There's a man that has been hit by a car that Lou was driving. It's Mr Gould. Mr. Gould won't be missed anyway. He was a registered pedophile.
20 yrs later, the one that hit him wants to come clean
Lou starts making threatening phone calls to her ex best friend Anna, saying she's ready to confess. Anna helped Lou cover up Mr Goulds body because that's what best friends do for each other
They made a pact to never speak of this incident again.
Now, 20 years later, Lou living on the streets has a change of heart
Lou needs Anna to go down with her. Because hey, why would she want to go to jail alone.
Want to test your friendship, tell them a secret, and see if it is kept forever or used against you

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for this ARC of ‘The Perfect Friend’ by J.V. Cardy

Without leaving any spoilers my advice is.. just read it! I loved the main characters, thought the plot was very interesting and well thought out. Plenty of unexpected twists, especially at the end.

This was a hit of a slow burn and it took quite a while for me to really get into it and feel like anything was really happening. It's well written though and had a few unexpected twists. I wasn't really a fan of the ending, that felt.... off I guess? But it was a decent enough wee thriller

This thriller takes you through the friendship of Anna and Lou, they haven't spoken in years due to a deadly secret.

One has seemingly moved forward while the other struggled throughout the years.

The pace was a little slow to me but it definitely picks up in the end!

I was privileged to receive an ARC of The Perfect Friend by J.V. Cardy; thank you to Net Galley and Inkubator Publishing. In many ways the book left me longing for more depth, and in others I enjoyed it. It is the story of two lifelong friends whose relationship changed after a tragic event. The event changed the life of one friend significantly, while the other was able to move on,and build an apparently happy family and a good career. Twenty some years later they are reunited by an unsettling phone call; it is not the reunion the caller had hoped for. Parts of the book were fast moving and piqued my interest, others somewhat tedious. All in all, The Perfect Friend was a satisfying read. 3.5 stars.

Didn’t have any expectation starting the book and it surprised me in a good way. I liked the characters, particularly one and you’ll love them too, I’m sure. Good plot, fantastic idea! Hope to read more by the author. Worth your time, give it a go!

⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed reading this book - the plot is good, writing style is fine by me, easy read and have such good story. I can detect what’s what and who’s who but the fact that there’s always something came up after each time I was proven right with my instinct throughout reading, keep me going on till the end. Love how the author creatively throwing more into the story to keep it interesting and keep readers on the edge or wondering.

The Lou character managed to make my blood boiled, and other characters are good too as well as have their own strengths, except maybe for the son, which doesn’t gave much into the whole story - I didn’t really see his character growth but that’s fine as he’s not the mc, just a side character of the story.

I didn’t know what to say about the ending though, I do understand what the author wanna lay like make it end ironically or open for our interpretation I guess, which make me not sure how to feel about it. After the whole roller coaster rides, I think I opt for some strong ending, which a clear one will be much more appreciated for me. Yet as for this one, I neither like it nor hate it. Overall, this is still such a good read, I do enjoyed the book and the story.

I enjoyed reading this book. There were a few twists I wasn’t expecting including the ending. I definitely understood one of the character’s motivations even though their actions weren’t the best. I had to finish this book, it gripped me from the first page. There were secrets and lies that had me not trusting any of the characters. The friendship between Lou and Anna was toxic with manipulation and problematic. Makes you wonder who you can trust, with friends like that who needs enemies. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC book. There were a couple spelling errors.

I loved this book. A great story with lots of twists along the way. And can you really trust your friends .................
Highly recommendedfor a gripping read.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review

I enjoy a good thriller film, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, I have never read any thriller books. I decided to start with this one.

The storyline is familiar. Two “supposed” friends are bound by a secret. A secret that would very much alter the normalcy of their lives if it were to come out. They go on to live separate lives, which eventually causes their friendship to fizzle out. Many years have passed since this secret happened, but as a result of one person’s unwillingness to let sleeping dogs lie, this duo is forced to rekindle their friendship, most inconveniently.

*What worked for me*
-The title: At first glance, I'd say it's ironic, but with a given perspective, I consider it to be more of a double-edged sword.
-Multiple character POV: It allows for perspective, especially for a story in this genre.

*What didn't work for me*
-Pacing: it did feel like a drag at the start, but it picked up later toward the end.
-Ending: I’d say I had high expectations for the characters and expected more from the decisions they made. It felt like some choices were just convenient for the writer and not the characters he’d developed.

In summary, I believe the author is on to a great start and I look forward to more of his work. Thanks to NetGalley X Inkubator books for the ARC.

This is a really chilling read that made me glad it wasn’t real! You can trust your friends, until you can’t!! Full of suspense and a solid plot that ends in a satisfying way! Loved it.

Lou is a fantastic and multifaceted villain.this is a classic thriller that is difficult to put down. Really enjoyed every page.

The cover just makes you want to read the book!

This book was right there and didn't beat around the bush! I liked that and had me hooked from beginning!

This books makes you not want to have close friends when you marry! Great story and writing! perfect friend.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

Keep your friends close but enemies even closer .
You can’t allow yourself that you ever be in the mercy of someone else even if that is your best friend like you thought. Great read !

Couldn't get into it, the characters felt really wooden, just not for me I'm afraid. I did like the sound of the concept and I do like thrillers about troubled friendships.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator books for the ARC. I have mixed feelings, this book drew me in but didn't keep my interest. Lou and Anna's friendship was so toxic that I felt it difficult to enjoy this book. I am glad that I stuck it out, the ending was predictable but interesting especially the last sentence.

Wow! The Perfect Friend by J.V. Cardy left me thankful for the wonderful friends I have and the bridges I let burn to the ground in the past. There was no sugar coating or painting a pretty picture in this book which I found refreshing. This book portrayed a less than perfect marriage that was rocked by the perfect friend. I’ll be on the lookout for more gripping reads by J.V. Cardy in the future.

Toxic
Problematic
Manipulative
A perfect friend indeed.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Inkubator books for this advanced copy. I really appreciate it. Although I can't say the same about this book. Giving a bad review is not something I enjoy doing, but I'd be lying to myself and to everyone if I say that I liked something when in fact, I didn't.

The premise is simple. Two old friends share a deadly secret. And one of them is using it to manipulate the other. I could accept that plot if it was given more depth. But, the whole thing was boring and repetitive. I am supposed to at least sympathise with one of the two characters but both of them are shallow.

To put it simply, I felt like watching a poorly directed Lifetime movie.

An amazing ride,between two best friends,but the fact that they hadn't seen each other in over 20 yrs.caused a multitude of problems.
Louise contacted her best friend,by phone & said "I want to confess."
This confession stemmed from a murder that had taken place over 20 yrs.ago.
What transpires is a scary,scary ride,
Suffice to say with a friend like,Louise, you won't meet a nicer enemy?
The characters & storyline were great & I would highly recommend the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it & J.V. Cardy for their writing.

The Perfect Friend
Written by J. V. Cardy

Blurb:

Lou has finally found a friend. Now she’ll do anything to keep her.

Anna is in a good place in her life – a husband she loves, a great job, a lovely home. Everything is perfect.

But then she gets a call from an old girlfriend, Lou, whom she hasn’t seen for twenty years. Lou, now seeming troubled and off kilter, wants to confess to a fatal hit-and-run from back in the day – an accident which Anna helped cover up. If Lou goes to the police, Anna’s life is over, she’ll lose everything she has worked so hard to build.

Anna can see that Lou is not in a great place, and hopes that if she can help her old friend get back on her feet, she’ll forget about confessing. So Anna invites Lou to move into her home.

Lou is delighted and sees this as a sign that Anna still loves her, that they really are best friends forever.

But Lou isn’t easy to live with. At first, she’s demanding, then openly menacing – using her desire to confess as a weapon to get what she wants.

Anna realizes she needs to get free of Lou no matter what it takes. But when she finally acts decisively, she opens the gates to hell. 

Because Lou is far more disturbed than Anna realizes, and enraged by her rejection, she plans a revenge beyond Anna’s wildest nightmares.

My Review:

I found this book easy to get into, it drew me in from the very beginning, & I liked its’ pace, throughout.
What I particularly liked was that it mainly switched between the two main characters, - Anna, & Lou(ise), - and whilst mostly their alternate p.o.v’s were in continuation, at times there was also some overlap of the two, which I think worked really well. Also, I liked how the narrative also directly addressed the reader quite a bit; questioning and explaining some of the understanding, as to where the characters’ p.o.v and experience was coming from.
Whilst this book did contain some quite sensitive topics, for which I will add a ‘Note of trigger’ here; contains instances of child sexual abuse, the use of drugs, domestic violence, abuse, & suicide, - which I think this is personally the most heaviest content on all of the above that I’ve read in a single book to date, - I have to say that overall, I very much enjoyed reading this, - as a work of fiction. It was written well, it was a compelling read, its ending was satisfying, & I would deffo highly recommend!

Based on a rating of 1-10, where 10 is the highest, I would give this book a rating of 9 out of 10! = Deffo a MUST-read for anyone who loves a good, gripping, page-turner, of a psychological thriller!


Available from 25th February 2024! Publisher: Inkubator Books