Member Reviews

This is a gripping read. It is written from dual perspectives. There are a few twists but other parts are predictable. This is a tense fast paced thriller

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With this book, it's all about perspective; if you're a thriller junkie who wants a complicated and twisty book, then this read is definitely not for you.
However, if you want a fast paced book, flowy writing style and an engaging enough book, this one is perfect!
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The book had a slow start, 3 chapters in and nothing was happening, just day to day scenes featuring the sudden friendship between the mother, Audrey, and her new "best friend", Clare.
Toward the half point though, I wanted to slap some sense into Audrey, Clare was a walking red flag, the author portrayed her actions and words in a way that screamed stranger danger, and Audrey still gave her the benefit of the doubt!
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Starting from the second half, the book was un-put-down-able, I was flying through the pages to know what is going to happen, I was so engrossed in it that I actually felt my heart rate increasing when something bad happened.
The writing was absolutely amazing, it made up greatly for the book being on the predictable side.
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The awesomeness spell ended when I reached the last chapter, the ending was overly anticlimactic, I didn't get any closure, and I didn't get to know what happened to the characters, at least the main ones.
That being said though, it was really fun to read and to me, it was a time well spent.
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*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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Exciting psychological thriller to get your teeth into. It was fast paced and had me hooked right from the beginning. It was a brilliant plot. Played out well. Very well written

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This book had so much potential. It had great characters but I found it to be a bit too predictable which is why I gave it a lower rating. It is fast paced with twists and turns. I found the book to be a bit flat for me.

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Her new best friend by Penny Batchelor.
Mum-of-two Audrey is horrified when during a moment of distraction in the park, her pram with baby Wilfred in it rolls down the hill and into a pond. Fortunately for her, Claire Jones is nearby and rescues Wilfred, soothing Audrey and daughter Antonia with coffee and cake in a nearby café. No harm is done.However, the frightening experience dents Audrey’s confidence and she replays the events over and over, convinced she can’t have forgotten to put the brake on. To make matters worse she keeps spotting a shadowy figure everywhere she goes and becomes sure that someone is stalking her.Audrey’s fears are escalating when a catastrophic reaction to a bee sting sends her into a coma - and into hospital - but once again her new best friend is on hand to step in.Does Claire really have Audrey’s best interests at heart?And if not, why has she inserted herself so cleverly into Audrey’s life?Will Audrey ever recover?And will her real friends be able uncover the truth before it is too late?
Great read with good characters. I did like Audrey. A little predictable. 3*.

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I loved this book! AMAZING! couldn't put it down, it had excitement and intrigue, i did guess the birth mother- but didn't have her down as a murderer, crazy!

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Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A recommended read.

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Mum-of-two Audrey is horrified when during a moment of distraction in the park, her pram with baby Wilfred in it rolls down the hill and into a pond. Fortunately for her, Claire Jones is nearby and rescues Wilfred, soothing Audrey and daughter Antonia with coffee and cake in a nearby café. No harm is done.

However, the frightening experience dents Audrey’s confidence and she replays the events over and over, convinced she can’t have forgotten to put the brake on. To make matters worse she keeps spotting a shadowy figure everywhere she goes and becomes sure that someone is stalking her.

Audrey’s fears are escalating when a catastrophic reaction to a bee sting sends her into a coma - and into hospital - but once again her new best friend is on hand to step in.

Does Claire really have Audrey’s best interests at heart?

And if not, why has she inserted herself so cleverly into Audrey’s life?

Will Audrey ever recover?

And will her real friends be able uncover the truth

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Audrey is happily married to James and they have two young children, Antonia and Wilfred. One day, while on an outing to the park, Antonia starts to run off and within the few moments that Audrey is distracted, Wilfred's pram rolls away into the pond. Thankfully Claire Jones just happens to be nearby and saves the baby. Claire has recently moved to the area and befriends Audrey. Soon they are hanging out more and more. Eventually Claire starts showing up uninvited and often overstays her welcome. Audrey begins to feel suffocated by Claire and one day decides to tell her she needs a little break from their friendship. Unfortunately, right at that moment, tragedy strikes.

This book starts out from Audrey's perspective and the second half is Claire's. The storyline was good and kept me interested, however, in the very beginning, rambling and run on sentences kept me from being able to focus on what was actually happening. Although it was pretty predictable, I was enjoying this book until the very end. Everything happened so quickly and it was all a bit unbelievable and ridiculous. I'm not sure if we were supposed to emphasize with Claire and that's why the story ended the way it did, with everyone "supposedly" happy. It just didn't sit right with me. The ending felt rushed and haphazardly thrown together in an attempt to just end the story. I felt it could have been written much better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Literally PR Ltd. for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Lots of twists in this book to keep the reader guessing . I did feel a bit sorry for Claire though (just a little bit) I thought the book ended quite abruptly so maybe a sequel is planned. I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC

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A very predictable read. Unfortunately being a fan of thrillers, I have read this book by different authors this was just a rehash with new names. Disappointing.

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“Her New Best Friend” is a good, yet very predictable read. I guessed very early on how the story would progress. An easy enough read but it ended quite abruptly.

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Distracted for a moment by her elder daughter, Audrey lets go of the pushchair. Minutes later, the pushchair is being dragged out of the pond by Claire who was just passing by. Grateful for her assistance, Audrey and Claire strike up a friendship, but when Claire gets more and more clingy, Audrey starts to wonder how she can break away from her new best friend.

Some of the ideas in this book were quite good, and the first half had quite a good pace to it, but it lost its way in the second half. The ending was a bit silly.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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I loved this book. The story was great, and gripping. The characters were brilliant, and all complemented each other well. The end was fast paced and surprising, just wished it hadn't ended. There needs to be a sequal, it's needing one!!

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Overall, a well written thriller that was pacy and kept me hooked. I would recommend this to others.

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I liked this book but didn’t love it. It was a pretty quick read and had a good storyline, it just felt like the same old- I kept waiting for more but it just didn’t come.

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A good read,enjoyable,well written and intriguing with good characters and good story telling
It is predictable in parts but it didn’t sop me enjoying the book
It is a very busy genre and so hope does not get overlooked by readers

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I enjoyed the British mum perspective which is something I love when reading these kind of books (think Claire Macintosh). I found it relatable with characters that were easy to get a grasp on their personalities. I liked the opening and the storyline that followed. Although I enjoyed reading about the domestic side of things, her life as a mother, I did find there was almost too much detail at times. The parenting, the different flavours of yoghurts, the nap times, the favourite toys. I became a little bogged down by it when I think a little less would have been more effective at setting the scene without overloading the reader. Overall it was enjoyable but didn’t keep my interest as I would have liked. Thanks Netgalley for the arc.

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I really thought this book was good. However maybe not a standout thriller in this popular genre. A decent and well written thriller xx

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I'm not really sure. It sounded good, parts were good, some secrets were good, but it seemed to drag on. I also felt the plot was just too overdone. The writing itself though was good.

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