At first I was like "oh rich women issues" but then I got really into this. It was so good. So homegirl drowns in her pool during an after party with her six besties. She is found in a gown, that could probably pay off a car, floating dead in the pool and everyone blames the girl who isn't really part of the inner circle because she is going through some stuff and acting crazy, but she's almost a side story.
As we investigate we learn all the women's secrets and they are so ugly. SO so ugly.
The ending! OMG the ending.

If you’re in the mood for rich LA housewives behaving badly, Keep Your Friends Close is right up your alley. The book starts with a murder mystery and is one of those situations when anyone and everyone could have done it. As the story progressed, the truth was anyone’s guess!

What a juicy read! I have read several books by this author and every one of them has been a great read. This one is about a group of wealthy, like minded moms who want a fun mom's night. It turns into a mystery when one of them ends up dead. Lots of drama, lies and secrets are throughout this one. The characters are unlikable in their own ways, but that is part of the fun in this one. The ending was not as strong as the book, but was good enough. Recommended if you want something drama filled and crazy!

Fantastic book. Love how Lucinda keeps you chasing your tail through her stories. This one pulled me in straight from the get go! Highly recommend

I just finished Keep your friends close by Lucinda Berry and here are my musings.

The West Hollywood mom’s club is the most exclusive moms group. When Kiersten McCann throws a lavish party at her home then winds up drowning in her own pool, it becomes clear to the police that whoever killed her, is in the mom’s group… One of her best friends did it.

Everyone is blaming each other but it’s only really 3 of the mothers the police are questioning. Whitney, Kierstens best friend who she seemed to have been on the outs with. Brooke, who lost her temper at another party and hit a guest and Jade, strung out mother with a sick child who works for Whitney. They all had access and motive but is the truth too much to bear?
This book had me guessing from start to finish. I love books that do that. I was blaming everyone too, even people not at the party. That’s how twisted up this read had me. In the end the shocking twists had me gasping and I couldn’t believe I didn’t see it coming!! Mom’s behaving badly when their lives look glossy and put together.. I am here for that all day long.
The book was fast paced and hard hitting. The POV changed between the mom’s Whitney, Jade and Brooke and that’s not normally what I like but I got used to it after a while. I think it would have been better to write it in the 3rd person but still, this book was absolutely nail biting.
I loved how the book showed that having money makes things perfect but these ladies' lives were all far from it. You could feel just how sad and lonely they all felt even married with a close knit group of friends. The range of emotions this book pulled out of me shows the genius in the writing and I devoured the whole thing in one sitting.


Definitely the best thriller I have read this year.

4.5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and #thomasmercer for my gifted copy

4🌟!
Lucinda Berry did not waste any time opening this book with the most chaotic and traumatic all girls party. The West Hollywood Moms Club is having the party of their life with their fancy award ceremony kind of gowns, booze and gummies when the president of the club Kiersten was found floating dead in her own pool! These wealthy, entitled and living their high lives group of moms are now suspects! One of them is the killer and along with the confessions were their dirty unimaginable secrets.

I always love the way Lucinda Berry tugs the hearts of mom readers with psychological thrillers that often stumps the thin red line between fiction and reality. This one is no different concept wise but every book is always unique with its plot! I enjoyed it very much. It was fast, and the intrigue was rising continuously as you read further along. Give me more Lucinda Berry books! Thank you Thomas and Mercer Books and Netgalley for the advance copy to review.

A woman ends up dead in her pool at a party with her friends. It looks suspicious and the remaining friends don’t know who to believe. Alternating between past and present of three of the friends, secrets emerge.

There were some good twists toward the end here, but it wasn’t as suspenseful as I thought it was going to be. I do think the epilogue/final twist felt weird and unnecessary. It didn’t really leave me stunned like a last minute reveal should do.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kicking off with the discovery of Kiersten McCann floating dead in her own pool, the police really have their work cut out for them as they investigate the West Hollywood Moms Club. With all the secrets and lies in this tight knit group they could also easily be called The Real Housewives of West Hollywood. Keep Your Friends Close has a fast paced story with several surprise twists and some interesting characters. While it wasn’t my favorite Lucinda Berry love, it’s a solid domestic thriller. I'd like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Keep your Friends Close.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R20QQZWNK38FBV/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This one wasn't as dark as some of her books I've read and although it wasn't a favourite of hers the secrets and lies kept me guessing throughout 4 stars

Man I love Lucinda Berry! This one was a lot more “mild” (mild for her anyways!) and I think it will definitely appeal to most thriller readers. The story was captivating, I devoured it in 24 hours and can’t wait for Lucinda’s next!

Keep Your Friends Close is like a soap opera on steroids.

Think high society mom's group full of self absorbed snobs.

One of them ends up dead at a adults only party.

Which one is the killer?

These people have more drama and secrets than you can imagine. I don't understand how they are even friends.

Full of twists and turns that I couldn't get enough of. Did I like the characters? Not so much. But was it a good story? Yes!

Thanks to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc.

Well! With friends like these, who needs enemies, right?

This is a closed-loop domestic thriller/suspense mystery about the type of mean girls who grew up to be the type of moms I worked very hard to stay away from at any and all social events that involved children when mine were growing up: rich, self-involved, vain, discriminatory, judgmental, and insular. At a “moms-only” party one night, the hostess is found floating in the pool, and the police call it homicide. Now the question is: Who murdered her?

The narrative structure of this book is first-person, with chapters alternating between characters (Brooke, Whitney, and Jade), and between timelines (Then and Now). Even though there were more people present at the party than these three characters and there are more suspects than these three characters, it’s pretty evident that by making these three core characters the center of the narrative that one of them must be the culprit. While this is convenient for narrative structure it sure does take the power out of the story. It becomes pretty easy to guess (for me, at least) who the culprit is by about halfway through the book with only three true suspects to contemplate. In my readings I’ve found that five or six is my preferred number of suspects in a closed-loop mystery.

A lot of the motives behind our main characters’ actions in this book is love. Usually I don’t have an issue with that, but in the case of this book it made me so mad at these women because their love made them all look so weak.

The story itself is nice and soapy. Twisty and turny. It’s entertaining enough for a shorter read. It’s certainly not the tidiest book when it comes to closed-loops, but it’s pretty decent. I just wish these women hadn’t come across as so weak.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without recompense. Thank you.

File Under: Domestic Thriller/Kindle Unlimited/Psychological Fiction/Suspense Mystery

Excellent! I had no clue how this would end, and I loved being in the dark the whole time! Multi-POV made this even better.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have yet to meet a book lover who does not love Lucinda Berry, as much as I do.

Berry is hands down the face of future thrillers.

Under Her Care, The Best of Friends, A Welcome Reunion... I could go on and on but those are my top 3 favorites by this author.

Actually, that's a lie.

Keep Your Friends Close IS my favorite Lucinda Berry book.

Secrets, Lies, Murder.... what else could a thrill loving girl ask for ? Not much, I'll tell ya that!

This book is wild and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time! I was never once bored or looked to put the book down but then again, have we ever wanted to put down a Lucinda Berry book.

Check out this teaser:

From the bestselling author of The Best of Friends comes a fast-paced thriller about how one woman’s murder unravels the tangled web of lies and deceit connecting a group of Hollywood elite.

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.

What a fun thriller this was! I'm always drawn to books that surround a friend group with lots of secrets. Of course when one member of said group turns up dead, there's always going to be questions about whodunnit. And what's even more exciting is that each of the other three women all have their own motives. This book had me flipping the pages at rapid speed and gasping out loud in several sections in shock. Another masterpiece for Lucinda Berry - I loved it!

Keep Your Friends Close by Lucinda Berry Lucinda Berry - 5 ⭐️’s
Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC
Read if you like:
Unreliable characters
Desperate housewives
Real Housewives of any city
Group of best friends
Interesting storyline
Multiple POVs
Psychological thrillers
💭 Not sure what it was but I fell in love with this book immediately on page one and it just progressed as I continued to read this story written by the amazing Lucinda Berry! 🤩 Lucinda Berry has a way of words like no other! I haven’t read any of her other books and this was my first by her but it absolutely won’t be my last! The way Lucinda Berry creates such character development and great storylines should honestly win her a trophy of some kind! 🏆 This psychological thriller is one of the best ones I’ve read! My favorite parts of the book was the Whitney character and Kiersten’s chapters. 🤩 This book left me thinking there could potentially be a sequel to it in the future and if there is I’m all for it. 😉💭
QOTD: Are you a person who prefers thrillers or romance novels?! What is your favorite author in your preferred genre?!
#PsychologicalThrillers #NursesWhoRead #ThrillerReads #LucindaBerry #KeepYourFriendsClose #TeachersWhoRead #NetGalley #BookRecommendations #NewBookReleases2023 #ThrillerBooks

Although not my favorite from this author, still a fun book altogether! I loved the police procedural concept but had some setbacks with the characters.. None of them we’ve very likable for me and because of that, I didn’t care too much about what happened to each of them. I love a book a lot more when I find myself rooting for a character and i didn’t have that with this book. I liked the unraveling of secrets throughout the plot but the high drama was a little turn off. I’ve found all of her other books a lot more enjoyable in the atmospheric thriller aspect but this one was more like girl drama thriller.

A decent read, but not my favorite by this author. Lots of rich people behaving badly, mostly unlikeable characters, and an ending that I found kind of underwhelming. Hoping her next one is back on track!

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

This story kept me engaged from start to finish, and I wasn’t sure until the very end who did what. But, having said that, these were terribly unlikeable people and terrible terrible friends. And some of the things they did- or perhaps, better put, the sum total of what they all were guilty of, was just so outlandish by the end that it made Desperate Housewives look like a dry documentary by comparison.

Thank you Lucinda Berry, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

West Hollywood Mom’s Club President Kiersten McCann is found dead at the club’s most recent party and it soon becomes apparent that her death wasn’t an accident. As the investigation proceeds, secrets about all the core member’s lives are revealed, seemingly complicating the investigation.

This was a great, twisty thriller by Lucinda Berry. I have such mixed feelings about all the characters, and I think creating such morally gray characters is a skill not many authors have.

This multi POV story centers around the death of beloved club president Kiersten and really focuses on the then and now of the core six members of the club, each with their own secrets that are slowly revealed and become intertwined with everyone else.

The reveal of the actual murderer was not as shocking as I had hoped but the last chapter really revealed some jaw-dropping information bringing everything altogether at the end.

If you’re a fan of fast-paced, twisty thrillers or have enjoyed any of Lucinda Berry’s previous works, this is a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy. My review is voluntary and honest.