by Emily Freud
SYNOPSIS
Kate Sullivan has a beautiful home, a job she loves and a handsome fiancé: all she'd ever dreamed of since getting sober and painstakingly piecing her life back together.
But a chance encounter with her old best friend Becky threatens Kate's newfound and fragile happiness. Kate remembers nothing of their last drunken night out, the night Becky broke off their friendship without warning or explanation.
With Becky back in her life, Kate is desperate to make amends for the past. For the closure she craves, Kate needs to know what she did that ruined everything. But what if the truth is worse than Kate could have imagined?
REVIEW
When Kate was younger and struggling to deal with the death of her mother, she turned to alcohol and drugs to escape from her problems. After years of putting up with her drunken behaviour, Kate's best friend Becky has had enough and decides to cut all contact, disappearing from her life completely.
Several years later, Kate has turned her life around. She is sober and looking forward to marrying her fiancé Ben when she unexpectedly bumps into Becky in a restaurant. Desperate to make amends for her behaviour in the past, Kate decides that the only way she can move forward is to find out exactly what happened on their last explosive night out. However, as she begins to piece the events of that night together, all other aspects of her life start to unravel. Is Becky telling the truth or is she intent on destroying the stability and happy life Kate worked so hard to achieve?
My Best Friends Secret is a different type of thriller to the books I normally read. A domestic thriller which is fundamentally an exploration of every type of toxic and destructive relationship a person can have - whether that is concerning female friendships, relationships with a partner, other family members or harmful relationships with alcohol or other substance addiction.
The elements of suspense were incorporated subtly throughout the story, building to a shocking ending which was both unexpected and emotional - the descriptions of Kate's struggles felt incredibly real and raw which is no doubt a result of the author drawing on her own personal experiences with alcoholism and mental health issues. The way Kate was forced to question her own sanity, sobriety and memories was very cleverly done, leaving me frustrated, wanting to discover the truth about what really happened and questioning every character at various points in the story. My Best Friends Secret is a powerful and beautifully written debut novel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Freud has worked on Emmy and BAFTA award winning television series including Educating Yorkshire and First Dates. Emily lives in North London, with her husband and two small children. She is currently working on her second novel.
Thanks to @QuercusBooks and @MsEmilyFreud for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Psychological Thriller
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1529407532
Pages: 352 pp
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