Sadly I seem not to have been as enthralled by Your Closest Friend as everyone else was, and I can't quite figure out why. This story follows Cara, who gets caught up in a terroist attack in London and is saved by Amy, a young, American girl, still looking for her place in the world. The characters make dubious decisions that at times frustrate me, and I just didn't click with them, get affectionate towards them and as a result, really invest in them.

I think what got me, was that I guessed pretty much every single thing that happened. I say pretty much, for anyone who has read the book, I'm sure you'll know which part I didn't guess. But was it enough to make me love the book? Unfortunately not. Would I recommend people still read it? Definitely, if only for that one part that you just didn't see coming.

Psychological thriller which explores exposure to emotional danger. The writing keeps you on the edge of your seat and not knowing the outcome until the very end.

Absolutely awful in too many ways to describe.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry explores the compulsive obsession of one woman with another, stemming from the extraordinary circumstances they were thrown into.

Cara is rescued by Amy when she is plucked out of harms way from a crazed terrorist out on the London streets. Cara is at a vulnerable point in her life and opens up to Amy revealing far more than she probably would have, had it not been for the situation they found themselves in. From there on out their lives seem to become all-out entangled, one with the other, as Cara's life begins to unravel and Amy is conveniently there to "pick up the pieces."

With perfect pacing, complex characters, secrets, mystery and mounting tension, I eagerly turned the pages, being led to the point where I knew one of these woman would crack under the immense pressure, but who would buckle at the knees first and what would the fallout from that be?

Admittedly, I had to suspend belief at some of the jaw dropping shockers, but that was doable considering how fear, anxiety and stress can make the best of us behave questionably at times, let alone situations where menacing obsession is at play.

A thrilling read right up until the very final twist.

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

I love it when I think I have a book figured out and I'm so wrong. In the right way. This was a fantastic read!!!! Absolutely loved it.

I am a huge Karen Perry fan, and Your Closest Friend is another brilliant read for me that ticks all the boxes - interesting characters, secrets, and mystery mixed with a real sense of atmosphere.

I liked that the beginninf really left me wondering where the book was going to go - I had purposefully not read the synopsis again right before starting the book, so the sense of confusion and havoc surrounding the terrorist attack which takes place right at the start of the book really threw me! I wondered how this would all tie in - but everything soon kicks into action! 

The story strikes just the right balance between believable relationships, such as Cara and Jeff's, and the more 'unusual' bonds and ties that hold other characters together. Some characters I warmed to, others seem to be completely mad, but every page left me wanting to move onto the next. I liked that you know some aspects of what's happening before Cara herself, as you read the novel from two perspectives: Cara's and Amy's - at times I wanted to shout out to Cara and warn her!

I never found myself getting bored; the pacing was just right and the way Karen Perry describes Cara's thoughts and feelings felt very convincing. I love her writing and I am so pleased that Your Closest Friend is another hit for me!

The movies Single White Female and Fatal Attraction launched the phenomena of crazy chicks for my generation. Both were shocking at the time of their release and set the bar for obsessiveness. Indeed, 20-30 years on we still talk about SWFing someone or 'bunny boilers'.

It probably means books involving characters obsessed with others are less surprising than they once were. Or perhaps less horrific (rather than predictable) because we've become inured in some way. Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry explores such an obsession, though it's borne of a very unlikely situation.

In some ways Cara meets Amy at the most inopportune time. For her. It's good timing for Amy, but for Cara... she's feeling fragile after being confronted by an old love and with an old secret. Being caught up in a terrifying terror attack compounds that fragility and means she's probably more vulnerable than she'd normally be.

And unfortunately for Cara, the turmoil comes from several sources. Not just Amy.

Amy's backstory unfolds throughout the novel and I appreciated that Perry didn't cast her as a complete crazy. She's sympathetic and - mostly, or initially - kinda likeable. Similarly Cara was happily complex. She's fallible and we're in her head (as well as Amy's) so know that she's struggling with her conscience over the spate of recent events.

Perry also paces this novel well so there's a tension building and (though there's an element of predictability) we're not quite sure 'who' will blow first or what the repercussions will be.

3.5 stars

A creepy phschological thriller that at times made my skin crawl. Cara is saved from a crazed street killer by Amy and their lives then seem to intertwine completely. I couldn’t warm to Amy she seemed manipulative from the beginning and was obviously damaged psychologically,so much so that I found myself wanting to warn Cara off her. As the story unfolds the various twists and turns keep you guessing . The device of using the two women as narrators makes it even more tense at times. I admit there were a few times when I had to suspend my disbelief at some of the things Cara did , but then fear ,stress and trauma can make people behave in an odd way

Your Closest Friend

I loved the idea of this but it didn’t grab my attention as I had hoped it would. It took me well over a week to finish which is a long time for me. I carried on with it in the hope it would get better but unfortunately for me it didn’t.

Excellent story line which was gripping from start to finish. Great characters. I would highly recommend this book.

I liked the idea behind the book but I didn’t find it as gripping as I thought it would be. The characters were well written and intriguing. I liked the final twist but felt there could have been more twists and red herrings along the way

An intense and riveting read. Cara is caught up in a terrorist attack in London and is rescued by Amy. As they hide out in a storeroom Cara shares her darkest secrets with the woman she has just met.

This is a story of total obsession told with menace and pace. The narrative switches between Cara and Amy and it apparent very soon that Amy is a woman with issues. As Cara's world begins to fall apart it seems that Amy is there to pick up the pieces. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

I really wanted to enjoy this novel and I felt it started strongly. I liked the drama of the events and the occassional flashback to Amy's other life but then i felt the plot was just too unbelievable. There were too many chances for Amy and Cara to be found out. I really wanted to know a lot more about Amy - I felt she was a bit two dimensional and Cara was quite irritating - why was she so obsessed with her ex - they clearly had a weird, messy relationship.

I think this could have gone better but it wasn't for me.

A chance meeting during a freak event leads to a frightening chain of events.
Cara is yanked to safety from the street during a terrorist attack in London, her saviour is Amy who shelters with her in a storeroom where she works until the event is over.
They shouldn’t meet again but their paths do cross and Cara employs Amy to look after her daughter Mabel. Is Amy really hat she seems? Can she be trusted? Cara has shared secrets with her told on the night of their ordeal, secrets that could destroy her and those she loves.
Cara begins to get strange and worrying texts signed from YCF, she can’t work out who they are from and events seem to be spiralling out of control. Her marriage and her job are under threat and she is determined to keep both.?
Really enjoyed reading this through to the last little twist.

An interesting and unique story leading to a good psychological thriller. Told by Cara and Amy who were caught up in a terrorism attack together. Cara opens her heart and tells her secrets. Amy then wangles her way into the family as Cara's closest new friend. Then the destruction begins and a family starts to fall apart. A good twisty tale with an array of characters.

I'm left speechless.

What can I say except, what an ending!!

A book broke down into three parts and told from two POV.

Very cleverly written and just when you think there is nothing left hidden... well I won't spoil it for anyone.

The saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer definitely comes to mind when reading Your Closest Friend.

Karen Perry has executed her ideas amazingly and I highly recommend this novel to everyone.

The first act of Your Closest Friend is so promising that I'm disappointed with how the story develops. Terror in London is a hot button issue and I really felt that the author made a brave decision in using such a terrifying situation as a plot device. Amy is immediately threatening as a character, complete with voices in her head and allusions to a dark past. The secrets that she promises to keep for Cara are an obvious ticking time bomb, and I was completely invested very early on. Unfortunately, everything begins to unravel as the book plods on. I am ok with suspension of belief to a certain point, but the decisions that these characters make are beyond poor. I can never enjoy a book when the characters, initially written as intelligent and capable of some degree of critical thinking in everyday life, are left to make ridiculous decisions and roam in circles before finally coming to a predictable eureka moment. This is a real shame, because the rest of the book becomes merely about wasting time until the clueless characters catch up to a now obvious conclusion. There's a mild attempt at a final twist, but it simply doesn't save the text as a whole.

A terror attack in London brings two strangers together, a frightening situation that leads to further nightmares later on. Cara is caught in the middle of a terror attack and fearing for her life when she is whisked to safety by total stranger Amy. Cara hidden away from danger with her new friend Amy begins to tell of her secrets that may return to haunt her in the future.
A novel full of tension and intrigue that kept me enticed to the bitter end. This is a good read from a pair of authors I had previously no knowledge of but will now look out for.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This story is about Cara who gets caught up in a terror attack. Luckily she gets pulled into a building by Amy. This ultimately saves Cara’s life. Cara, still believing that she could still die reveals to Amy all her secrets. Their lives cross again and out of desperation she employs Amy to look after her daughter. This comes at a time that she starts receiving threatening texts from somebody who signs themselves off as YCF (Your Closest Friend).

This started off brilliantly, it occurred to me that this may be the only book that I have read which involves a terror attack. I felt very frightened for Cara. I felt that it dealt with the aftermath and other people’s reactions to what she had gone through very well. After this was over however it falls back into the usual psychological thriller formula. Lies and obsession are the main themes in this book. The book was fast paced and kept me interested. What disappointed me the most about this book was the twist, I personally don’t think that the book needed it and it was nearly identical to the twist in a book I had finished the day before. I will check out other books by this author as I did like her writing style.

I recently read Can You Keep a Secret? by Karen Perry (who’s apparently two people, à la Nicci French) and enjoyed it a lot, despite the terrible title. (Sorry, but really, that is not a good title.) There’s no doubt though that Karen Perry can write, and both CYKAS and Your Closest Friend are extremely well written.

Two women, radio producer Cara and the younger Amy, are flung together, almost literally, by a terrorist attack. Amy pulls Cara off the street to safety; Cara, naturally, is just grateful to be alive. It’s a horrific and traumatic event by any standards, but the story doesn’t end there. For Amy, they were fated to meet, and she’s going to make sure destiny is fulfilled....

The premise of “dangerously obsessive young woman insinuates her way into a family, proceeds to wreak havoc” isn’t that original - it’s been done a number of times before. It’s particularly effective here though, as we see events from both Cara’s and Amy’s points of view - in Amy’s case, providing insight into a very damaged mind. Both women have secrets, and consequences, when they come, are shattering. And for a change, it’s Cara herself Amy is obsessed with, rather than her husband, her child or her life.

It’s in some respects a fairly straightforward story of obsession - with, right at the very end, a devastating twist in the tail.

Recommended.