KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE was a quick and captivating read that sucked me in from the first page. The different POVs were easy to track, although the jump in timelines threw me off on occasion.

Regardless, this was still a great read with a few unexpected twists. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Lucinda Berry.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE!

"Can you live a dishonest life and still have good things happen to you?"

This story follows six (well, seven) mom friends in LA who all hide devastating secrets. When one of them ends up dead, all of these secrets begin to unravel. It was fast-paced and unputdownable. There was twist after twist, and I never expected any of it!

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

Kiersten is found floating in her pool during a Mom's Club get together. The party guests are all regarded as suspects when it is found that it was no accident, she was likely dead when she was placed in the water.

The friends seem to turn on each other, and so many secrets are revealed. The story is told from multiple points of view.

There is just so much to unpack in this book! Lucinda Berry does a sterling job of keeping the reader engrossed and I found when a finger was pointed at one person, I should have been looking in a completely different direction!
Lucinda Berry is a master story teller, and I have no choice but to award 5 stars. My mind is still reeling!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ This was my first Lucinda Berry (how?!!)
This is a solid domestic rich housewives thriller! I was on guard the entire time trying to figure it out and in the end, I didn’t figure it out. The twists were good-although some were slightly predictable- and some of the characters were delusional (kudos to Berry for creating a certain annoying, delusional, yet believable character haha)
I do understand the dislike for how mental illness was handled in this book, but I also think it is still bringing awareness to how society sometimes handles it. Shedding light in that helps us to do better!

Overall, I would definitely recommend.
Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I want to love Lucinda Berry, but can’t seem to get there. This one didn’t do it for me. The first half of the book was very slow and nothing all that interesting occurred. There were a lot of narrators throughout this and it took me quite a while to get everyone straight and figure out who was who. I found Brooke’s perspective of the story to be awful to sit through, but I understand why we did in the end.

Overall none of the characters were overly likeable but the ending was decent. Everything leading up to the ending could have been much more fast paced to keep the reader invested. I felt like this was more of a domestic drama than a thriller.

Lucinda Berry fans, you are not going to be disappointed when you read this one! I devoured this book in a day. It was a fast read (I love quick thrillers), a few POVs, a small circle of suspects, and so many twists. Some parts were predictable, some weren't. There was a lot to unpack in the end, and I was LOVINGGG it!

Keep Your Friends Close is available November 7, 2023.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for my advanced copy to review!

SYNOPSIS ⬇️
When Kiersten McCann, president of the West Hollywood Moms’ Club, turns up dead in her own pool, it quickly becomes clear this wasn’t an accident. And the party guests―all members of the exclusive club―are now key suspects in her murder.

Accusations fly, and three mothers find themselves at the center of the investigation. Whitney, Brooke, and Jade all have heavy secrets to bear…and possible motives for their friend’s murder. But as the police look closer, more secrets, betrayals, and sinister plots are revealed than the women could ever imagine.

With everything at stake, deceit threatens to shatter their illusions of the perfect life. West Hollywood will never be the same.

This was an interesting story and I finished the book in a day but having said that, the end kind of unraveled on me. Wayyyy too much going on when just one of the reveals would have been plenty.

Be careful who you trust and when you think you know who that is, think again. Friendships can be tricky! You think you know your friends but sometimes the closest of friends have the deepest, darkest secrets. Lucinda Berry never disappoints! I loved this book.

What an entertaining soap opera of a book! Keep Your Friends Close is full of housewife drama and gossip, and most characters are a mess. There are serious, real life problems combined with keeping up appearances and fitting in with the "right" crowd. The book centers around the women in the West Hollywood Moms' Club - an exclusive group in which prospective members must apply and submit an essay before being approved. On the outside, everyone appears to have a glamorous life, but we soon learn that most of them have secrets and troubles. There are several jaw dropping twists that kept me glued - holy moly! This was my first read by Lucinda Berry, and it was great! I will definitely be looking for more by her. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

With friends like these…🤦🏻‍♀️

West Hollywood Moms’ club. Wealthy, entitled and hiding secrets you couldn’t possibly imagine!

They’ve just thrown themselves an over-the-top party. Now, as the festivities wind down only the core group of women remain.

One mom won’t make it to the end of the nights’ big party. And another may be responsible. Can you figure out who the killer is? And why? I couldn’t! I traveled the path of chasing all the red herrings.🤣 So many juicy secrets! So many profound lies! Everything is about to come to light in an explosive way.

Told from multiple perspectives with a dual timeline. The characters were easily distinguishable and well developed.

This was my first full length book by Lucinda Berry! And I cannot wait to read more of her works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer

SYNOPSIS:
- Kiersten, Whitney, Jade, Brooke, Natasha, Taylor, & Colleen are all part of a boogie Mom’s Club in West Hollywood.
- Kiersten drowns in the pool, while hosting a party for the Club. Was it an accidental drowning, or was this a murder?

MY THOUGHTS
- Lucinda Berry is my girrrrrl & I love her books👏🏼
- Multiple POVs + alternating timelines (past & presents)
- Lots of twists & layers
- Fast paced & didn’t want to put it down
- Some of it was a little unbelievable, but it didn’t bother me
- Satisfying ending
- Although some of the characters weren’t likable, they were still well written
- Only negative was the use of the phrase “omigod” constantly by all the characters
- Love a neighborhood suspense/drama filled with secrets & twists

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Wealthy moms in neighborhood suspense. Well written & fast-paced. Finished in 2 days.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on November 7, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this e-book.

This was not my favorite Lucinda Berry book but still good overall. It didn't have that unhinged feel that her other books have. It felt somewhat reminiscent of Big Little Lies. Solid 3⭐

This was a solid read. I liked the premise and found the book to be interesting. I was a little confused or thrown off by the ending, but overall it was pretty good and worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer & NetGalley for the ARC!

Lucinda Berry has been on my list of must read authors and I was so excited to get a chance to read Keep Your Friends Close. Holy Desperate Housewives murder mystery! Was some of it outlandish? Yes. But my goodness did I devour this book. Easy read, kept my attention and I didn’t know where it was going next! I can’t wait to read her other titles now!

A wealthy moms club is having a party when one of their own is found floating deceased in the pool. No one knows who has done it but everyone seems to mostly be point fingers at the same person, and that person isn’t helping themselves when they’re posting these crazy videos on their social media for anyone to see defending their behaviors. When you think you have this book figure out buckle up, because you haven’t and Lucinda Berry is about to take you on a thrilling ride! This book was fast and fun, this is the second book I’ve read by this author and she’s quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.

📚 Review: Keep Your Friends Close 🩸
Wow!! I just loved this book!! This was Desperate Housewives, but much deadlier. And I loved every second of it. This book was a bit different than other books I’ve read from Lucinda Berry. It didn’t have her usual darkness to it, but it was just as shocking and twisted as ever. There were so many little shockers along the way, some that left my mouth wide open in surprise. And that ending! 😱😱
For those who may be unfamiliar with this newest of hers, it’s about a group of new mothers, who live in Hollywood. Most have lived a privileged life, getting everything they ever wanted. They meet as this group often. At one of their meetings, one of them ends up dead and now we need to know who did it. They all were best of friends and they all had lies that could destroy each other’s lives. Who can you trust? Who’s telling the truth? You’ll have to read this one when it comes out to find out. I don’t want to say too much more, I fears of giving spoilers. But it’s told in multiple POVs and has two different time lines of Then and Now. It’s a fast paced, edge of your seat ride in trying to find out who did this horrific crime and what secrets they are hiding. This was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5 stars for me! I recommend you get this one when it comes out in November. You won’t regret it. Lucinda never disappoints.

Have you read any of Lucinda Berry’s books? Which are your favorites? Mine are Saving Noah, A Perfect Child and now this one. ✌🏻

Thank you to @netgalley and @lucindaberryauthor for the advanced e book copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: Nov 7th 2023

This was my first book by Lucinda Berry. For the first 75% of the book it was a slow read for me. Then all of a sudden the last 25% came in and I did not want to put this book down! Was not expecting any of those twist that came in at the end! There was so much going on that it felt like something new was popping up with every new page!

Give me more more more! This book was impossible to put down!
I read it one sitting. The twists and turns are crazy. The different perspectives make it a page turner. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but it didn't last long. Full of neighborhood drama mixed in with tons of drama amongst family and friends. When Kiersten is found dead in her pool at a mom's party everyone there becomes a suspect. This book is fast paced and alternates between different viewpoints and past and present which helps keep the pacing. I just wish it had been longer!

Lucinda Berry is one of my favorite authors and Keep Your Friends Close is another one of her edge-of-your-seat, propulsive novels. When one of the moms in a West Hollywood social group is murdered at a party, the suspicion turns from one member to the next. Is Brooke’s erratic behavior triggered by her divorce or is there more to it? Is Whitney the grieving best friend or does she have some shocking secrets of her own? And where were Jade, Natasha and the other moms when the crime was committed? The answers will leave you reeling….

Lucinda knows how to keep a reader interested, and wanting to know what happens next…

Unfortunately, I did not love this one.
Hollywood housewives “whodunnit” with a lot of twists that fell flat, for me.
The story started out strong, but as the investigation rolls on, it just lost all momentum and turned into a different story.
The ending felt rushed, and left more to be desired with the last twist.

Overall, I feel like it’s a good starter book for getting into the thriller genre, but still felt more like a drama.