Wow, what a dark and chilling read, I loved it.! Your Closest Friend has characters which are not necessarily likeable but you really want to know what happens to them. I was absolutly riveted and just could not put this book down. If you like your thrillers tense, gripping with lots of twists and turns then this is the book for you. Highly recommended and I look forward to reading more from Karen Perry.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and Karen Perry for the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book.

You Closest Friend is a tale of obsession, and the lengths to which people will go to satisfy their needs. While I got engrossed in this one easily enough, I found it a bit far fetched at times. I got frustrated with the main characters and it ended up that I couldn’t engage with them. This was a good book, but I didn’t love it.

This is a story full of twists and turns. It is a story of grief, loss, betrayal, lust and murder among other things. Kept me gripped throughout.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of the book. It was a chilling read, which kept me up at night to finish. I found that it had a bit of a slow start, but it soon picked up. The ending was very good. Well done, great read and highly recommend

The opening chapter of this book shivers down my spine, and it kept me hooked throughout. A psychological thriller about Cara and Amy, two very different characters who meet in the most unlikely circumstances. During a moment of terror, Cara confides in Amy some of her deep secrets, thinking she wouldn’t see Amy again after their brief encounter Cara didn’t think too much about it. Just a few days later, Amy contacts Cara, and a terrifying obsession begins.
A fantastic story, which kept me reading into the night.

Your Closest Friend is a very readable psychological thriller. Cara, a radio producer with a young daughter, is caught up in a terrorist attack when she is out in London one evening . She is pulled into a building by a younger woman Amy who saves her life. Stuck in a dark store room, terrified that the terrorists are about to move in, she confides her deepest secrets to Amy. They part at the end of the evening without exchanging details but unknown to Cara, Amy has already decided they are destined to be friends or more. She manages to track Cara down and before long she is living with Cara, helping her out with her daughter while Cara's husband Jeff is working in Berlin. Bit by bit Amy insinuates herself into Cara's life with devastating consequences. The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Cara and Amy so you get to know both characters quite well. Cara is a frustrating character, you want to shake her and get her to realise what's going on. Amy is very damaged, manipulative and dangerous. The tension builds up nicely throughout the book and although it is mostly very clear what is going on, this doesn't stop you being drawn into the story. My only reservation is that some of the characters are very thinly drawn especially Mabel, Cara's daughter and Olivia, her step daughter. There is very little interaction really between Mabel and her mother and I didn't get a sense of her as a character at all. However on the whole I enjoyed the novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

If you like your thrillers but dark and have some skin creeping moments then this is for you, that's how i found it. Several people thrown together by a act of terrorism in Parsons Green. Cara who seemed to have it all a loving husband a happy daughter and a good job. She also has a ex who well best you read about him. Then there is Amy works in a Pretzs coffee shop with Neal and she rescues Cara in the middle of the attack, she is the other star in this story but not such a comfortable life. The twists and surprises continue right till the end of this well written and crafted thriller with the edge of my seat worn out some more. I can't think of another thriller if this sort that I have found as good as this one and hope you feel the same as you take the gamble and show your worth
I had this book from NetGalley for a honest review.

A really twisted plot which develops at the perfect pace. Cara has put herself in a very difficult situation with Amy which affects her work and home lives. A gripping story that made me think about how easy this scenario with Amy could happen.
Well written and keeps you on your toes throughout trying to work out what will be the next move and feeling all the time for Cara and her family.
A great psychological thriller that I highly recommend to all readers of this genre.

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‘Your Closest Friend’ by Karen Perry published by Penguin UK( Micheal Joseph) on June 1st

So....life is good, you have a wonderful hubby, beautiful daughter and a great radio producer career...but theres this man, the one you TRULY loved, he’s outta your mind though BUT you meet him just once for a drink years later.....you leave the pub and part, you then walk into what you think is a ‘film set’...... but its not, its a terror attack on the streets of London ( based on London Bridge/Borough attacks)....your in shock, you cant move, your going to be shot and probably killed.....and then someone grips you and drags you into a ‘Pret’....you and her and one other run to a safe room and hide....the ‘other’ decides to go it alone and leaves, you are left with this woman.....you tell her, in your fear and anxiety, your darkest secrets, fears and desires until its safe for you to leave.....all is as well as can be, you will never see her again....you have survived a terrible terror attack and this woman helped.......................this woman is psychotic...your problems are about to double, treble and multi multiply as the woman.....well she comes into your life, every bit of it and is obsessed, darkly, scarily and nastily obsessed.......oh, and then your problems start...
Enough to tempt you? Seriously seriously good book, dark, intriguing, scary, realistic, powerful and engrossing........the characters are real with a capital R and the story is, well its just a 100% riveting read
I could gush on for pages about how good this book is but wont, guarantee you will love it, truly great fiction
10/10 5 big stars

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I thought it was well written and I found the last half to three quarters gripping. The first half is really just setting the scene and although I read it quickly it was more a means to finish the book quicker. In fact I even considered giving up at one point as I wasn't really interested in the characters as for various reasons I didn't find either Amy or Cara likeable. However a plot twist changes all that and I was gripped til the end. However I did find the last chapter a bit of a let down and just reaffirmed my dislike of the characters!

This is not an original idea - the toxic friend who ruins your life plot has been used before. This is OK but the characters were neither memorable nor likeable.

Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry is a totally absorbing contemporary psychological murder thriller. It will have you questioning from the start... what is real? What is imagined? Who is the menacing figure?
Suspicion lurks around every corner. Being caught up in a terror attack in London soon turns into a terror attack of a very different nature.
Be careful who you share your secrets with. Guard your mouth or you may find the darkest part of your mind becomes activated.
The novel walks a fine line between mental illness and pure evil. Actions are always motivated by something.
Side by side with menace sits family life. Daughters are loved and protected. Who can possibly predict the outcome?
Karen Perry is a marvellous author who draws the reader in with her words. Cosy suburbia soon transforms into horrors from hell. It is all subtly done as comfortable middle class life metamorphosed into a psychological terror. I read on with heart in my mouth towards the nail biting conclusion.
A thrilling, gripping read to be read with the light on.
As this is a mass market psychological thriller, there are some scenes and language some readers may not like.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

It’s one in the morning and I have just finished the last page of My Closest Friend. Unputdownable, tense and current, the storyline begins with a terror attack and continues with an obsession.
I didn't warm to the main character but was still gripped by the fast flow of the storyline. I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone - particularly if you don’t have to get up in the morning!
Thanks ti Netgalley for the opportunity to review it.

Tense psychological thriller, Cara and Amy get caught up during a terror attack in London. Hiding together from the terrorists, they bond. Cara telling Amy her deepest secrets thinking they'll never met again. But Amy soon inveigles her way into Cara's life with horrifying consequences.
Story is predictable and in places the story is a little far fetched. Worth a read.

This is one of my standout books of 2018. I loved it and it’s a definite 5 stars read. This is my first book by this author, however I’ll be looking for more in future. I’d definitely recommend it.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a difficult one this to rate as you can guess the story line as you go along...and i carried on to see if it would go how i thought...and up to a point it did and then wham a twist...one i didnt see coming or actually suspect

this is a story of a night out that goes badly wrong where on the streets there are people being murdered by men with knives, and this is the night that cara met amy...who saved her life...by dragging cara to safety....

and from then on caras life isnt the same again...
a slow build up but the twist when it comes is enough to keep me happy though i felt at times that cara needed a good shake to wake up...i dont believe anyone would leave their daughter with a stranger with no references, not in this day and age...so little bugs that unsettled me whilst reading it..

not bad for my book by this author though

I was hooked on this thriller from page one!! My heart was racing at many parts and I felt really connected to the characters and the events which unfolded in the book .

Cara a radio producer is caught up in a terrorist attack is pulled to safety by Amy. Cara afraid for her life opens up and shares hidden life secrets with Cara iwhich she resolves to tackle if she survives.

Caras life starts to unravel and when Amy appears as her rescuer again she is welcomed into Caras family with devastating consequences.

What unfolds is a story of suspense. It held my attention right to the final page and the final twist in the story took my breath away.

I have not read any of Karen Perry’s books but will be on the lookout for more. Brilliant writing . Thank you netgalley and Penguin Uk -Micheal Joseph for my chance to read this book for an honest review.

Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry was a psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first page. Cara is caught up in a terrorist attack in London and is pulled to safety by Amy who is working in cafe nearby. This is the start of an obsession for Amy and she will do anything to be near Cara. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be looking out for more of her work.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin UK- Michael Joseph for inviting me to read this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I have a few books written by Karen Perry on my TBR list. After reading Your Closest Friend I look forward to reading her back catalogue.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up from the first page. Married radio producer Cara was rushing home from work after meeting her ex boyfriend Finn for drinks. Then she saw a man come out of nowhere with a gun and started shooting people sitting outside a pub. Then an accomplice comes to the scene and aims a gun at Cara, just then a hand pulls her into a coffee shop.

Hidden upstairs she finds she was saved by Amy an American and Neil. Amy seemed calm and in control, out of terror Cara spills out her marital problems with husband Jeff and how she dislikes her stepdaughter Olivia. Cara explains that she married Jeff on the rebound after breaking up with ex boyfriend Finn. Amy falls in love with Cara and thinks they are meant to be together. After the terrorist attack Cara starts to receive texts from YCF (your closest friend) which are endearing at first but quickly become malevolent. Determined to be with her true love, Amy leaves her job at the coffee shop and Cara offers her the job as nanny to Mabel while Jeff is working abroad.

Each chapter was told from alternate POV of Cara and Amy which I enjoyed. I devoured this book quickly scared to read how Amy was leaving both Cara's professional life and personal life in ashes. I don't want to give any spoilers but the latter part of the book left me shocked, and the cliff hanger was so clever I didn't see it coming.

I recommend this thriller will you gripped from start to finish.

A very enjoyable book and well worth reading. Couldn't give it 5 stars as it not one of my favourite types of story themes but nevertheless a book not to miss.