Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone and to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Having read the synopsis I was keen to go ahead and start reading, and I got straight into the book from the first page.
There were a number of characters to get acquainted with, plus their partners and offspring.
I'm not keen on the writing style of constantly changing narratives, plus switching from past to present, but I found the switching quite easy to keep up with in this story.
I thought the characters were a little far fetched, and none of them were very likeable. I couldn't relate any of the five mothers characteristics to any of the mothers I know at the school gates - thankfully!
The plot delivered a good dose of mystery and suspense. I did twig the outcome before I reached it in the book, although I didn't know why at that stage. I felt the end was a little disappointing, and I did find I kept reading just to get the book finished really.
Overall the premise of the book was really good, but it didn't quite follow through in the way that I'd hoped. I'm going to give it three stars as I would probably put this book about halfway down the list of books I've read. Not up with the best or down with the the worst!

As a massive fan of Dorothy Koomson books there was very little chance that I would dislike The Friend. After finishing The Friend, I would say it is among my favourite books she has written.

Cece Solarin has reluctantly moved from London to Brighton with her three children due to her husband’s new job and a desire to rectify problems in her marriage. Rather than make her marital situation better the move just serves to highlight the problems and increases her frustration with her her husband.

“Look, I know you’re really busy with work and all, but would it kill you to acknowledge the sacrifice we’ve all made for you…

Our children have moved away from their friends and a life they loved because of your job and you haven’t even acknowledged that over the weekend or this morning.”

The longer they live in Brighton the more annoyed Cece becomes with Sol’s attitude towards her and her role in the home.

“He is still being dismissive and condescending. He is still treating me like an after thought.”

Outside of the home Cece’s biggest fear is that she won’t make any friends among the mums at her twin’s school. When Cece learns that the school was the scene of a violent attack just a few weeks earlier she is less than impressed with her husband Sol for not mentioning it to her.

School mum Yvonne Whitmore was found on the school grounds brutally attacked and is now in a coma and so far, no one has been arrested for the crime.

Cece is pleased when she finally starts to make some friends: Maxie, Hazel and Anaya. Cece finally starts to feel like maybe this could be somewhere she could settle but then she is approached by a policeman wanting her help. He believes one of her new friends was behind the attempted murder and he wants Cece to spy on them to find out which one.

The Friend is told in the split narrative form and enables the reader to really engage with each of the characters. Not only do we get to see things from Cece’s perspective, but we also get to see things from the perspective of Maxie, Hazel and Anaya.

Dorothy Koomson also chose to use flashbacks to provide us with more in-depth information on each of the central characters. I always find the characters in her books to be one of her strengths, but I found this to be particularly true in The Friend.

The Friend begins with a newspaper article outlining the details of the attack on Yvonne. It talks about Yvonne being found on the school premises during the summer holidays and how the mother of two is still in a coma.

Over the course of the book we learn that Maxie, Hazel and Anaya all had reason to wish Yvonne dead. Yvonne was not the kind of friend anyone would wish for, she liked to find out her friends, secrets and to use them to her advantage.

It is clear that each of the women had secrets they wanted to protect at any cost and that Yvonne had given everyone plenty of reasons to dislike her and maybe to wish her dead. She is a classic ‘frenemy’ and a distinctly unlikeable character.

Whatever happened that night the Maxie, Anaya and Hazel haven’t been able to continue their friendship in the same way – avoiding each other and deleting messages as soon as they have been read like they have something to hide.

“Since it happened, we haven’t been near each other. We haven’t messaged each other, we didn’t meet for coffee last Wednesday, didn’t stand together at pick-up and drop-off – it was like we barely knew each other. We didn’t plan it, we just instinctively keep our distance.”

Its clear that each of the women knows more than they have told the police about the night Yvonne was attacked but can Cece bring herself to betray her new friends by spying on them and if she does will she be putting herself and her family in danger?

“I could be friends with someone dangerous. But aren’t we all? Aren’t we all capable of being dangerous under a particular set of circumstances? If you are threatened, for instance. If someone is planning on hurting you or someone you love, wouldn’t that make you deadly? There’s a difference between reactive dangerous behaviour, when you’re trying to protect yourself or someone else, and planning it.”

The Friend should be on everyone’s list of must read books for 2018.

'I’m Yvonne,’ the stranger said. ‘And I am going to change your life.'

At first, as a male reader, I found the book slow to grab me, thinking that maybe I had made a mistake applying to read it. I found the flicking between characters confusing to start with.

And then, and then...

I found myself enjoying the book, warming to the characters, turning the page with interest and the mystery enthralling me.

I was surprised by the individual ultimately shown to be guilty of the crime and enjoyed the extra element of suspense created by the actions of the criminal.

All in all, a book for any reader who enjoys a well written mystery thriller.

I would like to thank Random House UK Cornerstone and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Friend’ by Dorothy Koomson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
On Saturday 19th August Yvonne Whidmore is attacked and left for dead outside Plummers Prep School at around the same time as Cece and her husband Sol enrol their two boys there. Cece becomes friends with three of the mothers, Hazel, Anaya and Maxie, and Cece’s ex-lover, policeman Gareth, tells her they believe one or all of the women tried to kill Yvonne and asks for her help to find out who it was. All three women have secrets and have told lies but as they tell their stories to Cece she gradually understands who attacked Yvonne, and why.
I found this novel to be a slow starter but as I’ve always enjoyed Dorothy Koomson’s books I carried on and am very glad I did. The plot started to get really involved and thrilling so that I had to keep reading. The tension increased, there were twists and turns, and a gripping conclusion that left me wondering how I hadn’t worked it out myself. This is a novel not to be missed and one I can wholeheartedly recommend.

This is a slow building, intriguing novel which centers largely around friendship, betrayal and secrets... lots of secrets!

The characters really make this novel; Dorothy Koomson has created a varied and interesting cast of people, all with their own problems and worries, and so as the reader I couldn't help but find myself caring about some of them. There are a lot of names and relationships to get to grips with, especially at the start when the narrative suddenly switches between people, but before long they became almost well-known to me.

I really liked main character Cece and felt for her as time went on, as well as some of the other women, but there was one person who really seemed to be the worst - I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but it will soon become apparent! There's people you feel you can get behind, others that I really disliked, and the slightly slower-moving pace means you find yourself really engrossed in their lives.

It's not an all-action, hugely suspenseful novel; the mystery about what happened to Yvonne is almost secondary to the stories each person has and the way their relationships and friendships are affected by certain lasting actions.I personally really enjoyed the element of mystery in this novel, as it kept it the story on the right track; it felt like we were going somewhere, and I am a reader that can easily get distracted or disengaged if it feels like there's no real journey in a story - not at all the case in The Friend, I'm pleased to say.

I absolutely loved The Ice Cream Girls (also by Dorothy Koomson) and have had That Girl From Nowhere on my 'to read' list for ages, so I jumped at the chance to review The Friend. I can say, for fans of this author or any new readers, this is well worth a read. It's fairly long at almost 500 pages, so prepare to settle in for this one and don't expect a quick read, but it's worth the wait - a great mix of character development, tension, and mystery.

Fantastic - a really good read. Dark and disturbing secrets can be dangerous weapons when used against those you are supposed to love.
I love Koomson's ability to write such interesting characters in an empathetic way.

A book about friendship and the secrets and lies that threaten to destroy them all, Cece is new to town and has problems of her own, however she becomes entangled in the lives of three other women all hiding their own secrets. Cece is a great character strong and funny, I did feel the end let it down a bit when the reveal of who hurt Yvonne came out . Apart from that though a thoroughly enjoyable read

Really enjoyed this book, having read others by this author I was looking forward to it and it didn’t disappoint.

At first I really confused by this book, I have always loved Dorothy Koomson books however the number of characters that are thrown in at the start take some getting use to. Despite this I soon learn who was who and who was with who.
Four friends become three when one of them is attacked one night outside the privet school in which their children go to. The other three are not so innocent and thought out the book you are lead to believe they know more than they are letting on. In comes a newcomer, Cece has moved Brighton with her family, so far she hasn't made any friends, when she is invited into the friend ring she see that the other women are hiding something and make sure she gets to the bottom of it.
The dynamic of how each character comes together is brilliant, interesting and through provoking.

I did not see that ending coming at all, it has taken me completely by surprise as at no point did I think things would take that turn.

Before you get to the ending though you have a book that is continually slowly building the tension, and wow does it suddenly get to you this book.

For a fair bit of it I was overwhelmed, 4 main view points, time limes jumping about the place, but not only 4 characters but all their separate families too, its a lot of characters, personalities to try to learn all about.

Once I was into the rhythm of the bool though, I found it incredibly interesting and couldn't bring myself to put it down at all.

There are many secrets in this story, some of them are hinted at and I guessed early on the basics of them, but the details still surprised me once revealed, and some of them seemed to come from nowhere, but were really surprising, and well thought out.

The Friend as you may expect from the title is all about a friendship group, who are being ripped apart from the events of one terrible night, but just who knows what. Then there is the newcomer to the area with a rather special skill set, but really just wants to make some friends.

This is an incredibly well written and thought provoking story, from one of my favorite authors, and I'm so happy that I had a chance to read this story of friendship, secrets, lies, and more!

Thank you to Netgalley and Cornerstone Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I loved this book. I have read a few books by this author and this one did not disappoint. I enjoyed all the different stories behind each character and felt that everything tied together nicely. It reminded me of Big Little Lies.

This read well from the description but the FOUR narrators rendered it disjointed and divisive, to the point where patience wore too thin to continue. Complex is not an issue, overkill is.