This is a gripping book that tells the story of a trio of friends, one died, and two are forever guilty; but if what? Very enjoyable, but tough at times read. The characters were all people that you could recognise, Nd certainly empathise with. I would recommend this book as a fabulous airport or holiday read, easy to pick up where you left off, and engaging enough to read very quickly. Really enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me read and review.

The book was catchy, action was fast and I couldn't stop reading to find out what would happen next. Fully recommended.

What I anticipated out of The Guilty Friend and what I ended up with are two completely different stories. Based on the novel synopsis, I assumed two best friends would carry dark secrets about what lead to their best friend's demise - as would be the case with a typical thriller.

That's not the case here. I do feel like The Guilty Friend fell prey to some false advertising. It's not a thriller. But that doesn't mean it isn't suspenseful or isn't worth reading, just that it isn't the book you might anticipate by reading the summary alone.

Mild spoilers ahead.

The story focuses on three girls, Karen, Misty, and Alex, in the past and the present. In the present, Alex is supposedly dead. In the past, we see how the three girls became so close but also the darkness that loomed over them. Alex struggled with anorexia, and the disease became both a weapon and a wall.

In present-day 2019, Karen thinks she sees Alex on television, and it spawns the semi-mystery of whether or not Alex is alive. But if you're expecting the book to become a sordid tale of Alex's past, it doesn't. The focus is really on Karen's daughter, Tasha, who also succumbs to anorexia and her journey through it.

Misty has become a doctor who specializes in eating disorders as a way of making up for what happened to Alex. She blames herself for not being able to save her.

I understand what the author was trying to do. In her author's note, she talks about wanting to alter the common thriller trope. Instead of a human antagonist or violence, she wanted the tension to stem from a disease. It does, but the book spends more time on the dramatic tension and relationships between characters than an overarching mystery or story.

There is more angst, sadness, and exploratory emotional beats than there is suspense.

That said, The Guilty Friend is still a compelling read. The author is tasteful and factual in her depiction of anorexia, and it's nice to see someone tackle this disease without glamorizing it.

However, I did find the story too meandering for my taste. It failed to keep me engaged for large portions. Am I glad I read it? Yes. But it wasn't always easy to get through and not just because of the heavy content.

Should you read The Guilty Friend?

It depends on your tastes. If you want to read an emotional story about women trying to help each other through intense grief and the terrible disease that is anorexia, then yes. Sefton is a competent writer. The characters are well-crafted, and even though the relationship-building sometimes falls short, there are some stunning scenes in this book.

If you're expecting a more traditional thriller or suspense story, I advise skipping it. I don't think you'll be satisfied with what's offered here.

REVIEW WILL BE PUBLISHED ON JUNE 20TH ON BLOG LINKED - I will come back to link the review when posted!

Alex, Misty and Karen met when they enrolled at Cambridge and became fast friends. Misty dreamed of becoming a doctor while Alex and Karen studied English but Alex’s battle with an eating disorder ends her life before they graduate from school. Thirty years later Misty has made a career out of trying to save others from the destruction caused by ED and Karen is trying to raise her three daughters while coping with the loss of her husband and financial insecurity when they see a woman on the news who looks like their old friend. What does the reappearance of their friend mean for their lives and the guilt each carry about their possible role in her death?

This is a uniquely, gripping story that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a well crafted and intricate story. There were a few moments that felt disjointed it by the end the entire story came together and I thoroughly enjoyed my first book by Joanne Sefton.

The Guilty Friend is my first book by this author, but it probably won't be my last. The mystery held my attention from the start and the characters seemed realistic and well developed. It wasn't the most original thriller, but it made for a great summer read and for that I certainly recommend it!!

I’d like to thank Avon Books UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Guilty Friend’ by Joanne Sefton in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Karen, Misty and Alex meet up at university and expect to be friends forever, but they part to lead their separate lives, Karen as a mother to three girls and Misty to run a clinic specialising in eating disorders. When a bomb explodes in London Karen and Misty are watching a televised recording of the event and they both notice a woman in the film who looks identical to Alex, but it can’t be Alex as she died thirty years ago!

I’d enjoyed Joanne Sefton’s previous thriller ‘If They Knew’ and was looking forward to reading ‘The Guilty Friend’ but although classed as mystery/thriller I found it anything but. It had an interesting storyline with strong characters, and the subject of anorexia was dealt with sensitively, but it didn’t have that spark that catches my imagination. I struggled to get into the story which disappointed me but I’m sure I’ll be in the minority.

This book is about 3 girls in the 1980’s, Alex, Karen & Misty and they’re at university, but suddenly Alex dies and the two girls know they had a part to play in her death. In present day, Karen and Misty haven’t spoken in years but get back into contact after seeing a photo where they swear Alex is alive and the obsession of her being alive consumes Karen. This is labelled as a thriller but I’m not sure if I would label it as that, but I’m also not sure what I would label it as. This book is heavily set around eating disorders, anorexia specifically so if you struggle reading that sort of thing I wouldn’t read this. For others though, it is an interesting yet difficult topic to read about. The book has multiple perspectives, Misty, Alex’s and Karen’s third person perspectives during their years at university, but it also has present day Karen and Misty, as well as Karen’s middle daughter named Tasha. This book was well written and it was still very gripping. There is definitely a lot of twisted family drama involved in this book and an important reveal so I do understand the labelling as a thriller. Joanne did very well with the creation of likeable and unlikeable characters, and I did enjoy her writing style and would definitely like to read more of her work. I did definitely enjoy this book despite it being not at all what I expected and I do recommend it.

I loved the twisted family drama in Joanne Sefton's previous book "If They Knew," so I was excited to have an opportunity to read this new book from her. Along with more family drama this time around, this story also has strong female friendships and anorexia. I didn't expect the anorexia storyline, but it's handled sensitively and is the catalyst for several important plot points. As other reviewers have said, this isn't a gripping thriller and some of the characters seem unnecessary, but I found it very enjoyable and was never bored. I think many people will find this to be a fun summer vacation read. Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not the thriller it seems to be marketed as, but no less gripping for that. The Guilty Friend (I don’t love the title, though I guess it makes sense) was a hugely enjoyable read.

Karen, Misty and Alex met at university in the ‘80s; in the present day, Karen - a widowed mother - and Misty - a doctor specialising in eating disorders - are approaching fifty. Alex.... well, Alex is long gone. Or is she?

It’s more of a family/relationship drama than a psychological thriller, focusing on Misty, Karen and Karen’s teenage daughter Tasha, who is headed down a dark path. (This made for undeniably compelling reading, though I’m not sure I was completely convinced by the speed with which Tasha’s obsession developed and never quite got a handle on what lay behind it.)

A very engaging story with some emotional moments (one of which did have me in tears...)

For some reason I was expecting a thriller, this was not a thriller. It’s a very good story about female friendships, kids and eating disorders. Worth reading.

This is a brilliantly executed story which hinges around the sudden reappearance of an anorexia sufferer called Alex who died in mysterious circumstances during her time at university.

Navigating us through the story in the present, almost thirty years later, are Alex’s friends, the superbly named Misty Jardine - an NHS psychologist - and Karen who is facing financial ruin following the death of her husband.

Karen seems to be crumbling under the pressure of losing her home and oblivious to the state of her troubled daughter Tasha. Meanwhile Misty is working herself into the ground running the eating disorder clinic that rarely has enough beds for patients. It seems both women’s problems in the present have their roots in the past and what happened to Alex.

This is no ordinary mystery though - here the villain is anorexia and it is all credit to Sefton that she explores the condition deeply without ever making you feel as if you’re studying a text book.

It is immensely readable, relatable and accomplished. It was most definitely my kind of book - I raced my way through it in a couple of days. Impressive, intelligent stuff.

The Guilty Friend by Joanne Sefton is the story of Alex, Misty, and Karen, three friends whose lives are forever changed when Alex dies unexpectedly, apparently from complications of an eating disorder. Fast forward to present day, and it seems that history is repeating itself, as Karen's middle daughter Tasha, is also battling anorexia. For years, Karen has carried the burden of guilt, believing that she is responsibe for Alex"s death, but in the present is unable to acknowledge what is happening to her own daughter.

The story is told from alternating timelines, first in the late eighties when the three women were at Cambridge, and present day, with the two remaining friends reuniting after so many years apart. Of the two timelines, I felt more invested in the present, as I believe that the characters were more fully developed and fleshed out, but I did appreciate the way in which both stories were seamlessly woven together throughout the plot. Kudos to Ms Sefton for her honest and sensitive handling of anorexia, particularly in the case of Tasha, a most empathetic figure.

This book is not at all what I had expected to read from the blurb provided, but was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC.

This is a perfect beach read! I really loved all of the characters in this book and found myself rooting for most of them. The author did a great job developing a riveting story. I appreciated the extended metaphors (such as the cooking) and all of the symbolism. It was well-paced and easy to follow.

(3.5) There were many characters that could have been merged together and it wouldn't have made a difference. That being said, for the most part, I enjoyed this. I was surprised by the ending, and eating disorders were also handled in a respectful way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

👏🏻 I love how this book jumped from past to present and from one character to another. The revelation was a surprise for me and I really enjoyed it.

👍🏻 While this book talks about anorexia and guilt, I thought that it was well executed and didn't fall into easy stereotypes. I found the characters relatable while never being too reliable or likable.

👎🏻 I found that some of the characters were just there for the sake of it and didn't really change anything in the overall plot of the book. I would have liked it a bit more if they were less mentioned or otherwise given a bit more lines.

Overall, this is a great pick for this summer!

The Guilty Friend is a nice suspense book about family, friends, and twisted relationships. I really enjoyed how Sefton built up suspense with going back in time to present day throughout the book. Learning about the situation between Alex, Misty, and Karen little by little really helped achieve a level of "oh gosh, what next?" while keeping me entertained.

I thought the background on Tasha could have been a little better because it would have let the reader into her mind more. I felt that the anorexia just sort of came out of nowhere with no real background other than wanting to fit in and I'm sure this wasn't the full case.

Overall I really enjoyed this novel. I felt it had a good sense of relationships between the characters, both mother-daughter and sister-sister. I also thought it tackled a big issue that a lot of teen girls face today (and have previously faced) about being skinny, always looking your best, and being under immense pressure even at a young age.

This is not the book I was expecting from reading the description. This isn’t a bad thing, but I think that a lot of people will pick this up to buy thinking that it’s a crime thriller when in fact it’s more of an exploration of friendships & the relationships between the main characters, along with a study of the awfulness of anorexia and it’s effects on the person suffering from the disease & their family & friends. On that note, I do hope that it is mentioned somewhere or a trigger warning is given for potential readers, as there was no warning at all. It’s not a spoiler for the story so it wouldn’t matter if this was stated.

I found the characters and their interactions interesting, there was enough of a mix between the sections in the past and the present that you felt like you were getting to know them as the plot was unfolding. The main thread of the story as detailed in the description about the third friend who died actually feels a bit like the minor plot point as that mystery is dropped for what felt like whole sections of the book, but you do get a satisfying conclusion with most of the threads tied up.

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

30 years ago a friendship form between three girls at Cambridge. By the end of their time their one of them was dead.
The book cuts between telling their story from all those years ago and the current day. How secrets hidden can lead to events in the present. I expected a crime book however the author gave a well researched insight into anorexia. Do not let that put you off. This is a well written book with a wonderful storyline.

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved the storyline and the heroes. The writer spins a beautiful tale abd draws you in slowly but surely.

A good tale of female friendship and how those relationships become interwoven and have long lasting impacts upon people. I wouldn't give this five stars because I think at times it was hard to get a good sense of the characters - it felt that I was reading about them rather than 'knowing' and 'understanding' them if that makes sense. I thought the portrayal of the complexity of anorexia was covered well although some of Missy's tactics were questionable!