Sunday, November 8, 2020

Keep Your Friends Close by Janelle Harris

 

October 6, 2020

NetGalley

Lake Union Publishing

Amazon Publishing UK

Fiction, women’s, arc, digital, thriller

348 pages

ISBN: 9781542004954

11/2-11/4

 

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

 

This a wonderfully twisted story of friendship, family, deception and revenge. The timeline alternates from June 2019 in Ireland and September 1998. This provides background and history which describes the development of the characters. Darcy Hogan is 7 months pregnant who finally agrees to be interviewed on Good Morning Ireland after receiving Businesswoman of the Year. The talk show host Lindsay St Clare is a an ambitious reporter who is delighted to have Darcy appear even if it’s to advertise her latest cookbook Darcy’s Dishes. The interview abruptly goes awry when a caller begins to ask inappropriate personal questions on air.  

 

Darcy suffers with hyperemesis gravidarum during this pregnancy resulting in her being hospitalized and unable to manage the helm of her company. As her business begins to fail they make attempts to secure funding from outside investors. They feel relief when Andrew Buckley, a local hotel owner, expresses an interest in providing them the capital they desperately need. Just as their dreams seem to slip away when he is murdered, his long “lost” daughter Gillian Buckley appears and agrees to make good on her father’s financial arrangement.

 

Her husband Luke is supportive and protective of her but almost to the extreme. Bizarre and unusual events start occurring which had Darcy on edge only to have Luke and others dismiss her concerns. When her beloved dog Jinx becomes sick and found unconscious Darcy’s paranoia soars. Things in the house seem to be misplaced or missing and strange noises that Luke attributes to her imagination. 

 

Was it really a coincidence that Gillian appears after she apparently ran away almost 20 years prior and presumed dead? Darcy begins to annoy me with her naïveté at this point although it’s hard to fault her when everyone else seems to dismiss her worries. There is another story being told along the way to add drama and mystery as the two eventually collide. I found that I could predict a likely ending but probably because I’ve read a zillion books in this genre. It was hard to put down! 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3482636744

 

https://www.edelweiss.plus/?sku=1542004950&g=4400

 

https://pin.it/5agiprU

 

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2403916293

 

 

 

 



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