For me, Lexie Elliott is a must-buy author, one of those authors whose new book I pick up without hesitation ever since I first read her debut novel, The French Girl. I love her writing style, the suspenseful plots full of twists, and the multi-layered and intriguing characters.

How To Kill Your Best Friend is set on a small island where Georgie has just arrived for a short stay. Georgie is not on holiday, she is there for the memorial of her best friend Lissa who is believed to have drown during a night swim, her body never found. At the memorial, there are Georgie and Lissa’s closest friends, Bronwyn, Adam, Duncan, and Jem, Lissa’s husband and owner of the luxury hotel on the island. While the others reminisce about old times, Georgie is convinced that Lissa’s death was not an accident. She was an excellent swimmer and why would she be swimming in the middle of the night? In the meantime, Bron is receiving threats, someone is attacked, and a storm could prevent them from leaving the island.

I really enjoyed How To Kill Your Best Friend. It is chilling, twisty, and intense, a story full of secrets, lies, revenge, and guilt. There is murder, there is a storm that isolates the characters, there is a mysterious creature swimming deep into the ocean, and there is a curse that haunts the cove… everything to make this a gripping psychological thriller! The story is told from the point of view of Georgie and Bron, but Lissa, through the many stories of her friends, is the protagonist and probably the most complex character.

How To Kill Your Best Friend is a brilliant and addictive thriller featuring a group of friends on a remote island with their secrets, hidden truths, and dysfunctional relationships. And when these threaten to come to light, everyone is in danger and who can they trust?

A dark complex read. I really enjoyed it and the way many old wounds resurfaced and watching the characters deal with them.

Perfect for any thriller fans.

I found How to Kill Your Best Friend to be a bit of a slow burner. The setting was fabulous. The characters, however, were (purposely) unlikeable and yet it seemed to me pretty obvious from very early on who the perpetrator was. More background on each of the characters and less descriptions of swimming and all it involves would have moved the story on more effectively for me. Overall it was a good plot but unfortunately just didn't have me gripped which could be as much a fault in me as in the writing.

This book is a perfect choice if you enjoy stories about complicated female friendships, unreliable characters and fast-paced plots. I really enjoyed it from start to finish. I loved the setting, and the characters, as well as their different dynamics, were interesting to read about
The weak point of the book is definitely its predictability. I found out what was going on long before the characters did, and everything happened as I was expecting it. There was a final twist right at the end which I didn't see coming, but it wasn't game-changing. However, the author still managed to create a fast-paced and exciting plot, so that I was always curious to keep reading to see what would happen to the characters.
I might not remember it much in a few years, but it was a very enjoyable reading experience.

Im afraid this one didnt grab me, too much swimming and too many rich people in a luxury location, I wasnt bothered by what had happened to any of them or why Lissa had disappeared to sea. Maybe on another day or reading in a different setting (it would be a good summer read) - but not for me today. Thanks for letting me try it though

This novel has a lot of the elements I love in my thrillers. It has a strong cast of characters who are wel fleshed out. It has a concise plot and clear mystery elements which trip you up as you go.

It was a bit more predictable than I wanted it to be though. I never guess the outcome of a novel, because it doesn't even occur to me to ever guess what will happen. In this case I guess it around the 25% mark and I was correct. That's a bit of a pity, but that's not were the thrill is alway so it doesn't matter to much.

The story is about a group of best friends who reunite for their best friend's funeral at a luxury resort where she lived with her husband. The whole group are swimmers and the two girls left Georgie and Bron miss their swimming buddy.

The way she has passed is very strange and they can't help but investigate a little bit while they're on the island.

I like how the story unfolds and how we get to meet all the characters. I have a really good picture of what Georgie, Bron, Adam, Duncan, Jem and even Lissa (who has passed) are like. I feel like I know them.

The ending felt a bit muddled and too slow, but the last scenes blew my mind. I will 100% read LEXIE ELLIOTT's other novels, because if she serves more of this - I'm there for it!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book

Brilliant story of secrets and betrayal with a twist.

This is the story of Lissa, Georgie and Bronwyn, who have been close friends for years. When Lissa, a strong swimmer, dies swimming of the coast of the island resort she owns with her husband, Georgie and Bronwyn can’t help but think there’s something strange about her death.

Told from Georgie and Bronwyn’s perspectives, this story follows their lives starting at a memorial service which is being held for Lissa. Whilst it feels like it covers a longer time frame, the story in fact only stretches over about 3 days. I got into their stories quite early on in the book and I enjoyed getting to know the main characters. They have all been close friends for years, but it was obvious as the story moved on that they all had something to hide. The storyline did slow up in parts and as there were so many characters, I have to admit I struggled to keep up with who was who. None of the characters were particularly likeable, and I found myself suspicious of them all as the story unfolded.

The chapters were interspersed with a narrator’s ideas on how to kill someone, which I found quirky and added a little black humour to a dark, chilling read. I enjoyed the storyline for the most part of the book, but found other parts plodded along a bit, focussing too much on aspects which didn’t interest me as much – I’d much rather more mystery and less swimming! The ‘whodunnit’ and what happened plots were well thought out with plenty of tension and suspense at certain points. I would have preferred much more tension throughout however which would have helped the storyline to move a little quicker. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read with a location which sounded amazing!!

Fast-paced thriller in a beautiful setting. Keeps you guessing the whole way through. Great characters and story

Well this an was interesting book a slow burn but then wow it really got going. Really not sure who was responsible and that was so good.

Just loved the ending it was brilliant.

I was given an advance copy by net galley and the publisher but the review is entirely my own.

Georgie, Lissa, and Bronwyn have known each other since their days at university. All strong swimmers the friends were members of the competitive swim team. Lissa, a keen open water competitor drowned 3 months ago in Kanu Cove, an opulent island resort in Southeast Asia, co-owned by Lissa and her husband, Jem. When Lissa's friends and others, lads from various other uni clubs, join Jem for her memorial on the island they begin to question the circumstances surrounding Lissa's drowning.

How to Kill Your Best Friend points towards the darker, more toxic side of friendship. As the weather turns inclement the guests are trapped on the island. Georgie and Bron start to receive threats, which ups the tempo, increasing the tension. Lexie Elliott's writing style was a good fit for me and I appreciated the way in which she built her characters, giving me the opportunity to learn their backstories and understand their motivations. A very well-executed tale and one I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Corvus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

The main point in the book was quite easy to predict but enjoyable. Didn't see the ending coming but it was a minor point in the book, which was a bit wasted.
The story was still entertaining to read though.

This book is filled with a great level of suspense and tension, gradually piecing together the mystery bit by bit and then accelerating you right through the climax of the story. I enjoyed the author's writing style and liked the dual narrative, along with the "Methods" sections as well. The only thing that pulled down my rating was that I did suss out the twist, but that's purely because I have read a lot of thrillers and so have very high expectations. All in all, definitely worth a read!

Loved:
🌊 The setting of a beautiful resort on a secluded island
🌊 The classic ‘who done it’ vibes
🌊 Throughout the book there are several ideas on the best method to kill someone which is told by an unknown narrator. It sounds dark but it’s set out well & keeps you guessing - who’s doing the planning??
🌊There was a delicious point of no return where you need to keep reading to find out what happens at the end & whether your suspicions were right. I sped through the last 30%ish of the book
🌊whilst I’m not a big swimmer myself, having that as something that tied the characters together seemed to work well

Didn’t love:
🌊 The story is told from two characters perspectives - Georgia & Bron. Whilst there were only two POV I found it hard to keep up with whose side I was reading from as they both read/sounded the same.
🌊 For a psychological thriller the plot felt fairly predictable & whilst there were a few twists, none of it was shocking enough to carry the plot forward.
🌊 It just felt confusing at points. I think the author was trying to get me to follow a train of thought without saying the words & it just didn’t land which left me feeling lost at points & wondering how on Earth we got from point A to point B
..
Sadly I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would! The title of the book was probably the best bit about it

How to Kill You Best Friend is a compelling thriller full of secrets, suspense, deadly twists and about-turns which asks: what would you do if you suspected your best friend, the person you cared about the most in the world, was a murderer? Would you go up against her? Would you be willing to assist her in keeping her secret? Or would you become frightened? And more importantly, why don't you feel safe now that she's dead and gone? Georgie Ayers, Lissa Kateb, and Bronwyn Miller have been inseparable since dominating their competitive college swim team; swimming has always been an escape from their own problems, but now their shared passion has turned deadly. How can it be true that Lissa, the strongest swimmer they know, drowned 3 months ago? Granted, there is something strange about Kanu Cove, where Lissa was last seen, swimming off the coast of the opulent and luxurious island resort in Southeast Asia she and her husband, Jem, co-owned. Lissa's closest friends gather at the resort to honour and celebrate her short life, but Georgie and Bron can't seem to stop looking over their shoulders. Danger lurks beneath the surface of the crystal-clear water and even their extravagant private villas can't help make them feel safe and secure.

As the weather turns ominous, trapping the funeral guests together on the island, nobody knows who they can trust. The two women soon find themselves questioning the circumstances around Lissa’s death. It now seems as though her passing was only the beginning. This is a complex, intriguing, suspense-laden page-turner that is a character-driven psychological thriller. It delves into the past - the darker, more toxic side of friendship and will have you questioning everything you think you know. It revolves around tangled relationships, shifting perceptions, changing alliances and the memories—and people—that haunt us. Told from the first-person perspectives of Georgie and Bronwyn, this compulsive and wickedly twisty mystery involving a rumoured sea serpent, embezzlement and questions about the suspicious death of Lissa’s first husband, Graeme, who perished during anaphylaxis when he could not locate his EpiPen and devious, murderous games will have you glued to the pages from the very beginning. It's engrossing, unnerving and revelation follows revelation, with the pace increasing as the mysteries pile up, leaving you genuinely shocked at the end. An immersive, riveting and entertaining thriller about the cost of loyalty, growing apart and the unconditional support we often give to friends. Highly recommended.

Best friends since college, bonded in ways no one can quite understand, but what happens when one drowns under suspicious circumstances? Reunited on the island where it happened, her closest friends must reckon with the past and their relationships with one another.

This book had me in its grips the whole way through, I devoured it. I found the pacing quite unique, it starts off almost frantic feeling, then relaxes and becomes almost leisurely but with an undeniable undercurrent of unease and tension, it was really nicely balanced and unlike any other thriller I've read.
The alternating points of view were utilised well to create moments of conflict and uncertainty in the plot as well as contrasting the personalities and mindsets of Georgie and Bronwyn. Both POVs worked to move the narrative forward and reveal the necessary information as the mystery evolved.
The wider cast of characters were interesting and the occasional glimpses into their pasts together helped ground the story and add depth to their interactions with one another.
All of this built to a dramatic and cathartic final act that always seemed to have another twist just around the corner.

A unique story with a super enjoyable and engaging prose, would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic Books for the e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

A tense thriller set in a dream location.

Narrated from the point of view of friends Georgie and Bronwin, this book had my attention from the start and managed to keep it until the very end. Loved the little chapters in between examining different ways to kill someone.

Would recommend.

Thank you NetGallery and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A perfect summer thriller, with unreliable narrators, an idyllic island setting and lots of suspense to keep us on our toes.

Through alternating chapters between two best friends, Georgie and Bronwyn we are transported to a luxury resort in Thailand after the memorial service of another best friend, Lissa. I won’t say much more on the plot to avoid spoilers but it’s exciting and sharp throughout, what I will say is that there are lots of characters and lots of secrets to be unravelled.

I enjoyed the pacing and the suspense was perfect up until the very end. Lost a star from me only because I was really hoping for another twist or turn at the end as I predicted what was going to happen but I still enjoyed seeing in unfold.

Would recommend for fans of Lucy Foley and Harriet Tyce.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Best friends since college swimming team meet again on a commemoration of Lissa who allegedly drowned in a dangerous bay in her holiday resort that she owned with her second husband. For Georgie is hard to believe that she drowned by herself, since Lissa was the best swimmer of them all and soon she starts to suspect everybody around her.

Do she really knows her friends? Are they really who they seem to be?

Fast paced thriller, based on a wonderful island resort, full of myths, secrets from the past and danger.

Well written, characters are relatable and the plot believable.

Joy to read for all thriller-lovers.

I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately the writing just wasn't for me.

The premise sounded so interesting. A group of friends with deep dark secrets revisiting the island where their best mate died? Count me in! I loved how this book showed the darker side of friendship, and how you accept people despite all their flaws out of loyalty.

However I found myself getting confused at multiple points - both at the plot and the character's bizarre behaviour.

First off, it took a long while before I could work out how the main characters were all linked. Having spoken to other friends who have read this book, I realised I was not alone in this. Sure the main few are friends, but when countless side character names came up I honestly had no clue for a long time how they were related to the core four. It also didn't help that the POVs where both really similarly written.

I also couldn't understand so much of what they did. Why would you want to swim in waters where your friend died? Why does Jem seem to be carrying on totally as normal, like he didn't lose his wife? Why would you not get help for a friend who's clearly severely mentally ill?

Even the final twist which promised to be huge could be seen from early into the book, so sadly this just left me feeling disappointed. I wanted more drama, without the farfetched plot and consistently vague dialogue.