Alternating between the past and the present, Her Best Friend's Secret by Deirdre Palmer introduces us to Briony. Although she left the town as soon as she was old enough, Briony is now back after her Godmother's death as she inherits the house she spent her high school years in. Although there was some great memories there, especially with her two best friends, Samantha and Molly, there were some dark memories as well, some that she still isn't quite sure about.

Although it was a bit slow paced at first, the story had me guessing what happened in the past and new characters now here in the present. The ending was a little predictable however some parts of the story was not which I did like. I did enjoy the read and do recommend it to others if you like to try and solve storylines.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Deirdre Palmer for this book. I look forward to reading more of your work.

A gripping thriller about uncovering secrets, friendship, and is told in alternating timelines while following three best friends.

This had a whole lot of drama, which I love but I did find that it was very predictable. I guessed the twist and that took away my enjoyment of the book.

#HerBestFriendsSecret #NetGalley
On the hottest day of the summer, we wait for Molly on the riverbank, desperate to slip into the cool water. But as the sun starts to fade, it’s clear she isn’t coming. We’ll never see our friend again… Years later, after an unexpected inheritance, Briony returns to her godmother’s grand countryside home where she spent her teenage years. Despite its idyllic appearance, the old stone house carries memories Briony would rather forget. To escape the controlling behaviour of her godmother’s son, Jeremy, Briony spent every possible moment with her best friends, Molly and Samantha, until the day Molly vanished without a trace. Briony is certain Molly was keeping a secret in those final days. Why else was she acting so strangely? And why did Briony constantly feel like they were being watched? When Briony discovers Molly’s decades-old bathing suit in a locked part of the house, she begins to piece together what happened to her friend. But, as more skeletons come to light, is Briony ready to uncover the truth after so many years?
I loved it. It was a fun read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for giving me an advance copy.

A slow burn story of 3 friends told in dual timelines which I always enjoy. I will say this was less of a thriller and more of domestic suspense however still had some twists to keep you on your toes!

This was such a good book. I thought I had it all figured out and then, nope.. I was surprised at some of the twists. I would definitely recommend this book.

A pretty good read though it was easy to figure out the plot and what had happened. A little creepy but a goof resolution.

Firstly thank you for the opportunity to review .
This is a new author to me and will certainly be reading more from her .
Written in alternate narratives and timelines this sets the scene for this tale of secrets , lies ,teenage ups and downs.
Fast paced and a real journey of revelations !
Great mix of characters and layers kept me hooked from start to finish

A gripping read, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. First time with this author, I will definitely be reading more!

Loved this. I loved the twist and turns. I couldn’t put the book down. Exceptional read, only giving 4 stars though because I believe the ending was a little abrupt in my opinion.

This had the possibility of being a really interesting and engaging story. It is told in alternating timelines, following three best friends. Then one summer day, Molly goes missing. The "twist" was not shocking- there were so many hints and clues in the beginning. I also felt the interactions between the main characters was not very deep. We were told that they were best friends, but I didn't feel a deep connection between them, and so the plot seemed a little shallow. I liked the timeline from the past better, and wished we could have seen more about the girls.
I did finish the story, and feel that with a little tightening up it would be really good.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Deirdre Palmer for the ARC. This is my voluntary, honest review.

This book was more of a domestic drama than a thriller and it was honestly pretty predictable. The story centers on Briony, who spends her high school years living with her godmother in a rural village where she makes 2 close friends, Samantha and Molly, and has to deal with her godmother’s son’s mildly threatening presence. Fast forward to 36 years later where she has inherited the house from her godmother and is now back in town when secrets from her childhood become exposed.

While I enjoy stories told in dual timelines, I thought the part from when Briony was a teenager did not accurately portray this supposed close friendship between the girls. Their conversations seemed stilted, they seemed to go long periods of time without talking, and neither Briony or Samantha seemed to try that hard to figure out what happened to Molly. I just didn’t buy the friendship at all. I thought the later timeline seemed more realistic, but the problem was that I figured out what was going on early and then I was frustrated with Briony for being so slow on the uptake. I also thought the book could have moved at a faster clip by leaving out so many repetitive details (lots of making coffee, etc.); I wasn’t exactly bored in reading it but it did feel like it was long. I thought the ending tied up the loose ends nicely, but again, there were just no surprises.

Overall, this was an ok read but was really very predictable. Also, if you are anything like me, you’ll have the song “Ob-La-di” in your head the whole time because Molly last name is Jones :) Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Suspenseful, thrilling and mysterious! A great story that I enjoyed until the very end!! I definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys thrillers!

There were lots of clues throughout this book so the ending was no big surprise. A few hints are welcome but everything was so obvious all the way through that it made the pace of the book quite slow and predictable.
It had a dual timeline which wasn't an issue and was straightforward and there were not too many to characters confuse the reader., in fact nothing to tax the brain at all.

I found this hard to get into and it was slow in parts, but i still enjoyed the book. I liked the alternating timelines and it helped with the pacing of the story. It also gave us the opportunity to read what happened, rather than just telling us. The end wasn’t that shocking but I still enjoyed reading the story as it unfolded.

A little too slow and predictable for me. I struggled through this book and was glad to finish it. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you Storm Publishing and Netgalley for this arc.

I give this 3.5 stars - rounded up to 4.

It was a bit slow paced for my preference and rather predictable. The ending was not a twist for me but more confirmation of what I guessed to be the case. It was otherwise a pleasant read.

WOW. I thought I had this book figured out. Nope. I was dead wrong. I couldn't put it down. So well written. Dark, mysterious, dangerous. FIVE STARS

Nothing to get excited about in this book. Slow to start and very hard to find any excitement with any of the characters. Unraveled mystery before I got halfway into the story. Not the book for me, which was a shame.

This book was entertaining enough. It kept me curious throughout the story. It was a slower pace than what I'm used to. More mystery than thriller, I found myself playing investigator as the plot developed. This story kept me guessing until the end, which was not what I was expecting! There are dual timelines that both help to develop the characters. There are so many secrets in this book, and they are revealed, the story all comes together. 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.