My premise is that if it's Lucinda Berry it's good, so I started with high expectations for this book, which I'll say right away, were far exceeded. In this murder mystery, in which a group of friends may have been to blame for the death of one of them, there is a lot of drama, gossip, toxic relationships, and friendship, all of which kept me very entertained throughout the book, and that when it reached approximately 75%, it became crazy. Twists and turns one after another, all which kept blowing my mind. Loved this one, 5 stars for sure.

'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.'

Meowwwww! I do appreciate a good cat-scratch kinda read!

Keep Your Friends Close was chock full of shape-shifters of the non-fantastical sort. You think you know your best friends and you think you know your husband….But after a book like this, you’ll be mean-muggin’ everybody because Berry will leave you sus AF! Ha ha! This one was quite the page-turner!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 11.7.2023.

Lucinda Berry is an auto read author for me and I have read all of her books, so I was so excited to be able to read this one early. The alternating timelines and POVs moves the story along quickly, and the pacing was good. Each character was distinct and I felt like it was easy to keep track everyone. I don’t watch Desperate Housewives, but this book seems to give similar vibes. As the story unfolds, you start to learn everyone’s secrets and will be surprised at the revelations. As the story progressed, I didn’t want to put this book down. I really enjoyed the way the story wrapped up. This book is similar to the author’s writing style in The Secrets Of Us so if you enjoyed that one, I’d definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Doesn’t the say go, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer”? You def need to keep your friends closer in this case! Who knew moms could keep so many secrets??! This book is written in multiple POVs and you have no idea who could have done it until the very end. Who would murder a beloved mother, daughter, friend??

Wow! I will admit that I struggled with the beginning of the book and almost DNF. I'm so glad that I stuck it out! It started to get very interesting and then I couldn't put it down. I didn't really care for any of the characters, they all got on my nerves and I kept thinking that I was glad that they were not my neighbors/friends. The women's friendships seemed to be solid, but there is a reason that this book is called "Keep your Friends Close". I HOPE that my friends are nothing like these women. I trust them with my life and hate to think that I could be wrong after reading this book.

The ending! The last few chapters in this book took this book to a new level of "WOW" for me. Again, I am so glad that I stuck it out and kept with this book. I would definitely recommend this book. Just be prepared for some drama.

This was another book that once I started it I could not put it down. I was so invested in this story and loved the different points of view, as well as the flashbacks for each character. And the twists!! Just when I think the book is over, she throws in that final chapter twist that I am still thinking about! Highly recommend.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have really enjoyed the author's previous books, so I was excited to read this one, but unfortunately I could not get into it at all. I found the characters not likeable at all and struggled to finish it.

Ok WOW! I absolutely loved loved loved this book. I've always been a Lucinda Berry fan but this one takes the cake as her best book ever. I think it is my favorite read of 2023. The scandals, the wealth, the suspense, the PLOT TWISTS!!!!! I devoured this book and am genuinely sad it's over. I just know this is going to be a huge hit once released! Would give more than 5 stars if I could!

In true Lucinda Berry fashion, Keep Your Friends Close starts with bang and leaves you hanging bythe seat of your pants for the rest of the ride.
There's a wealthy mom group of friends and one ends up dead in a pool. An investigation which turns up many secrets and lies are uncovered.
This book was fast paced and had many twists and turns along the way. If your new to Lucinda Berry, this is a great book. If you're already a fan, then you'll enjoy this book too.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC for my unbiased review.

I received this book from NetGalley.

Wow, that's all I can say. Just wow. I haven't read a book this good in a long time!

The amount of twists and turns is just insane! Often books that have a lot of twists and turns can feel forced but this one didn't, not at all.

Whitney isn't painted in the best light at the beginning of the book but by the end she's the person you feel most sorry for. It also shows that you can't judge people's lives, even when their lives might seem idyllic.

Ryan is also a character that you start to root for towards the end - he really had a tough time of things.

Brooke - well with her my feelings went up and down, but the end of her story was a turn I didn't see coming!

Honestly such a good book and I definitely recommend it!

This book, overall, held my attention. I wanted to know "who dunnit" and why. I feel like it could've been a little better though. First of all, the chapters alternated between different characters and different timelines. Occasionally, I had to go back and see who was talking and when, and that made it a little comfusing. Second, I didn't like how ALL the characters were liars and you, as a reader, couldn't believe anything that ANY of them said. It was like having a book full of unreliable narrators. Lastly, after I found out all the details, I discovered the character that I hated and distrusted the most was actually the only good person in the book. 3-3.5 stars for this one.

I’m not really sure what goes on in the twisted mind of Lucinda Berry, but I do know I’m here for it and I love it. This one truly has it all. So many twists, you think it’s winding down and then bam.. wtf.

Oh. My. Goodness. 😳
This was giving Desperate Housewife vibes, but the last 30% of this book was actually insane.
Best ending I've read in a while. 🤯
If you're not feeling it right away, keep going because your mind will be blown.

I cannot ever get enough of this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! Wow! Wow! Never did I see that coming! This was my first book by Lucinda and I loved it! At first, I was trying to figure it all out and I was struggling. By the middle, I had no idea what was coming next and I loved that feeling! Whenever a book makes me think about it when I away from it, that’s my sign of a good story. Read this book! You won’t be disappointed!

This book started out as a slow burn that quickly spread into a wildfire. By the end of it I could not put it down as there were so many twists coming that I just had to know how it all ended. A rollercoaster of a novel where everyone is not who they seem. Who killed Kiersten? And why? I thought I had it figured out a few times but I couldn’t figure out the “why”. This book showed me it’s important to be careful who your rooting for and that people are never what they seem…or are they?

Keep Your Friends Close is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows a close-knit group of Hollywood elites as they deal with the death of one of their inner circle. When it becomes clear that Kierstan's death was a homicide, the web of lies among this group of women begins to unravel. Soon, all the secrets, lies, and betrayals are made public. Keep Your Friends Close is fast-paced and told through multiple POVs. None of the characters are overly likable; with that said, that is definitely what the author was going for and it actually adds to the story. There were quite a few twists that I did not see coming, which was surprisingly nice, since a lot of thrillers lately have been quite predictable. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending for anyone looking for either a great summer/beach read or an exciting thriller.

This book was incredible! Fast-paced and twisty! Multiple POVs give you little hints at the story while keeping you on the edge of your seat and waiting for the next deception between this group of “friends” I love Lucinda Berry and credit her book Phantom Limb with getting me back into reading for enjoyment as an adult; so I have high expectations when I see her name and this book delivers on them! Awesome twists and turns I didn’t see coming, with a shocking and strange final twist that I never would have expected! Very enjoyable!!

Keep Your Friends Close is an intense slow-burn, twisting and twisting and twisting until the entire tortuous story becomes clear - or does it? Layer after layer, Lucinda Berry displays surprise after surprise.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Book: Keep Your Friends Close
Author: Lucinda Berry
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pub Date: November 7, 2023

Well. This story was terrible. I couldn’t stand any of these women. Nor did I like the cops. And I kept trying to look at it from the perspective that they were the “elite” but does that mean you are just stupid. Kiersten, Whitney, Brooke and Jade all belong to the West Hollywood Mom’s Club and were best friends. And I use that term loosely because these women were not best friends or knew what the word meant. The story alternates between the women and between now and then. (I also didn’t like the font that was used for then and now. Weird I know.) There were so many great storylines in this story that should have been expounded upon but instead just silly stuff was thrown in. I would love to make bullet points on all of it but it would be spoilers. This book was so frustrating because it had such potential. There are so many cringey parts! And again most of the cringey parts are the twists and bombshells! The writing is good! I really like Lucinda Berry and I looked at few other reviews and I’m definitely in the minority with this review. This is definitely a book I would like re-write to make a better story. And this is one of those times I would love to give spoilers just so I could discuss what I would do differently. I gave it two stars because I did finish it and I wanted to know the ending. As bad as it was.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is November 7, 2023.

I seem to be in the minority, but I just could not get into this one. All of the characters were SO unlikeable! The story revolves around the murder of one of the members of the West Hollywood Mom's Club, an informal organization of rich Hollywood women who are new moms. Of course, each is hiding a secret (or more). The writing was good, and there were lots of twists and turns, but I didn't care what happened to any of the women, including the murder victim.

Thanks the NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.