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Her Best Friend

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HER BEST FRIEND by Sarah Wray is a mystery/suspense thriller novel, that will appeal to a wide range of readers. This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I intend to read more.

The story is told in the third person point of view, with alternating chapters of Sylvie “Now” and Sylvie as a “teenager”, which makes it very easy to read and enjoy. Even though this isn't a fast- paced story, the tension continues to build in the latter half of the book.

Prepare to start reading, only to look up hours later and wonder where your afternoon has gone. This is one gripping and utterly unputdownable psychological thriller!


Many thanks to Bookouture via Net Galley for my copy.

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This was a semi- decent read. Nothing that will blow your socks off but a good way to spend the afternoon with. We meet Sylvie, who when she was 15, her best friend was murdered . After Sylvie's mom passes away, she goes back to her hometown of Conley and where the murder is getting back in the news. A podcast has reopened the case of Victoria and Sylvie wants nothing to do with it. You kind of get the feeling that Sylvie can't be trusted as a character . Which is to throw ius, as readers, off. Unfortunately , this thriller didn't have the twists and turns I like but I did enjoy the ending . That was well done. An OK read but not great and most importantly , not horrible either.

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Her Best Friend is told from the perspective of Sylvie in the present and past and from Sam, who is making a documentary about Sylvia’s best friend Victoria, who was murdered when she was 15.The case was never solved. Sylvie returns to her hometown after a 20 year absence to take care of her recently deceased mother’s estate. She brings her infant daughter, Victoria, with her.
There are many interesting and complex characters that make this story flow smoothly and engages the reader. However, the characters’ personas are not what they seem to be and that is what makes this story so intriguing. The author also effectively places her characters in situations that might provide clues to what happened to Victoria, but just as quickly those clues are left by the wayside.
This is a captivating read and I look forward to other books by this author.

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A teenage girl goes missing. Fast forward through the years and the story is told from both perspectives, the teenage girl and her best friend years after the event. I enjoyed the change of storytelling and importantly did not pick the ending. I will be keeping an eye out for others by this author.

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This was my first book by this author, but I have quickly downloaded 'reported missing', on the strength of this.

This book was a slow burner, but really kept my interest in the old 'just one more chapter' scenario. It was quite dark, but very vividly written so that I had a full picture in my mind of the village and lake. It takes a lot of talent for an author to be able to do that.

I look forward to seeing what else Sarah writes.

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An Addictive,heart stopping Cracker of a book which will leave your asking 'yourself.....How well do we really know anyone"? I was hooked! From the cery first Chapter I just couldn't put this book down! It was perfect for these long cold evenings where i read it in 2 sittings. Watch out for this on the Bestseller list....It will be up there at the top!

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Twists and turns. Sometimes I had to go back to reread what I had previous read. Interesting concept though.

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This story was a bit of a slow start, but once it got going I really didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed it. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

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This was a really good read with great characters. The ending surprised me, it wasn't what I thought it would be.

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I devoured this book! I read it in about 24 hours.

Fifteen year old Victoria goes missing overnight and is found dead in the local lake. Her best friend Sylvie's dad dies from cancer three weeks later. Sylvie's relationship with her mother becomes strained and she leaves town to live with her aunt.

Fast forward 20 years Sylvie returns home after her mother's death to clean out her house. She brings her baby with her and gets involved with an old friend her friend's parents and a wannabe true crime director who wants to make a documentary about Victoria's unsolved murder.

I though I figured out the mystery a couple times but wasn't 100% correct!

Good read that kept me guessing!

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I found the book good as a stepping stone. The plot and the pacing of events were good. I just feel like the author is building up to do even better in the next one. 

There is a faint feeling of confusion in the events being described in the book. The story is of a woman who has come back to her childhood home after several years. The absence stretched out due to a falling out with her mother following her father's demise and her best friend being killed.The case has gained traction since an aspiring filmmaker is trying to make a documentary on it. None of the people in the book are those who one would back as a friend. The case swings between the past and present giving us fractured information of the occurrences. This lets us bounce suspicions and guesses around, therefore doing its job.

I would definitely read the next book by this author.

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I’m going between 3 and 4 stars on this one. I’m going to settle on 3 because I did find it to be a bit slow.
I was, however, very impressed with the twist. Most of the time I am good at predicting these types of thrillers, but I was pleasantly surprised at this one!

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A great psychological thriller that hooked me in from the first few pages with a fab twist.
The story is mainly told by Sylvie in the third person, when 15 years old her best friend Victoria disappears after a party and is later found dead in the lake. Who is responsible?

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I didn't care for this at all. It felt drawn out and dark for as long as I read it. There didn't seem to be any let up. Unfortunately it lulled and there just wasn't something to hold my interest

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There is always a price to pay for keeping a long dead secret buried. Will that price be too high for those involved?
Sylvie finds herself returning to the village she grew up in after the death of her mother. She hopes to sell the family home, make peace with the memories of her younger years and the secrets therein. Years ago her best friend Victoria was murdered and Sylvie now a young mother has named her baby after her dead friend.
The return unlocks more than just memories from her past and most of them connected to her friend’s tragic death. She reconnects with Victoria’s parents Peter and Judith who still live in the town. Dramatically affected by the death of their daughter their life has not been the same since and the passing of time has not eased their suffering.
Michelle is the creepy friend from the past who wasnt really a friend but thought and acted like she was. I really liked how she presented in the story even though she was so annoying. She even went as far as entering Sylvie’s house and treating it as her own. She seemed to disappear after a certain point in the story which I found puzzling and a bit odd.
I found Sylvie a little wishy washy and I suspect she would have lived in Victoria’s shadow if this was real life.
The ending really took me by surprise as I had someone else pegged for the murder. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep fans of psychological thrillers interested
Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy of the book via Netgalley and the opportunity to provide a review.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy..

It was really good book to read,

The 15 years old Sylvie who is best friend Victoria who was killed by Sylvie's mother...her mother had died so Sylvie had to sort out at her Mother's place while she's back in her hometown. Sylvie had a baby girl and her name is Victoria whom she missed her best friend.

Victoria's parents grieved and trying to find who did this to her daughter Victoria at the lake. Peter knew what happened biput didn't say anything in front of Judith so he had to get Sylvie the truth from what happened to Victoria at the lake. At the end, she's finally remembered about what happened to her since she was only y 15 at the time.

There was a lack of writing in this book and kind of mixed up with the character name of the podcast. I definitely read more author in the future.

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HER BEST FRIEND by Sarah Wray is a mystery/suspense thriller novel, that will appeal to a wide range of readers. This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I intend to read more.

Two teenagers-Sylvie and Victoria were best friends that spent all their time together sharing secrets, until Victoria was murdered. The killer has never been caught – and Sylvie has never spoken about what happened that day.

Sylvie escaped and went to live with her aunt, and never returned to her parent’s house, until 20 years later, after the death of her mother, Sylvie is forced to return to her home town, along with her newborn daughter. Now she must confront her past and the secrets, that she tried to put at bay.

But then Sylvie receives the locket Victoria was wearing on the night she died – and it becomes clear that somebody knows what really happened to Victoria.

Sylvie struggles to discover the truth behind the lies, she finds herself in increasing danger from those who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets.

The story is told in the third person point of view, with alternating chapters of Sylvie “Now” and Sylvie as a “teenager”, which makes it very easy to read and enjoy. Even though this isn't a fast- paced story, the tension continues to build in the latter half of the book.

Many thanks to Bookouture via Net Galley for my copy.

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2.5/5 stars. It was a decent read, but predictable and slow. It was clear from the start that Sylvie had her own secrets as she seemed jumpy and closed off. It was also clear that there was more to Victoria's murder than met the eye. I am quite sceptical of "twenty years ago" type of books, especially when people remember minute details of what they did, said, ate and so on, but it was cleverly handled in this book, even though by the time it's explained, you've known forever what possibly happened.

The other thing was that there wasn't a single likeable character in the book. The story is told from the perspective of Sylvie, whose friend Victoria died when they were teenagers, and Sam, a laid-off journalist who wants to make a sensational documentary on Victoria's disappearance. Sam's only role in the story is to bring out details of what happened the night Victoria disappeared and you never feel any empathy with him. In fact, one isn't sure where he gets the idea that people are obligated to talk to him or answer his questions -- he's not the police, after all. Sylvie's back story has some suspense, ***SPOILER*** but it isn't hard to figure out that she knows or had something to do with Victoria's disappearance. ***SPOILER END*** I wasn't really sure what happened in the climax scene, but things got sorted out satisfactorily in the end.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sylvie Armstrong's best friend Victoria dies when they are teenagers. She dies under mysterious conditions and no one knows what happened to her. Twenty years later, Sylvie's mother dies and Sylvie is forced to return to her hometown to sort out and sell her mother's house. She is forced to confront the past an

I really do not like leaving negative reviews, but this one was unfortunately not one of my favourites. It is by no means terrible, but it lacks the suspense and it is very slow-moving. I did enjoy the author's previous book so I will keep a lookout for her next book.

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A really good well written engaging read. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of Sarah's books in the future

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