A gripping read from the very first page, loved how the characters were brought together to a very satisfying end, reminded me a little of single white female, all the way until the little twist on the final page, a really great read

Told alternately by Cara and Amy who meet on the night of a terrorist attack in London. Cara is saved by Amy and as they wait for the ordeal to be over Cara confides in Amy, telling her about her life, family etc. Afterwards the go their separate ways but then meet up again. Cara asks Amy to live in with her and look after he daughter as her husband is away. Easy to read with an unexpected ending.

Spoilers in review - don't read until you've finished.

The central female characters here are well-developed and the writing is fast-paced. It was interestingly set in the context of a city gripped by terror attacks and at a heightened sense of alarm, which added to the general tension and sense of unease throughout. . Certainly I finished this pretty rapidly, which suggests it was a page-turner, but I was left unconvinced by the plot, in that the protagonist was made to be wilfully blind to who her true enemy was. Several times she briefly considered her tormentor and then, with no reason, dismissed the idea, thus lessening the impact of the reveal.

The twist wasn't really a twist, unless the reader is as captivated and convinced by the morality of Cara as her husband appears to be- to me she seemed pretty corrupt right from the start, so the last page didn't surprise me. That said, I wish reviewers or marketing folk wouldn't insist that 'you'll never see the twist coming!' because all that does is cause me to mistrust everything or speculate on every possible scenario no matter how unlikely (The dog did it! It was a coincidence! The baby killed him!) and then I'm always underwhelmed by the ending :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Cara and Amy are caught up in a terrorist attack in London. While they are hiding, a slightly drunk Cara tells Amy lots of her secrets, believing she'll never see her again after that night. Amy, however, has different ideas. She develops an obsession with Cara and finds ways of becoming a part of her life. And, of course, she knows all Cara's secrets...… This is a real page turner, which will keep you on the edge of your seat. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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This is a well written, compelling psychological thriller with enough twists and red herrings along the way to keep you guessing, It held my attention from the first page to the very last when I finished it and thought ....... OH!

If you are looking for a real page turner that will set your pulse racing then I highly recommend this.

Your closest Friend is a tense if predictable thriller that I did enjoy.
Cara is the main character at the start of this thriller the pace is fast as we find Cara on a high after an illicit meeting with her ex husband and finds herself in the middle of a terrorist attack on the streets of London. She finds she is very close to death when someone drags her to safety. Whilst hiding out with the young girl Amy, she confides all her secrets to her never imagining she would see this girl again. But Amy does manage to gain contact with Cara and manages to squeeze herself into her families life and creates an obsession with Cara.
Although this thriller sets off at a right old pace it unfortunately didn't keep to hat and did slow down a lot after the first third and although I enjoyed it, I found it to be quite predictable and the ending to be not as good as good as it could have been.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. Wow this was a rollercoaster. Very well written and thought out storyline. The characters in this book where great. I didn’t want this book to end, it had me wanting more. Will definately recommend this book.

On her way home after a illicit meeting with her ex husband,Cara Jameson finds herself caught up in a terror attack on the streets of London.She is staring down the barrel of a gun when suddenly a hand reaches out and drags her into a stairwell.She finds herself spending a number of hours trapped in a shop storeroom with a young woman called Amy.Fearing that the terrorists could burst in at any moment and kill them,they end up sharing secrets about themselves,some of which Cars hasn't even shared with her husband.Eventually they emerge and go their separate ways having formed a bond due to the trauma that they have shared.

Cara tries to put the experience behind her but she is plagued by worry and guilt,unsure of how much information she shared in those hours of darkness.As Cara`s perfect life and marriage start to crumble around her,Amy reappears - set on pursuing a friendship.

But Amy isn't what she seems,and she is prepared to do anything to get what she wants,and she wants Cara....

After a opening chapter that has heart pounding,terrifyingly realistic descriptions of a terror attack on the streets of London,the story continues in chapters that alternate between Cara and Amy`s points of view.I struggled to feel any sympathy for Cara as the story unfolded because she was so selfish and self centred.For a supposedly intelligent woman she made some seriously stupid decisions.Why would a parent ask someone they hardly knew to take care of their apparently beloved child? Why did she take so long to wonder if maybe Amy was behind her sudden problems? She was quick enough to suspect everyone else in her life,I kept expecting her to start having suspicions about her five year old daughter Mabel who was my favourite character in this book.Poor kid,stuck with a psychopathic Nanny,a neglectful mother and a father who was always away on business.I liked Mabel`s older step Sister Olivia because of her obvious dislike of Cara,I wish there had been more heated confrontations between the two characters.As for obsessive,delusional,manipulative Amy,she gave the chills everytime she appeared in the story especially during her interactions with Mabel.To a certain extent her motivations where understandable but there was no excuse for her actions and behaviour.I know there isn't always a reason for a person's thoughts and behaviour but I would have liked there to have been more background information on why she thought and acted the way she did.

The beginning and final confrontation where gripping and intense, but despite the author added a couple of attempts at misleading the reader,the identity of Your Closest Friend is fairly obvious.Despite the totally unexpected last line,I was rather disappointed with how the story ended.Although I struggled at times,I did enjoy this book enough to finish it and would happily read more books by this author in the future.

This is a fabulous read....you can devour it in one session or allow yourself time to think through wha.t may happen next. It starts off in London, a drink with a 'friend' when Cara gets caught up in a terrorist attack. It's scarily realistically and Cara meets her saviours, Amy.
The story then sees her life spiral as the secrets she held start coming back to haunt her. This is a great story, well written and engaging. Believable characters and a great plot. What I liked most was its originality, although it's not an uncommon tale of obsession, it is of its time and that what makes it so good.

A terrorist attack in London brings together two unlikely friends, radio producer, Cara, and sandwich shop assistant, Amy. In the time they hide together from the attackers, Cara tells Amy her deepest secrets. Amy draws them close and protects them, feeling deeply drawn to Cara. Slowly, bit by bit, the web of deception surrounding the two women is unravelled leading to unforeseen consequences.
I was enthralled by this tale, despite feeling frustrated by the trust Cara puts in Amy so early on. The tale is quite clearly laid out. You know who the 'bad' one is, despite small red herrings but just wait for a little bombshell at the end. This book is really worth a read.

This is the first book I have read by Karen Perry and I thought at first it was a bit slow going but not for long!! It soon turned out to be a great psychological thriller of a book, intense in places and quite predictable i thought but still a good read. I will look to reading more by this author.

Cara, whilst coming home from a night out in London, gets caught in the midst of a terrorist attack. She is saved by a stranger, Amy, who helps her to seek refuge. Whilst hiding,Cara tell Amy her deepest secrets, thinking she’ll never see Amy again, Cara believes her secrets are safe. Your Closest Friend is a thrilling read, very tense and whilst it is predictable, it’s worth reading. There is a twist at the end which definitely makes you rethink everything you’ve just read.

Whoa! Hold on a minute - let me catch my breath. Your Closest Friend sizzles with tension and menace. I thought I had already read my best book of 2018. Wrong. This is it!
Starts at breakneck pace as Cara finds herself caught up in a terrifying terrorist attack on the streets of London - her certain death prevented by Amy, who drags her into a doorway and up a flight of stairs to a storeroom above Pret. In the darkness and desperate to survive Cara divulges to Amy her darkest secrets about her marriage, her husband, her affair…

Days after the attack Cara is back home, back at work as a radio producer, when her life starts to spiral out of control. She starts to receive anonymous threats. And when Amy reappears as if by coincidence Cara turns to her for support - her closest friend? Or her worst nightmare… She invites Amy into her home to help with her family.

This is a psychological thriller that will shred your nerves with its relentless pace. Your Closest Friend is a real page turner. It never lets go. It grabs you from the get go - feel your pulse racing. The effect is hypnotic as you read on knowing that dreadful events are inevitable to a final twist that really had me holding my breath.

A stunning read, better than Gone Girl with a whiff of Single White Female. I doubt that I will read anything better this year.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this e-book. (less)

I love trying to guess how a thriller is going to turn out as i'm reading and sometimes I manage to get it right, not this time though! This is such an intense story that it just keeps you guessing throughout! Thoroughly enjoyable and gripping story.

I really loved the s opening chapters of the book and thought the whole thing was well written but I simply wasn’t convinced by some of the plot. Although the terrorist attack at the start was the cause of the drama it soon seemed to be sidelined. There were a couple of twists but most of the story was fairly predictable.
It’s still a decent read though so I would still recommend it. Just not one of my favourites.

The book kicks off with a London terror attack drawing you in instantly.

There are questions to be answered, secrets to be revealed and all are teased out thoughout the book.

Amy is a creepy character who has you on edge, the intensity of her obsession was surprising and made for a strong twist and ending.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll be looking out for more.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph, and Karen Perry for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a real page turner which starts with Cara being caught up in a terrorist attack on the streets of London one evening on her way home from work. She is helped to a safe hiding place by Amy and the two have a rather intense two hours with Cara sharing a lot of her life while in a state of high anxiety and fear of her life.

The book is told from the alternate viewpoints of Cara and Amy and quickly gets very unsettling as it becomes apparent that all is not as it appears on the surface in the lives of both Cara and Amy. There are many twists and turns with the plot moving at a good pace. It kept my gripped from start to finish and was a good story with a decent ending.

With thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) for inviting me to read a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

On her way home following an illicit rendezvous with an old flame Cara is caught up in a terror attack in London. Face to face with an armed terrorist Cara freezes, but she is suddenly plucked off the street to relative safety by Amy. There is no doubt that Cara's life has been saved by Amy's swift actions, but Amy may not be the good Samaritan she first appears to be.

A psychological mystery about a dangerous obsession with some decent suspense, particularly towards the end. This genre has been somewhat overdone of late but this book is one of the good 'uns.

I'm really sorry that I didn't like this book more, but in my opinion it was derivative and added nothing to the 'stalker' genre. There were no surprises and none of the characters felt real. Again, I'm really sorry but thanks to Netgalley for my ARC. I'm not going to leave such a negative review on Amazon as other people may really enjoy it and I don't want to put them off.

I really don't know how I never read any of this author's previous books when this was an absolute cracker! Loved it from the off. If you like psychological thrillers, this definitely ticks all the boxes. Talk about page turner, I really could not wait to get back to it after I put it down.

Cara's life tumbles down around her after meeting Amy who pulls her to safety during a London terror attack. Shocked and vulnerable and a bit too much to drink Cara tells Amy her deepest secrets. Amy then worms her way into Cara's life and home and manipulates her and everyone around her turning Cara's life upside down. In the meantime Cara is getting threatening texts from "Your closest Friend".. Dont want to give too much more away but this is a must read. And if I could give it more stars I would!