Reviews with content warning for Murder - Keep Your Friends Close

As always, I hated the characters. Like, none of them would have been my friends in real life. That’s the annoying thing with a lot of thrillers that I read: I don’t like the characters. They’re all bad. Anyway, for the story part, it was great, as always. And the twistS at the end??? I felt like I was being attacked by them! Falling out of the sky they were! So, liked reading the book, but the fact that the characters weren’t lovable didn’t help.

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triggs4780's review

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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shari_russell's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Keep YourFriends Close by Lucinda Berry
The West Hollywood Moms Club is complete with NDAs and “invite only” inclusion for membership. Very exclusive! The first big party without their babies is held at the gorgeous home of the club president Kiersten McCann. Drinks are flowing and it seems to be a great time for everyone there. Until a horrifying scream comes from outside and they are dismayed to find a dead body floating face down in the pool. Even more shocking is to find out that it is Kiersten, the host and life of the party, popular and liked by everyone. The friend group of Whitney Gilmore, Jade Porter and Brooke Lyons quickly become suspects in what is deemed a homicide, not an accident. Each one of them has secrets that could give them a motive for murder. They are quick to point fingers hoping to take the focus off of themselves. The Detective in charge of solving Kiersten’s murder is ruthless, exploring every angle and will stop at nothing to get to the truth. With the relentless digging for answers she uncovers more secrets, betrayals and lies then the women could ever imagine. The illusion of privileged Hollywood wives living a perfect life is soon destroyed as the race is on to catch a killer.
“Keep Your Friends Close” is a delightful fusion of domestic suspense with a touch of police procedural. It explores how delicate the thread that binds friendship and love really is when faced with secrets and lies. Once trust is broken can it ever be the same?
The story is told from multiple points of view with dual timelines alternating between Whitney, Brooke and Jade after the murder of their friend Kiersten. The different perspectives and unreliable narrators make for so much drama and suspense that the reader is drawn in from the first chapter.
The characters are well developed with distinctive personalities, but mostly unlikeable with an array of distressing problems. You’ve got women that are trying to maintain that illusion of a perfect life in spite of the darkness that is threatening that. Then there are the husband’s that are as uniquely developed as the wives and equally important. The husband/wife dynamic plays a key role in the lengths one will go to when faced with deceit and adversity. To be clear, the negative aspects of the characters were a good thing and really added to the dark and edgy tale.
The plot unfolds at a perfect pace through cleverly placed clues and unexpected twists. There seemed to be no shortage of surprises and crazy antics in every chapter. The number of cliffhangers throughout did not even come close to the final twist at the end. Oh, wait, make that twists as in plural, as in many. And twists is too tame of a word to describe this conclusion. The finale was full of shocking explosions that were not only unexpected but begged the question “if you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?”
I love reading about the quirks and mentality of the privileged crowd or those that portray to be. Throw in the backdrop of Hollywood and it’s even better. It makes for such a dramatic story and puts you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what they’ll do next. Readers may find the characters a little exaggerated or “over the top” but having spent a lot of time in Hollywood and the nightlife there, I can tell you that people are really like that.
I have never read a disappointing book from Lucinda Berry. I always know that I can expect a fast-paced page-turner with twists galore and an ending that’s sure to shock me and have me thinking “wth did I just read?” for days after. “Keep Your Friends Close” lived up to all expectations and I gave it a well-deserved 5-star rating.
“Keep Your Friends Close” by Lucinda Berry is a good fit for those seeking a gripping and intense mystery that delves into the darker side of human relationships, where secrets, lies, and deceit threaten to shatter the illusions of a perfect life. I highly recommend it to readers that in addition to enjoying a dark domestic thriller also like to see scenes that have shock value and subject matter that you don’t see everyday.

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klanders's review

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funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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cdace8's review

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emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this book like I do most of her books! I was happy that this one was interesting and kept me guessing all the way through but didn't noleave me traumatized at the end like some of her others!

Definitely recommend if you like complicated friend drama!

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