What a twisted group of friends! I loved all the different perspectives of this story. Lucinda Berry never disappoints! Fast paced and full of so many twists. I hope there’s a sequel. Thank you to Thomas and Mercer publishing and NetGalley for this advanced reading copy.

I’m a new Lucinda Berry reader. She got me with The Perfect Child. I loved her recent novella follow up.

This one just missed the mark for me. The story is about a group of girlfriends, one of who dies during a party. The first half is sort of about that. Then the second half is almost entirely NOT about solving the murder. It focuses on a few of the women in the group. The book felt like two stories.

I will say the second half did hook me and I was interested in the ending. The last chapter made no sense to me. 😬

This doesn’t mean I’ll never read her books again. No one gets it right all the time. On to the next!

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This was a perfect guilty pleasure type of story! A bunch of wealthy West Hollywood moms who think they are above other mothers’ groups, but really aren’t any different. They do the same activities (drink) and because of their hired help, often spend less time with their children than regular moms. After a party one night, the president of their little club is found murdered in a pool. There’s no shortage of suspects and we see the story unfold from multiple perspectives. Everyone is hiding something, from slightly scandalous tidbits to horrifically dark secrets. Will the true killer be discovered before anyone comes to harm?

The women are exactly what you picture when you think of West Hollywood. Affluent and obsessed with image, no matter if they came with money or worked hard to earn their position among the elite. They refer to each other as their best friends but carry on affairs with each other’s husbands and gossip about one another behind their backs. Typical shallow women, so you can’t take it too seriously. Many of this author’s books can be quite emotional and hard to get through, so it was a pleasant change to see her write a breezy and wickedly fun story. No matter the genre, her books are always compelling, and they keep you guessing until the very end. So go on, take a break from the serious psychological thrillers, and lose yourself in this one!

LUCINDA NEVER DISAPPOINTS. Like seriously, her books always get me thinking. This one was so dang good, I loved the premise of it & of course we have the crazy twisty ride we can always expect from Lucinda.

There were SO many things I didn’t see coming in this one. This book was filled with so many things I love in thrillers - unreliable narrators, characters you love to hate, and all the suspense.

I would recommend this one to pretty much anybody. It wasn’t as morbid and dark as some of her other books, so I think it is really just a perfect edge of your seat thriller recommendation.

I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it on NetGalley because I've been a fan of Lucinda Berry since reading The Perfect Child. I was honestly torn between a 4 or 3 star rating, and finally ended in the middle with 3.5 stars. This one isn't as gripping or sinister as her other books (at least on the surface). But "oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." All the main characters, the "friends", have secrets (some originated by trauma) others simply diabolical. The women, all in the same social circle, and mothers, belong to a club that is supposedly supportive, and meant to ease the stress and burden of being wives and mothers. However, they are all drowning in secrets, lies and betrayal that ultimately threatened their lives, livelihoods and survival. The book is filled with twists and turns that will give you whiplash! It toggles between the past and present, revealing details in sporadic bursts. An easy read that grabs your attention, and keeps you engaged. Biggest takeaway? Trust no one!

This was another great mystery by Berry. She sucks you into the complicated lives of her characters and you can’t put the book down. A group of friends, think Real Housewives, and their drama and secrets start to surface as one of them is murdered.

I enjoyed how everyone’s stories were intertwined and was kept guessing til the very end. This wasn’t my personal favorite by Berry, but it did keep my attention.

This is a good lesson in life that our actions have consequences, which can be so far reaching.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll start by saying I am a huge Lucinda Berry fan and was absolutely thrilled to receive an eARC of this book. I had high hopes for this book and the author did not disappoint!! This murder mystery was fast paced and kept me engaged throughout the book. It’s full of friendship, drama and secrets! The characters reminded me of the desperate housewives show! If you are interested in a page turner that’s full of twists and turns, this is the book for you!! I don’t give 5 star reviews often, but this one earned 5 stars easily! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book was a miss for me. All the characters were really unlikeable. The story is told through various characters both in present day and in the past. I honestly could not keep them straight.

As of writing this review, this is the only one on NetGalley and I feel bad about starting things off with a negative rating and review. However, there are a lot of reviews over on GoodReads and I'm definitely in the minority.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Thomas & Mercer.

I just got done reading Keep Your Friends Close by Lucinda Berry, thanks to Net Galley, and I really enjoyed it. I really didn’t want to put it down. I was hooked from the very beginning. I didn’t find it to be slow at all. There were twists at the end that I didn’t see coming.

The book is about a group of friends and one of them is found murdered. Each chapter goes from the point of view from one friend to the other.

The question is how well do you really know your friends? Even your very best friend? Do you know all their deepest darkest secrets? You think you do, but you don’t.

I gave this book 5 stars because I liked how it had me hooked from the beginning. It was never slow. It wasn’t obvious to me who did what and the twists were really good. It was a fairly quick and easy read that kept me on the edge of my seat.

This was my first Lucinda Berry book, but it won’t be my last. Thanks again, Net Galley.

Lucinda Berry nails it again! Such a delicious read. Picture a modern 'Desperate Housewives' meets Hollywood.

A deep dive into the lives of the Hollywood elite. The only thing more than money that this friend group has is secrets. When tragedy strikes, it will expose every single one. This book will have you questioning how well you really know the people closest to you!

Thank you to Lucinda Berry, Thomas Mercer, and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

My Review:
Enjoyed!!!!! This author is one of my favorites so I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to read this book no matter what. Boy am I glad I did. It’s exactly what I needed and was looking for. It was a light hearted murder mystery with lots of deep dark secrets to go with it. Who wouldn’t want to read something like that. I do have to say though I’m used to this author writing more darker twisted tales so this was a little different to her norm but I still loved it anyways. Even more so I would say. Sometimes dark is not always better and that’s especially true in this case. These characters were something else let me tell you. They had their nose so far up in the air yet they had so many secrets they wanted to keep hidden. The rich always act that way and I hate it. You should never judge someone without looking at yourself first. Now let’s talk about that shocking ending. Wow, just wow. This author never ceases to amaze me. I never know what to expect when I read one of her books. That’s why I keep coming back for more and I will definitely continue to do so. If she keeps writing them, I will keep reading them.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Kiersten McCann, president of the exclusive West Hollywood Mom’s Club, turns up dead at her own house party, found floating in her pool. It doesn’t make sense though, she was a great swimmer, and there’s no reason she would leave her party for a swim - especially fully clothed. It’s clear this isn’t an accident and fingers start to get pointed to her three friends and other moms that were at the party: Whitney, Brook, and Jade. Nothing is as it seems as the truth unfolds in this domestic crime thriller.

Berry’s “Keep Your Friends Close” starts off with a bang and really never looses pace. The book is fully in 1st person switching from each women’s prospecting both in present day and in the past. Berry keeps the reader guessing until about 90% of the way through when three large twist are thrown at once. Unfortunately this was just a bit too much to get through in too short of a time and felt rushed. 3/5 stars - if there was one less twist, or if they were introduced earlier in the book it would be almost perfect.

Wow! Thanks for ARC. The plot twists kept coming towards the end. Just when I had it figured out, here comes another twist.

Privileged women in California, each hiding a deeper, darker secret. Things aren't always how they appear in this twisted, privileged moms club. Highly recommend.

3.5⭐️

Lucinda Berry is one of my go to authors, always consistently great. So I was excited to read her new release asap. This one feels more like a domestic suspense.

It opens with Kiersten drowning in a pool with lots of people around who were attending a party of The West Hollywood moms club. There’s a bunch of names to get to grips with, the core members being Brooke, Natasha, Whitney, Jade,Taylor and Colleen.

The story is revealed by the questions of the detective in the now time frame, then flips to prior with the Then.

This is a book of 2 halves, the first is so slow, I really struggled with it. Non of the friends are likeable, so that didn’t help me gel with the characters. It would be a generous 3⭐️

By the second half things pick up 4⭐️, and it ends strongly 4.25⭐️ . So I’m torn with my rating, but it’s her weakest book for me overall. So I’m sticking with a disappointed 3.5⭐️

4.5 ⭐️

I’m such a fan of Lucinda’s writing and her books are always so fast paced and easy to fly through because they keep me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and this one was no different! I love the juicy rich people drama vibes of this book and there were so many twists that I had no idea who was behind the murder so the ending was shocking to me. This book is so well written and the constant switching in POVs made it so much more interesting seeing the viewpoints of each of the possible murderers. Overall a really enjoyable read that I would recommend to any thriller lover!

“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.”

Thank you to @netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and @lucindaberryauthor for the arc of this book, all opinions are my own. Keeps Your Friends Close is releasing November 7th

This was a pretty solid murder mystery that had Desperate Housewives vibes. I liked to read from the different characters’ POV and trying to link plot lines together. The chapters are short and keep the reader engaged, it did get a bit confusing at times however to remember which character we’re following. There were a few plot twists I didn’t see coming and a few I kind of saw coming 😊 Will be reading from this author again!
rating: 3.5

Whitney, Brook and Jade are all members of Kirsten’s mums group
For elite parents in West Hollywood.
When at a party at Kirsten’s home the host is found
murdered and floating in her own pool the women’s are
in utter shock.
As the police try to get to the bottom of what happened and who
Murdered Kristen it is apparent that all the women are hiding secrets
giving them each a motive for the killing..
This story was paced so well with secrets revealed making the
reader desperate to find out who did the deed and why.
Brilliant

What a wild ride!!! This book is full of drama! This group of desperate housewives had secrets, lies, cheating spouses, money issues and this all leads to Kiersten's murder. Detective Perez is on a mission to find out which one of these women killed their friend. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my review.

The glamorous ladies of the West Hollywood Moms Club are throwing themselves a booze-soaked bash when club president and hostess Kiersten is found floating lifelessly in her own pool. It soon comes to light that Kiersten’s death was no accident and more than one of her so-called besties had plenty of motive to want her dead.

Lucinda Berry doesn’t waste a moment, starting off the action with the chaos and terror of Kiersten’s drowning, and never letting up for the rest of this twisty, turny, wild ride! I’m a big fan of stories about rich moms behaving badly, and the West Hollywood Moms Club members are definitely good at being bad. After all, the second part of the old adage “keep your friends close” is “and your enemies closer,” and some of these women are definitely the best of frenemies. Affairs, betrayals, secrets, and lies make this a juicy, gossipy read with lots of suspense. Red herrings kept me guessing and had me totally shocked at some of the developments. Lucinda Berry fans will love this compulsively readable book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

This book was juicy and full of drama! I did find around the first 30% a bit slower but then one I passed that point I could not put it down!

One again Lucinda Berry did not disappoint with all the twists and turns! Many of them leaving me stunned, I highly recommend you pick up this book.