I really would recommend this to anyone who enjoys whodunnit thrillers!!

I enjoyed The Perfect Escape, so I was thrilled to be approved for an advanced copy of Leah Konen's new book. I'm struggling to articulate how I feel about Keep Your Friends Close, but the closest I can come is "confused."

There's a great setup with so much potential, but Konen almost completely spoils it with the dual narratives. I'm not a fan of that format in general, but in this case, it felt like she revealed every twist way ahead of time. I kept waiting to be surprised or to understand the reasoning behind that choice, but it never came. As a result, the plot felt one-note and dragged. I'm disappointed in this book, but will give her next one a try.

While this book ticked many of my usual boxes—New York setting, dysfunctional wealthy characters, crumbling marriages, shady friends—it ultimately fell short of resonating with me. The characters lacked depth, the plot twists felt somewhat predictable, and certain elements didn't hold up to closer scrutiny. For example, the main character feels just a little "too perfect" which makes her somewhat one sided.

However, readers who enjoy these types of stories might still find it an engaging read. The pacing is decent, and despite my criticisms, the plot still held some surprises. Overall, this book was a mixed bag for me.