This is my first time reading a book by this Kathleen Willett. After reading several reviews, it appears that her first novel received more positive reviews. With that being said, I’m interested in reading her first novel.

The title of the book caught my eye as friendships play a significant part of my life. It proved to be a swift and straightforward read, requiring minimal mental effort as the plot guided the reader along. However, the pace felt a tad sluggish, falling short of the gripping thriller experience I had anticipated.

The author adeptly intertwines two timelines, seamlessly navigating between the present and the college days of two roommates. This narrative technique enriches the story, creating a captivating and multi-layered reading experience.

While certain plot twists, including the final reveal, may have been somewhat foreseeable, the author's expert storytelling ability maintains a firm grip on the reader's attention. The gradual build-up of suspense throughout the book is a testament to the author's skill, injecting an extra layer of excitement into the overall narrative.

In summary, I would recommend this book to those seeking a narrative infused mystery with suspense, relatable characters, and a pace that ensures a quick read. Comparing it with other thrillers that I’ve read, my opinion would be that it isn’t a five-star thriller.

I'm grateful to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and offer my review on this book!!

Best friends from college come back together after years apart. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author. It really keeps you wondering why the friends drifted apart and there are some major twists. I love her writing style and it kept me hooked from the beginning!

Really good domestic thriller! The book had an eerily slow pace that really added to the drama! I usually love fast paced books rather than slow burns but this one kept me hooked throughout!

The book has flashback elements which really added to the build up of the story. I enjoyed following both Maya and Carrie especially in the flashbacks.

While there were some parts of the plot twists I was anticipating, the ending still blew me away! It all came to a shocking head within the last few chapters and it was thrill after thrill there!

Overall Anything for a Friend was a great book and I’d recommend giving it a read!

Wow! This one gave me Liv Constantine vibes, with a side of Lisa Jewell. Think, The Last Mrs. Parrish and None of This is True. But of course, Willett puts her own freaky spin on it. I’m not comparing Anything for a Friend to the two books that I just mentioned, I’m just saying that it gave me similar vibes while reading. I ended up going the audio route for this one, and I’m so glad. The narrator grabbed my attention immediately, and I was entranced by the slow-burning, yet super addictive storyline. I didn’t have a clue where the plot was going, couldn’t decide which characters I trusted, and my gosh, I liked it. The ending truly knocked my socks off, was unraveled expertly, and blew my predictions right out of the water. If you’re a sucker for a complicated female friendship story, then this is a must-read for you.

I was happily surprised by Anything for a Friend by Kathleen M. Willett. I did not know a whole lot about the story when I started, aside from the plot, but quickly got wrapped up in the life of Carrie, who is a mother and wife newly transplanted to Montauk. When her old friend lands on her doorstep, of course, Carrie wants to help her. But soon she regrets her choice to let this woman into her life again.

Plot:

Writer Carrie Colts hopes a move to Montauk will be a rejuvenating change of pace for her family. The last thing she expects to see is her former college roommate on her doorstep. Newly widowed, and with a daughter of her own, Maya would love to reconnect. As a gesture to an old friend in mourning, Carrie extends an invitation to stay. Just for a few days. After all, there are reasons that Carrie and Maya are estranged.

Carrie soon regrets her impulsive offer. Someone has taken a pair of scissors to her college yearbook. Her herb garden is destroyed. She’s starting to receive sinister texts. And Maya is making herself a little too much at home. What does Maya really want? What is she hiding? Carrie’s afraid to ask. Because Maya knows all her secrets, exposing them comes with a price Carrie can’t afford to pay.

I’m always intrigued by books with a premise of friendship. They usually include deep dark secrets, years of pent up frustrations, hidden jealousy and insecurities and a need for revenge and vindication. This one didn’t disappoint. It was a slow burn, but the author kept giving you little carrots to stay consistently invested and the twist was a little heart wrenching and made me empathize with the second lead female character, Carrie a little more. The ending did leave more to be desired because all loose ends weren’t tied up nice and neat: but would certainly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union publishing for the ARC!

I love Kathleen Willett! She writes about complex female relationships in an honest but entertaining way. I appreciate that her characters are often flawed, but you can likely still understand where they’re coming from and why they make the choices they do.

ANYTHING FOR A FRIEND follows Carrie, who has recently relocated to Montauk from NYC with her husband and teenage daughter. When she receives a phone call from an estranged college friend she has no idea how drastically one little favor will impact her life.

I really enjoyed this domestic suspense. There’s plenty of tension and juicy secrets that had me struggling to put the book down. This is a totally bingeable little book and at just under 250 pages, you likely want to devour it in a single sitting.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader! All opinions are my own.

Even if you weren’t wary of unexpected houseguests before, you most definitely will be after reading this entertaining and suspenseful tale.

Carrie is in the process of trying to adjust to a quieter life in Montauk with her husband and teenage daughter, when her estranged former college roommate shows up on her doorstep with her own teenage daughter, and reveals that she’s newly widowed, and conveniently needs a place to stay while they visit.

A short visit turns into something much longer than anything Carrie could possibly have expected, and strange and sinister things begin happening.

We get some brief flashbacks that work to explain how Carrie and Maya became estranged in the first place, and help further build the suspense in this twisty tale.

I definitely saw one big red flag early on, but it still didn’t prepare me for the twisty and twisted conclusion.

Thank you Kathleen M. Willett, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Carrie and Maya are estranged college friends. Carrie gets a random phone call from Maya saying that her and her daughter are 10 minutes away from the house that Carrie and her family are staying in. Carrie is completely caught off guard and lets them in…

I was totally hooked right from the beginning. I probably could have finished this in a day because the suspense had me flipping the pages so fast!! There were parts I did guess correctly, however I didn’t see the ending happening the way it did.

If you’re looking for a quick suspense read, I suggest picking up Kathleen’s latest novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a DRC. Anything for a Friend is available now!

This is an honest review that I am writing in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley and the publishing house.

This book is about a family- a mom, dad, and a surly teen that have recently relocated and are trying to fit in. A phone call from an old friend changes everything. The things we carry in our memories are not always as accurate as you try to make them. Faced with a past different to the one she remembers Carrie is forced to deal with something’s that only her best friend Maya has been a witness to.

This is a fast paced mystery novel with the usual twists and turns you would expect but this story is also filled with the unraveling of hidden secrets and a past that needs to acknowledged.

I loved this book and can’t wait to discuss it with my friends that I have recommended it to. Well written and thank you Kathleen Wilett.

This book will keep you guessing the entire time. Two college friends are unexpectedly reunited and old secrets come to the surface complicating new secrets.

Consider yourself warned.

From the quote by Ernest Hemingway to the final pages of this suspenseful novel, “Anything for a Friend,” Carrie Colts and her friend, Maya, are engaged in a struggle of wits to conceal both the secrets they shared as roommates in college twenty years ago to the current secrets the other one knows nothing about.

Married to her college sweetheart Peter, Carrie is spending the year in Montauk with her family at her husband’s late parents’ home when Maya, and her daughter, Lola, literally show up at her doorstep.

Who has more to lose if the secrets are exposed?

Using backstory and the present to weave this tapestry of events, the author, Kathleen M. Willett, takes the reader on a revealing journey through two college friends’ pasts to the present with secrets if revealed would extract a price neither one is prepared to pay.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book.

After reading her debut, Mother of all Secrets, I was so excited to see Anything for a Friend by Kathleen M. Willett on NetGalley! I snagged it up, and despite liking her debut better, this book still did not disappoint.

Carrie and her family move to Montauk after inheriting a house from her husbands mother. They hope to shelter their daughter, Kelsey, from the city and the poor choices she was making. Carrie may be running from a secret of her own.

Out of the blue, Carrie receives a call from her best friend, Maya, from college whom she has not stayed in touch with. She invites Maya and her daughter, Lola, to stay with her and her family as they mourn the loss of their husband/father.

Suddenly strange things start happening and the tension between Maya and Carrie really begins to build. With a friendship packed full of secrets, I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened.

I flew through the ending of this book. And while I did enjoy it, I feel like this could have been a 5 with just a little more juice at the end. There were a few loose ends that I personally wanted tied up. But overall, I still really enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Life can throw a lot of curveballs at you but you never expect to have that happen when connecting with an old friend. After a hard move to Montauk hoping to reconnect the family after her mother in law's death, Carrie welcomes her estranged college roommate, Maya and her daughter into their new home. Maya just lost her husband and is at a loss of what to do next. Feeling guilty that she never really knew Maya's husband, Carrie wants to help her old friends pain. Their daughters connect which is good since Carrie's daughter, Kelsey hasn't quite been herself during her lovely teen years. Carrie hopes it's just a phase but thankful her daughter is opening up to someone. Things start getting weird however when items go missing, things she loves are destroyed and no one is owning up to it. Is this old friendship and opening their home to someone the right thing or is it disaster waiting to happen?

I highly recommend this book if you want a good suspense thriller. This was my first read from Kathleen M. Willett and I LOVED it!! Finally a suspense book that I couldn't easily guess the events as it was occurring or even the ending which happens quite often with this genre of books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC. Also thank you to the author, Kathleen M. Willett for the amazing writing and great read! Looking forward to reading some more of your books!

3.5
I read this page turner very quickly, mostly on a long flight. It is a family drama/psychological thriller that centers on Carrie and Maya, long ago best friends that have been suddenly reunited. Maya's husband has died and she and her daughter Lola have come to seek a place to catch their breath. Carrie's family welcomes them and offers a place or them to rest and unwind as they deal with their loss. Old secrets come undone and long ago decisions still haunt them both. Anything for a Friend was entertaining but I wasn't a big fan of the ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance e-copy in exchange for my review. Anything for a Friend will be available on 11/14/23.

Anything For A Friend is Kathleen M. Willett’s latest domestic thriller. This is a fast paced, suspenseful thriller you will not be able to put down. It is told in dual timelines. The characters are well developed and very complex. They have their flaws, you may like them or you may not. Two college friends reunited years after graduation, they have a very complex history. The one invites the other to stay with her, she turns out to be the houseguest from hell. There is a lot of drama in this one along with lies, buried secrets, betrayal and trust issues. There are difficult subjects but dealt with and needed. I enjoy Ms. Willett’s writing style, she is a must read for me. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGaleey, Lake Union Publishing and Kathleen M.Willet for this edge of your seat addicting thriller to read and review. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
#netgalley. #lakeunionpublishing. #kayhleenmwillett. #anythingforafriend. #arc
#domesticpsychologicalthriller

My first, but definitely not my last read by Kathleen Willett! I kept seeing authors I know and love recommending her books, so I decided to try this one. I am so happy I did! It is a quick read that kept me turning pages late into the night. It can easily be devoured in one sitting. I loved the format of reading with Carrie’s current viewpoint and then every couple chapters there would be an excerpt from Carrie and Maya’s college days to get more backstory and reveal to the reader secrets from their past. This is a great domestic thriller with lying, deceit, adultery, and parenting problems. The only thing I wish is that there was more at the ending, I felt like there was more story to tell.

Carrie Colts is a writer and recently moved with her family to Montauk to be with her mother in law as she lived her last days. The family decides to stay there for a year to help their daughter, Kelsey, who has fallen in with a rough crowd at her NYC school and gotten herself into trouble. When her former roommate, Maya, calls asking if her and her daughter, Lola can come to stay for a bit after her husband suddenly dies, Carrie says yes of course. Although the two friends are estranged, they have a sordid past and will always be there for one another. However, soon after they arrive, strange things begin happening around the house and Maya seems to make herself right at home. Carrie questions why Maya and Lola are really there and what they want. Maya knows things about Carrie that nobody else knows and Carrie will do whatever she has to do to keep it that way.

I devoured this book - after reading a few pages last night, I could not put it down today, so I read it on my flight and then finished it up with a spicy cucumber margarita when I got to my destination.
This is a twisty domestic thriller revolving around an unexpected reunion of a pair of formerly close college roommates who’ve been estranged for about twenty years. Set in Montauk, Anything for a Friend takes place mostly in the present, with several short flashbacks to college days for additional context. Now that the roommates who were each other’s “chosen family” are in their early forties, they are both mothers to teenage girls, bringing additional drama to their reunion. The author references my personal favorite book about the teenage daughter/parent relationship: Celeste Ng’s Things I Never Told You. In a stress-filled point in the story, the husband suggests getting away to Puerto Rico, “sitting on a beach together somewhere far away. A mojito in one hand, a paperback in another.” which made me smile because I’m in PR for the weekend to do just that - what a coincidence 😎
Thanks to Lake Union Publishing, Amazon Publishing for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This book comes out on Tuesday (my birthday!) and I think you should check it out. Much like the author’s previous work, Mother of all Secrets, the story immediately grabs the reader’s attention - I remember reading that one in a single day, too - so check that one out, too! You’ll be supporting a writer who is also an English teacher - gotta show some love to fellow teachers, even though this book has a couple of negative references to high school math class/teachers 🤣

Can we ever really leave the past behind?

That’s the question Kathleen Willett examines in her upcoming novel where two former university friends play catch up. With so much to hide, this is a wild ride!

Carrie Colt is just settling into her inlaws former home in Montauk, hoping for a change of pace, when a former estranged college roommate wants to reconnect. One thing leads to another, and Carrie ends up offering her home as a temporary respite to Maya, her grieving friend, and Maya's daughter Lola.

She soon regrets her offer.

When strange occurrences startle Carrie, she’s quick to blame Maya. Yet, Maya is quick to defend herself offering alternate reasons or perpetrators. What’s really going on? What’s she hiding? Who does the reader believe?!

The tension increases as readers discover that Maya knows ALL of Carrie’s secrets. Could she be vengeful enough to expose them?

This one lived up to the hype! I was constantly chasing the truth and making excuses to keep reading. The more Carrie’s life was upended, the more compelling the read became. I was not prepared for the twists and was prompted to add this new-to-me author to my auto-read list. I enjoyed the opportunity to see Carrie through the eyes of her friend as well as through Carrie’s daughter’s eyes, to understand a little more the complexities of desperate teenage choices, to see the danger of keeping secrets, and to see the cost of chasing a different life.

Next time you casually offer that you’d do ‘anything’ for a friend, you may be in for more than you bargained. It’s a weighty word. Be careful.

I was gifted this copy by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I jammed through this book in under 24 hours. It really grabbed me from the beginning, I could not put it down . Sure Carrie was annoying & a bit self everything really but I think that's why I couldn't stop reading about her .. her character came across as a young adult but she was really middle aged . Talk about mid life crisis 😐
Things get real interesting when her college bestie comes to town .
This was more of a drama read but delivered some serious ☕ . Alot to unpack!! but I very much enjoyed it reading Carries journey & growth.
Gives the phrase #AnythingForAFriend new meaning that's for sure.
I love Pete. Love Mr sparkles ! Love Montauk.
Now I'm craving a TBM 😂
Actually this book had me starving . All the food mentions .

Thank u very much to #NetGalley for another Arc 🤘🖤