This wasn't a bad read. There was an interesting mystery and time jumps between 2 periods. I didn't really get Liz's character and her complete obsession with her friend. Her mother was completely over the top.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Twenty years ago, Liz left Easthaven to escape the memory of one tragic night at Lakewell Manor. Only she and her best friend Tamsin saw what really happened, and in the aftermath they drifted apart. Now she’s forced back after a nasty divorce, with two daughters in tow, the shadows of that terrible night lurking on every corner. With a custody battle looming, she’s one wrong move away from her life falling apart completely.

So when news arrives that Tamsin, too, is returning to Easthaven, Liz fears their reunion will bring the awful truth spilling out into the open. But when she finally meets Tamsin, now mistress of the clifftop house whose locked gates have guarded the friends’ secret all these years, she’s in for a surprise. Tamsin looks different, and she doesn’t remember Liz, let alone what happened that night…

Something is clearly wrong. But confronting Tamsin means reliving the nightmare Liz has been running from for twenty years. Can she risk exposing what happened that night, knowing that the truth will destroy everything?Do not miss this book. It is sooo well written, completely gripping so make sure you set aside many hours so that you can greedily devour it in one swoop. With an eye for precise detail balanced by a sweeping imagination, this beautifully constructed book is built on deep foundations. Read it at least twice….
This is an author to know. Just when you think you understand the motives behind the characters and the way their story lines are being presented—bam!—It will hit you with twists you won’t see coming!

An enjoyable read. The story drew you in and had you guessing (mostly wrongly in my case) what had happened 20 years ago. Good twists and turns with a satisfying ending.

Two friends have stayed away from each other to avoid facing terrible events from the past. Twenty years later their lives collide. One of them has changed and she can't remember her friend. A moving and emotional read. Liz will protect her family at any cost. Hidden lies and friendship pushed to the brink.

I love the way the storyline gradually unfolds, I found it very compelling and difficult to put down. As the plot twisted and turned, I found myself exclaiming out loud, so much so, I was asked a couple of times if I was ok! The characters are very well written and inspired very strong feelings in me. I found the ending a little twee, but this would not put me off recommending it to family, friends and customers of the library.

I never repeat the blurb. This was an easy read but not particularly memorable and I'm sure it will soon fade. Worn story, unlikely ending and rather bland characters. Not particularly inspiring but passed a few quiet hours.

What attracted me to this book was the old house, a murderous secret between friends and the setting in Cornwall. Sounds a bit like a Kate Morton vibe.

Liz and Tasmin are from very different worlds socially and economically but became very good friends in their early teens. There is a murder, that's the opening scene, and eventually Tasmin moves away. Fast forward 20 years and Tasmin is now back. Liz works as a postie delivering mail They reconnect, both knowing the secret which can ruin them both.
I think I am probably in the minority on this but I didn't love the book. I grew bored with the plot and felt the character development could have been better.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this novel. This was published October 25, 2022 by Amazon Publishing U.K. Genre: General Fiction, Woman's Fiction and Mystery/Thrillers.

I had a hard time getting started with this book, but once I got a little way in I couldn’t put it down. Coming back to live with her horrible mom in a town that brings bad memories…Liz’s story is one you don’t want to miss!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest opinion. I have enjoyed reading books by Tracy Buchanan. This was no different. It was a highly captivating and dramatic. It was well written and the characters were relatable and well developed. The characters were intriguing with the fake "Tamsin". The story was told in alternating timelines of the past and present. It was very mysterious and kept you wanting to know what happened in the past. I enjoyed how the story unfolded and you learned about how the past and present were connected. A good read in my opinion.

A great story with so many twists and turns, you start to doubt what is happening and is it one person going crazy or is this all real! Well written and gripping.

Secrets Between Friends by Tracy Buchanan is a 4.5 star read. The complex story unfolds, with past and present intertwined and being revealed at the same time. The protagonist is an underdog and the reader pulls for her along the way, even though she is very human, which is to say, flawed. The story is interesting from the start, moves at a reasonable pace, and resolves nicely with a twist.

This is one of those books that kept me at the edge of my seat. The story line moves in such a way that you don’t realize that you have been reading for hours. It also shows don’t trust what you see because there is a lot underneath

The story is told in an effective backward and forward timeframe starting with a mystery that happened twenty years ago at Lakewell Manor when Elizabeth meets and becomes friends with Tamsin and her mother who own the Manor. Moving to the present Elizabeth has been forced to return to her hometown of Easthaven and Tamsin has returned to Lakewell Manor following her mother’s death. The glue that holds the story together is the twenty year old mystery but there are other incidents and situations that have landed Elizabeth in her present troubled situation that are never fully explored nor explained. She was a journalist, she made a mistake or three and now she is lucky to have her present job as a postal carrier, a/k/a postie. She seems destined to keep making those mistakes but yet expects a different outcome.

While everything was very predictable the story moved along and held up except that there was really no one to like or admire. The protagonist, Elizabeth, just can’t get it right and seems to bungle everything except the loyalty that true friendship commands - joining her on her daily rounds is a series of frustrations and trying to understand her convoluted logic and her capability of embracing her “small white lies” is exhausting. You can’t help but mutter, “really, really, in what world is that a good idea?” Unfortunately she is not the only flawed character here. Pick the most vile fairy tale villainess and that would be her Mother. Then there is the nasty, back-stabbing woman on her postal route, a stereotypical misogynistic and greedy landlord, an ex-husband that cheats and then sues for total custody of the children he has with Elizabeth, are just a few of the many dark figures in this story. On the plus side, Elizabeth’s sweet daughters are her biggest fans and cheerleaders.

A few twists and turns, nothing outrageous nor mind boggling, just so hard to wrap my mind around one person making so many mistakes and taking so many chances when so much is tenuous. Rounding up for the character development and great descriptions. Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a copy.

Liz is a quirky woman who has returned to her former town of Easthaven after a failed marriage and job have left her no choice but to live with her mean-spirited mother. And to top things off, her husband is suing her for custody of their two girls.

Liz should be on her best behavior, but she can’t help herself. She insists to herself that her obsessive notetaking during her rounds as a postal carrier are merely a holdover from her journalism days. We (the readers) want Liz to be careful, but she’s made some enemies and they are not happy with her sleuthing. Things start to snowball when her old friend Tamsin returns to the town and the mansion on the hilltop where things went astray 20 years ago when a mysterious stranger came to visit.

I loved the atmospheric, almost gothic descriptions of Lakewell Manor from the past, and Liz’s views of the pastel colored cliffside dwellings were so evocative. I loved Liz’s character and even though she was a grumpy, nasty woman, I could completely visualize her mom.

This was a quick read and enjoyable story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Booksprout for an advance reader’s copy.

A perfect mystery includes love, friends and thrillers and this one has it all. Enjoyed the authors writing style and look forward to ore.

A fun read! Interesting characters with mystery, intrigue, and twists and turns, right up to the conclusion.

A rather lightweight tale which tested credibility on numerous occasions. Liz, the local postwoman in a small seaside village is tested when it comes to proving that the return of a best friend is not the person she says she is! Past mistakes come to haunt her and her job and custody of her children are in danger. Too many holes in the story for me but I sailed through it!

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I loved it. I was hooked from the beginning and could not put it down. Liz returns to Easthaven with her daughters 20 years after she and her best friend Tamsin were involved in the disappearance of Gabe. Tamsin also returns to Easthaven after her mother's death. The secrets around Gabe's disappearance come to light as Tamsi herself disappears, with s imposter taking her place. Intrigue and mystery jept me hooked and I found the truth a surprise.
A great story with a few twists. I ca highly recommend this book to all

This was a DNF for me, primarily because I just didn't care for the main character at all. I did like the dual timeline and thought the author did a good job with that, but I struggled with this and after the 3rd time I picked this up and put it down, I surrendered. I am sorry.

A disturbing story of a young woman and her best friend from her teenage years. In the intervening years, after Tamsin and her mother leave their estate, Liz stays living with her miserable, nasty mother and follows her dream of becoming a journalist. After meeting Carl and getting married, Liz has two lovely daughters - but Carl proves to be very different from the man she thought she married. When she loses her job, she returns in desperation to her mother's house with her two daughters.
The reappearance of Tamsin is a shaft of bright sunshine in Liz's life - but something is terribly wrong and when Liz mentions the events of the awful night before Tamsin left, years ago, she seems to remember nothing of it.
The journalist in Liz is sure that something underhand is going on and she walks right in to a disaster waiting to happen.