Ahhhh.. I loved this book. It was definitely an on-the-edge of your seat book! I could not put it down and read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Mary is lonely, she has finally left her husband, but he is still giving her a hard time. She really needs a friend and when she meets Willa she thinks she has found an amazing new friend. Until one day when Willa just ghosts her. So Mary continues on she finds her self in Woodstock trying to set up a new life for herself and her son. Now that George seems to be giving in a little and letting her move away from the city with their son, Alex.

Then she sees Willa, but when she goes to speak to her the woman ignores her and makes Mary think she is crazy until she sees the necklace. She knows that is Willa, but then she is surprised by George and maybe this time things have changed.

Until she stumbles across her husband dead body... now Mary must find his killer before it is too late. Is it Willa who is hiding all kinds of secrets? Does his brother Henry have something to do with it? Is it Henry's ex-wife? Will Mary find out the truth before it is too late?

Initially, I was a little confused as to what was going and what was happening, But Leah masterfully unfolds layers of complicated back stories. I devoured the story, I could not stop reading it. I had to delete some lines because it would have given too much away. I think I have hinted at enough.

Mary is married to George, a wealthy man and controlling husband. Willa is a friend that Mary meets in upstate NY and they become fast friends. After a night of drinking, Mary tells Willa her secrets and then Willa ghosts Mary. Then Mary's husband is murdered with Mary being the prime suspect. Full of deception, con artists, rich people behaving badly and one murder, this book was a slow burn thriller. It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I wanted to know what happened.

This book was an easy read and kept me coming back for more. There were multiple twists but also I really enjoyed the development of the characters. Mary went from a meek and insecure wife to a strong and happy single mother after adversity. Willa went from a con artist to a caring friend and finally found what made her happy. Both of those created messages that the reader can relate to while wrapped up in an intriguing thriller.

While I have enjoyed some of Konen's prior novels, this one ultimately did not work for me. I found the shifting timelines and perspectives difficult to follow and did not have much of a vested interest in the characters. Since I have enjoyed some of her other books, I still look forward to seeing what comes next!

Thank you to Putnam for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun book!I couldn’t put it down. I had no know what was happening next. So many great twists! I love when thrillers make me have questions. It makes the book unputdownable.

This was most definitely a first-class ticket on the train to Crazy Town! It was also a true embodiement of several golden pieces of advice - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, With friends like that who needs enemies, and If it looks too good to be true, it is!! Yeah, Mary should have been smarter and a wee bit less trusting of Willa and her friendship, but I'm not sure I wouldn't have fallen into the same pit of vipers if in the same situation. I loved how twisty and turny things were and once something was explained, it was only truly partly explained. That probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it will if you dive into this one!

I loved this book!
It’s about a new mom that strikes up a friendship at a playground. Her and the other mom become fast friends…. until she ghosts her.
Then, she spots the friend later in another town and she acts as if she has never met her. But…. She just can’t let it go.

I really liked this one, it kept me fully engaged with the dueling timelines. I felt like every little bit of the past that was revealed really fueled the storyline for the present. I did feel like there were some plot holes, but the twist was good - and the ending was nice.

My opinion: Would Recommend
Level: Medium High 4/5⭐️

Very twisting and entertaining! It’s a very slow burn but kept me engaged the whole time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Twisty domestic thriller with alternating POVs between two friends, Mary & Willa. Or so Mary thinks. Mary is in the middle of a difficult separation and custody battle from her very wealthy husband and meets Willa during a particularly lonely moment. But then suddenly, she ghosts her. When she spots her months later, things don’t add up. Secrets don’t stay hidden, and the twists and turns do not disappoint!

Thanks NetGalley for the arc, all opinions are my own

Another domestic thriller of fraught marriages, dubious friendships, and rich people behaving badly. Which, is usually a favorite of mine, when done well. The problem with Keep Your Friends Close is that I wasn't invested in any of the characters. Mary, who is trying to divorce her horrible husband, George, is kind of a pushover and doesn't have much character development. She's been dropped by two friends, Cassandra (her sister in law), and Willa, who was a new mom friend whom she bonded with immediately and spilled dark secrets of her marriage. Out of nowhere, Willa ghosts her, but then she runs into her on a trip to upstate New York and Willa ignores her. Willa is a morally ambiguous character, but there just wasn't that fun you have with those kinds of characters. It took me awhile to finish this book, and the end was pretty unsatisfying.

Thank you Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest opinion.

It was okay. Entertaining enough but pretty predictable. I got a little annoyed in the last 50 pages because the main character was so naive and the way some things played out were unrealistic. If the author was trying to portray empowered women standing up for themselves and each other, she missed the mark. It was more like “women come together for each other when it’s convenient for them”. If you read a lot of thrillers, you might not love this one.

Thank you Netgalley, Leah Konen, and Penguin Group Putnum for this great thriller!! This was a page turner with so many crazy revelations that had my head spinning!!! Highly recommend!!

This was a great thriller. I read it in just a few sittings as I could not put it down. Great twists and turns kept me reading way past my bedtime! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

The jury is out for this book. Although it kept be entertained there was something missing.This is a story of Mary who has married into a rich and powerful family. She realizes too late that her husband George, along with the family is very manipulative. She decides to divorce him and try to make a new life with her son Alex. However, there are threats that her husband and family want full custody.
Mary meets a woman as she was settling in to her new life. Mary is drawn to Willa and they begin a great friendship. But suddenly she disappears without any notice.
This story becomes a thriller when her 2 lives bisect. I do recommend to read this book if you like Domestic Thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

What a wild ride! Full of crazy twists and turns, this book kept me entertained from start to finish. Loved the complexity of Willa and Mary’s friendship and how craftily everything was set up. Really entertaining. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating 2.5

Why did Mary have to be portrayed as a weak women, who just couldn't manage her smarts. It was incredibly frustrating reading this characters mistakes after leaving her husband. She spends majority of the book in tears coping with one thing or another. Also, how can you mourn the loss of a best friend when you don't even know her last name?

Interested enough to finish, but poor pretty girl marries rich narcissist man as been done too many times as a psychological thriller.

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons

This thriller was so amazing I read it in one day, unable to put it down. With twists and surprises at every turn of the page, Mary didn't know who she could trust or who was ready to do her harm. Just when I thought the killer had been revealed, some piece of evidence would appear and change the whole story. I love the way it was unraveled between the past and current, and told with dual POVs for both Mary and Willa. This was the best suspense book I've read this year!

4/5 stars

Thank you GP Putnam and Sons for the ARC!

SYNOPSIS -- Mary has never felt as isolated as she does now, in the middle of a custody battle with her very wealthy ex, George. When she meets Willa at a local playground and they instantly connect, it feels like fate. Two months later, Mary finds herself in upstate New York, recently ghosted by Willa for uncertain reasons and fighting to make a new home for her and her son. When George turns up dead and Willa turns up under a different name, Mary is forced to confront the mysterious coincidences in their friendship and ask herself if Willa was truly a friend, or something else entirely.

This book was SOOO fun, I couldn't put it down! The short chapters made it totally bingeable and the fast-paced drama was unmatched. Mary and Willa had an unmistakable bond, but I couldn't help but be suspicious from the start! My biggest complaint with this book is that it all just seemed a little TOO coincidental in the end. Like I said, things were wrapped up really nicely but some of the supposed coincidences just didn't feel believable to me, and I think that aspect could have been executed slightly better. However, I did love the way that this book played out; there were so many things I was questioning at the start and the author did a great job of wrapping everything up nicely without it seeming too perfect. With multiple POVS, multiple timelines and a world of wealth and glamour, this book was perfect for anyone looking for some gossip girl drama vibes with the complexity of female friendship, motherhood and marriage.