Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love a good psychological thriller and the latest by Paula Daly did not in any way disappoint. From start to finish there is a mounting tension that only dissipates with the startling and dark finale. Reading this book is like watching a horror film, knowing that the monster is lurking, anticipating that moment it will jump out, watching from behind your hands but always unable to take your eyes away because you know it is a moment that cannot be missed!
Natty and Sean run a very successful hotel in the Lake District, together since they were teen sweethearts, they married young and now have two girls, their hotel and a beautiful home, things they have worked hard for over the years so it’s no surprise really that Nat can be a bit obsessive and controlling – everything has to be perfect and just so – almost as if she is making up for, or hiding something.
So when her best friend from college arranges to visit, Natty want everything to be right because Eve is the one person she can speak to about anything and everything, there are no secrets between them. So when the call comes saying that Natty and Sean’s younger daughter, who is on a school trip to France, has fallen ill, it makes perfect sense for Eve to stay and help Sean with the running of the hotel and for Natty to fly to France to be with Felicity. After all, she trusts Eve 100% and there are no safer hands in which to leave her husband and daughter.
So it is with a great shock when Natty returns home with Felicity after ten days to find that Eve has taken over her life; all of it; her husband, her daughter, her home and her business.
But when Natty receives an anonymous message saying that Eve has done this before, Natty decides to fight. She will not give up everything she has worked so hard for.
As the story progresses the tension mounts as Eve and Natty engage in a battle of wits. The reader knows what Eve is doing which makes the story more fraught as Natty’s life spirals out of control and she tries to wrest back what is rightfully hers. Eve plays dirty; she has all Natty’s secrets as ammunition and she won’t stop at anything.....
Readers will be sat on the edge of their seat reading this with pounding heart as Eve sets about destructing all about her. You will not want to stop reading until you get to the end of this gripping story and what an end it is! As Eve plays with Natty’s mind and secrets come scurrying from hidden corners you might even start wondering exactly who the psychopath is. Lots of twists, plenty of madness and a splash of humour make it a chilling but captivating read. The characters are all brilliant, three dimensional and full of life with traits that make the reader love or hate them but it is the sheer expanse of psychopathy which makes this book the amazing and unforgettable read it is.

Thanks to netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.