Fast pace thriller that was easy to devour. I was on the edge of my seat with each new revelation and plot development. The style of this book reminded me a lot of Lisa Jewell’s. I felt a lot of empathy for Eden. I would recommend this book to others.

A drunken Facebook request blooms into an online flirtation before spiralling into a dark and twisty finale.

45-year old realtor Eden Miller is devastated when Dave, her husband of twenty+ years decides to divorce her. In the midst of a solo pity party on her birthday, a drunk Eden, cruising down memory lane, pings Justin, her old college crush. What begins as a curious conversation, soon explodes into a full-blown online affair, prompting the staid Eden into daring acts that she never would have attempted otherwise. Meanwhile, all around her strange things begin to occur, but it takes the newly-in-love Eden a minute to realize that not all is as it seems. An evil from her past has reared its head and it threatens to take down with it everything that Eden holds dear.

My thoughts on this book are very much conflicted. Eden - a product of overachieving, unappreciative parents - is shown to be insecure and clingy; and this is further amplified when she is blindsided by the divorce and their daughter laying blame squarely on Eden's shoulders. Not going to lie - I really did not understand what the fuss was about Dave's dilemma. Ava, Dave and Eden's teen daughter was an absolute brat - I wanted Eden to disown her for that obnoxious attitude alone. Olivia - I initially appreciated the intrigue her character brought to the plotline. Towards the end, she just gave me a headache; I am assuming this was the intent owing to her unpredictable character.

The author creates a sense of apphrehension and foreboding right from the first chapter. The explicit chats, while welcome in a steamy romance, evokes second-hand embarassment in the reader because you just know this is going to come back to bite her (Eden). The plot was chock full with every perceivable trope - gaslighting, narcissism, domestic abuse, coercive control, physical abuse, mental health issues, murder, kidnapping, stalking, BDSM, cold case - did I miss anything?

Overall, I have mixed feelings on this one. I was definitely not on board with Ava's role in the climax - it felt too contrived. I liked the premise and was hoping to be wowed, so rounding it off to 4 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just fine....
Told in three parts this was the story of a woman going through a separation, struggling to have a relationship with her daughter and being taken advantage of by an old school sweetheart who she thought she knew

The twist wasnt predictable but it wasnt the way in which i would have taken the book, there was so much potential for more gripping chapters but to be honest I didnt really care for any of the characters by the end.

3 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just wow! I really loved this book from Samantha M. Bailey.

After Eden and Dave are dropping their daughter, off at college, Eden is excited to start their lives as empty nesters yet her husband, Dave decides to drop a bombshell. Shaken by this news and how everything is changing, Eden decides to make a drunken friend request on social media to her college crush. Doesn't she know don't ever do drunken texts or anything on social media? That is always a bad idea. I mean, how well do you really know the person behind a screen? The author, Samantha takes you through so many twists and turns it makes you uncomfortable and screaming at the characters to not do what they're about to do it. I love it. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. Thank you Samantha for the incredible writing! I can't wait to read your other books!

WOW. WOW. WOW. A Friend In The Dark was my first book by Samantha M. Bailey but absolutely will not be my last. I was completely hooked from the very beginning. I thought I knew where this was going then hit Part Two & I was thrown for a loop. I couldn’t stop reading & devoured this in less than 24 hours.

When we meet Eden Miller, she’s drunkenly sending a friend request to her college crush, Justin Ward, on the evening of her birthday. His response brings her out of her slump as she’s been blindsided by her husband asking for a divorce after moving their only child into her college dorm. Her online relationship with Justin makes her feel young & desirable and she ignores clear red flags. Why does he know so much about her family? How does he know where she lives? Her daughter’s name? Who she married? Where she’s working?

When we meet Olivia Walker, she seems to be an emotional prisoner of her husband, who recently lost her brother, & is looking for any way out of her currently life.

The two cross paths & as this story unfolds we find out what really happened at a college party 23 years ago which set the course for both womens lives.

This book is a 10/10 for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Samantha M. Bailey for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I’ll be on my way to download her other titles!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eden is 45, her daughter has left for college, and her husband has informed her he wants a divorce. On a drunken night at home, she send a friend request to a guy from college whom she had a crush on. He responds and things get hot and heavy quickly but Eden has to start wondering what is really going on in this relationship.

This book was a quick read and I thought it was just ok. I didn't think anyone's behavior made any sense and I struggled with that. I mean, I get Eden doing something stupid while she is drunk and even following through the next morning, and I was engaged until then, but after that, things turned a bit farfetched for me. I didn't think anybody's behavior or motivations made a lot of sense, and that was my main problem with this book.

Who can you trust online? My takeaway from reading this is no one. Sometimes, we can’t even trust ourselves.
A Friend in The Dark is a gripping, nail-biting thriller, with surprising twists and turns.
I loved the surprise dual pov, and the writing style was very immersive and engaging. I love when thrillers make me feel like I’m investigating, trying to find the truth among the lies.

The ending is where the story lost me. The final twist, although unexpected, wasn’t as impactful as I was hoping. After so much tension built up, i expected a bigger explosion, a bigger fallout, more of a bang.

This was still an interesting read, and I look forward to reading more of this author’s works.

Dark Domestic Noir..
Digital romance turns deadly in this dark domestic noir bubbling with suspense. When Eden’s divorce leaves her reeling she impulsively decides to turn back the clock and reignite a past relationship online. However, things soon take a bizarre turn and it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. With a credible and deftly drawn cast of characters, a propulsive plot simmering with menace and twists aplenty this is a one sit, tension fuelled read highlighting the potential dangers of online relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me a free arc of this book. All opinions are my own.
I thought this book was really intriguing. The pacing was really fun. I binged it in 2 days. I just had to figure out what was happening! I did not guess the plot twist and was really surprised!
Highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick thrilling read!

A friend in the dark by Samantha Bailey splits its narrative between two key characters. The first is Eden, who is separated from her husband and reignites a relationship with an old college flame. The second, you'll have to discover for yourself as I don't want to give anything away.

There are a lot of twists in this novel and while I was interested enough to read it until the end, it got a bit gratuitous. That said, I definitely was satisfied with how justice was served.

Overall, a fast paced but a bit too convoluted for my taste thriller.

This is your standard thriller – lots of twists and turns, unreliable narrators, and wild moments that would almost certainly never occur sequentially in the real world. It's fun though, once I started it I was burning through it and read in an afternoon.

I loved Bailey's book "Watch Out For Her" and thought it was a gripping thriller. Unfortunately, "A Friend In The Dark" is just not my cup of tea. I would not necessarily put this in the thriller category, but thought that it would fit better as being labeled a dark romance. I do not enjoy dark romances and tend to steer clear of those books. However, I'm sure readers who regularly read and enjoy dark romances would love this book. It is well written and has a great pace. I look forward to reading more true thrillers from Samantha M. Bailey in the future.

4.75⭐️ which I’ve rounded up

A book friend was raving about this book, the FOMO was real, so I had to jump on the bandwagon. My first read by this author.
Eden has hit her 40’s and her life is spiralling, her husband wants a divorce, her teenage daughter who she has a tense relationship with is off to college. Eden feeling neglected reaches out to her first crush Jason.
Then suddenly red flags start madly sending semaphore warnings.

The story is told from dual points of view which works well.

This is one dark twisted story that takes you on a fast wild ride! brace yourself.
Eden at times seems very naïve for her age, her daughter Ava is the typical angst ridden teenager. Her husband Dave is having a midlife crisis.

At one point the story takes a very weird turn, do a quick eye roll if you must, but move on quickly because all is revealed, and everything makes perfect sense.

There are triggers in this book, so check it out if you need to. If you don’t have any jump into this book asap and enjoy this terrific psychological thriller. It offers so much more than the blurb suggests.
Now I want to check out her other books.

A Friend in The Dark is a domestic thriller to the extreme. It was a tense read that kept the reader wanting more with the sense of foreboding and not knowing what would happen next. The novel centres around 45 yr old Eden who in a drunken, self pitying late night Facebook scroll she friend requests a past college obsession, Justin Ward, From that moment on her life as she knows it has changed forever, opening up to a world she’s never experienced before filled with excitement and danger. I enjoyed the complex middle aged characters, the multiple POVs, and the multiple twists and turns with a satisfying ending. I enjoyed the flawed characters who I frequently second guessed their intentions and if they were who they appeared to be. There was both spice and darkness which added to the well developed plot and rollercoaster thrill ride read.

My rating: 4 1/2 out 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC that will be published March 1 2024.

Wow, this was so good. I’ve binged it in one sitting I needed to know how it ended! It was one of the better thrillers that I’ve read recently. he kept me on the edge of my seat! I have not read anything from her before, but I definitely will check out more of her work!!!

Is the grass greener on the other side? Dave tells Eden he wants to live separately on the day that they drop their daughter off at college. Eden is devastated because Dave gives her no explanation. Feeling sorry for herself Eden decides to reach out to a former classmate that she had a mad crush on in college. Bad mistake!!! What happens next is a twisty and thrilling story that takes many shocking turns.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book and highly recommend it. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

This is not really an appropriate book for me to suggest to students due to sexual content. It does explore mental health issues and abuse and how abusive family life leads to abusive relationships and sexual assault so there are things that would be useful to discuss from this book

This was a fast easy read, the story had potential but it was too unrealistic, too melodramatic for me to take it seriously. Everyone was too much, too naive, too abusive, etc I think some people will enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for an eARC of A Friend in the Dark by Samantha M. Bailey! I was thrilled to get approved for this one - I adore this author and her work.

What's it about?
Eden is having a crisis - She's going through a divorce she didn't see coming, and her daughter barely speaks to her. She decides to send a friend request to her college crush, beginning an online relationship that turns her into a new woman. One night in college, her life changed. Her relationship with Justin came to a close and she started seeing her husband, Dave. What if she could do everything over? And how does Justin know so much about her current life?

This one is both thriller and spice, a rare combination that you can truly sink your teeth into. I love the past and present storylines that somehow seamlessly blend together in the heart-pounding conclusion. WOW! As always, I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

Well……this read was not what I was expecting. It starts a little ‘Ohhh my!; gets a little creepy and then goes full force ahead into psychological/domestic suspense. This was a quick, ‘read it in one afternoon’ book for me.
Thank You to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Samantha M. Bailey for the opportunity to read this ARC.