I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately it disappointed me. It was all over the place and hard to follow at times. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC but this one missed the mark.

thank you for allowing me to read this book. it was very easy to read. i enjoyed the story line and the characters. look forward to reading more from this author.

I received an ARC of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, this book wasn't what I expected it to be, but then it wasn't the crime story the author expected to write, as she says herself.
The story is told primarily from the POVs of two friends in university in 1989 and then the same two friends 30 years later. We quickly learn that the third friend died whilst they were all at Cambridge, or so they thought until she appears in the background of a news broadcast. At this point I suspected the narrative to go down a route of tracking this character down and finding out why she faked her own death or some other obscure plotline but it was so much more than that.
Although there were no real crime or thriller elements to this story, it was still hugely enjoyable for me as a thriller fan. Dark subject matter was touched upon, the 'people aren't what they seem' trope was exorcised to great and believable affect and even though there appeared to be a cheesy rom-com happy ending for some characters, there was still an overwhelming sense that this might not be the end of their troubles.
Then the epilogue serves to turn a vast majority of what we've learned about a lot of the characters on its head.
The writing is good, there are no troubling loose ends and I only deducted a star because I kept expecting it to become the thriller it had the potential to be and I'm still unsure as to whether I prefer the way things did turn out. That said, this was a very sensitive topic extremely well handled and the author deserves endless credit for that alone. A very solid 4-stars and I'll definitely look out for Joanne Sefton books in future!

A great read from start to finish. Lots of twists and turns and unexpected outcomes. Strong characters and a great setting. A fab story

I recieved this book via Netgalley and give it my honest review.
This book is very thought provoking and grabs you from the start. A well researched piece, written in such a sensitive way. This story will stay with me for a long time.The authors notes at the end are exceptional and really help to understand the reason for writting a story on an eating disorder. I laughed, cried and was shocked in places! All the characters were described in a way so it is easy to visualise them. Tash is an amazing character to read about. I really recommend this book.

An interesting story set in separate year's, a small insight into the difficult subject of anorexia. A great read with fantastic characters.

Not at all what I was expecting, but gripping and moving none the less. This book is about criendships, family dynamics, suffering, self-reflection and ultimately forgiveness. The book takes place alternately between 1989 and present day and follows several narrators as they slowly reveal what happened that caused a friend’s death and the ultimate unraveling of all of their lives in one way or another. Despite the difficult content, there was a message of hope and the ability to rebuild one’s life after tragedy. It may take more time for some than for others, but we all can find happiness and learn to love ourselves.

There were many spacing errors which were distracting. However, this was an ARC so I’m assuming they’ll be fixed before publication.

Trigger warning: Anorexia

Overall, 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this ARC!!

I received this ARC for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!
Alex, Karen and Misty were an inseperable trio.. that is until Alex died suddenly. karen & misty can no longer even look at each other. they both played a part in her death.

The book flows well. Suspenseful storyline. The blurb SHOULD have included that there's an eating disorder involved in the book as this may be a trigger for some.

Not quite what I expected from theblurb but nevertheless a good read. Deals well with hard hitting subjects and has a believable storyline. I did enjoy it on the whole.

A very interesting read . Twists and turns to keep you engrossed. Wondering which way the author is going to take it. Nice and easy to read. Flows well. Enjoyable to read

The book follows the lives of 3 women, Alex, Karen & Misty all in the past and Karen & Misty in the present. They have spent their lives burdened by the loss of their best friend, Alex in college. Karen felt responsible for her death and lost sight of her goals in college and never made it through. While Misty’s own guilt propelled her forward and made her study even harder to reach her goals and try to save everyone she could, like she was unable to save Alex.
This story had a different focus from the beginning. I think this would be better suited to be labeled as a book to help understand eating disorders and how much the disease affects the person and everyone around them, I did learn some things that I didn’t know about the disease. It was a good book but I don’t think that I would place it in the suspense genre.

I enjoyed this book even though it was at times sad and opened me up to a world of anorexia which is devastating.
Good storyline, with enough unknown to keep you intrigued throughout. The characters were developed well and I liked the authors style.
I think I'd read the same author again and hope for a more exciting story as u prefer a book with more of a mystery, thriller or romance, this was a drama book I'd say but still interesting.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Quite an enjoyable book once I got into it - less of an actual thriller then a story about women’s friendships and eating disorders, but it kept me turning pages. Pretty good at describing the nuanced layers of women’s lives and the threats they face

Wow, this book was really fab!! The Guilty Friend was a really great book, very intense and unique and enjoyable. I found it very easy to get wholly invested in this story, and I did find myself liking the characters very much. Superb ending.

Strongly
Great book will be reading other books by this author.
Will also recommend this book to others.
Great read! 5*****

Not quite what I expected, but still enjoyable. I was thoroughly invested in what happened to both Alex and Tash. The last page was a true gut punch!

The Dark Friend is a chilling thriller that grabs you from the first chapter and you can't put it down. Well written and great characters. Great book.

Wow this book grabbed me from the first pages dark chilling so well written so tense highly recommend .#netgalley#avonuk

I think the blurb is a little misleading for The Guilty Friend as I was expecting something dark and twisty. Anorexia and eating disorders should be mentioned as I wasn’t expecting those at all from the blurb. I have to say though I was pleasantly surprised that this isn’t like every other thriller I’ve read recently. Dark, suspenseful, gripping and overall a bloody good book! Very realistic. I highly recommend.

A fabulous creepy thriller about dark friendships. I really liked the way this book was written. Very clever and really gripping. Highly recommended for psychological thriller fans xx