What does it mean to be friends? How do we know we can really trust? Leah Konen explores this in her upcoming novel Keep Your Friends Close. Mary is in a dark place. She is in the process of divorcing her very wealthy husband George and is desperate to keep custody of their son. She plans to leave New York and move to Woodstock to be closer to her mom and her sister. Imagine her surprise, when she spots Willa, a friend who betrayed her in the worst possible way back in New York, with a brand new family. Even more surprising is the presence of her almost ex brother-in-law and husband in her rented home. After a particularly upsetting incident with George, she attempts a visit to find George brutally murdered. Who can she trust when she finds herself the prime suspect? Anyone?

I enjoyed this book. I like to think I’m a bit of a sleuth, and I often think I am one step ahead of an author. I found here that when I thought I had things figured out, Konen would surprise me. The twists and turns were believable and kept me engaged until the very end. Interestingly, I didn’t like Mary all that much. While I didn’t wish her harm, I sure was frustrated by what I thought were obviously thoughtless, perhaps even dumb, decisions. I suppose that makes her human, not thinking clearly in a very difficult situation, but I’d have advised her differently numerous times. As with Rachel Hawkins’ The Heiress: a Novel, I am amazed by the lengths that the very wealthy will go to protect that wealth. Konen provided an interesting glimpse into their world.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for sending me this advanced readers copy in exchange for my review!
I was pleasantly surprised by this thriller. This was my second book by Konen, first one being the YA novel, The Romantics. Keep your Friends Close had a good number of twists and turns. Many of the chapters alternated between present and past and left the reader with a cliffhanger. I can definitely say it kept my attention. I would recommend this domestic thriller for fans of The Wife Between Us (Hendricks/Pekkanan) and The Last Mrs Parrish (Liv Constantine). Overall, 4 out of 5 stars!

Calling all domestic thriller fans, Keep Your Friends Close is a must read! From the very first page, this novel had lightening fast pacing, with a storyline that lived rent-free in my mind! I enjoyed how Leah Konen created so many layers and with each layer, I created a new conspiracy theory that I am not too proud to admit were all wrong lol! Keep Your Friends Close is a 5 star novel and I am kicking myself for having never read Leah Conan before! I am looking forward to adding her previous novels to my TBR list!

I had such high hopes for Keep Your Friends Close, but this fell a little flat for me! This is described as a mom-friend, Strangers on the Train type of thriller, but there really weren’t any thriller moments.

The lead character, Mary, is a mom going through a divorce from George. Mary goes to upstate New York to try to find a place for her and her son to live post-divorce. George follows her in an attempt to reconcile only to end up dead. The other POV character, Willa, also shows up upstate after “ghosting” Mary’s friendship a month prior.

I really struggled to keep track of all the different characters, especially the men as they all had the same evil-alpha-man personalities. I also really didn’t like Mary, she was so inconsistent and indecisive throughout the whole novel. Willa was the saving grace of Keep Your Friends Close, as she’s the only one who actually has depth.

Thanks to G.P. Putnam/Penguin Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another impossible-to-put-down book by Konen! I absolutely loved everything about this read, from the setting to the fun details (cough cough, Cartier bracelets) to the twisty plot. I've never read a book that explored motherhood in this way and as a Brooklyn-ite myself, I couldn't appreciate the Park Slope + modern parenting vibes more. Konen delivers hit after hit with her books---I can't wait to read what she creates next!

Keep Your Friends Close is a twisty thriller that keep me engaged from the beginning! I enjoyed the pace of this book, first half building up the mystery and then the second half giving the reader so many twists and turns while trying to decide who the killer is. While some items felt a little too coincidental, it didn’t take away any of my enjoyment of the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Son for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 stars! This was the first novel I’ve read by Leah Konen, but it won’t be my last. This was the most exciting, fast-paced, roller coaster ride of a novel that I have read in a long time, and I highly recommend it.

Mary’s husband, George is a controlling narcissist with a wealthy family that is just as heavy-handed. Mary walks on eggshells as her crumbling marriage breaks apart. What she really needs right now is a friend.

She can’t believe she met Willa when she needed a friend the most. Willa is charming, beautiful, outspoken, and fun and Mary feels like she has known Willa forever. After a fun night of sloshy margaritas, Mary “overshares” a dangling thought about George and though she would never act on it, she can’t help but voice her murderous thoughts aloud. Then Willa simply ghosted her.

Mary, now divorced, moves out of the city to start over and she runs into Willa who now goes by Annie. George is murdered and Mary becomes the prime suspect. It just gets more intense and topsy turvy from here. I won’t spoil the fun, but I’ll say that I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and was very satisfied with the ending.

great mystery about love and friendship and some jewelry . Loved that it was told in different point of views and had a time frame of past and present. loved willa and mary. The mom was a piece of work. Great mystery.

This was my first book by Leah Konen. It started out great but I had difficulty getting into the story and the characters. It just seemed to be going nowhere. I also felt the timelines were too close as another review mentioned which caused me some confusion. Overall a decent book. Storyline had promise but just didn’t deliver in my opinion. I had trouble staying interested in it. Thank you to NetGalley, Leah Konen and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mary is going through a messy divorce with lots of money at stake. So when she meets a new friend Willa she ends up sharing a lot of secrets about her husband and her marriage . But after Mary’s husband turns up dead she finds a lot she didn’t know about Willa like her real name
This story has murder, mystery ,divorce ,money, friendship, betrayal and keeps you engaged throughout the story

After leaving her wealthy and controlling husband, Mary is trying to build a new life for herself and her toddler son. Mary is excited to meet a new mom friend at the playground and after a few too many margaritas one girls night, she accidentally spills family secrets. The next day, her new friend, Willa, completely ghosts her. Unsure of who (if anyone) she can trust, heartbroken Mary randomly runs back into her old friend in the most unlikely of places and learns Willa has a secret life she’s been hiding all along. When Mary’s estranged husband ends up dead, her trust and friendship will be put to the ultimate test. Are some secrets worth killing for?

Keep Your Friends Close is a fast paced, quick read that held my attention throughout. A classic who-done-it that’ll have you guessing and alternating theories all the way until the very end.

Overall, a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be recommending it to those who love a good thriller.
Mary meets Willa while visiting the park with her son and the friendship is exactly what she needs. But after she confides in Willa about her nasty divorce, she fears she may have overshared. Because immediately following Willa ghosts her and Mary's husband ends up dead. When Mary ran into her again with a new name and a whole new family my head was spinning with the possibilities, but none of them came close to figuring it out.
This whole storyline had me going, did Willa kill George? Is she a con? I couldn't put the book down until I found out.
Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. Standard thriller, 2 POVs, 2 time lines. My biggest issue was that the time lines were too close -- I felt there needed to be a bigger time separation between "Now" and "Then." Pretty well-written, the plot had a couple reasonable twists.

All in all a solid thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being given freely.

Keep Your Friends Close is the first book I've read by Leah Konen, but I'll definitely be reading more! It was an excellent book with lots of twists and turns. The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the cast of characters. Everyone was complex, believable, and interesting. Keep Your Frieds Closer was engaging from the start. 5 stars!

Wow this books was action packed from start to finish and it had some surprising twists. You think you figure out who the killer is only to be very surprised in the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the copy of Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen. While this book started out great, it was really too long so it was hard to stay engaged. The first person narratives had involved inner dialogues that were endless. I ended up skipping them after reading the first sentence of the paragraphs. The story was really good though and I liked Mary but I never warmed up to Willa because I never understood her motivation for the things she did. If you’re looking for a light thriller, this is a good one. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This was a great book based on female friends and trust! It was suspenful and kept you wanting to read more!
Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book!

The first 3/4 of this book absolutely dragged. I found it cliche and boring and not very well written. The end didn’t make up for any of it.

I couldn’t put this one down! A good, lighter thriller about friendship, motherhood, marriage and privilege. If you liked The Social Climber, Stone Cold Fox or anything by Kate White, I think you’ll enjoy Keep Your Friends Close.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Keep Your Friends Close is the first book I've read by Leah Konen. The author writes well, and I was quickly drawn-in to the story. The novel is told in two POV and two timelines between protagonist Mary and her new friend Willa. When Mary's wealthy husband George is murdered, we wonder if Willa played a part in his death. And how good a friend is Willa, anyway? The answers to these questions are at the heart of this novel and are explained when the timelines merge in the final chapters. The themes in this book are familiar, but the author puts her spin on this thriller about wealth and power imbalance in love and marriage. An entertaining read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing an ARC to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews.com at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*