Friend Request
Laura Marshall
Available: September 5, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Do we really know who anyone really is on social media? With the flick of a finger a filter can be selected to erase the things we don’t want you to see. People, places and things can easily be cropped out along with the truth in our posts. And it seems that some people never really get over what happened in high school…
What I loved: Wham – what a twist! Well written and well thought out Ms. Marshall. I’m not saying anymore because I would slip and give away a major plot twist with one of my snarky side comments.
What I didn’t love: Louise is not a very sympathetic character in my eyes so its hard to warm to her. It’s not because of what she did when she was a teenager – Lord knows everyone is an a-hole to someone many times during those later years. She’s very hard to get to know,; there are so many walls that you have to wonder if getting to know her is worth the journey.
What I learned: Don’t accept friend requests from dead people, duh!
Overall Grade: B

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Louise Williams, now a single Mum, receives a Facebook friend request from a friend from her schooldays called Maria Weston. The only problem is that Maria has been dead for over twenty-five years, since the night of the leavers’ party held at the school both girls attended. She was feared drowned in a terrible accident and Louise has been paying the price for what she believed had happened that fateful night. She is full of remorse and guilt, casting an unwelcome shadow over her life. It’s hardly surprising that she is way beyond shocked, but could Maria have survived that night and be looking to re-establish contact. Is it even feasible?
The messages continue to pour in and Louise is haunted by memories of her schooldays, her friendships and particularly of her relationship with Maria. She goes over and over what she remembers from that night. A recently created Facebook page also advertises a long due school reunion. Louise is scared out of her wits and visits friends to see whether they have also had a Facebook request, asking them if they are going to the party. She learns surprising facts about what happened from the points of view of her old school fiends. She decides that she must attend the reunion but as the cyber stalking picks up pace and the threats escalate, she feels more and more threatened and increasingly frightened. She simply has to get to the bottom of the mystery, so she plans ahead for attending the party.
"Friend Request" is Laura Marshall’s gripping debut novel full of suspense, thrills and spills and twists and turns. It oozes with tension until the very end. The themes of girl-power rivalry, being associated with the in-crowd, bullying and alpha friendship circles are very convincing. Their damaging after effects are scrupulously held up for examination, put right under the microscope. The characters and themes are modern and true to life. I liked the way Laura featured the concept of conscience, regret and the feeling of shame. It’s easy to be wise after the event and peer group pressures are keenly felt in the teenage years when young adults are finding their way and striving for acceptance. The main characters were skilfully crafted and well developed as the story continued and more information came to light. As the truth was finally revealed I felt a real jolt of shock as I had never expected the story to end with such a massive and twisted finale. I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Sphere for my copy of this novel sent out in return for an honest review. I enjoyed reading this story but thought the plot was very complicated. I look forward to reading Laura Marshall’s second novel. It’s a 7/10 review from me.

**4.5 Stars**

<b><I>What if your entire life hinged on an irresponsible decision you made as a teenager? And what if you spent your entire life pushing everyone away in the hope that you can keep one life-changing decision secret, hidden from everyone but a select few who know what happened?</I></b>

This is essentially the premise of <I>Friend Request</I>. The book follows the life of Louise, who, against her better instincts, desires to be part of the popular clique in high school as a teenager. To be part of this group, she is pressured to try drugs, drink alcohol, and change her looks. Sophie, beautiful and glamorous, is predictably the leader of the clique, and Louise wants nothing more than to be Sophie's best friend and confidant.

To gain Sophie's unfettered attention, Louise bullies girls who aren't in the clique. One fateful night Louise, Sophie, and their male sidekicks, Matt and Sam, take things <b>way too far</b>.

The book picks up nearly 20 years later with Louise living a safe, solid middle- to upper-class life. Louise has divorced from Sam, one of the male clique members. She has cut ties with the clique, and the poor choices she made as a member of it. She has an adorable preschool-age son who she loves and cannot imagine life without. She will do anything to keep her son safe from her past discretions, especially when they begin to rise to the surface.

Louise's tightly controlled world is upended when she receives a Facebook friend request from one of the girls she and her clique relentlessly teased: the friend who disappeared the night the clique's prank went awry and was never found or seen again. This missing friend, Maria, knew (or knows?!) everything about Louise's past sins, and threatens to unravel the quaint but comfortable life Louise enjoys with her 4 year old son.

I loved this book's heart pounding plot. I also loved that this book raised philosophical questions about the emotional and physical turmoil of youth, both of which can painfully linger long after high school has ended. Can we escape who we were as teenagers, or will that period of life forever define us? Should someone (Louise) suffer eternal guilt for a horrible decision she made as a teenager?

Throughout the book, I kept second guessing the characters surrounding Louise and asking questions about the event that left Maria missing. Is Maria alive? What exactly happened the night of her disappearance?

Thank you to the author, Laura Marshall, NetGalley, and the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for the advanced reader copy of this fantastic thriller!

'Will we hold them forever, these hurts we bear from our teenage years?'

We have all at times been the victim of bullying, just the same as we have always st times been the bully. No! I hear you cry, I would never bully someone. True, I'm not saying you were one of the big, bad wolf ones, the popular ones or the good looking ones who ostracised everyone else or regularly tormented anyone. But you're telling me you never laughed along with a joke at someone else's expense, never played a trick on someone else or took part in what you thought was a practical joke? Passed along a bit of gossip or revelled in hearing it? We've all done it and you're the bigger person if you can hold your hands up and admit it.

In 1989 Louise is just that herself. Bullied although she didn't recognise it as such, she stands on the fringe of the 'popular group' in school, where she doesn't fit in and half of the gang don't even know her name. When the new girl Maria joins the school, Louise has the opportunity to make a real friendship, to finally belong. But Sophie the school bitch who keeps Louise around simply to make herself look better doesn't like Maria and doesn't want Louise having friends. Left helpless by peer pressure Louise turns from bullied to bully and along with her 'gang' makes Maria's life a living hell.



Fast forward to 2016 and Louise gets a friend request on Facebook from Maria. But that can't be right can it? Maria died that year at school under mysterious circumstances. Or did she really die at all?



This novel is highly gripping, especially for a debut novel you don't really expect this kind of quality but it's really, really engrossing. From the first page to the last I haven't been able to put it down and I literally had no idea by the end!!



It's the classic tale of revenge on the b*tches who made your life hell in high school but with a new and unique twist. Powerful and evoking I felt like It took me right back to my own school days, knowing what it was like to always be on the fringes. The sentence I've quoted at the top of this review really nailed it for me, because if Louise had asked me that question, my answer would definitely be yes.

When Louise gets a friend request from Maria, a girl she knew in high school, she is puzzled. All the members of Louise's social group, Sophie, Matt, and Sam, felt sure Maria had died after a party when they were seniors. They all played a part in it. Suddenly Louise's class is having a reunion, and Louise begins getting strange messages from Maria. The first third of this novel was hard to get in to, but the remaining two thirds made it worth while. I raced to finish it. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I was in the mood for a mystery read, and Laura Marshall's debut captured my attention with the title Friend Request. As we live in a technology based world, it makes sense that Social Media tools make its way into mystery novels. This book is set in 2016 but flashes back to the class of 1989. It starts with the present time and Louise getting a Facebook friend request from Maria Weston. The photo is taken from the profile is their high school photo but it can't be Maria can it as she died during their last year of high school in 1989. Louise flashes back to her first meeting of Maria Weston and how Maria wanted to fit in, but the girls made it difficult for her. As the book progresses someone is sending Louise messages and taunting her, is it Maria or is someone wanting to toy with her? During the book it is also the ten year High School reunion and Louise has shown up as is her ex-husband Sam and their group of friends. Louise was best friends with Sophie back in school, and it looks like Sophie was sent the same friend request. What will happen when one of Louise's classmates is found murdered the morning after the reunion? Has someone come to exact revenge for what happened to Maria Weston and as we go further into the novel, we find out the truth about what happened that fateful night of the 1989 Leavers party and who saw Maria Weston last that night she disappeared? If you are in the mood for a good mystery using Facebook and High School Reunions, then check out Friend Request by Laura Marshall today.

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Compelling read from start to finish. I loved the social media aspect and how there were so many options as to Maria. Didn't see that ending coming. Quite the read.

Louise is a middle-aged, single mother of one young son. Being able to work from home, she likes to take breaks to keep up with her Facebook account... not that she has many friends. Today she has a new friend request ... from Maria Weston. Maria and Louise were friends once in high school, but they didn't remain friends for long. Louise can't understand why Maria would reach out to her now... especially as Maria has been dead for 25 years.

This is a brilliant psychological thriller. The book bounces back and forth between today and those days in high school. I think most of us remember our high school days .. and not always favorably. There were always the cliques, the bad boys, the bullies.

It brings to mind memories of wanting to belong..somewhere... and Louise knows exactly what that was like. Young people don't always make the wisest or safest decisions.

Back to Maria ... is it possible she is still alive? If so, where has she been all this time? Is it someone who knows what happened all those years ago and wants Louise to be afraid? Louise knows that if the truth ever sees the light of day, her life, as she knows its, will be over.

Somewhere along the line, the reader hears an unknown voice .... who is this? Maria? Someone closer to her?

The author has captured the angst of being a teenager ... the self doubts .... Louise, as an adult, is that person who has lived with guilt and regrets her entire life. Will it ever end?

Again, this is a brilliant psychological thriller. Characters have a real feel to them ... I probably knew a few of them myself while in school. The story line is credible .... teens today aren't that much different than 20 or so years ago.

I highly recommend this one! It does not read as a debut novel ...and I can hardly wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Now ... off to post my review in Facebook.

Many thanks to the author / Grand Central Publishing / Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I downloaded this book yesterday and finished it at 2:30 am this morning. I read a bit earlier in the day and got hooked. I do most of my reading before going to sleep. I could not put this book down until I knew who sent the "Friend Request." It is 2016 and Louise Williams gets a friend request from Marie Weston that turns her world upside down. The friend request is in the first paragraph, so your attention is grabbed immediately. We have some chapters which are flash backs to 1989. These help us understand why the friend request should not be possible. These chapters also help to give character build up and add to the story line. There are a few twists which kept me guessing as to who sent the requests and what really happened to Marie Weston.