Lovers of the thriller genre must be counting themselves lucky that Karen Clarke decided to switch from writing romantic comedies to crime novels like this one where you cannot turn the pages fast enough. The two friends suggested in the book title are Elise who one day arrives at her friend Rose’s house without warning. She wants Rose to help her get her little daughter, Daisy back from the clutches of her former husband Isaac. Rose, who has previously escaped a coercive relationship of her own, is sympathetic and agrees to help her old friend. To get access to Daisy, Rose takes on a homeschooling role in Isaac and Daisy’s house. But the more she gets to know the little girl and her dad, the more she wonders who is telling the truth and who is not, and who is controlling whom. Well-written and featuring many surprise revelations and twists and turns, I recommend this thriller to lovers of the genre and will definitely seek out future novels produced by Karen Clarke. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC I have received that allowed me to read this thriller and produce this book review, featuring my honest and unbiased opinion.

What a roller coaster ride to who was actually telling the truth! A little bit of a slow burn in the beginning but then definitely picked up as the twists came rolling in! Even though I guessed one of the twists, I didn’t see the ending coming and was graciously surprised! The author did a great job of keeping the reader guessing the real villain of this story.

Thank you NetGalley, Karen Clarke and Harper Collins Publishers for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! This book was an exciting fast-paced thriller initially it did take me a while to get into the storyline but once I did wow there were so many great twists and turns that kept me enthralled in the story a perfect book for psychological thrillers fans alike! The characters were likeable my favourite was Elise.

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book and all the plot twists that it presented! Another cracking book by Karen Clarke!

Holy WHIZZ! This was an unexpected Delight! I had previously never read Karen Clarke and wow, I am definately going to binge her back log of books. This was a twisted story , it was woven in such a way that it made you think you knew what was happening- SURPRISE- You likely don't ! I was shocked and found this to be a fast and perfect pace . Bravo Karen 5 stars!

Wow this book is full of twists and turns. Once I thought I figured out what was going on it would take a turn. Enjoyed the plot and the characters.

And she is back. I've been waiting patiently for Karen's next book to be released and it didn't disappoint.

A slow burn book that has so many twists in it. I was shocked by the ending and really didn't see it coming.

Rose is a wonderful character who I really warmed to and Lissa was probably the one I most disliked (saw some traits of old friends in her).

As with the books of Karen's I've read in the past you do have to wait until almost the end for the penny to drop (well I do 🤣) and I love the anticipation that brews.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great book! Lots of secrets being kept by all of the key characters.
It kept me reading long after I should have turned out the light.

An exciting fast-paced thriller of a read, did take me a while to get into the storyline though.

There were so many twists and turns I did lose track sometimes. All in all it was a good read which I did enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this ARC.

I did sort of enjoy this book but found it very unrealistic and cluttered somehow. I couldn’t believe that Rose would agree to do what she did for her ‘best friend’ Elise, when it seems she hardly knew her at all. There were plenty of twists and turns – but on reflection maybe there were too many? In the end it just seemed to drag on and become too complicated. It was an OK read but I was disappointed in the ending. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Full of suspense and with a twist I truly was not expecting Rose is an empathetic character and Elise is thoroughly unlikeable despite her tragic circumstance.
I did find it a bit far fetched that Rose would step up so readily to help Elise get back her child, regardless of whatever Elise was holding over her so the initial part of the book was hard to get into but as the plot unfolded I became more invested in discovering just how unreliable a narrator Eloise was!

The beginning was super cringy because all I could think of was "don't do it, just don't do it". I wish the writer did not take me through that torture but maybe this is part of the charm. The book was engaging, I wanted to finish and did finish in one day. It has some holes but I liked the main character, the girl was adorable, the family was creepy and I wanted him to be a good guy.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

Talk about dysfunctional relationships. This book started off slowly and then went off like a roman candle. The twists were mostly unpredictable and the tension ratchets up with every page turned. This was my second read by Karen Clarke. She is quickly becoming a new favorite author of mine. Thank you NetGalley and HQ books for giving me a chance to review.

It took a minute to get in too. It was slow at first but... Oh my goodness. There were so many twists and turns. I tried to guess what the end would look like but ended up bring so wrong!

WOW what an exciting thriller!! This book certainly kept me on my toes, so many twists and turns throughout. I read cover to cover in just a 24 hour period that’s how good it was. The family in this book started to sound so dysfunctional and you didn’t know who was telling the truth, it was brilliant and i highly recommend it.

Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for my open and honest review. As always, my reviews will also be posted on Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones and interaction on Facebook and instagram where possible.

Really really good book, not read any of her books before but definitely an author to look out for, it had so much in it and kept me interested until the very last page

Thriller I could not put down!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it was one that keeps you reading and at the edge of your seat. The only issue I saw was a few spelling errors throughout. The characters and plot twist was 10/10 for this psychological thriller.

Elise shows up at her friend Rose’s doorstep, one she hasn’t seen in years asking for help. She states she is running away from her abusive husband and needs Rose to help get her daughter Daisy back to her safely. Rose agrees to help but what happens within the course of her time in Isaacs home will have your head spinning. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? Rose is about to embark on a teaching journey that may put Daisy at risk if Elise is lying.

Trigger warnings: mental disorders, abuse, pregnancy loss.

Publication dated for July 26, 2023.

I would like to give a special thank you to #NetGalley, #teamHQ, and #KarenClarke for this advanced copy. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I'm not going to pie, I started skipping parts and skimming others. It just wasn't for me and felt really jumbled and I just lost interest

This story was all over the place--in a bad way--and so was the pacing. In some parts it was achingly slow and in others so fast it felt like it was skipping and rushed.

Started off well but a quarter of the way in and going forward it lost its way which didn't make for a good read for me sorry.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC

This book started off great . Full of suspense and intrigue, towards the middle I started to struggle with the story and by the last few chapters I felt that it was just cobbled together. An ok read but not amazing.