Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book was a struggle to get through. I debated several times about just DNF it. It’s marked as a thriller but I wouldn’t say it is, it’s more in the area of chick lit. Felt like the blurb painted a different story than the actual story did.
If you want a more traditional thriller I would seriously recommend skipping this book

This book kept my attention the entire time which is a marvelous feat because I tend to drift off or get distracted sometimes when reading. I'm not sure in which genre I would place this book, but I don't feel strongly about it being a psychological thriller or suspense. One thing that bothered me was the overemphasis on anorexia. I think it was important to include, but maybe not so much emphasis was needed.

I wanted to read this new novel by this author after really enjoying her debut and I was not disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me this advanced digital copy.

Very good book. Definitely a page turner..Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author to allow me to get a free copy of this book for review. This story of 3 friends and their secrets and revelations was very entertaining. I like a book that shocks me. My favorite part of this story was the epilogue. Super shocking, unexpected twist. I enjoyed it.

Sadly I’m a little disappointed. I thought this was a thriller and while it has a little mystery it focuses more on eating disorder, Maybe I would have enjoyed it more knowing this going in, Still well written and researched. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I’m afraid I didn’t like this book at all. I hate doing bad reviews but, this one just didn’t grab me as I thought it would.
The reviews on it were mixed and a lot of reviewers found it concentrated too much on the anorexia of one of the girls in the story. Although, these issues are out there I do agree that at times it was a little bit too much and spoiled the story.
Also, the ebook version that I was sent had some many typo mistakes in the text that it actually spoiled my reading of it.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers Avon books for sending me this ebook in return for an honest review.

The book isn't what I expected but it was an excellent read. How long does a true friendship last. For an author I have never read before I am surprised that I finished book as quick as I did once I started it. Kudos for tackling a subject that isn't talked about much.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. It’s an emotionally complex story about family relationships and triggering.
Whilst watching a breaking news story of a suspected terror attack where a bomb has gone off on a tube train, Karen can’t believe her eyes when she sees a woman on the screen that bears the most remarkable resemblance to her best friend Alex. But Alex has been dead for 30 years, so there’s something really wrong about it.
We go back and forth with present and past and collide in such a twisted mystery and grief. The characters are developed nicely and the story is a ride!

This book was a great read. with characters you could really connect to. The writing just flowed. A lot of drama has been thrown into it. It was a very engaging story. I will definitely be looking for more books of Joannes to read. Having a friend go through anorexia nervosa , I could really relate to the storyline.

The Guilty Friend by Joanne Sefton was not what I was expecting and I found it hard to get into in the beginning as slow paced but it eventually hooked me into wanting to know how it ends. I have given it 3 stars only because I thought it was going to be more thriller, and it is more chic lit and what anorexia can do to a family etc., but it did end up being an interesting read.

One of them is dead. One of them is lying.
Alex, Karen and Misty were an inseparable trio at university. But when Alex died suddenly, the remaining two friends could no longer look each other in the eye, knowing they both had a part to play in her death.

Thirty years later, Misty and Karen have long since moved on with their lives. But when Karen thinks she sees her former friend alive, she soon becomes obsessed with a past she thought she’d left behind.

Before long, the perfect life she’s built for herself starts to unravel, and it seems as though history might just be repeating itself…

Can Karen keep her secrets hidden whilst her guilt threatens to tear her innocent family apart?

The story is told in three points of view that of Karen, Misty and Karen's daughter Tasha. The characters are relatable, with family relationships, friends and secrets intertwined. I found it to be emotionally gripping, especially the elements related to Karen's daughter's eating disorder and how it affected her in all aspects of her life.

The main villain of this story seems to be anorexia itself, after Karen already saw Alex succumb to this disorder and now it seems like her daughter may be following the same path. The author handles the subject with compassion and must of done lots of research into the disease. With that said the epilogue has left me ...

I requested and received an Advance Readers Copy from Avon Books UK and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

This book wasn’t at all what I expected.

Centred around 3 friends who were inseparable at Uni, told in the present day & during their time at Cambridge.
Alex died suddenly from complications of a eating disorder but when Karen spots what looks like Alex running from a failed terror attack she questions everything.

This gives the impression that people aren’t what they seem, and since neither of them actually saw a body you question wether she really died, and why if she is alive you would fake your own death.

The characters are relatable, this is a twisty suspense novel, with family relationships, friends & Secrets intertwined.

The main villain of this is anorexia, after Karen already saw Alex succumb to this disorder & now it seems like her daughter may be following the same path.

Thank you to Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

I really enjoyed this book. Once I got into it, I had a hard time setting it down. Full of chills, thrills, suspense, and shocks! A must read for my fellow psychological thriller fans!
I’ll make sure to recommend in the pub.

This book was utterly compelling; I couldn't put it down. I kept finding excuses to sneak off and read it whenever I could! Joanne's writing is superb; her characters nuanced and real, the illness terrorising her characters as terrifying as any flesh and blood villain. I can't wait to read more from Joanne. Five stars!

I enjoyed reading 'The Guilty Friend' despite it being a different type of book than I had imagined.

Misty, Karen and Alex are thrown together at university and build an incredibly close bond but heartache, eating disorders and affairs throw this world into disarray. Years later Karen and Misty find that their worlds are thrown upside down again when history seems to be repeating itself and anorexia nervosa has Karen's daughter well and truly in its grips.

I loved being able to read between the different points of view but I absolutely despised Karen! Misty was a much more likeable character.

The book was gripping, particularly the elements related to Karen's daughter's eating disorder and how it affected her in all aspects of her life.

What really got me was the ending of the book! Oh my word! A complete shocker. A book that can shock me at the very end truly is something special.

Well written, well researched novel. I was expecting more of a thriller, but it was still interesting enough to keep me turning the pages.

I was very intrigued and enjoyed the story throughout the whole book. However, I felt that the description of the book suggested that it was a thriller. While there was mystery involved, it focused primarily on eating disorders. I appreciated that author’s note at the end but felt that a disclaimer/trigger warning should have been included at the beginning of the book since there were very descriptive passages relating to eating disorders.

This book is filled with great characters.
This book is extremely well written and it’s obvious that the author has done a lot of research.
Not what I was expecting but this book hooked me from the beginning
A great book

The Guilty Friend by Joanne Sefton is a twisty and emotionally-charged suspense novel. Even the suspense part in this is really really mild, but the story and end made up for it! I almost decided 75% into this book that this would be a 3-star, so what made me change my mind? The Epilogue!!
Charming Alex, intelligent Misty and ordinary Karen were an inseparable trio at Cambridge University. Both Misty and Karen were drawn to Alex and adored her, but when she suddenly died the remaining two friends could no longer look at each other in the eye and drifted apart. Thirty years later, Karen is a wealthy widow and mother of three and Misty is a doctor specializing in Eating Disorders. So when Karen and Misty both see Alex on TV one day, their paths cross again and Karen's determination to find Alex leads her down a dark, windy road that could cost her family.
This book had both great characters and storyline, but what did it for me was the ending. The story is told in three POV's Karen, Misty and Karen's daughter Tasha. Even the background characters of Evie, Callie, and Andrew contributed greatly to the storyline. All chapters were interesting and Joanne Sefton did an incredible job of shining the spotlight on eating disorders and anorexia. This is not a book I would have ordinarily have picked, and definitely not something I foresaw finishing in a day, but I'm glad I read this one!

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books and Joanne Sefton for an arc!

This was really hard for me to get into at the start and it has taken me over a week to finish it, when I usually finish a book in around three days.

The story follows Karen, a widowed mum of three girls, and Misty, a doctor specialising in working with patients with anorexia. They are old friends from university. It's told in current time with flashbacks to Karen, Misty and their friend Alex's time in university around 1989. We learn that Alex had anorexia and subsequently died. It also transpires that in real time, Karen's daughter Tash is suffering with anorexia too.

It was a slow burner and it wasn't until I was around 70% in that things really started to pick up and boosted it's rating for me. The epilogue has left me reeling.