I thought this was an amazing debut novel which had me guessing at every turn. The story follows Lou and her so called friends at school. A new pupil starts called Maria and she seems to want to be friends with Lou but Sophie does everything in her power to keep them apart. At the leavers dance something tragic happens which will come back to bite years later. Lou has never forgiven herself for what happened that night..so when she gets a friend request on Facebook from someone who has been missing for years, presumed dead she gets the fright of her life. She questions everything she holds dear. An absolutely cracker of a read and I'll do a fuller review on the blog nearer publication date. Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Laura Marshall and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the opportunity to read this book.
I struggled with this book initially and had to leave it for a few days, I think primarily due to the swinging back and forth between the years, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I felt that the author dragged out the details a little bit longer than necessary too.
I must confess, I didn't see the end coming, I was trying to think who it could've been all the way through, but I was pleasantly surprised not to guess.
I thought the settings were realistic and mostly accurate with regard to one of the settings.
I liked the main character and felt some sympathy towards her and her guilt.
I will recommend this book to others.

someone left long in the past she feels sick.

Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook.

Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty years. I'm not adding the rest of the books blurb as I feel it tells the reader too much and this is all you need to know and it's enough to want a reader to know more. The story kept me engrossed throughout. I felt the author kept you guessing and treating no one throughout the book. I found Louise the character who tells the story irritating and weak at times but as your get nearer to the truth a lot is told to explain this. Great story with a very shocking ending that I didn't expect at all.

Excellent thriller that really works. I hate reading a thriller when you think 'no way could that happen'. Friend Request was believable.
Good twists and subject was really relevant with how we live our lives through social media.

This was good and not so good. A taunt thriller as I was dying to know how on earth someone could receive a message from a dead person. This Facebook premise is a sign of the times and very relevant to people now so it's not surprising that social media now provides this kind of landscape of intrigue and danger..

I did wonder how Louise was going to work things out and how on earth Maria and those messages were going to pan out. The whole premise of being back at school, afraid of cliques and dying to be part of other ones. The bullying, the cattiness and all that goes with teenage girls at school - well done but just dragged out a little too much for me. It’s very twisty, in a good way as when you think how real this could be - that strange friend request on FB could be someone from your past you never thought you’d see again....then it all heightens the tension. I’d just very very pleased FB wasn’t around when I was at school.
For me , it was a slow burn rather than a thriller, but I did read through to the end and smile as the answers came to light.

This was an excellent book which touched on the beauty of modern technology, but also the downside of it where you can never quite 'escape' from life. This book kept me guessing throughout, and every time I thought I had it sussed, I was proved wrong. Highly recommended.

Maria Weston sends Louise a friend request but Maria has been dead for many years, or is she?

I couldn't put this book down once I started. Just when I thought I had worked it out ..... Boom ...... another fantastic twist in the story and I was back to square one again, I love when this happens in a book. I'm sure this will be a huge hit once its released, I loved it. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC. 5 stars.

Closer to the time of publishing, there will be a review on my blog; https://kitchenelk.wordpress.com/

Wow this book kept me gripped from page one right until the end. I felt tension throughout and was desperate to know what had happened to Maria and who was behind the "Friend Request" to Louise and Sophie. I really didn't guess for even one minute who it was so was totally shocked!!
Well done on an amazing story would be a great film

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this review copy.

The story begins when Louise receives a Facebook message from an old friend, Maria Weston – the only problem is Maria Weston has been missing, presumed dead for 25 years. Louise has carried the guilt of Maria’s death around since then and now it seems that Maria is back and wants to make Louise pay for what she did.

I have seen this book on other review sites and was drawn to it. The whole Facebook thing was interesting in that do you really know who you are talking to, or adding as a friend? Are they really who they say they are? Many people have a Facebook account, I know I do! But to get a friend request from someone who you thought was long dead must have been very scary!! The story switches from present day to Louise’s school years. It delves into school bullying and clique groups. As adults they know it wasn’t the right thing to do which is obviously why they are so much in denial about it, but as children to Louise and her friends it seemed harmless and they were unaware of what tragic consequences their actions could have.

The story, for me, started off well meeting Louise as a separated single mother in the present day and Louise as a teenage girl being influenced by the manipulative Sophie. Here we meet Maria and discover why and how she was bullied. We don’t know what happens to Maria until near the end when the truth comes tumbling out with a twist. I honestly didn’t guess what was going on and found the ending good. I have to admit, I did lose interest in the middle part of the story. I didn’t connect with the characters like I thought I would have. I felt sorry for Louise as a child – wanting to fit in with your classmates and friends is not easy as a teenager – but as an adult I didn’t like her!

It was a good story, with some good nail biting parts and red herrings, but a bit slow at time for me.

I was drawn straight to the title of this book, and then when I saw the synopsis I couldn’t wait to start reading. Many of us, myself included, use social media as a way to connect and converse with friends past and present, and it is becoming almost part of our daily life. I am guessing most of us have received friend requests from people we used to work or go to school with, but I am betting you won’t have received one from someone you believed to have died many years before. This is exactly what Louise receives…..

From this moment the book is narrated by Louise, telling the story from two moments in time, the year she left school and the present day. Alternating between them both I got insight not only into who Louise is and the life she leads now, but also the events of her teenage self that bought her to this moment and make her so scared of receiving this request.

Friend Request provides a fast paced, psychological thriller that had me guessing what was really going on until almost the last page. The book is cleverly written, with a cast of supporting characters who along with Louise’s existing fears transported me into the mystery as it took twists and turns, and kept me captivated. I felt compelled to keep reading and was totally engrossed throughout.

As the events of the past and present reveal themselves and clash I found myself bamboozled and not sure who to trust and what to believe. I felt myself trapped in a game where I needed to piece the clues together to solve the puzzle. But there are traps in there and I got caught in some of them!

Friend Request reminds me of my experience of reading Before I Go To Sleep. Both books totally grabbed me, made me question who and what is real and had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved Friend Request and find it hard to believe that it is a debut piece of work by the author. Written with real talent I cant wait to see what they write next!

Great book, a tiny bit slow to start but then it moved along well. Full of twists, believable characters. Kept me guessing and every time I thought I had it figured out - another twist! And when all was revealed I was quite shocked. Well worth reading.

The premise of this book was very good but sadly it did not live up to it's potential. The characters were not likeable and were shallow and quite one dimensional. It had quite a good twist at the end but that was not enough to redeem it.

Fabulous book. I got hooked right from the start and could not imagine the ending!! A must read!!

Oh my! I think this book will be huge. Had me gripped from the first page. Alternating between the past and the present. A top notch psychological thriller which is so relevant in today's age. 4.5* from me. Highly recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

A well deserved five stars. Excellent plot full of twists made this one very hard to put down. One of the best books of this year so far.

I loved this absolutely addictive debut thriller. It kept me up all night reading - a brilliant combination of a sympathetic protagonist, nail-biting suspense and realistic emotional drama. More please!

Really rather excellent psychological thriller here from Laura Marshall. Its so relevant actually - the whole social media thing considering we all live out our lives virtually these days - what would you do if you received a friend request from a dead person? Even without the back story that means Louise is already guilt ridden, it would give you pause right?

Loved how this played out. I also liked its twisty sense of reality. Great stuff. Full on review nearer to publication - but put this in your diary psychological thriller fans.

When central character Louise gets a friend request via Facebook from an old classmate, this sounds more like the basis for a nostalgic trip down memory lane. However, when you realise that the request comes from a friend who disappeared at the school dance, is believed to be dead and who you know more about what happened than you're prepared to discuss, then would you accept the request?
This premise sets up a twisty-turny tale of school bullying, cliques, fitting in, and the follies of youth that haunt us in later life. There are some great tense moments (is Louise being followed, or is she just paranoid and on edge?), but there are also some slightly OTT bits that detract from the underlying narrative. In the end it suffered from its far-fetched-ness more than anything - which is a shame, as I really enjoyed the first half of the story.

A well plotted tightly written page turner. I was up until 4.30am because I just had to finish this. I'll definitely be looking out for more books by this very talented author. I particularly liked the two time frames; the real sense of each time period shone through. It will remind many of their school days which is a testament to the evocative writing.