2024 the best friends review

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(as of Nov 15, 2024 04:11:15 UTC - Details)

"I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends...."

When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house, she doesn’t realize life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane.

Darcy is a woman who has everything—a dream house, a powerful husband, and enviable wealth.

She’s the perfect wife.

The perfect friend.

The perfect liar.

From the top 10 best-selling author of The Secret Mother and The Child Next Door, this utterly gripping psychological thriller will have you up all night. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and The Wife Between Us, this book is for you.

Reviewer: Buzy_reading
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: You can never have it all...can you?
Review: The Best Friend is a psychological suspenseful thriller. Louisa’s new best friend hasit all –the house, the status, the money –but she’s also hiding a dark secret. And, as Louisa is drawn deeper into her friend’s life, events take a chilling turn ...The timeline began in the present then switched to the past about nineteen years ago. The break in timelines came at a time when I was eager for answers but then would get drawn into the past. I mean this in the most positive way, it drove me mad. Shalini executed this story cleverly building up the suspense. This was written from Louisa’s point of view with a character driven storyline.Louisa’s character is careful with her money choosing to spend it on practical things. While her husband, Jared is an ambitious man with a craving for a more luxurious lifestyle. Jared is easily enticed by the Lanes, a family that lives a posh life. Louisa worries about how badly her husband wants to fit in with these people. Louisa worries and stresses about her low standard lifestyle. Louisa has a practical mind set where she needs to establish the terms of an agreement before signing whereas her husband jumps in feet first then considers the terms afterwards.Louisa was confident and comfortable in her own skin then she met Darcy and she felt frumpy next to her. Louisa was a caring and kind friend who allowed Darcy to dominate the friendship. Louisa’s problems and concerns took a backseat to Darcy’s problems.This book definitely was a page turner. Shalini included so many layers to the story. There was never a dull moment. All the activities these characters were involved in were just as thrilling and suspenseful and tied in well with the plot. All the layers connected together seamlessly at the end.My favorite part of this book was the way Shalini exposed the motive. Chilling the way the pieces fell into place.All Shalini’s thrillers have taken place in the UK. I loved looking up the locations of each in England, including Sandbanks Beach.

Reviewer: Peggy Biwer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Read
Review: The book grabbed me early on and kept me going to the end. Some great surprises. I like all of Shalina’s books.

Reviewer: LMS
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An easy read, but predictable.
Review: There are a few books by this author that I have really enjoyed, but the last several haven't been that great.The main character in this novel is somewhat likeable, but she is also incredibly dense and stupid. I figured out pretty early on that Darcy wasn't what she pretended to be. I also figured out early on who Nicole and Callum were. It was pretty obvious. I was not at all surprised by what ended up happening to Louisa. The only part I wasn't able to piece together was the motive.As with her other novels, the character lack depth. There is almost no character development. I have a couple more books by this author that I will read, but after that, I think I'm done with this author. There have to be better psychological thrillers out there.

Reviewer: sweetplt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: It is a great thriller ride.
Review: I highly recommend "The Best Friend" for those who like a psychological thriller. I have moved every three years due to my husband's transfer and I felt for Louisa the main character. She is in a new place with her husband and son and she is depending on meeting people through her son's school. She meets Darcy at the school who seems to have it all and turns out to be Louise's saving grace until she starts going after Louise's life. I didn't want to put the book down because there were times even I didn't believe Louisa, but in the end good prevails. Shalini develops her characters in away that we know these people in our own lives. It is worth the read and the thriller ride. I bought Shalini Boland's other book, "The Girl from the Sea" and can't wait to get started.

Reviewer: Paulette p
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Was Darcy such a good friend????
Review: Loved the story, would of given it 5 stars ,but the ending was not so great. Otherwise the story was great, but be causes about being fast friends. Louisa was not the most such of herself, but she tried ,sort of. Darcy seen this in Louisa right away and took advantage of it. Did Louisa deserve what happened to her??? No, not what she had to go through. The story really kept your interest all the way through ,up till the end. Where it just stopped, the ending I feel could of been better. None the less, you will enjoy the read.

Reviewer: Donna Z
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of those books....
Review: It's one of those books you can't stop reading..... you're anxious to see how it's all going to turn out....but, you don't want it to end either! I hate it when I start reading a book...get through a few chapters....have to stop....and then when I pick it up to read again.... I have to go back a few pages because I can't remember what happened, or who the characters are. NOT SO with The Best Friend..... it grabbed me from the start and I couldn't wait to get back to it and pick up right where I left off. I really like the author's style of writing.....think I finished this book in 2 days. It was the first time I read anything by Shalini Boland...so, I had to check out what else she has written. Within the next few weeks I read The Secret Mother and The Girl from the Sea.....loved them both also. Just ordered Perfect Family....so, I'm kind of hooked on this auther!

Reviewer: winnie d. miller
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: unpredictable
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book story line........unpredictable and fast paced.......however, I am puzzled as to why the writer constantly used the "Me and Sophie are.....Me and Tom are.....Me and Jude are......."Never "Tom and I are going to....." always the objective case when (if I recall grammar class) should have been the subjective case? grated on my nerves every time I read the beginning of a sentence starting with "Me and .....did so and so."Excessive wine drinking in the story...almost at every turn.But I did enjoy the story..............

Reviewer: Big D.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 5sterne.

Reviewer: SS_reads
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ce livre est le deuxième de Shalini Boland que je lis et je ne cesse d'être fan ce ses livres. Elle arrive a écrire des histoires qui vous plongent directement dans l'intrigue, on ne peut plus s'arrêter lorsqu’on les commence. Le suspense est tellement fort que certains passages font presque peur, c'est à quel point l'autrice est ingénieuse dans l'écriture des ses romans. Pour une francophone c'était un livre facile à lire en anglais et rapide puisque l'histoire vous tient vraiment en haleine. Ce n'est pas le livre de cette autrice que j'ai préféré mais j'ai tout de même bien apprécié ma lecture.

Reviewer: DanielLB
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is the third book that I've read from Shalini Boland and I loved it!! It is very well written and the story flows wonderfully. I predicted a few things but that didn't take away any of my enjoyment. On to the next one!

Reviewer: Chitwan Kaur
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Loved the story and how it keeps you engrossed and thinking the whole time. Totally enjoyed reading it. Already bought another book by the author

Reviewer: Layla
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Female protagonist can't communicate with (naive, cocky) husband nor he wants to listen to her. She feels frumpy, comparing herself to more glamourous friend(s). She has given up on her dreams. Something creepy happens but she isn't believed, husband thinks she's crazy and an unfit mother. At the end she was right and feels vindicated. Plot is bland, characters one-dimensional. Ta da, there you have a Shalini Boland novel.