An interesting plot as the author drip feeds the reader information throughout which may or may not change your opinion of the two main characters. You may empathise/sympathise with them at times and at other points, want to give them a good shake. !! Truth always will out and there is generally a price to pay so what is interesting in this story, i show the characters react to it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

She could tell her what she knows...or she could ruin her life...

This was a very different read. A quick read that I plouged through in a few hours.

Louise has had a troubled life, born to parents who found her to be more of a distraction than the main event. Simply put, she was a mistake and they never let her forget it. She left home as soon as she could and, in her quest to belong, fell in with the wrong sort of people.

Having recently moved into her new flat, Louise is surprised by the blue flashing lights strobing from outside. Wrapped in nothing but a towel fresh from her bath, she steals a glance out the window in time to see a woman on the doorstep in tears whilst the police lead a-no-neck-all-shoulders man from the house and into a waiting squad car.

Isabelle appears to have a perfect life. She has a beautiful home she and her husband Carl have recently renovated and she is expecting their first child. Now she stands on her new neighbour's doorstep with a tin of biscuits to welcome her to the neighbourhood...despite the embarrassment of having her husband lead off in handcuffs last night for all the neighbours to see. It's just a misunderstanding. Carl is innocent and he'll soon be home again where he belongs.

Louise no sooner opens her door than Isabelle falls in a tearful crumpled mess. And soon everything comes spilling out. Louise remains tight-lipped. What can she say? She's not used to such overt emotional outbursts and Isabelle is clearly distraught. And then she sees why. She's pregnant. Hormones all over the shop. The entire neighbourhood saw Isabelle's husband carted off by the police but not one of them have knocked on her door to see how she is coping. No one. Not even her so-called friends. The only one who cared enough to take the time was Louise.

And so Louise and Isabelle begin an unlikely friendship. After all, both appear to need the other more than they knew. Isabelle seems to be unable to make a firm decision without someone taking the lead and Louise just wants somewhere to belong.

But Louise has a secret. She knows more about Isabelle's husband and his shenanigans than her new friend is aware. And so Louise finds herself faced with a dilemma - to keep quiet and protect herself? Or to confess, pay for her crimes and risk losing the closest thing she has to a family?

This is a very different book to what I was expecting. But it was an enjoyable quick read that will have you turning the pages to find out how it all turns out for Louise, Isabelle and baby Lottie. It wasn't an exciting story by any means or an addictive thrill ride. But it did keep me engaged enough to want to stick around till the end.

Overall, a compelling read that is unique in story and plot. A quick read easily read within a few hours.

I would like to thank #AlisonStockham, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheSilentFriend in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Alison Stockham - The Silent Friend

This book sets off gently, but quickly picks up the pace.

The story revolves around two women, Louise and Isabelle. They both hold secrets that could change what is so far a budding friendship.

I enjoyed this book very much. It’s very well written with some excellent twists and turns to keep the reader hooked.
There are some great characters and I couldn’t help but care about where the book would take them.

#TheSilentFriend is a gripping read and will keep you frantically turning the pages right to the very end.

More of a domestic drama than a thriller, but still a cracking read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources, Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a digital arc of this title.

Such a great and interesting read, what i most liked was seeing the relationship between Louise and Isabelle develop. It’s a slow burn to begin with but still filled with intrigue that keeps you reading on I definitely did route for most of the characters to have a happy ending.
I would say tho it’s less of a thriller and more family/domestic drama.
Overall really enjoyable and kept me engaged.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. This is a fast paced, quick thriller. It's about forgiveness, and starting over. I enjoyed it and the plot

Louise is desperate for a new start, but it is so hard to break away from the difficult situation she has become trapped in, especially as she has no one she can rely on to help her. When the husband of her pregnant neighbour Isabelle is arrested for a heinous crime, Louise suddenly finds herself making her first real friend - and the feeling of being needed makes her see that turning her life around might be possible after all.

But she is hiding secrets from Isabelle about her murky past, and her connection to the crimes of her husband. Louise must make a choice - should she come clean and put herself in the firing line to help her only friend, or stay quiet and cling on to the little 'family' she has dreamed of for so long?

The Silent Friend is an intriguing mix of psychological thriller, crime story, and domestic noir, and Alison Stockham does an excellent job of weaving these elements together to make a compelling tale. Without giving the game away, Louise is a troubled soul with a difficult upbringing, and her vulnerabilities lead to her getting involved in the dodgy dealings of Isabelle's unpleasant husband. Isabelle is completely in the dark about the real nature of her husband's activities, and Louise's desire to protect herself ends up drawing the three of them together in a complex web of lies and deceit. Over the course of this gripping story, Louise finds herself with a dilemma when she begins to care about what happens to Isabelle and her child, and desperately wants to save them from a future with a man she knows to be violent and unpredictable.

Stockham explores some really interesting themes around childhood trauma, domestic abuse, guilt, sacrifice, and redemption, and the choices Louise makes take this story in unexpected directions. The threads twist and turn, with carefully timed reveals that change your perception of Louise over the course of the book, leading to a heart warming ending full of hope - which is a very different place from where it all begins.

This is my first book by Alison Stockham, but it will definitely not be my last. I really enjoyed how she blends her emotional themes into a proper page turner, with a title full of shades of meaning, and the story gives you a lot to ponder on about real friendship and absolution.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

We meet our main character Louise off the bat. Louise has formed a budding friendship with her neighbor Isabelle, and Isabelle is hiding some deep secrets. Louise battles with the decision of telling her neighbor that she knows these secrets and just how she knows.. but that willl greatly change their dynamic and friendship.

This book covers the concept the forgiveness, moral decisions, and so forth. I don't THINK i'd consider this much of a thriller persay, but the storyline is good and believable. I enjoyed the book, and would definitely read others by this author.

I wouldn't personally describe this book as a thriller but it was enjoyable despite this. I found the relationships to be emotional and easy to believe, which added to the enjoyment of the book. Not only is this a moral story of right and wrong but also an in depth look at the human nature of forgiveness. Overall, I would recommend as an enjoyable read.

Louise is the daughter of two very selfish parents who feel that she is mistake and cannot wait for her to finally leave home. When she does, she goes to work in a bar making minimal money simply to barely support herself. Then one day, a man approaches her with the offer of a job where she can make lots more money. She accepts.

Now, Louise has moved into a flat in a fairly nice neighborhood. One day she looks out her window to see the police arresting a man whose wife is left crying on the porch. When the woman comes knocking on her door to welcome her to the neighborhood, Louise invites her in. Isabelle is pregnant and very upset about her husband, Carl's arrest saying he could never have done what he is being charged with. They soon become friends and Louise helps comfort Isabelle.

As the years pass, their friendship grows and Louise feels like she has finally found a family. But she is hiding a big secret that could blow up in her face. How long can she keep up with the lies?

This is a well-written and compelling book that delves into the depth of friendship and the search for family. It’s gritty at times but we also find what forgiveness is all about. Enjoy this moving novel.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This riveting crime thriller follows Louise who wants to start a new life without her past catching up with her.

When Louise witnesses a pregnant neighbour’s husband being taken away by the Police, she decides she could have found a new friend and wishes to help her all she can.

When her past looks to get in the way of her new life, she has a difficult decision to make.

What is in Louise’s past? What decision will she make?

I found this crime thriller riveting the whole way through, as you discover more about Louise’s past and wonder how she is going to be keep her secrets.

It shows Louise at her most vulnerable along with her new friend, and it shows how you can easily be led into a life you never thought you would.

Overall, a riveting crime thriller where Louise must choose between her past and possible future.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for the ARC of #TheSlientFriend by #AlisonStockham. This book was amazing! It gave me all the feels. I loved the lies and deceit and then the ending was on point.

Louise, always moving from home to home to escape her unhappy childhood and shady past, sees a woman’s husband being arrested over the road from her new flat one evening and surprises herself when she makes a new friend in pregnant Isabelle, the man’s wife. But there’s the problem. Louise knows more about Isabelle’s husband, Carl, and the circumstances surrounding his arrest for burglary and assault on an elderly man. So she faces a dilemma – keep spinning her web of lies to hold onto the first proper friend she has had since her Grandpa or tell the truth and lose everything again.
From a relatively slow start the tension and suspense built as I was compelled at first to wonder exactly what Louise’s background was and what she was hiding, then to follow her story as she wrestled with how to be a good friend to Isabelle. Tell her the truth about Carl or stay silent? I’m afraid for the majority of the story I didn’t like Louise much so I wasn’t too invested in what happened to her. I didn’t like Carl at all. I had more sympathy for Isabelle finding herself in a situation not of her own making although I had to wonder how much self-denial she was in about her own life. It’s not so much of a psychological thriller as a dark domestic drama. I do like a mystery though, which was enough to keep me reading to the end through plenty of twists and surprises to a most satisfactory conclusion.

I really enjoyed this book. Louise, having moved to a new area, witnesses a woman’s husband being arrested late one evening, the next day she finds the pregnant wife at her doorstep and gradually they become firm friends. However, there is a twist and it is this twist that makes this book really compelling!

Louise has had a shadowy past that she wants to break free from and when she develops an unlikely friendship with Isabelle, her neighbour, she finally finds the family she's always yearned for. But Louise knows more about Isabelle than her new friend realises, more specifically about her imprisoned husband - and the circumstances behind his arrest. Louise is faced with a dilemma - to continue lying to her friend or tell her the truth and ruin any chance she has of starting over.

The pace starts off slowly, but it soon picks up. The characters are well developed and intriguing. I couldn't wait to see how this story would unfold. I did find it to be a bit repetitive. This is more a family drama than a thriller. There are plenty of twists and turns in this well written book that held my attention throughout.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #AlisonStockham for my ARC of #TheSilentFriend im exchange for an honest review.

This book has a good storyline. It jumped a little in a few places which didn't make for easy smooth reading. However still an enjoyable book.

When Louise looks out the window of her newly leased apartment and sees the police at her neighbor's house, I was as curious as she was. Uh oh - what happened?

Louise bides her time until Isabelle, her pregnant neighbor, knocks on her door. Soon the two of them are fast friends. It turns out that Isabelle's husband is not the person Isabelle thinks he is. And Louise knows a lot more about that then she's saying.

I wouldn't call this a mystery, I would categorize it as women's fiction. To me, it had a bit of a Henrik Ibsen feel to it, as Louise comes to realize her situation and faces the choice of telling what she knows, and possibly saving Isabelle from a horrible future, or not telling and preserving her friendship while constantly looking over her shoulder.

The story was somewhat predictable and a bit repetitive. Isabelle's character evolved throughout the book as she learned to face her situation (with Louise's) help and while Louise was a hard character to like, you couldn't help siding with the prison pastor who felt she had a chance to redeem herself and live a satisfying life. The ending was exactly what I had hoped for.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood and Rachel's Random Resources for allowing me to review an advance reader's copy and participate in the #blogtour.

I am going to go against the tide on this one..

This "sort of" mystery started off well. The mood was set nicely, but, when all is said and done, Louise's prison sentence and her supportive (and rather peppy) inmates and warden gave me the sense that Louise was not doing hard time for her crimes.

She had tried to redeem herself by helping Isabelle with the baby, but I still found it hard to connect with Louise or even feel sorry for her. Her parents didn't love her, she never felt like she belonged, like she had a proper "home."

I suppose the love Louise felt for Louise and Lottie were what "redeemed" her and caused her to take that cataclysmic step that sent her off to prison, just so that she could save Louse and Lottie from Carl. The ending was all nice and tidy and cozy. Cozy was a word that kept repeating in my head about this novel. Terrible things happened, but Louise is apparently forgiven: there is a good person in there after all - as per Isabelle.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The main character, Louise, befriends her next door neighbor Isabelle after the neighbor’s husband goes to jail for something Isabelle says he doesn’t commit. The more we read, the more we find out exactly how Louise is embroiled into this woman’s life.

I enjoyed this thriller and found the main character entertaining. I also like how bits and pieces of her past are sprinkled in, like a crumbs, for us to try and put together what is happening. It’s a page turner and you want to know exactly how everything fits together. This is a great book for anyone looking for a new, addicting thriller.

Newly arrived in the street, Louise witnesses something taking place in the house opposite. A man is being arrested, leaving his distraught, pregnant wife on the doorstep. Although Louise is a loner who prefers to keep herself to herself, she needs to ensure the woman is all right.
It soon appears there is more to Louise’s interest in Isabelle than we first thought as Isabelle’s husband Carl, who has been arrested for burglary and assault, is known to her.
Louise’s need to support Isabelle and Lottie appeared to be twofold. Firstly, guilt that she had been Carl’s partner in crime, and then her own cold upbringing with parents who cared little for her. Her involvement with the small family clearly shows she has at last found somewhere to belong.
Whatever her motives, when Carl is found guilty and imprisoned, she certainly embeds herself in their lives. Although Carl is locked away, there is a continuous threat from his associates – occasional reminders he is never far away. Because of this, she takes care in everything she does in order to protect both Louise and baby Lottie. It’s several years later when Carl becomes eligible for parole that she is forced to face the fact this happy existence is now in real danger. It means she needs to take desperate measures to keep the little family safe.
Overall, it’s a good story. However, as in The Cuckoo Sister (Alison’s debut which I reviewed earlier in the year) I found it difficult to like any of the characters. On the positive side, it’s a story of sacrifice and atonement with lots of twists and turns and in places an air of menace. Carl was a violent character who charmed both these women and kept them with him through the ability to recognise and prey upon their weaknesses. Their lives together in his absence gave them both the strength to discover who they were and more importantly, who they had the potential of becoming.
I would like to thank Boldwood, Alison Stockham and Netgalley for an ARC of The Silent Friend in exchange for an honest review.

Louise has recently moved into her new flat. When her pregnant neighbour Isabelle visits her to welcome her to the neighbourhood they strike up an unlikely friendship.

Isabelle appears to have the perfect life and home until she tells Louise all about her husband Carl being arrested - but Louise knows more about Isabelle and the circumstances behind Carl's arrest than her new friend realises. Louise is faced with a dilemma does she tell the truth and lose this friendship and a chance to restart over.

I enjoyed this story about support and friendship and loved the twist. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.