This book had potential but the language used was so simplistic and so repetitive was difficult to stay interested. This story had a lot of potential for intrigue and edge-of-the-seat moments, but unfortunately, it was too flat and simple- the writing, as well as the plot. it was very repetitive but an easy read maybe better suited to young adult

This is a new-to-me author so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up.
I found this to be a thrilling and exciting read. It is fast paced and kept my interest till the end. The story starts out intense right from the start. I never knew what to expect -
the book kept me on the edge of my seat till the very end. Becky and Jamie go on a well-deserved vacation and on their last night they meet Mel and Phil. They become fast friends and exchange contact information and promise to keep in touch. But it turns out Mel and Phil are not what they seem and can they truly be trusted? This was a dark and thrilling story with characters that were well defined and the storyline chilling, with plenty of plot twists along the way. If you enjoy suspense and psychological thrillers, then this is the perfect book for you!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

The New Friends has the premise of an excellent story, though perhaps not an edge of your seat kind of story.
We start with the very ordinary, yet supposedly happy, lives of Becky and Jamie. Jamie turns out to be more financially savvy than we're led to believe and is able to surprise his wife, Becky, with a holiday and the news that they can finally 'afford' a baby. From here with meet (cue sinister music) Mel and her partner, and ta-dah they've made new friends. Unfortunately this is where I started having to push myself to keep reading. As we switch narrators there's a tendency to re-tell what the reader has already found out from the previous narrator which wouldn't be a problem if it were framed completely different from the other character's perspective, but it isn't, it's just repetition. There's also a lot of telling rather than showing the reader as each character goes into a recount of conversations and actions at times and we're just getting it second hand. The ending also jumps ahead over what could've been a nail biting time to wrap everything up with a bow. I'd give this three stars.

This was a really great read. I loved the characters. Becky and Jamie go on a vacation and on their last day there they meet Mel and Phil. They don't have many friends back home and are very intrigued by Mel and Phil's lavish lifestyle. Everything seems to be going well , and they exchange numbers after finding out they live in the same city. But things aren't what they seem. Phil and Mel have a secret that they don't want anyone to know . The real secret to their wealth and success. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

Wow!!!!!! Another Daniel Hurst Best Seller. This book sucks you in like all his others, and wow takes you on the ride of your life. I don't want to spoil a second of this heart pounding read. You will want to tell everyone to have a read of this amazing book.
A very large Thank You to NetGalley for the AC of this truly stunning book.

The New Friends described as a psychological thriller but personally I wouldn't really call it that.
In a nutshell it's the story of a very normal couple that are conned out of their life savings and their attempt to get it back. Despite this, I did enjoy the book. The couple, particularly the wife Becky, are really likeable and I found myself routing for them.
It's both interesting and scary to see how these con artists work and how easy it could be to fall under their spell, we all think "oh, I'd never be that stupid" but who knows? When the temptation of ££££'s is dangled in front of us?
Despite not being a thriller, a solid 4 out of 5 stars for an interesting read.
#TheNewFriends
#NetGalley

We all want more. More money. More time. More energy.

Becky, Jamie, Mel and Phil are no different. They all want more out of life. Mel wants to have genuine friends. Phil wants more thrills. Jamie wants more money. Becky wants a family. When they realize that they can use each other to get what they want, they begin a dangerous journey. As you can suspect, somebody wins and somebody loses. Who will it be?

This is no random vacation friendship. Mel and Phil have set their sights on their next victims. They carefully seduce Becky and Jamie with the promise of an easier life. By the time the new friends realize what’s happened, they’ve lost everything.

An extremely well-structured psychological thriller, The New Friends is told from four different points of view – Becky, Jamie, Mel and Phil. You would think that it would be choppy and repetitive, but it isn’t! In fact, it enables readers to see into the minds of the two couples and understand what drives them.
Readers know about the con from the synopsis, and you would think that it would ruin the plot. It didn’t! It actually kept me invested in the story because I was able to focus on the interaction between Mel and Phil and have a front row seat to their scheme in action.

“It felt like they weren’t just possible friends we could meet every now and again for nibbles and drinks. It felt as if they were people who could change our lives. They had such an energy to them.”

I think what appeals to me is that it’s an ordinary couple who get conned by a simple scheme – it could be any of us. Phil was conniving, slimy and knew exactly how to play into Jamie and Becky’s psyche/self esteem. One of the tools Phil used was appealing to their sense of fun. He knew this young couple worked hard to get where they were and knew that what they wanted was just out of their grasp. Bogged down with their jobs and payments, they couldn’t afford fun. Phil lured them. Another tool he used was to appeal to their recent memories of carefree youth. He knew that with marriage and the prospect of starting a family, obligations took precedence. Phil lured them with his vibrant lifestyle and positive outlook – both waning in Becky and Jamie. Be careful next time to start up a conversation with a stranger – they may not be who they pretend to be.

Known for writing fast-paced psychological thrillers about unusual things happening to normal people, Hurst has definitely lived up to his reputation.

I was gifted this copy by Daniel Hurst, Inkubator Books, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book is posed as a 'mystery / thriller', now I can safely say there is nothing mysterious or thrilling about it. The plot surrounds a couple that get conned out of money - and that is literally the extent of it. The plot is set out from the start, and you know exactly which way it's going to go, as that too is set out from the start (hard to explain exactly what I mean without spoiling the whole plot in one go).

I saw someone else refer to this as a short story that had stretched on too long, and that is exactly what it is. There are no twists or turns. The snyopsis tries to ham it up as something mysterious, but a few pages in and you know exactly what's going to happen. It almost felt as if this didn't need a whole book? The plot was done and dusted within a few chapters, but dragged on to the end and nothing changed or added to the story. Unfortunately, would not recommend.

Thank you for the ARC through NetGalley.

This is a straightforward but enjoyable domestic noir novel. Jamie and Becky, an unremarkable couple from the North of England with average jobs and an average life are holidaying in Spain when they meet the sophisticated (and rich) Mel and Phil. They believe they have made new friends, but instead they’ve fallen into a whole heap of trouble.

In general I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and I got through it in a couple of hours. If you’re looking for an interesting page-turner with a splash of mystery and suspense I recommend. There’s not a huge amount of “thriller” to the book, but that shouldn’t put you off. It’s a decent novel, the first I’ve read from the author. I expect I will read more.

The New Friends is a chilling psychological thriller that kept my attention to the last page. If you love psychological thrillers, you need to read this one! Becky and Jamie are have been married for about ten years. They splurged on a vacation that they felt that they deserved. They were very frugal with every dollar spend while on the vacation, but they were having a good time. They decide to enjoy their last night and treat themselves to a night out. That is where they met Phil and Mel, another couple of vacation. They were fun and seemed well-to-do, everything that Becky and Jamie admire! Plus, they lived fairly close to each other back home. Maybe Mel and Phil are just a wee bit too good to be true!? They exchange numbers so that they can get in touch with each other after their vacation. This book pulled me in from the first few pages.

When the latest Daniel Hurst book hits the shelves I know I'm in for a great read that i cannot put down. He gives us relatable characters, plausible storyline and this book us no exception.
Becky and Jamie are living a modest life, able to pay their bills but with little money left over for treats. But they scraped together a little money for a 5 day holiday in Spain, and it's during this holiday that they meet Phil and Mel. Inspired by their lifestyle Jamie persuades Becky to invest with Phil not knowing that his dreams are about to go downhill. Because Phil and Mel are not the sort of friends you want to meet.
With chapters told from all 4 characters this novel proves that first appearances are not all they seem. As the reader you're rooting for Becky and Jamie and wanting Phil and Nel to get their comeuppance
Many thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator books for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, I am under no obligation to leave this review

Ooo goodness... this one will make you nervous to make new friends! Lol but honestly it freaked me out. Excellent writing and the characters were so dang good. Must read!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

So good. Read it, very engaging.

In The New Friends, we get to experience a con from the outset to its conclusion, through the eyes of the con artist and the victims. I found the 4 points of view were realistic and well-written. The book also got me thinking about how we as society are never quite satisfied with what we have, but instead are always seeking that little bit more....

This is a quick and easy book to read and the premise is good but the story is a bit disappointing. Because of the way it is written with a pop from 4.different people there is really no mystery. You know what's happening you just have to wait for it. I have read other books by this author th at were great but I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much.

Great, now when I go on vacation I'm going to be overly suspicious of everyone that speaks to me!

This was a slightly predictable fast paced thriller - even though it was very clear from the 4 person POV where the story was going I still enjoyed the overall plot. Some parts were repetitive, but I appreciated the transparency of seeing the scam play out from both sides.

As some other reviews have pointed out the writing style wasn't the most eloquent or descriptive but personally I'm OK with that. I tend to care more about the meat of what's going on in the story and less about what color shirt a character is wearing.

Bottom line if you're looking to be mind blown, this isn't for you. But if you' want to be entertained or you're someone who can lose interest in a book with too many details - this is for you.

Thanks to Inkubator Books and Netgalley for a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Who doesn’t love a good con artist story?! I know I do. 😬

This one fell a little flat for my liking since there wasn’t as much action as I would have preferred but it was still entertaining nonetheless.

While on vacation, Becky and Jamie befriend another couple. Phil and Mel are so different. They have money. They travel extensively. They are able to do all the things Becky and Jamie financially can't do. Jamie talks Becky into letting Phil invest their life savings. From there, things go from bad to worse.

This was an ok book. I found it extremely hard to believe anybody would invest all their money with somebody after hanging out only a couple of times. I found myself thinking, well that's what they get for being so stupid. I didn't find the story very believable. While I realize this is a fiction book, I do like it when books have a believability factor. Although I didn't find the story or characters relatable, this was an easy read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a quick read, but not my kind of book. It wasn't very suspenseful and definitely not a page turner. It was like a short story that was stretched out for too long. There was a lot of potential with the story that was wasted. Not sure if I would read another book from Daniel Hurst or not based on this one.

This was an interesting plot but it was stretched very thin to turn into a novel. Would've worked better as a short story as there weren't enough of a plot line.
Very well written though