A rather frustrating book for this reader - the writing is well-paced, fluent and includes many effective descriptions without seeming at all cliched. However, for this reader the plot was somewhat uncongenial and there were too many disappointing episodes that require the reader not to be too bothered by the bizarre behaviour of the lead character in not perceiving what will be blatantly obvious to most readers in terms of the developing horror that will surround her as the story unfolds. However, the psychological thriller aspect was well-developed in terms of incrementally increasing the tension and the use of two narrators for the story was effective in this setting. For readers who are drawn to psychological thrillers and are happy to suspend disbelief this will be an engaging and entertaining novel. Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher for an honest review. This is the first book by Karen Perry I have read.
My closest friend is told by 2 main characters Cara and Amy. They meet whilst hiding during a terrorist attack whilst they are hiding Cara reveals a secret to Amy. Amy finds Cara after the attack and starts to live at Cara's house being the live in nanny. As the story unfolds both characters have their own secrets.

I enjoyed this book, it's a good psychological thriller that had twists and turns. Great for fans of Gone Girl.

I thought this book started off well, with Cara being saved from a terrorist attack in London by the quick thinking of Amy, who drags her off the street to a place of safety. Their lives are then inextricably linked when Cara is manipulated into giving a radio interview about her experiences and Amy hears it and phones in. The chapters of the book are devoted to each of them telling their story, so the reader gets a good understanding of what is going on in both their lives.
Unfortunately I didn't warm to either of the characters. Amy is flawed, cunning and dangerous whilst Cara is shallow and selfish. In many ways I found the story to be quite predictable, Cara had misgivings about Amy and what she'd told her when they were hiding, yet still gave her the responsibility of looking after her daughter.
Although there were parts of this book I thought were good - the outcome wasn't very different from what I was anticipating, yes it was quite thrilling and creepy at times but I found myself wanting to finish it so I could go and read another book, which isn't a good thing.

oh this was a fast paced read with a real twist I didn't see coming!

Cara is caught up in a terrorist attack and saved by an unknown girl. She pours her heart out to her... some things she shouldn't really be telling a stranger... things she's not even told her husband.

Amy and Cara meet up again and Cara offers her a temporary job looking after her young daughter. This is when things start to go wrong. Cara starts to get texts and messages delivered to her work signed "your closest friend" and she believes it's her ex Finn who is behind it....but is it?

I found the book hard to put down and read it in just over a day. Really twisty. Would recommend.

A fabulous book you can read in a day! Gripping, thriller, twist, all the ingredients for a great book! Thank you for the book

Really enjoyed this book, It took me a day to really get into it but once I did I was reluctant to put it down.
The story is interesting and not as predictable as it initially seems. The ending was not what I expected at all.
I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

This is a disturbing, dark and twisted psychological thriller from the writers behind Karen Perry. It opens in dramatic circumstances on the streets of London with a terror attack. Radio producer, Cara Jameson has just left a meeting with her ex, Finn, and is making her way home. To her horror, the terrorist has her in his sights, and a fearful, frozen Cara is fortuitously grabbed by a stranger, Amy, her saviour, and both women hide out, finding refuge in the storeroom. Cara cannot stop talking, and out pours all her secrets, the state of her marriage and husband, Jeff, her feelings towards her stepdaughter, Olivia and much more. Both women live to survive the attack and Cara goes home, thanking her lucky stars, but these events are to presage the start of events that trigger the demise of life as she knows it. In a narrative that gives the perspectives of Cara and Amy, we follow the decisions, actions and behaviour of the obsessive and manipulative Amy as Cara's life falls apart.

Cara begins to receive increasingly alarming texts from an unknown person referring to themselves as her closest friend. Amy gives up her job and Cara makes the ill advised decision to hire her as a nanny for her daughter, Mabel. As her work and personal life begins to spiral out of control, Cara begins to suspect everyone around her. This is a chilling and disturbing story of intrigue, secrets, lies and plentiful twists. The suspense and tension, and growing air of menace make this an exciting and intensely engaging psychological thriller which I enjoyed reading. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

This book had my heart in my mouth almost from beginning to end. The rescue of Cara from a terrorist attack leads to a series of events they will eventually wreak havoc on not only Cara's life but also those of people around her. The author uses real life events intermingled into the story line. Her characterisation is excellent and I am sure this would make a great film, it reminds me in some ways of "Fatal attraction".
I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for this ARC copy. I will certainly be looking for more by this author

A psychological thriller par excellance. This book had me hooked from the start and didn't let me go. A book to stay up with throughout the night

To start with, I don't think I've ever read a thriller novel that starts in the way Your Closest Friend does before. It was a dark change from the usual cliched story starters. Finding themselves trapped together in a life and death situation, Cara and Amy have little choice but to trust each other. It's only when this trust is taken outside of the confines of the store room that things start to go wrong...

Cara's choice to have a complete stranger look after her young child would usually seem completely mad. But the set-up makes Amy seem like an ideal candidate. Apparently she has qualifications, apparently she has experience, apparently she is safe....

The dual narrative really adds something special. Seeing the unravelling of Cara's life from Amy's perspective too made everything seem much more sinister. Amy starts off as a really sympathetic character but of course things don't always stay the same. I will say that Cara's mistakes did make her seem a little unlikeable at times, as did aspects of Amy's personality, but the writing style was very compelling.

I like that all characters in this novel are flawed, like real people. The mistakes they make largely seem real. Sure, at times you need to suspend your disbelief (and Cara's husband Jeff doesn't seem to have much of a personality at times), but that's all part of the fun.

I flew through Your Closest Friend and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced thriller to enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK and Karen Perry for the opportunity to read.

Your Closest Friend is out now!

A new thriller that I tore through. Full of twists and suspense.
Unpredictable yet realistic. Will keep you guessing until the end

I enjoyed this book very much. It is a creepy story of obsession, stalking and the lesson to be learnt from disclosing too much information!
It was very well written and believable and the characters were very well drawn, as was the location.
I was sorry to have finished it, although at times I felt quite stressed by it.

This is a fantastically readable psychological thriller. Full of twists and turns as Amy manipulates Cara's life after Cara reveals secrets in a life and death situation. Fans of this genre will lap it up!

Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry is one of those books that has you suspiciously evaluating relationships with some of the people in your life.

Strangers to each other, café-worker Amy and radio producer Cara are caught up in a terrorist attack in London, Amy literally pulling Cara out of the line of danger. Caught up in the moment, fearing for her life and blind to what is happening outside or whether she will survive this, Cara reveals more of her secrets to Amy than she has to anyone else – including her husband. Amy is more than willing to listen and the seed of an obsession is sewn. Eventually, the danger is over, the gunman contained and the two women go their separate ways, Cara a little embarrassed at the secrets spilled, but no harm done. Or so she thinks…until a short while afterwards, Amy reappears in Cara’s life, and the real nightmare begins.

This is a twisty, turny book bull of surprises and shocks, and you’ll be shouting at Cara at times. For an intelligent woman, she seems to ignore blatantly obvious signs that Amy is not quite what she claims to be, but then most of us have been in a situation where we aren’t sure if someone is behaving oddly, or whether we’re just overreacting. Some of the situations that she questions internally could make her seem ridiculous & paranoid if she actually brought them up, and on thin ice with the people around her already (who are all falling for Amy’s sweet little act), you can believe she’d not want to push the issue. Amy is a classic psycho, you can almost smell the crazy coming off the pages as you read.

The chapters are told in Amy and Cara’s voice, alternating from one to the other, which is a nice device as you get a real feel for the menace coming from Amy, and the paranoia developing within Cara. The effect on Cara’s home and professional life is devastating, and it’s creepy to see how Amy is always on top of what’s happening, twisting it to her own ends.

‘Your Closest Friend’ is a great, creepy read and will definitely have you watching who you tell your secrets to in future!

This was a brilliant read, with an interesting plot. Very well written with carefully crafted characters that are believable and fascinating. My thanks to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

What a brilliant read, never let up throughout, with a plot that is interesting straight away and deserves it's "psychological thriller" labeling. The characters are enthralling, believable and fascinating. I would definitely recommend and intend to read more from this author.

A truly frightening novel about a stalker's obsession with a woman she met during a terrorist attack. The way she worms her way into Cara's life is cleverly worked into the plot. This novel is cinematic as the story unfolds and left me alternating between wanting to shout at Cara to show more caution around Amy and despairing at each mistake Cara made, Very well written with carefully crafted characters that seem all too real and recognisable. My only disappointment was that I felt there was a loose thread at the end as the impact that Amy must have had on Mabel was not established, This seemed to be brushed over due to the significant impact Amy had on another character whom I wont mention as I don't want this review to contain a spoiler.

Wow , I absolutely loved this book. I loved the story and the characters , fantastic tension all the way though as you’re never quite sure who your closest friend is . I would highly recommend this book

A shocking beginning to the book, and it doesn’t disappoint as I read on.
A story of lying, manipulation and dishonesty...
This is a terrifying story, of how easy it is to get dragged down by someone else’s paranoia. As the tale progresses, it gets even darker and darker...I made sure I read the climax during the day, out in the sunshine, rather than on my own at night!

Oh my god, how stupid are these characters???? Ugh, no thanks. This book was terrible. Moronic characters, unnecessarily complicated plot that was also pretty stupid, and all round just a terrible book.

Okay, I just don't understand how Cara didn't suspect the nanny at any point in this book.