This is very well told, balancing the different view points, time periods and weaving them together well. The style is very prosaic and this heightens the tension as the many parts come together and the underlying threat manifests itself. The story is ultimately more sad than scary, and this is beautifully reflected in the last chapter and epilogue. The circle is fully drawn and the ultimate kindness and care that is shown throughout the novel is seen in a few paragraphs in black and white. Well worth a read.

This is the third of author Deirdre Palmers's books I have read and enjoyed. The story is set across two timelines ;1986 and 2022. Sometimes this can be irritating, sometimes with a little concentration it can be perfect. In this case it was essential to the story. Read in a day and an easy read. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for chance to ARC this book.

I read this book quite easily. The story is about three friends who keep no secrets from each other. Well, is this true? You read the book to find out; it is good weekend entertainment if you love reading and enjoy reading by yourself. It's like magic!

First I want to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Deirdre Palmer for my ARC of Her Best Friend’s Secret.

I really enjoyed this book! It was definitely a slower paced book than I’m use to however it was entertaining! I liked how the book jumped from 1986 to 2020, it really helped Briony’s character develop! I thought all of the characters were well developed. I found the plot interesting and easy to follow. The book kept my attention from the beginning! I surprised myself figuring this one out! I can’t wait to read more from Deirdre Palmer.

This was an interesting read, but also an incredibly slow read. By about 25% in I was really hoping to having more of a fast pace and unfortunately that didn’t happen. However, it was a good read and I did like the plot.

The plot is told in alternate timelines that go back and forth from modern day to the late 1970’s. When Briony was a teenager, her friend Molly went missing and was never heard from again. As an adult, Briony moves back to her hometown when she inherits her childhood home. She slowly starts to unravel what happened to Molly after making an interesting discovery.

Overall, it was an interesting plot. Just very slow to develop, very slow to grab my attention, and very anticlimactic to be labeled a thriller.

I did not care for this book. It wasn’t twisty or entertaining and the plot twist was meh and underwhelming. It was really slow and could have been a lot shorter. I liked the premise but it just fell flat for me.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

The book was not as fast paced as I would have liked and I found the twists a little underwhelming. However, I do think the writing was good overall.

Briony, Molly, and Samantha are childhood friends, until one of them vanishes. fast forward Briony inherits her childhood home and opens a Bed and Breakfast. she tries to solve the mystery of her friend.

This book follows a specific theme that I really love reading and that is a character returning to their childhood home (usually a beautiful home in a rural/small town setting) to explore secrets and mysteries from their past. I do think this book did that very well.

The alternating timeline, shown through the flashbacks, really helped me to understand the character of Briony. I especially loved how the author portrayed the intensity of teenage friendships and the drama of being a teenager in general. This is a more slow paced book but I found that the flashbacks enriched my understanding rather than slowing the story down.

I also really enjoyed the exploration of parent/child relationships and how the early experiences of the characters impacted the people they became. I really felt for Briony with her concern for Faye and her frequent struggle of wanting to protect her but not suffocate her and ultimately push her away.

I will say I was initially underwhelmed because I guessed the “twist” 25% into the book. However, some answers to the mystery are then revealed to the reader early on so I stopped viewing it as a twist that was meant to be shocking. I did then eventually ending up enjoying the fact that we as readers knew the answers before the characters as this meant I could focus on the characters catching up and coming to realisations instead of trying to guess the twist myself.

I think if you go into this book expecting a Mystery/Thriller you could be disappointed so in my opinion it could be marketed more as a Contemporary with elements of mystery.

Overall a very enjoyable book that I raced through in 2 days and would definitely pick up something else by this author!

Her Best Friend's Secret by Deidre Palmer is a suspenseful and very satisfying novel. Briony Harrington's Mother died when she very young, her Father was a businessman who was not prepared to raise a child on his own. Therefore Briony lived with her Godmother, Alice Church and her only child Jeremy, in Alice's home Summerdene in the quiet village of Mistlecombe. Briony had a relatively happy childhood, spending a great amount of time with her two best friends Samantha and Molly. Briony knew that Alice loved her, although she was not an overtly emotional woman; she seemed to prefer to keep her personal life private. Jeremy was definitely a thorn in the side of Briony and her friends especially as they matured. Brionly went to college, became a teacher and sadly didn't really keep in touch much with Alice over the years. She was completely surprised when she received a call from an attorney notifying her that Alice had died, and willed Briony her home, her personal effects and her money. Jeremy had died a year prior to Alice from a brain tumor. That background sets the tone for a story filled with suspense, realistic characters and a very engaging storyline, Her Best Friend's Secret is a most satisfying read. Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Deidre Palmer for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for my voluntary and honest review. 3.5 Stars.

Briony, Molly and Samantha are a trio of friends - Briony weaves their stories together - until one of them vanishes without a word. Fast forward 20+ years and Briony inherits the home she was raised in during her teen years. Along with her daughter, Faye, Briony decides to convert the house into a B&B. Follow along for the adventures of opening your home and your life to strangers. Briony meets Marcus and falls in love, while Faye meets Logan and falls in love. Then it all comes crashing down. How do secrets from the past change their lives?

This book was a little too trite and predictable for me. But if you are looking for a light read then this might be the book for you. I definitely felt like I knew these characters and was part of their lives.

Found this book well
Written but a bit slow for me. I did enjoy it as there were some twists. Thank you for early read

I thought "Her Best Friend's Secret" was decent. It's got a cool plot and is written well. It's about this girl living with her godmother and her nosy son who's always asking about her and her friends. The twists were a mix of easy and surprising, and while it felt a bit slow at times, it was still a fun read. I'd say it's worth checking out if you want something quick and entertaining.

It was painfully slow would be my only critique.

Title: Her Best Friend’s Secret
Author: Deirdre Palmer
Publisher: Stone Publishing
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date- April 23, 2024
My Rating: 3.5
Pages: 354

This story told in alternating timelines 1986 and 2022 from the POV of several characters –Briony being the primary character

1986 Then: Briony lived with her Godmother, Alice, when she was a teenager.
Alice's son, Jeremy was twenty-one and a creep. He would stalk Briony and her friends-Samantha and Molly.

One hot summer day Briony and Samantha are impatiently waiting for Molly so that they can all go swimming. After a long wait, the sun began to go down, and Molly still hadn’t arrived. As the sun started to fade, it was clear Molly wasn’t coming and Briony and Samantha are fearful something bad happened.

2020 Now: Briony had inherited her Godmother’s home Summerdene, as Jeremy died.
Briony decided to convert it into a B & B, with her daughter Faye.
Briony discovers that Molly had been in the house; which made me more convinced that Jeremy had something to do with Molly’s disappearance.

Story continues with additional characters.

Story kept me curious. I read a lot of thrillers and love to try to figure them out- I know to be open with my suspicions. Although this was not a thriller it was a surprise to me as to what happened to Molly. It indeed was my best friend’s secret.

I enjoyed reading author, Deirdre Palmer’s ‘A Letter from the Author’.
Love how the characters take on a life of their own (I have read similar things from other authors.) She tells us that Briony, a divorcee needed to recharge and was fully-formed to her as was Jeremy. She also visualized the old Cotswold house with the abandoned doctor’s surgery (in US terms Doctor’s Office). She wasn’t sure how she was going to bring it into the story but she did and it was a surprise and completely made sense to me.

This was my first Deirdre Palmer and I look forward to reading another.

Want to thank NetGalley, Storm Publishing and D. Palmer for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 23, 2024.

I received this ARC for my honest review from NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my honest review.

I think the book overall was pretty good. Her Best Friend's Secret has a good storyline, it's well written. It's about a girl who lived with her godmother and her son. The son seemed to ask too many questions about what her and her friends were doing. The book has some easy to figure out twists, and some that you wouldn't guess. The book was just a little slow paced for me but I still think it was enjoyable, and I would recommend it for a quick read.

This wasn't badly written, it was just slow. Slow to develop the story, slow for anything to develop. The dual timelines were moderately interesting, but could have added more drama to the story.

This just was a little bland, and sometimes people enjoy bland.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I love a book that had dual timelines especially in the 80’s. This was definitely a slow burn for me and I felt like I wanted a little bit more character development. Overall it was a good story. Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the eArc.

Overall an interesting story, set in two timeliness. Briony, as a teenager living with her godmother. And then years later, Britney returning to the house she was never quite comfortable in her teenage time. It was abit too rambling by times but I enjoyed the overall story.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGallery for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced copy of this ebook.

Briony has inherited her late Godmother’s house, which she lived in as a child, and has now turned it into a B&B.
We get dual timelines of 1986 when one of her best friends goes missing, and 2022 when she inherits the house.

The storyline is extremely slow and underwhelming, I felt like it could have been shorter. It took a long time to get into the story and at that point I was truly just ready for it to be over. However, I love that books are subjective and just because it wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it isn’t for you!

This is an intriguing story told from alternating timelines. This is a slow-burn mystery about three best friends and one goes missing. I was very underwhelmed by this. I couldn't connect with this story and felt like it was missing something or I was missing something the entire time reading this. If you're considering reading this, do it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, & the author of this ARC.
I did post this on goodreads