Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest opinion. I have enjoyed reading books by Tracy Buchanan. This was no different. It was a highly captivating and dramatic. It was well written and the characters were relatable and well developed. The characters were intriguing with the fake "Tamsin". The story was told in alternating timelines of the past and present. It was very mysterious and kept you wanting to know what happened in the past. I enjoyed how the story unfolded and you learned about how the past and present were connected. A good read in my opinion.

A great story with so many twists and turns, you start to doubt what is happening and is it one person going crazy or is this all real! Well written and gripping.

Secrets Between Friends by Tracy Buchanan is a 4.5 star read. The complex story unfolds, with past and present intertwined and being revealed at the same time. The protagonist is an underdog and the reader pulls for her along the way, even though she is very human, which is to say, flawed. The story is interesting from the start, moves at a reasonable pace, and resolves nicely with a twist.

This is one of those books that kept me at the edge of my seat. The story line moves in such a way that you don’t realize that you have been reading for hours. It also shows don’t trust what you see because there is a lot underneath

The story is told in an effective backward and forward timeframe starting with a mystery that happened twenty years ago at Lakewell Manor when Elizabeth meets and becomes friends with Tamsin and her mother who own the Manor. Moving to the present Elizabeth has been forced to return to her hometown of Easthaven and Tamsin has returned to Lakewell Manor following her mother’s death. The glue that holds the story together is the twenty year old mystery but there are other incidents and situations that have landed Elizabeth in her present troubled situation that are never fully explored nor explained. She was a journalist, she made a mistake or three and now she is lucky to have her present job as a postal carrier, a/k/a postie. She seems destined to keep making those mistakes but yet expects a different outcome.

While everything was very predictable the story moved along and held up except that there was really no one to like or admire. The protagonist, Elizabeth, just can’t get it right and seems to bungle everything except the loyalty that true friendship commands - joining her on her daily rounds is a series of frustrations and trying to understand her convoluted logic and her capability of embracing her “small white lies” is exhausting. You can’t help but mutter, “really, really, in what world is that a good idea?” Unfortunately she is not the only flawed character here. Pick the most vile fairy tale villainess and that would be her Mother. Then there is the nasty, back-stabbing woman on her postal route, a stereotypical misogynistic and greedy landlord, an ex-husband that cheats and then sues for total custody of the children he has with Elizabeth, are just a few of the many dark figures in this story. On the plus side, Elizabeth’s sweet daughters are her biggest fans and cheerleaders.

A few twists and turns, nothing outrageous nor mind boggling, just so hard to wrap my mind around one person making so many mistakes and taking so many chances when so much is tenuous. Rounding up for the character development and great descriptions. Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

Liz is a quirky woman who has returned to her former town of Easthaven after a failed marriage and job have left her no choice but to live with her mean-spirited mother. And to top things off, her husband is suing her for custody of their two girls.

Liz should be on her best behavior, but she can’t help herself. She insists to herself that her obsessive notetaking during her rounds as a postal carrier are merely a holdover from her journalism days. We (the readers) want Liz to be careful, but she’s made some enemies and they are not happy with her sleuthing. Things start to snowball when her old friend Tamsin returns to the town and the mansion on the hilltop where things went astray 20 years ago when a mysterious stranger came to visit.

I loved the atmospheric, almost gothic descriptions of Lakewell Manor from the past, and Liz’s views of the pastel colored cliffside dwellings were so evocative. I loved Liz’s character and even though she was a grumpy, nasty woman, I could completely visualize her mom.

This was a quick read and enjoyable story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Booksprout for an advance reader’s copy.

A perfect mystery includes love, friends and thrillers and this one has it all. Enjoyed the authors writing style and look forward to ore.

A fun read! Interesting characters with mystery, intrigue, and twists and turns, right up to the conclusion.

A rather lightweight tale which tested credibility on numerous occasions. Liz, the local postwoman in a small seaside village is tested when it comes to proving that the return of a best friend is not the person she says she is! Past mistakes come to haunt her and her job and custody of her children are in danger. Too many holes in the story for me but I sailed through it!

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I loved it. I was hooked from the beginning and could not put it down. Liz returns to Easthaven with her daughters 20 years after she and her best friend Tamsin were involved in the disappearance of Gabe. Tamsin also returns to Easthaven after her mother's death. The secrets around Gabe's disappearance come to light as Tamsi herself disappears, with s imposter taking her place. Intrigue and mystery jept me hooked and I found the truth a surprise.
A great story with a few twists. I ca highly recommend this book to all

This was a DNF for me, primarily because I just didn't care for the main character at all. I did like the dual timeline and thought the author did a good job with that, but I struggled with this and after the 3rd time I picked this up and put it down, I surrendered. I am sorry.

A disturbing story of a young woman and her best friend from her teenage years. In the intervening years, after Tamsin and her mother leave their estate, Liz stays living with her miserable, nasty mother and follows her dream of becoming a journalist. After meeting Carl and getting married, Liz has two lovely daughters - but Carl proves to be very different from the man she thought she married. When she loses her job, she returns in desperation to her mother's house with her two daughters.
The reappearance of Tamsin is a shaft of bright sunshine in Liz's life - but something is terribly wrong and when Liz mentions the events of the awful night before Tamsin left, years ago, she seems to remember nothing of it.
The journalist in Liz is sure that something underhand is going on and she walks right in to a disaster waiting to happen.

WOW!!! I absolutely loved this book! It sucked me in from the very beginning and I finished this book in one sitting!!! I honestly thought I had it all figured out but with all of the twists and turns…I didn't see that coming!

Liz and Tamsin are different from the other sixteen year olds. Tamsin is homeschooled while Liz goes to public schools. They become the best of friends even though their home lives are nothing alike. Add a handsome (wealthy) boy to the mix…things happen, he goes missing and Tamlin is forced to move away.

Fast forward twenty years, Liz returns back to the city where she grew up working as a postal worker. She finds out that Tamsin had also returned after not seeing her for decades. Liz runs into her during her postal route but then the next day it is like she is a completely different person and Liz is out to prove it! She finds herself in trouble just days before her custody battle with her ex-husband. She hopes to find the answers before her court date!

This book alternates between past and present from Liz’s perspective. The author does such a wonderful job with describing the town and the characters…it felt as though I was there and that I knew these people.

It is truly a page turner- I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. This is my first book that I have read by Tracy Buchanan and I will definitely be checking out more of her books! If you love a good Mystery Thriller - this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and Tracy Buchanan for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The old house hides her darkest secret—and there’s no running away this time…
Twenty years ago, Liz left Easthaven to escape the memory of one tragic night at Lakewell Manor. Only she and her best friend Tamsin saw what really happened, and in the aftermath they drifted apart. Now she’s forced back after a nasty divorce, with two daughters in tow, the shadows of that terrible night lurking on every corner. With a custody battle looming, she’s one wrong move away from her life falling apart completely.
So when news arrives that Tamsin, too, is returning to Easthaven, Liz fears their reunion will bring the awful truth spilling out into the open. But when she finally meets Tamsin, now mistress of the clifftop house whose locked gates have guarded the friends’ secret all these years, she’s in for a surprise. Tamsin looks different, and she doesn’t remember Liz, let alone what happened that night…
Something is clearly wrong. But confronting Tamsin means reliving the nightmare Liz has been running from for twenty years. Can she risk exposing what happened that night, knowing that the truth will destroy everything?

Totally gripping read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Past and present covering two friends one successful writer and poet, the other a failed writer, divorcée with two daughters in dead end. job only made more bearable by spending time as local sleuth or frustrated nosy parker . By choice, separated by twenty years and a terrifying secret that neither can forget or put behind them an unexpected reunion sets of a series of unsettling events. Not particularly attractive characters but an interesting storyline with satisfying conclusion. Many thanks to Author, Netgalley and publisher for ARC.

Title: Secrets Between Friends
Author: Tracy Buchanan
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Liz and Tamsin were best friends twenty years ago. Tamsin lives behind the gates in a manor whereas Liz struggles. Liz wants what Tamsin has. What happened twenty years ago?
Alternating between two timelines Secrets Between Friends is a story where you know what is coming yet there is an element of mystery.
What I liked:
💧Fast paced book
💧Liz's daughters
💧Liz has a quirky character
💧Atmospheric and I could imagine the story in my head
💧The author's writing is very lyrical and I really liked it
Some parts of the story is a little unbelievable but in the overall scheme it works and I enjoyed the book.
CW: Cheating, a character who is narcissist, Mentions of body image

Secrets Between Friends was a fast-paced mystery. It wasn't mind blowingly amazing, but it definitely kept my interest.

We are introduced to Liz and Tamsin, who became friends as teenagers and experienced a traumatic event that separated them for twenty years. When Tamsin returns, twenty years later, something isn't right and Liz is determined to get to the bottom of it. Liz is going through her own hard times, fighting for custody of her daughters, dealing with an emotionally abusive mother, and trying to keep out of trouble at work. As Liz begins to notice weird things related to Tamsin, she starts to investigate and get into trouble. But when her daughter becomes involved, things become even more urgent.

This book was a super quick read. It kept me guessing until the very end, but I will also say the ending was a bit anticlimactic and kind of out of the blue. The reveal of what really happened to Gabe seemed random. The link between Gabe and the murderer was essentially non existent in the book. Typically, authors like to leave little clues as to the relationship between murderer and murdered, but I really can't recall any interactions between the two.

I did enjoy the author's description of the manor. I always enjoy when a house is essentially a character in a book and the manor definitely played a huge role, so the descriptions were key. I had a solid picture in my head of what I expected this house to look like and this definitely made me enjoy the book more.

I had trouble relating to the main character, Liz. Personally, I felt like all her decisions were destructive. But this also could have stemmed from the emotional abuse at the hands of her mother. So, while I can't relate, I do understand.

To me, this was a decent mystery but it could have been better and more suspenseful.

I enjoyed this one for a bit of a lighthearted mystery although I guessed quite early what was going on.

The main character, Liz, returns to Easthaven with her two daughters after splitting from her husband. They move in with her absolute witch of a mum, honestly think she’s one of the most awful characters I’ve read in ages! Soon after returning, her best friend who she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years returns as well but she isn’t quite the same.

The dual timeline shows us bits of what happened all that time ago to make both girls leave and follows Liz in the present day as she investigates the changes in her friend.

I found Liz to be quite an annoying main character as she’s ridiculously nosy 😂 I also thought some of the plot wasn’t that well thought out or written as it was too obvious for the reader but the characters were full of doubt so it didn’t seem realistic. However, I did enjoy reading this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

There are so many secrets between these friends. They say you can't go home but Liz has gone home after her divorce. She and her daughters are living with her mother. She had a hard time living with her mother when she was growing up and it seems doubly hard now. When Liz sees that her old friend Tamsin comes back, Liz is hoping that her friend will make things easier. The problem is that the girls have an old secret that tore their lives apart many years before and it is likely that the ugly truth will come out now. And Liz's ex is suing for custody of their daughters. Liz doesn't need one more problem. Can they get through all of this?

An enjoyable read that keeps you guessing to the end. All the characters are well defined and you are kept involved in what happens to them. I love a happy ending!