Your Closest Friend is a slow burner of a psychological thriller. When Cara is caught up in a terrifying terrorist attack she encounters a troubled young woman and their meeting leads Cars down a very dark path. Two unreliable narrators make this a compelling read.

A great psychological thriller that keeps you captivated. It felt a little predictable and similar to others in its genre but it was still an enjoyable read and kept me interested until the end.

Your Closest Friend starts straight into the action with a group of people trapped in a sandwich shop during a terrorist attack. I found this to be an excellent opening to an exciting read. I found the book creepy throughout and gripping. The characters were well developed and the author kept feeding more and more information about the plot.

We meet Cara, at the beginning of this story, caught up in a horrific terrorist attack in London. She is saved from almost certain death by Amy, a complete stranger who works in a coffee shop nearby.
What follows is what happens after that night and how these two ladies lives become intertwined in a thriller of a story.
Karen Parry is a brilliant author and my attention was held by all the twists and turns throughout this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest opinion.

She saved your life.

One hot, humid night in London, Cara is caught up in a wave of terror and chaos. Until a hand reaches out - and a stranger pulls her to safety.

She knows your darkest secrets.

Taking refuge with her unlikely rescuer, Cara shares more of herself with Amy than she ever has with anyone, including her husband. But after the hours of darkness are over, she can't remember exactly what secrets she revealed. Cara attempts to put it all behind her. But cracks begin to show in her life and marriage, and she starts to receive anonymous threats.

She's your closest friend.

As Cara's life begins to skid out of control, Amy reappears, offering to help. Amy is only person Cara can turn to, who knows her hidden side. Amy saved her that night. But what if the biggest threat to Cara is the stranger she's invited into her home?

She's your worst nightmare.

A really good psychological thriller that sets a rapid pace from page 1 and doesn't stop. Clever writing which draws out the character brilliantly and keeps you mesmerised. You think you know what's coming - but you really don't. Good work Ms Perry! Now on my 'go to' author list

Gripping read! Kept me turning the pages and in the end, I had to stop everything just so I could concentrate on getting to the end and finishing this roller coaster ride - great read, would heartily recommend!

Wow wow wow this book was spooky but amazingly spooky it had me on the edge of my seat from the first page i loved it

A terrorist attack starts a series of events which throws caress life into chaos. Really enjoyed the first two this of this book. It was creepy and made me want to carry on reading.unfortunately the end was a little farfetched and it lost the slightly sinister edge I'd enjoyed. Overall, not bad. Would recommend.

A great thriller with lots of twists and turns. This didn't take me long to get through at all as I just wanted to know what was going to happen next!

Unfortunately for me, this book felt too predictable, and like I have read similar versions over the years. Still a good read, but nothing new.

Cara lives with husband Jeff and daughter Mabel. Cara unexpectedly gets caught in a terror attack but is saved by Amy. Cara however shouldn't have been where she was. From that point Amy moves into Cara's life and things aren't what they seem.

I enjoyed this book and it did hold my interest for the majority. The story is told by both Cara and Amy and is a dark tale of obsession and what a person will do to get what they want. My only niggle is that this has been done before in many ways and it just became a little predictable.

The story certainly held my interest and I did want to reach the end to see what was going to happen. I didn't see some of the story coming but the final showdown was predictable. The last few pages does throw in a final twist but again I've read something similar before.

Overall an average thriller which focuses on family life, lies, secrets and obsession with enough to keep the reader invested. Not the best thriller out there but enough for me to read this author again.

This was an intriguing story that kept me hooked despite being a little predictable. I enjoyed the twists and turns and thought it was well written.

Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry
A psychological thriller with unsettling undertones, I didn’t want to put the book down.
On her way home to her family, Cara stumbles into the sights of terrorists, murdering innocent passerbys. Purely by chance she is hauled to safety by Amy. The terrorist encounter, meeting Amy and the fate of Neil have a profound effect on Cara especially as she has just left Finn.
The background for Your Closest Friend was very well researched and lent a solid grounding for the novel. The characters had depth however flawed their personalities and lives were. And were there flaws, deep and scary.
In particular, I found the parts were Amy was involved with Mabel to be the most unsettling. My heart went out to Mabel.
A well written novel. An author to watch out for.
I would like to thanks Karen Perry, Penguin - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for being given the opportunity to read Your Closet Friend for an honest review, which I have given.
Recommended on Goodreads, Amazon U.K. and USA.

A novel beginning with a terrorist attack and descending into a dark and dangerous obsession, Your Closest Friend by Karen Perry is a gripping thriller that will engross you from the very beginning.

The book opens with the aforementioned terrorist attack, which sees Cara walking to the nearest tube station and finding herself in the middle of a bloodbath. Convinced the terrorist will spot her next, Cara is suddenly whisked to safety by Amy, who drags her into a nearby shop until the worst is over. With her life flashing before her eyes, Cara unburdens herself on Amy, telling her all about her family problems and the deep secret she has never revealed to anyone else.

Once the coast is clear, Cara gives a statement to the police and goes on her way, thinking that she will never encounter Amy again and that their paths have simply crossed for the briefest of moments. She goes home to her husband and daughter, and returns to her work the next day as a radio producer. Of course, with the attack being front page news, Cara is placed in the limelight and persuaded to talk about it on air, with there being a caller with a very familiar voice.

Thinking nothing of it, Cara talks to Amy on air and is then surprised to see her in the lobby of the building. They chat briefly and Cara returns home, finding it a bit odd but nothing more. However, Amy believes that they share a connection and continues to turn up when Cara least expects it. As their brief exchange turns into a dark obsession, Cara’s life could be turned upside down in ways she never thought possible.

I found this book intriguing as it alternates perspective between both Cara and Amy, giving you an insight into both of their inner thoughts. It is clear from the beginning that Amy has problems, but we still don’t know what dark secrets Cara revealed during the attack and what she could be hiding. Does she really love her husband? Or was she meeting someone else at the time of the attack? Do we really know Cara as well as we think we do?

As a character, it is easy to connect with Cara and her perspective makes for an intriguing read as we try to guess her secrets. On the surface she is calm and collected, but underneath she is struggling with her home life and in balancing her emotions. She loves her daughter and her husband, but feels like things are static and no longer stimulating. At first she finds Amy a little odd but thinks she needs a friend and tries to reach out to her. It is only later that she starts to feel like something isn’t right and that perhaps she shouldn’t have indulged Amy quite so much.

We don’t get quite so much story from Amy’s point of view, as her segments are much shorter in an attempt to make her seem more sinister and unfathomable. She is an unknown, as we know very little about her other than how she starts to feel about Cara. Her obsession becomes a twisted love, as she misinterprets Cara’s signals as a sign that they are meant to be together, which only serves to ramp up her bid for attention. She quickly shows a dangerous side, with an unpredictable temperament that can turn at the flick of a switch.

This makes the book a gripping read as you can never tell what Amy might do next, and there are a number of grey areas where it still isn’t clear what went on. Cara is unaware of the signals she has given off, with her secrets set to unravel at any moment. As a reader you are keen to know what she is hiding, and are always wondering if Amy’s treatment of her might somehow be justified based on what she may have done. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it as your next thriller.

A smart and compelling thriller. Caught up in a London terrror attack, Cara is and pulled to safety by a young woman, Amy. But what if her Good Samaritan isn't all she seems. An grossing read, full of suspense.

This book is set around the London bridge attack, it is not about the attack itself, more about the characters that were there on that fateful day. Amy pulled Cara to safety and Cara ended up sharing her darkest secrets with her thinking she will either die today or never see this woman again. She survived and Amy wants to stay friends. Cara's life seems to spiral out of control from there, but who is it that is sending her those threatening texts? Is it her husband, is it her ex who she's in contact with or is Cara ignoring the fact that her life's turned to chaos after she met Amy? lovers of psychological thrillers need to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of this book for an honest and unbiased review.

A very dark thriller about Amy and Cara
who meet in the middle of a terrorist attack in London.Interesting reading about mental health and psychological issues.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy.

Perhaps I’m not the best person to review this book, for I don’t care for psychological thrillers. This one kept my attention, but I finished it feeling flat and unnerved, regretting the time I had invested in it.

Amy seemed unhinged; the portrayal of her and the voices in her head seemed accurately drawn, but it was the character of Cara who seemed to push believability. Why would she allow all of the things in her personal life to threaten the good things she had? I thought she’d have more resilience and would protect her family unit more strongly.

Not one I’d recommend.

Your Closest Friend is a great thriller; it opens with a bang, in the middle of a terrorist attack when someone starts shooting at random. This got my attention. This book is very compelling, demanding your attention from the first page. Amy is an intriguing character. Why does she rescue Cara? Can she really be trusted? Cara instinctively trusts Amy. She saves her life after all. It’s perfectly understandable. Cara reactions and responses, confessing her secrets to Amy when she thinks she might die, are totally believable. She’s unaware what the series consequences of her confessions and new friendship with Amy will be. Your Closest Friend keeps you guessing all the way through.

I was hooked at the start, due to the initial incident and the fast-pacing, but it slipped into fairly derivative territory. Secrets, blackmail and memory loss have been done to death and, maybe because I read a very similar story recently, I struggled to finish it.