Cover Image: The Loyal Friend

The Loyal Friend

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Member Reviews

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A great thriller - I would recommend it!

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This is a great book. The characters are fascinating. The writing is brilliant. The story is told from multiple POVs. The ending was so unexpected.

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A very fun story about the complexities of female friendship and how well do you really know your friends?

Three unlikely friends come together every week to attend a yoga class. When their yoga instructor goes missing, the friendships devolve and fingers start to point.

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Beautiful and friendly fitness instructor Jade runs a weekly class, bringing together an unlikely group of friends.

Wealthy Susan is living the perfect life but hiding a dark secret

Grace is new to the group and seems to be a perfect mother and wife. Yet no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

Loner Natalie is besotted with Jade who takes her under her wing. She hides the pain of her childhood behind a carefully ordered life.

Three unlikely friends brought together by Jade, but when Jade goes missing in mysterious circumstances ,the group starts to unravel.

As their secrets are revealed the question you have to ask yourself is, can even their closest friends be trusted!!

A great book where I really didn't want to be disturbed when reading this addictive story. I was constantly guessing and there were several jaw dropping moments.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a winner for me, seriously, was a mesmerising series of lies and twists and turns! Fantastic as always!!! Characters were well rounded and the premise great, go buy it

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A.A. Chaudhuri's book "The Loyal Friend" is incredibly exciting and keeps the reader engaged till the very end.

Susan is enjoying an ideal existence in lush Kingston. She'll keep the darkness she's hiding beneath the jewels and the veneer hidden from view. Grace, a new member of the group, seems to be the ideal mother and wife. However, nobody is really aware of what goes on behind closed doors. Natalie, a recluse, conceals her childhood suffering beneath a well-organized life. How long, though, can the past be kept secret? Three unlikely companions met during a weekly session taught by the lovely and welcoming Jade. But when Jade vanishes in enigmatic circumstances, the group disintegrates. Their deepest secrets are revealed, and trust becomes impossible.

The author's skillful character crafting keeps readers completely absorbed and unable to break away from the story. I found the way the story unfolded and revealed secrets to be very enjoyable.

Every part of the story was enjoyable and taught me a valuable lesson about self-trust. The direction it will lead you in and the timing of change are a mystery. All thriller book lovers should read this thrilling story.

Was this review helpful?

A.A. Chaudhuri's book "The Loyal Friend" is incredibly exciting and keeps the reader engaged till the very end.

Susan is enjoying an ideal existence in lush Kingston. She'll keep the darkness she's hiding beneath the jewels and the veneer hidden from view. Grace, a new member of the group, seems to be the ideal mother and wife. However, nobody is really aware of what goes on behind closed doors. Natalie, a recluse, conceals her childhood suffering beneath a well-organized life. How long, though, can the past be kept secret? Three unlikely companions met during a weekly session taught by the lovely and welcoming Jade. But when Jade vanishes in enigmatic circumstances, the group disintegrates. Their deepest secrets are revealed, and trust becomes impossible.

The author's skillful character crafting keeps readers completely absorbed and unable to break away from the story. I found the way the story unfolded and revealed secrets to be very enjoyable.

Every part of the story was enjoyable and taught me a valuable lesson about self-trust. The direction it will lead you in and the timing of change are a mystery. All thriller book lovers should read this thrilling story.

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I did really enjoy this book. I am generally not a fan of dual pov and timeliness. It takes me a few paragraphs to get back into the new povs head.
I did like the storyline, characters, and twists in this book, I wanted to keep reading to figure out what was going on.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.

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What a fantastic thriller! Fast-paced, creepy, tense!

A group of women attend the same fitness centre classes. They are friendly to each other and sometimes even meet outside of workouts. Nothing sinister there, right? Wrong! It's kind of crazy how it made me think of the ladies from my classes, and I'm hoping I never did anything to any of them!

The characters are complicated. Nothing is as it seems, and even though I have guessed some of the story, the biggest parts were huge plot twists I would have never expected.
Fascinating how Alex kept so many storylines so engaging, how the mysteries at first unconnected made a whole story and how calculated the movements were!

Intrigue, the plotting, and the writing itself - absolutely brilliant.

It's definitely one of the best books I've read this year and I can't wait to read more by the author.

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Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

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The Loyal Friend is a suspense thriller centred around 3 women, Natalie, Grace and Susan, brought together through a weekly yoga class, as well as their instructor Jade. Three very different women! When Jade goes missing all manner of secrets start to unravel. Can any of them be trusted?

The prologue sets a menacing scene, it is dramatic and scary, and leaves the reader wondering who it could be about before the book even starts in full. It’s a brilliant way to start the book and create an air of mystery from the off.

When we meet the group you can feel the tension running under the surface between the women immediately. What has led to this point, what are these women’s stories?

I have previously read The Scribe and The Abduction by AA Chaudhuri so I was very much looking forward to getting into this book, and it didn’t disappoint. Chaudhuri is a talented writer who has created her characters with immaculate care.

This is an excellent Psychological Thriller with all the tension and build up that you would hope for. I’d definitely recommend diving in. Thank you to Netgalley, and AA Chaudhuri for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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I thoroughly enjoyed A. A. Chaudhuri's twisty mystery. When central character Jade disappears, police question Natalie, Susan, and Grace. Each of the women have secrets to protect, leaving the reader unsure of who or what is true. Chaudhuri writes the characters in complex, layered ways making them realistic and relatable. The ending knocked my socks off - I'm now a huge fan of A. A. Chaudhuri!

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Looking at the reviews, I am in the minority here. I was completely unenthralled by this one.

The first half of the book was snail's pace. Nothing happens but toxic women saying toxic things. Eventually, you start to learn secrets and...boy, are they basic! Tawdry, basic secrets belonging to tawdry, basic characters.

Eventually, the author ends things by throwing everything but the kitchen sink out there in a frenetic pace of weird secrets.

I finished it. I was largely bored. I would never read it again.

Sorry.

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A fantastic thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

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This book was a thriller which kept your attention. There were so many twists and turns that what you thought you knew, then was suddenly taken away. It was fantastically writtwn

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I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I may be in the minority, but this book just didn't overly grip me. I've read worse books, but there was just something missing.
With the slow build-up, I found the second half definitely more enjoyable then the first.
None of the characters are particularly likeable. I couldn't imagine myself being around any of these people.

The plotline was intriguing enough to hold my attention. It didn't excite me, but the twists and the flow of the second half was decent.

Not a book I'd read again, but I will still read more from this author.

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I quite enjoyed this read, although there where parts that where quite predictable and stereotypical of a thriller-still very well written.

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Great psychological thriller! A constant whodunnit vibe with fascinating characters. Good details, twists & turns. Multiple povs & a great story!

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The book was a good thriller. Lots of twists and and turns. It was an entertaining but a bit slow for me. It took a while for me to finally get into the book, but once I was in it was great.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Three unlikely women become friends, Susan, Grace, and Natalie. They meet in a weekly class run by a woman named Jade, who later disappears under mysterious circumstances. This causes the group of friends to unravel and their secrets to come to light. This book was full of twists and had a shocking ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

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