06 December 2022

Reaching for my second Laura Marshall book I am an even bigger fan. When I saw this book on NetGalley I could not wait to be approved to read this one. The author left a huge impression on me after I read The Anniversary and this blurb was irresistible. You are in for a twisty tale when you reach for this one – everyone is lying to Liz and trying to put all the pieces together will keep you deeply engrossed in this book.

Laura Marshall weaves a web of lies in this book, all Liz’s friends lie to her and as you uncover all the lies along with Liz you are left realising that these are the friends you might not want in your life. While some betrayals are worse than others the author delivers one after the other keeping you glued to the pages as you try to figure out what actually happened to Andrew, Was it just an accident? Laura Marshall delivers a fabulously twisted tale with this book. You will find it very difficult to put this book down before you reached the last page.

A group of friends are staying in a stunning villa on the Amalfi Coast in Italy for a weekend. Saffie and Todd are hosting everyone to celebrate Todd’s birthday. While six of them have known each other for years, Todd is new to the group.

What was meant to be a relaxing weekend away ends with a tragedy that leaves Andrew dead. On the morning of his funeral, Liz discovers that Andrew was cheating on her with one of the women that were in Italy with them. But those women are her oldest and dearest friends. Could one of them have betrayed her? Who can Liz mourn her husband when she has so many questions? How can she lean on her friends in her time of need when she knows one of them has betrayed her? Does she want the answers to her questions?

Reading this book, I was relieved that these women were not my friends. With friends like these, who needs enemies? I was engrossed in the twists that this book revealed. Every time I was convinced that things could not possibly get any worse, the author reveals yet another surprise. I could not keep my nose out of this book.

The characters we brilliant. Liz is the only one who is not hiding something. She is a loyal friend who believes that the women in her life will always be there for her and that they value friendship as much as she does. When Liz forgives some of the behaviour, I was left admiring her. I am not sure I could forgive some of the things she did. She is a remarkable woman.

Poppy is the scatterbrain of the group and sometimes I was wondering how she managed to find a place in this mix. She did not seem to fit. Her betrayal was horrible – despite her motivation, I battled with her role in the story.

Trina was the weaker of these women. She did not feature as much and I could not see how she ended up with Julian. They did not seem to match at all. Her secret was without a doubt the biggest and added a lot of questions to the story.

Saffie is a piece of work. This woman is self-centred and I battled to like anything about her. From the way she spoke to the way she treated people – she was just horrible. I could not understand why everyone liked her. Nothing about Saffie was real. I understand why she ended up with an idiot like Todd – they are a perfect match.

This book had me captivated all the way. I found myself engrossed while my emotions were flaring as I flipped the pages. This is an easy selection for my loved list for 2022.

Fans of a twisty tale full of lies and deceit will find themselves loving this book. There is not a moment in this book where you know what’s coming next. I loved this book and cannot recommend this one highly enough.