Keep Your Friends Close is a fun popcorn thriller that kept me guessing. Even when I thought I figured it out, I was wrong! I love when that happens.

Read if you like:
•rich people behaving badly
•bitter divorce battle
•dual POV
•multiple timelines
•whodunnit

This was the first novel I’ve read by @leahkonen and it definitely will not be my last.

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book and gobbled it up in one setting. It was a unique plot and gave me old school horror movie vibes. I enjoyed the multiple POV and how the characters intwined. I have recommended this book to so many people since I finished it and will be reading more by this author.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

Wild and twisty thriller - most definitely had me on the edge of my seat. Good book!

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my free and honest review. Wow, this book is amazing! Suspense filled and an elaborate web of absolutely believable scenarios. What an outstanding author!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

Remember to Keep Your Friends Close...Don't Turn Your Back.

So many suspects, it could be anyone. This one kept me guessing.

Even though this book is like others, I did enjoy it.

Read Completed 3/20/24 | 3.5 stars, rounded down based on vibes and feelings
I was super excited for Leah Konen's latest after really loving her book YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME last year. I couldn't wait to see what her next release was all about! Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a paperback copy of this book to read, review, and feature if I so wished! This did not affect my experience reading this book.

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE was a little different than I expected. For one, I didn't know that this was a "rich people" thriller trope, which I don't usually enjoy. I liked the concept of the story, but it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. Obviously I didn't write the story and I don't get to make that choice, but I was hoping for a bit more suspense surrounding Willa and the question of her identity as well as a few other plot points that got revealed along the way. There were multiple little reveals that were interesting but nothing really grabbed me like I had hoped it would.

The main characters felt like they could have used a little more depth. Mary was fine but she was just a bit blah. Willa was also fine, but I think I would have liked it better if we didn't have her POV and Mary was figuring out everything as the reader does, to add more doubt and suspense. Granted, Willa could still be anything in the book even with a POV, but I don't know. It just took something away for me instead of adding.

The ending was okay! Some things I didn't see coming but nothing was really quite shocking. It was a solid read with a concept that we see all the time in thrillers but a story that still felt different. I still really enjoy Leah Konen's style and her books but I hyped it up a little too much for myself and I let myself down again. I'd probably still recommend it to other readers but this one just kind of fell in line with other thrillers instead of being the stand-out read I hoped it would be.

Mary has been living the dream life of many until she realizes how awful it actually is. Every moment of her day is dictated including how she dresses, decorates her house, foods that she eats, everything. Mary is now separated from her husband and finally getting to live how she wants to without his family's influence. The problem is that it is not just her. Her son Alex has been pulled into the center of it by her husband George. His family is rich and powerful and has the means to make sure she ends up with nothing. It has happened before, to Mary's best friend, and also sister-in-law, Cassandra. Mary has seen how terribly the family she married into will treat someone on the outside. Mary starts a blossoming new friendship with a woman she met at the park. They become fast friends and Mary finally has a support system close by. Until her friend suddenly goes silent on her and is no longer around.

I really enjoyed the way the plot progressed in this book. The characters were intentionally vague which was fantastic for building up the thrill. I really enjoyed how fast-paced this book was to read.

I couldn’t put this thriller down! It was a book where you KNOW shit’s going to hit the fan, and then it does…and it doesn’t hit how you expected, but better.

I was completely invested in Mary’s story, and was DYING to know Willa’s backstory. I was definitely suspicious of her motives throughout, but was surprised by her twist. I was also surprised by the last twist! I love a good rags-to-riches story, and have a total love-obsessed-hate relationship with the 0.1%. Which continues to hold up throughout this book.

My only critique (and it’s small!) was that I wish we learned more about life AFTER. I would have loved more epilogue details. But all-in, this was a book I read in one sitting and hated even getting up for a snack!

I loved the idea of this book, but it just did not quite deliver.

We get that she married rich, we get that she lived comfortably because she married rich, we get that it would be easier to go back to him because he is rich, we get that he doesn't listen to you because he is rich this is how he was raised...are you starting to get my point?

Ending became rushed then suddenly all is forgiven, yay...

I could not put this book down!!! Sometimes thrillers are hard for me to get into so I was scared to start this. But after the first chapter I was captivated. Leah Konen takes you on a wild ride full of twists and turns that you will never guess are coming!
In this dual POV, shocking, gripping thriller, Konen shares the thoughts and perspectives of Willa and Mary. Two best friends..... or ex best friends. The night after Mary spills her drunk secrets about her failing marriage to Willa, Willa disappears. No calls, no texts, no warning. When Mary arrives in Woodstock, New York a couple months later, she is shocked to see Willa there with a whole new family and a whole new identity. And when Mary's ex husband turns up dead she becomes the prime suspect. She turns to Willa for support but begins to question her. Who really is Willa? Did she kill George? What other secrets is she hiding?
I was itching for the next page and next chapters. I felt like I was apart of the story. If you think you know how it ends then you are completely wrong!!!!!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity!


I love this author’s books. Leah Konen has a unique perspective and can write great mysteries. So when i see this i was really excited.
This was such a mind blowing experience honestly. It was nothing like I’ve read before. You expect one thing and then it hits you with a completely different thing. You can’t trust anyone, literally anyone. So obviously i loved it. It was a heart racing reading experience.

This books is super catching and easy to get into. I instantly felt invested in Mary and Willa’s relationship. I liked that the POV alternated from Willa to Mary and also then vs now.

As expected, the book took some twists and turns, some of which I saw coming and a couple that caught me by surprise. At the end, it almost felt a little too twisted, but ultimately it worked out and I enjoyed how it concluded.

Mary gets ghosted by fellow playground Mom, Willa, and then stumbles upon her months later in a new town, using a new name. When Mary's husband turns up dead in the same small town, it's anyone's guess who is to blame. Secrets start coming out, no one is who they claim to be, and just when you think you have it figured out, a new suspect comes to light. Definitely my kind of book!

At first I thought I knew “who did it” but I didn’t, so that’s a plus. The whole book was a little far fetched to me but also not very exciting? To me it was mediocre. Not amazing but not terrible.

This book was a fresh, new take on the thriller. I loved the Dual POVs of Willa and Mary. They kept everything fresh and there were twists ta kept my attention. I'm excited to read more books by Leah Konen

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam & Leah Konen for an ARC of Keep Your Friends Close.

Looking for a mystery/thriller than keeps you on your toes from the beginning and leaves you staying up all night to finish it? This is definitely the one for you!

Mary is a single mom going through a divorce and in a heated custody battle with her ex, George. George was born into money & is trying to take their son, Alex, away from his mom for no good reason other than to hurt her.

Mary frequently takes Alex to a playground close to her ex’s house in Brooklyn and this is where she meets Willa who becomes a friend Mary desperately needed. After a margarita night, Willa disappears without a reason as to where she went or why. Mary visits Woodstock to try to build up a new life for her & Alex, since George won’t allow her to move back to Old Forge with her mom & sister. Mary spots Willa and demands answers. Willa, now Annie, wasn’t the only person Mary found in Woodstock.

Keep Your Friends Close is a good mystery/thriller and a page turner. I found myself staying up really late just to finish this book because I was invested. The characters were great and easy to connect with. As a mom, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure no one took my kids away from me

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

DNF. It was a little outlandish and I couldn't keep with it. Then I promptly forgot that I'd read it when time to review it and I had to look up which book it was. Not a favorite.

📱”Keep Your Friends Close" by Leah Konen

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
published February 20, 2024

Thank you to Samantha Bryant of PGI Putnam/Penguin Random House for gifted ebook via @netgalley. 

A domestic drama and thriller with friendship at the core. Mary is struggling alone in a dirty custody battle for her son. When she meets Willa, gorgeous, beyond charming and energetic she finallly feels like she has a friend. They go out for margaritas and share their secrets, especially about Mary's manipulative ex George. When Willa completely ghosts Mary, she worries she did something to ruin the one good thing she had in her life. 

After 2 months of Mary finalizing her divorce and making plans for her and her son's future in a small town in upstate New York. And she randomly runs into Willa, but Willa is going by the name Annie, she has dark hair, is much less flashy, and has a new family. So when George ends up murdered, Mary is the prime suspect and she only has Willa to reach out to. 

Told via Mary and Willa's POV, over three parts and the two timelines, I apprecaited the short chapters to keep everything straight. 

#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Red flags galore and some serious twists abound in Keep Your Friends Close. If you're looking for a suspense novel that will hold you hostage until you turn the last page this is it.

A body is discovered in the opening paragraphs. Who is found dead in the fancy apartment? Who are the suspects? The bitter spouse? The evil brother? The con-woman?

Switching back and forth between past and present and two different perspectives, this thriller zips along with surprising reveals. I couldn't put it down.

My thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

Mary, recently separated from her manipulative husband, meets Willa, another mom, at the playground while their two young sons play. Mary instantly takes to Willa and desperately hopes they can become friends -- she's everything Mary needs in her life, especially while dealing with the mistreatment at the hand of her husband and his overbearing family. But Willa isn't what she seems....

I have to say that although this book started slow, I ended up really enjoying it. It didn't blow me away but kept me interested and guessing. I had thought I'd figured it out (I didn't) and was pleasantly surprised. I liked some of the underlying messages (not disclosing due to possible spoilers) and found it wrapped up nicely and in a believable way. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy twisty domestic thrillers. Solid 4 star read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.